Miami Man Ramblings

Miami Man is almost here.  THREE short days until my first non-sprint triathlon.  I waiver between being scared to death, excited, and nervous. Part of me wants to just get this over with so I can go back to having a training life, rather than being stuck in the continuous recovery/preparation phase that has governed my life for the past 6 weeks.  Because TRAINING is the only real break I get from my every day.

 I'm doing the international distance.  Its more than twice what I've done so far this year, but approximately half of a Half Iron Distance . . . 0.6mi swim/22 mi bike/6.6 mi run.

So to break it down . . . first comes the swim.  .6 mile lake swim.  And can I just say HOLY CRAP, it looks long on paper.  

Goal for the swim . . . not die.  Really, that's all I'm going for.  A goal is under 25 minutes, B goal is 30.  But not drowning (or needing to hold on to a freaking lifeguard) would be acceptable as well.

 The bike . . . 22 miles in the Redlands (agricultural district) . . . flat, crappy roads with nothing to block the wind.  Wind tends to be out of the ENE, so it could be a rough ride back.  It was blowing 25 mph earlier in the week (which was freaking me out) but has calmed down. Hope it stays that way.

Goal for the bike . . . hard to say because it depends on the wind.  I'd like to negative split the out and back.  A goal is 18mph+, B goal is 17.  But I really haven't ever tried to keep that pace for 22 miles, so we'll see.  I will just have to pretend my favorite riding partners are pulling me the whole way. Any time I feel like quitting I'll definitely be thinking of Rosie and Sus.

The RUN . . . the whole reason I picked to do my first mid-distance Tri at THIS particular race is because loops make me want to scream.  I hate loops with a passion.  This 6.6 mile run should be pretty cool though, since its through the zoo.  I have spent a bazillion hours at this zoo, so I know it like the back of my hand.  This SHOULD be handy when it comes to knowing where I'm at and how much further to go.

I KNOW KNOW KNOW the run is going to be the hardest part for me.  I have a tendency to spin more on the bike racing than I do when I train. Which means my legs are dead for the run.  I haven't bricked enough in training, I KNOW it.  So, in an effort to not suck on the run, I'm dedicating miles . . . so corniness ensues NOW. . .

Mile 1 - My kiddos, who motivated me to START my fitness journey and keep me moving.
Mile 2 - My hubby, who will be waiting for me at the finish (thanks to an awesome friend) . . . he used to think I was crazy for doing this stuff but I'm slowly pulling him over to the dark side
Mile 3 - My Tough Chik Sisters, who motivate me and move me and never fail to support each other
Mile 4 - Every single woman out there who ever thought she couldn't do something.  Who felt like she was too fat, too slow, to weak . . .I have to post this now because its been in the back of my head all week.

Mile 5 - A few very special friends who are going through a REALLY, REALLY crappy year.   They know who they are. 
Mile 6 - My gym peeps, Cherokee, Peggy, Carmen, Abbey, Lourdes, Dawn. . . really too many to list them all; and my forever running bud Jess, who will be racing her own 13.1 at the same time; my good friend Julie who has always given me something to aspire to in mothering and in speed, and who has been recovering from an injury for a large chunk of the year :-)
That last 0.6 .  .  myself.  This race closes out the competitive year for me, as well as my tri season.  And it WAS a season.  6 sprint triathlons since March.   This will be my 12th event in 11 months.  Something I would never have considered possible a few years ago.  This has been a break through year for me and I want it to end on a high note. 

A goal for the run is a 10:30 pace but that may be pushing it.  I'd really like to be under an 11 minute mile as a B goal, but it really depends on how the bike goes.

A goal is to be done under 3 hours.  B goal is to (once again) simply NOT DIE.

And eep, I think I'm now officially really freaked out, having put all of that in writing.   Have an amazing long weekend, friends!