Another day off?

DAY OFF? Not sure yet, but since I usually use my Day Off posts to recap or fill in the gaps. A few things on my mind...

Doing this next year. Don't think so. At first I thought it would work, back when my weeks were still <16hrs/week. The last few weeks have changed that, now I'm thinking it would be a good idea to skip a year, especially given my club duties.

Doing this again. Most definitely. I love it. Of course, I'm saying that before I've even toed the line, but I love how I feel.

And how I feel. Powerful. Confident. Energetic. Strong.

And speaking of strength. The comments about "you're so skinny" have been replaced with "you're so toned/muscled/lean". I can think of a few reasons for this change, regardless of why it's a pleasant change. Being called skinny it not really a compliment to me. Skinny implies wimpy to some degree. I don't see myself at terribly toned, but that's a relative thing. I see myself everyday and I live with how I look. To me, I'm not as toned as those I'm training with and that's my relative comparisons. In fact, I'm looking forward to getting back to crossfit as a way to increase my strength. How I look seems to creep some people out.

More on how I look. I have to admit that sometimes I see myself in the mirror and stop in a little bit of shock. A brief moment of "OMG when did that happen?!".

After the race. I foresee depression and gloom. The past 8 months have been all towards one goal, and that goal will come and go. What then? Cyclocross season!

My current to do list. Get the brakes fixed on Bird and Frea. Look into a 27 for Frea. Buy Mentos candies so I can use the package to carry electrolyte tabs. Plan the last remaining crucial workouts.

Resting. I forgot to mention that last Friday before my drive to WI I tried to take a nap. My sleep patterns are all off and I don't sleep as long as I'd like. I'm not good at taking naps, although sitting here typing this I think I'll nod off any time soon. I'm at work!

Tapering. Starts now, technically, but this week and the next are still 15.5 hr weeks. Then an 11hr week, then a 4+race week. Holy cow.

26 days to go. My heart skips a bit when I realize just how close this all is. And to think I'm stressed, my friends are going off 2 weeks before I do. They have <2weeks! I wonder what they are going through. I'm terribly excited for them and can't wait to cheer them across the finish. But just thinking of them finishing shakes my nerves up. Goosebumps. A bit woozy. OMG just 26 days away, I have just 26 days!!

The tattoo. Oh shit yeah I'm getting the IM tattoo. An M-dot, as it's called, is going on my left calf, lower close to the ankle. Just above the biking socks height. I'm also considering a 140.6 tattoo, as I'm more interested in the distance than I am the brand name. But I'm also thinking about a modification/addition to the tattoo. I'm hooked on the song by Gary Allen, and I'd love to get some of those words in the tattoo. Need to think on that.

More songs. I heard a snippet of a song yesterday after my FAILSWIM--the lyrics that caught my attention were "don't tell me if I'm dying, because I don't want to know". I looked it up later (found it was a song from 2008 but it's new to me) and it struck a chord. It reminded me to live every day like it's the last, savor the moments, and don't get caught up in the future. Funny to think I need to be reminded to make the most of every day, I've only been obsessing about maximizing everyday since last September, but I'm living for a day in the future. And I shouldn't be so caught up in it.

The swim. I'm so worried about the swim, but it's not eating at me. I have a funny sense of calm about it, a fearful accept whatever-comes-my-way-calm. Hopefully it's not a big wave that comes hither. So either my confidence is over-riding my fear, I've accepted the challenge, or I'm in denial. Eh, hard to say because sitting here thinking about it got my heart to jump a bit. Yeah, I'm nervous.

So much to think about. I've broken the day down into parts, and found inspirations for each one. Goals, things to think about, and little quotes or songs. Each segment (swim, bike 1, bike 2, run 1, run 2, and finish) will be unique pieces to this race. The swim loops are lumped together, I just realized that. Maybe I'm trying to minimize what will be the worst part of the day? If I can just drag my sorry wet self out of the water before the cut-off at 2hr 20mins I'm OK for the rest of the day. The bike? No problem. The run? No problems, and besides if there is I can just walk. There's no walking or hopping of the bike in the swim. I guess I could just float. But I don't float all that well.

More to think about. Strategies. Mind games. Tricks. I've made mental lists of what I need to be doing at various points in the race. Let's hope I can remember tham all.

Boy this is getting long. Guess I had a lot on my mind. Still do, but let's save it for later.