Three years and seventeen days after my first triathlon race (09/02/2013), it is time for a physical health and wellness update. I was reading through old posts a month ago and stumbled upon the original physical health and wellness post (09/06/2013), which I re-posted to Facebook because I thought it was hilarious compared to where I am currently.
Three previous blog posts may or may not be referenced throughout this update. These are:
Physical Health and Wellness 09/06/2013
Living Clean 12/16/2013
Gains and Goals: The Plan 01/06/2014
In order to review the past three plus years of my physical health and wellness journey, I pieced together a timeline of major milestones and events, which I hope is mostly comprehensive.
May 2012.........................Graduated college; farewell, BC! Began biking to/from work on my mom's old Huffy mountain bike
July 20, 2012....................New bike day! Surly Pacer
August 2012.....................Moved to TN for grad school at ETSU
September 2012................Began participating in local group rides, watched current boyfriend participate in a 70.3 Ironman
November 2012................Started running!
Summer 2013...................Lived in Virginia with current boyfriend and ran/biked maybe four times
August 2013.....................Back to TN for grad school
September 2, 2013............First sprint triathlon: Barberito's Sprint at Warrior's Path
April 2014........................First metric century ride (100 km/62 mi): Jacob Francisco Memorial Century
May 2014..........................First official 5k event: Thirsty Orange; graduated grad school; good riddance, ETSU!
June 6, 2014.....................Moved to beautiful Western NC; geography of my soul
June 9, 2014.....................Started work as a mental health and substance use counselor
Summer 2014...................Kept up some with biking and running, but adjusting to full-time work took a toll
October 2014....................Second official 5k event: Color Me Rad
April 18, 2015..................Second metric century ride: Jacob Francisco Memorial Century
May 25, 2015...................First organized ride with mom and dad: Ride for Hospice (13 miles)
May 29, 2015...................New bike day! DeVinci Leo
June 2015.........................First imperial century ride (100 mi): Fletcher Flyer
August 9, 2015.................First Olympic distance triathlon: Lake Logan
August 15, 2015...............New shoe day!
August 22, 2015...............Registered for Ramseur Lake Olympic triathlon
September 19, 2015.........Second Olympic distance triathlon: Ramseur Lake
October 18, 2015..............Rode to Waterrock Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway
November 1, 2015............Pumpkin Peddler Costume Bike Ride
November 15, 2015..........Ordered a Share the Road custom license plate: RL#5
November 27, 2015..........Ordered a Garmin Forerunner 290xt
January 2016.....................Registered for August 70.3 and other triathlons, first official 10k event: Hot Cocoa 10k
February 2016...................Started the official 70.3 training plan: lift, swim, bike, run
April 10, 2016...................Second organized ride with mom and dad: Gears and Steers (25 miles)
April 16, 2016...................Third metric century ride: Jacob Francisco Memorial Century
June 5, 2016......................Second imperial century ride: Fletcher Flyer
July 24, 2016.....................First triathlon event of the season, with mom! You Go Girl Puroclean mini triathlon (250 yd, 10 mi, 2.5 mi)
August 7, 2016..................Third Olympic distance triathlon: Lake Logan (19 minutes faster than 2015!)
August 27, 2016................Sprinternational distance triathlon: Watauga Lake (1000 m, 35 km, 8 km)
...and here we are, kiddos.
Less than one week to August 70.3 Ironman. Last Saturday, September 10th, was my last major training workout prior to beginning two weeks of taper. That long bike/run brick was really difficult and did not help my confidence very much before going into my taper. I recently read a post about how taper can be just as mentally and emotionally exhausting as heavy load training weeks because now it's all over. There's nothing to do but maintain, rest, and trust your body. There's no cramming for a test here. You're either ready or you're not. There's nothing to do but wait. My pre-test mantras were always "Do your best" and "Go with your gut." Those probably apply here, as well.
Tonight, I re-read over my athlete guide and some advice from triathlon friends. I drafted a weekend schedule (travel, arrive, athlete check-in, athlete briefing, easy warm-up/stretch ride, bike check-in, etc.) and drafted a packing list divided into sections (swim start, transition one, transition two, post-race).
For now, I am sitting with the anticipation for the athletic event. I'm ready. I'll do my best. I can't cram; all I can do is rest, mentally prepare, and eat as much as I can Friday and Saturday. (a not-so-hidden perk of endurance racing: pastaaaaaaaaaa). The anticipation of the chaos of the event (approximately 3500 participants!) is the most stressful part at this point.
Looking ahead, I have a deep tissue massage scheduled for Tuesday after my race.
And, because I'm crazy, I will be "racing" (pacing) a Sprint distance triathlon with my mom on October 1 and participating in my first official road race (40 miles) on October 15.
Hang onto your hats, I've lost my mind.
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