Do or Do Not

Race is tomorrow morning.  Aside from some, ahem, 'minor pre-race athlete-type' issues, all is well is Kansas.  I'm hoping things will 'flush through' by morning and work themselves out.  <sigh>.  Getting ready to hit the hay here in Kansas, no pun intended ;) ...just a quick blog post and then I'm ready to get some zzzz's.

So tomorrow, I'll be heading out there to race my own race, against myself.  We drove the course today, and it's definitely not the flat Kansas you might expect.  No doubt it does not really compare to riding in Roswell/Alpharetta, but it is also not flat.  Our best secret weapon is the lower humidity here compared to Georgia.

Tomorrow's race looks like this:

1. I tread water effortlessly waiting for the gun to go off.  I am pretty thrilled that I am actually starting my race early, as I head off at 6:46. As soon as my race clock starts, I am swimming a little harder than my race pace to get to the first buoy.  Once I hit that, I settle in to my race pace, swimming strong and steady, with long smooth strokes, getting me through the swim with an efficiency that sets me up for a strong bike.
2. My T1 is quick and effortless and I have a seamless flying mount.
3. My bike is a steady effort with a normalized power between 160-165.  Regardless of my speed, I am focused on the power I am pushing. I drink fluids every 10 minutes, and maintain a good level of hydration throughout the bike.  The wind is not bothering me
4. My T2 is lighting fast as I hang my bike and grab my run gear.
5. My run is a steady effort for the first loop, as my heart rate stays under 160.  I hydrate at every aid station and keep cool with ice and cold water.  I consume a gel at the 30 minute mark, and again at the 1:10 mark.  On the 2nd loop I allow my heart rate to rise as I push the pace and give whatever I have left to give the triathlon race gods.  :)  

It's gonna be a hot one tomorrow, and looks like we'll have a pretty stiff wind.  But I'm ready.  Today on our pre-race brick, I felt some twinges from the hip flexor, reminding me.  So instead of worrying about it, I put some good visual imagery to work.  My friend and guide, Joseph White Wolf, and I have a 'rainbow connection', and I simply imagined two butterflies floating a rainbow over to the pain point and wrapping the rainbow around it.  Laugh if you want, but I'm telling you, it stopped hurting.  And when we were changing after, a butterfly flew over and landed on my ankle.  All I know is the mind is a powerful thing, we only need to harness that power for amazing things to happen.  The butterfly from today and the monarch I saved a few summers back will be flying with me tomorrow wrapping rainbows wherever they are needed.

Have had a great trip so far with JanetKDaly, KevIron, and CoachBrett.  (add that to CanadianTriGirl and it sounds like a new cartoon crew coming to a channel near you!)  Looking forward to partying it up tomorrow night in KC with the crew.

Do or Do Not.  There is no try.  

Happy Racing!

Kat