"Just Say No" to goals!!!! Huh????

I can feel the excitement slowly but surely morphing to anxiety. Not the bad anxiety that makes you want to throw up (not yet at least). It's a good anxiety. Not as good as Christmas morning when you were a kid...somewhere in the middle.

The week started off with a great clinic put on by Lonestar Multisport. Kim Hager (Coach K) was the speaker and was covering race day mental preparedness. I wasn't about to miss this topic because I know this is my demon. I thought maybe the tides were changing since I had such a positive mental race at the Houston Oly but after a very tough workout this weekend, the stupid voices in my head started in again. After nearly 65 miles on the bike, I started a very slow 30 minute run. I tried so hard to focus on the positive....no calf cramping! Had I been strong and just basked in that glory, I think it would've been good. But no, I had to start paying to attention to the fact that my body felt like a sack of bricks...probably why it's called a brick workout. I tried my best to make my legs move faster and they just wouldn't. Every muscle that could be sore was sore. Only 10 minutes into the run I found myself wondering if I had what it took to finish a half ironman. Ahh, crap. I'm so glad our thoughts aren't broadcast for all to hear because I would've been getting some strange looks from folks wondering why I was yelling at myself. I tried to tell myself I had what it took to finish but then my back would chime in as if to say, "speak for yourself". ENOUGH! I finally told myself to shut it and finish this run. I digress but this was important to mention as it totally supports my desire to attend this session! So many things had an impact on me. I've come away with some great ideas to help me get through this race. I'm going to tape some encouraging words to my bike frame...maybe I'll even Sharpie them on my forearm. We'll have to see how crazy I feel that morning! I'm going to visualize the last 25% of the race every night before I go to bed. I'm going to finish this race.

I emailed Coach G to verify I wouldn't be setting any time goals for this race and sure enough, I won't be. My mission is to race & embrace this distance. Finish with a smile. I'm confident there will be tears too. I'm hoping for 90% tears of joy and 10% tears of relief. Ok, maybe 80/20. :) Either way, there should be no pressure for this race. I'm not sure if Coach G reads my blog so I'll let you in on a little secret...I do plan on pushing the swim. I've never pushed the swim in a race and I figured this might be a good time to give it a go. If she is reading this, I'm just kidding! :)

This no goal thing might not be a bad idea. The first time I ran the Houston Half I set a PR that I haven't touched yet. Maybe I'll go into that race Garmin & expectation free and just see what happens.

Up next for me? Training, training & more training. This weekend I'll be riding the Ironstar bike course and am super excited to see how that goes. I also have a 14 mile run scheduled for Friday morning. Good thing I'm off on Friday and the only tough thing I'll need to do all day is figure out how short to cut my hair!

Until next time!