Tuesday, October 12, 2010

5 Days Left!!!


The Ironman Austin 70.3 race is almost here and so far I have not had any pre-race jitters yet. I am sure that they will show up in the next 24-48 hours as I start getting my gear together and cleaning my house for the arrival of my parents to take care of the kid while I am racing. This is only my second triathlon of the year. Is that sad or what? Two. Only two. I read about all of these other people that are out there racing at least once a month or sometimes doing a sprint every other weekend. It makes me feel like a slacker. But then again, I came in 3rd in my AG in my last race. I don't think that will happen for this race. The fast kids and the Iron wackos turn out for the 70.3 races.

So what are my race goals? Well, first off, I don't want to fall off of my bike. That seems to have been a theme at some of my races. Second, I don't want to come in last in my AG. After all of the hard training I have been doing, if I blow up and have to use the entire 8 hours granted to me to finish the race, I will be angry. Third, I want to stay healthy throughout the race. That means no barfing, no twisted ankles running up Quadzilla, no debris or random junk puncturing the bottom of my foot as I wait around for the swim start, and no med tent after the race. The med tent has been a re-occurring theme at a lot of my races as well.

But hey....if you have to spend some time in the med tent, doesn't that mean you raced hard? You put it all out there? You finished through the hardships and the pain? Well, yeah, but it still means some EMT is trying to put you back together and a post race mojito may not be in your future.

My hopes for this race are as follows:

  1. I hope that they have fixed the road surface on Hogg Rd. where it was gravel and pot holes at the beginning of last month.
  2. I hope that I do not crack a wheel rim on the bridge at mile 39. Another re-occurring theme for me. Also, I am borrowing race wheels from a VERY nice person and I don't want to screw up their wheels.
  3. I hope that I do not put my wheel into one of the vertical cracks that run along many of the roads early on in the course. I want to avoid that whole road rash thing.
  4. I hope that I can really run off the bike and run well for this race. I have been working on my running and I want to see if my hard work this year will pay off.
  5. I hope that I can have fun.

I look forward to seeing Kathleen and Carrie volunteering out on the course. I am sure that they will pep me up when I am feeling like dog poop. I am looking forward to being in one of the early swim waves!!! I am also looking forward to that post race mojito.

So last week was my birthday and I finally hit the age that USAT has had me racing at for the last 10 months. I always felt kind of dirty racing with the 40+ gals when I was only 39. I taught my early cycle class and then went to get my hair cut. Nothing special there but after that I took myself to lunch at a nice restaurant by my house and I sat out on the patio and enjoyed the fantastic weather. Afterwards, I walked over to the cupcake bakery and purchased a Pumpkin Spice cupcake that had a pumpkin mousse inside and a piece of crystallized ginger on top of the pumpkin pie spice frosting. YUM!!! El Esposo is out of the country but before he left I got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer as a gift. I am so happy to get rid of the 40 year old avocado green Sunbeam Mix Master that was my mom's. Later that evening I went to meet my friends Ryan and Lauren for some dinner and beer at a local watering hole and was surprised to find a bunch of my friends there.
The best birthday gifts come wrapped in Christmas paper and first aid tape! Thanks Ryan!

You can't see it well, but I got a copy of "The 40- year Old Virgin".

Balloons and goofy headgear from Lauren...

OH YEAH!!! Pre-race breakfast!!!


Ok, so if you are into tracking a dork on Sunday, just look for #691. It probably won't be as exciting as Kona. And if the stars align, should I accept that roll down slot to race in Las Vegas next year???

Let me know...

Later Gators,

Liz

5 comments:

Regina said...

Holy Crap, where did you get that photo?! It is painful to look at. I am sure you will not fall!

Welcome (officially) to my AG!! Although I only have one more year in it (doh!). happy Birthday!

Good luck on the race!

Christi said...

Like Regina said, let me welcome you to my age group! Happy Birthday!

I now you will have a great day and I know the race gods will shine on you. So go out there and kick some butt!

FYI, I am so excited. I leave for SA tomorrow and I get to have some authentic Tex Mex for 2 days. Woo Hoo!

Spokane Al said...

Liz, in that you managed to list virtually everything bad that can happen in a race, I am confident that your race will go great.

Good luck and rock on!

Bobbie said...

Hey Liz,
I'm embarrased to ask... is the 70.3 Austin the same as 70.3 Longhorn? I did longhorn last year and now I don't see it on the IM site?? Annyways if it is, you'll have a great race! It was a tough course but I loved it! I am looking forward to the race report!! I am confident you have a great race ahead of you!

Good Luck, and Happy Birthday!

Rainmaker said...

Congrats, looks like you did well out there!