Game Face

My first Triathlon on the Season kicks off tomorrow morning. It's called the Polarbear sprint and it's held at Bowdoin College. It's called that because the PolarBears are Bowdoin's mascot but it's appropriate because we all have to pretend we are polarbears with the weather we are often handed for this race! Last week, we had high humidity and temps in the upper 80s. Actually, after morning rain, Yesterday was in the 70s! Tomorrow, it'll be a different story. The forecast calls for rain and temps in the 40s. Woohoo! It actually doesn't bother me as a racer. But I do feel bad the oodles of family members that will be there to support us and for a few extended family members who are racing for their First time! It'll be fine...it always is.

Last time I raced, I was in Kona, Hawaii. A far cry from Brunswick, Maine. This event is approximately 126 Miles shorter than that day and possibly 60 degrees colder. Talk about shifting gears. The funniest part? I am possibly just as nervous. Is that possible? It sounds absurd, I know.

I think this is what it comes down to for me. A race is a race. I take them all seriously. The Ironman in Hawaii was intense. I was there to put forth my very best effort. I was "racing" myself. I was there to appreciate how far I had come in a short time and to feel proud of myself for my huge Ironman success in Lake Placid that qualified me for the Wrold Championships. I feared the winds and the heat. I respected the distance. I was in a zone that allowed me to focus on each leg of the event and execute my plan. It took a lot of though. And a long long steady effort.

This sprint...total opposite. It's 100% fast and furious. There is NO time to do anyting. No time for your mind to leave the game. No time for socks, no time for a bathroom break, no time for a little sunscreen. (not that we'll need that.), and no time to find the pace that you can sustain. You must immediately Get Into that Fast pace and never look back. This race has become personal for me. For reasons that are soley for me myself and I. I willl leave it at that. But I do care. I have specific goals and I mean business.