I have some very worried teammates. Last February, one teammate could not even swim the length of the pool. Now she's been out of town and is panicked. Another teammate is a good swimmer but panics when she can't see the bottom.
Sunday: We are swimming in Lake Washington at Madison Park. The water is a bit warmer today. Our coach actually measured the distance between pilings. Turns out we have been shorting ourselves. So we swim three-and half times around the pilings (not two-and half).
Monday: Another open water swim at Madison Park. Just trying to get comfortable.
Tuesday: A bike ride with Bob and Greg. Our instructions are to go easy, with four 20-second pickups. So we pedal out the new section of the Burke-Gilman Trail to Golden Gardens. It's not very busy and a good spot to do those pickups. That's 20-second all-out sprints with about a minute of rest in between. They are very fun.
Wednesday: This is our last night at the running track. I am finally given my race outfit. It's a shocker. No way are those shorts going to fit me. I need another 3 months training to shrink up. But, later, I do squeeze them on. The miracle of spandex.
The coach announces that we are having one last Mission Statement, those inspirational stories of those who have dealt with leukemia and why they are doing this triathlon and why we are so important and so on. Our team member starts out telling her family and friend's history of leukemia. She goes on to credit her son and daughter-in-law (one is our coaches) for convincing her to do this triathlon. Then comes the big news: She has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This is shattering news.
It's a low blow. We are training and raising money to raise money to cure leukemia. And one of own is diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is not fair.
Suddenly our own problems seem trivial.
Thursday: I use it as a rest day and and to mull and mope about my teammate.
Friday: That taper must have worked as I'm bouncing off the walls.
The coach told us to pick the one thing that frightens us the most about this triathlon, then do three things to address it. How can one pick only one thing? Is it bonking? No, I think I've figured that out with my Bento Bag and my constant input of food on the bike ride. Is it that huge hill at the end of the bike ride? No, if I just pace myself and don't bonk I should make it. I debate a few other things.
It's a flat tire. That's what I am most afraid of. I don't really know how to change a flat tire. One time when Bob was traveling I wanted to bicycle but was afraid to go far from the house, because I might get a flat tire. So I did laps on the 3rd Avenue hill near the house. And I hate hills.
Early in training, we had to change a flat tire for homework. It took me 45 minutes. Try that in the Tour de France. Last week we had a flat on a ride. I got it down to 35 minutes, with Bob grabbing the tire from me only once, just to keep things moving. Those mosquitoes were getting the best of us.
So this my three things to combat this fear:
1. Put two tubes in my bike pack.
2. Don't run over glass on the road.
3. Change a flat tire. So that's what I did this morning. I got it down to 25 minutes with only three questions to Bob. I may be slow but at least I can remember the process now.
So finally, we load up the car and we are on our way to Bellingham. I have my race bag, my transition bag, my overnight bag, my food bag, Marley's bag, my bike, my husband, my dog.
After we check in the hotel, there's a brief team meeting at the race site, then Bob and I walked Marley around the running course. It's a beautiful trail but what are these hills doing in the course?
Finished out the evening with the team's kick-off dinner. No wine tonight. Just lots of water. We are feeling very festive and taking lots of pictures.Race day tomorrow.
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