Fearless.

There is comfort in the familiar.  As I was driving and saw signs for "Old Redwood Highway" and later turned into the parking lot of the hotel I've stayed at every single time I've come here for a practice ride and actual Vineman race, I sighed a sigh of relief.  It felt like home.  I've come home.

All checked in and now ironing out my pre-race mental tactics

Today during my last easy 20-minute swim, I reflected on my race plan and my mantras.  You know how Chrissie Wellington writes her mantra on her wristband?  I thought I'd give that a shot this time around. 


Last weekend, I was paralyzed with fear.  Fear of the future, fear of others' opinions, fear of not making a difference in the world, fear of dying alone and not being found for a week... I was fearful that I would crash again on my bike, not be able to fix a mechanical, and that all these hours of preparation and training would be worthless.  I came to my senses finally and realized I could choose fear or I could choose courage.  Because there is only room for one.  Everyone has fears, but we have the choice to confront them and face them head-on.


So I decided I am going to write "FEARLESS" on my wristband.


Today was filled with other pre-race traditions:

Pre-race mani: I thought red was the most "fearless" color.
Plus, it matches my bike and tri kit. Win win!

Stopped at Starbucks on the drive up for a Cool Lime Refresher. I'm clearly addicted.
 I was gonna buy another can to go, but today they were having a special so I got it for FREE!

Whole Foods for dinner.  Again, this is tradition.
 I'd rather eat quinoa and beets for carbs over rice/pasta any day!

I've heard that if you write down your goals, you are more likely to attain them.  So here you have them, folks, my "general" list for blogland:
-Finally meet Roe's friend Dana (she's heard enough about 'my' Dana).
-Find fast feet during the swim start and stay with them as long as I can, even if it means using my "get the heck off of me" wide swim stroke in the beginning waves of chaos.
-Swim the 2nd loop harder than the first. 
-Have my bike set in the easiest gear so I don't eat it while trying to get up that first hill (unfortunately have witnessed far too many people crash coming out of T1 because they couldn't clip in!).
-Thank the volunteers.
-Follow my nutrition plan on the bike.
-Encourage fellow bikers on the course who pass me.
-But chase down the girls who are in my age group.
-Stay in the moment and realize how much of a privilege it is to be able to physically and mentally race.
-To pee, or not to pee, that is the question (only I'll answer that for myself)
-If mechanicals happen, accept them. Deal with them.  Fix them.  Move on. 
-Finish strong.
-Finish smiling.
-Finish fearlessly.


Thank you to those who mentally got me back into the game this week. All the emails, hugs, and pep-talking was perfectly timed.  I've got my mojo back, just in time for Saturday.  I just found out a friend hid a bag of dark chocolate mint M&M in my freezer as a return-from-my-race present.  Seriously?  How did I get so lucky?  We race individually as athletes, but we do not get to the start line alone.  Thank you to Dana, who happily accompanied me for my long training days, to my Intrepid Motion coaches for life (!), and to all my friends who intuitively know me better than I ever thought and knew the perfect words to lift my spirits.  And BBB, if you're reading this, thank you too.  You have been a part of this journey and good memories of you are etched in so many parts of this race course.  I'll never forget you running back to the car to get the camera at my swim start, and then having to run back to the car a second time after I realized I didn't have my goggles!  Thank you for all you contributed to my triathlon journey.


Tomorrow is the pre-race expo and the mandatory meetings.  Tomorrow the sherpas arrive.  Excitement is all around, and I'm finding the perfect balance of calm and adrenalin.  And that, my friends, is one of the best feelings in the world.