So. IMLOU is just over a week away. And I'm in denial. Well, no - like Calvin, I'm just very selective about the reality I accept. Because if I focus on the reality of 8 days, I'll probably lose my ever-loving mind.
The past two years when I've been this close to IM, I've had my bags laid out and labeled, I've been partially packed, I've been following the weather like a madwoman...but this year, I'm kind of like, whatevs. I'll get to it. And I will - totally. Probably even this weekend, but I gotta get my mind straight first.
I've been thinking about my training - as everyone says, at this point you gotta trust your training, so of course I've been thinking about my training. And I've come to some conclusions about my training. I think one good way to think about my training is to acknowledge the obstacles I've overcome in my training this year and use those to get me through.
Swimming: I've definitely had some obstacles with swimming this year - the open water was too cold and then too hot; my wetsuit shrunk over the winter (blush!); my left arm is stupid and I have a terrible pull; and well, I don't have gills. Or fins. But I've overcome a lot of those obstacles, or at least managed to bypass them.
I'm not nearly afraid of OWS as I have been in the past - I just get in and get 'er done...so that's good. I bought a new wetsuit that fits me just fine - and I even tested it out a couple weeks ago, so I remember how much I love it (and how much I need to lube my neck or end up with a wetsuit hickey!). I took swim lessons and my stroke is better - it needs more work, but it's so much better than it ever was. I haven't grown gills or fins, but otherwise, I made some real progress swimming this year.
Biking: The obstacles are many - too hot, too humid, too rainy, and too many people getting killed on bikes. All of these things mean that I had to resort to riding my trainer a lot more this year, which I have viewed as an obstacle in itself. And sure, it is partially an obstacle. But I've also realized that the time I've spent on my trainer has made me a better biker. I used to be a serious coaster. No really - I would pedal a few strokes and then coast and then pedal a few strokes and then coast. If you ever look at a good biker, that is NOT how they ride. But since you can't coast on the trainer, it has become much more natural to me now to keep pedalling. Sure, I still coast when I'm tired or whatever (outside), but I get back to pedalling a lot quicker. That means I should be a stronger biker overall and that's good.
Running: My running has been slow - it maybe because my wetsuit shrank...or something like that. And of course, it has been 900 degrees, and occasionally 9000 degrees outside. My coach denies these numbers and believes I may have a problem with place value and zeros...but seriously, this has been quite a summer. But even when it's been hot, I've gotten out there and put one foot in front of the other. Even if it's slow, it's forward...and that's a good thing to keep in mind too.
So maybe I'll get around to making my bags and packing lists this weekend, but in any case, I've got a lot of good things to remember next weekend. No letting denial stand in the way of my potential!
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