Little Wildflowers

Looks like the weather is going to be knocking on perfect's door, the forecast for Saturday has a high of 72 and Sunday shows a high of 78. Unfortunately, I'm racing on Sunday, but it could be a lot worse.

My wave starts at 10:35am and results should be posted by the end of the day for anyone who is stalking me.

Times from last year (to beat):
Swim: 27:47
Bike: 1:43
Run: 1:05

Here's a picture of the long course bike, the infamous 'nasty grade' strikes at mile 42.


Brian is doing the long course bike on Saturday as a relay, and I fully expect him to kick some nasty grade ass.

As I get my mind in gear for this race, I've decided that my true goal is to have fun and to race every single mile with a smile. This means that I have to smile, even if I'm not meeting my time goals. Even if my legs feel like lead. Even if I get a flat tire. Even if it's scorching hot as I climb out of the pit of despair.

I had a great race last year up until the run, when I completely bonked in the heat. When I crossed the finish line, instead of joining the celebratory throng, I had to take a few minutes to myself to walk off my 'mood'. What is up with that? Did I miss getting my cover page on Triathlete Magazine? Did I get the bronze instead of the gold? I wasn't even injured; the only thing that was hurt was my ego and I didn't really realize that until I looked up and saw a Challenged Athlete crossing the finish line...with a smile on their face. That's when it hit me that, ummmm, I'm so damn full of myself.

I guess it's easy to get caught up in the competitive aspect of triathlon, but really, I am only competing against myself. Everyone else will still love me (or hate me) despite my performance. And so, it would seem that the only way to win that competition is to be happy with doing my best.

Group hug?