4 More Days - It is getting real...

Last night after our taper windtrainer session, we had a Tri Alliance race briefing/talk about the Shepparton race this weekend. Head coach Ollie went through strategies which he recommended from days leading up to the start-swim-T1-bike-T2-run and the days after the race.

One of the girls from our squad is also going to be a TO (Triathlon Official) for the day so she also gave us a few pointers about what not to do on the course especially on the bike leg as this is the area where the rules are called upon at its greatest. She also handed out the Offical TA participants rule book which I will need to read through more thoroughly before the race.

The benefits of training with Tri Alliance is that get so much support from both the coaches and the fellow athletes about the race and many of them have done it before. We also have a race course recon on both Friday and Saturday which will be beneficial for all first timers.

I am lucky is that I raced the Hexman in 2010 and also been at Shep last year to support so I know what it is like in transition and am familiar with the terrain of the swim and run course. The bike course is no longer 3 x 30km so riding the course on Friday will be of great benefit (last year, they changed to 2 x 45km). 

I will arrive at Shepparton on Friday around lunch and will be ready for the 3pm ride and the 4:30pm swim.

I spoke to Coach Ollie about my strategy today and he has given me some good pointers which I must remember to do on race day. I wasn't going to race with a heart rate monitor (especially wearing a one piece and also the strap cutting my chest open) but I will need to change my strategy so that I am taking care of my nutrition from start to finish.

Due to the lateness of the briefing last night and my need to sleep for taper week, I didn't swim this morning and will do an open water swim tonight (with the wettie) with some of the ppl from the squad.

I am still anxious about this race but Ollie mentioned a few things which has placed this event into perspective:

• I have done all the training for this for the last 6 months. I have swam more than 2.5km on average each swim session. Done bike rides 90km+ and have done several weeks of 20km+. Sunday is all about putting it all together.
• This is my race and I need to concentrate on me and my strategy. Don't worry about how everyone is feeling - I am out there racing as an athlete (not as a coach).
• In order for me to continue with my triathlon lifestyle, it must be something I love doing. Otherwise, it is just a chore.
• Treat it like a long training day (use the same strategy as I did at Noosa - it worked)
• Make myself as comfortable as I can - then I will enjoy it and decrease my chances of injuries
• Trust myself more that I will finish this race well