A Plan

So, I’m not really tapering for my race on Sunday which partially explains the 1:15 – 1:30 ride that I had on my schedule.  Last week it was snowing here in Calgary, today it was 20C (68F).  Shorts and short sleeve weather!  I raced home and hopped on my bike for a nice leisurely ride north of my neighbourhood.  I explored some new streets, saw some pretty houses, felt some crazy wind and rode up and down some rollers.

I also had a great chat with Angie regarding my race this weekend.  I think we’ve come up with a good plan for how to approach the day!

• Take a gel just before the start of the race.
• Goal for the swim – swim happy!  If I find feet, great.  If not, I just want to stay calm.  Last year my chest really tightened up on the swim and I’m hoping to avoid that this year.
• The bike…  I’d like to have a faster bike than last year.  Of course that will all depend on wind and the like, but I plan to race strong on the bike.  Plan for fuelling is one gel about 10 minutes into the bike, once the heart rate has settled down.  Another gel with about 15 minutes to go on the ride.
• The run…  I feel like I can have a strong run.  My big goal will be to attempt an even or a negative split on the run.  I don’t want to start out too fast, but I’m not allowed to dog the first 5K in an attempt to get that negative split!  Plan for one gel on the run.
• Ideally if I can equal my bike + run times from last year, then great!  This allows for some leeway in case I go faster on one leg compared to the other.
• Have fun!

I just have to make it through work tomorrow, plus I have a big interval run and a short swim to take care of.  A massage in the afternoon, then the evening will be all about packing!  I’ll hit the road Friday morning with my trusty travelling companion.  Best of luck to everyone racing this weekend!