Saturday, July 18, 2009

Freaking out.

Tomorrow is my third tri. I am way nervous.I am especially worried that my tires will not hold air for the entire race. I just changed the tubes in both on my thursday 25 mile ride. They should be good, but I am pulling a Stephen King here and maybe if I type out my fears they will not happen.
I would also like to make a good showing at the race. It is not enough to finish. I am also going to go sockless tomorrow, and that should be interesting. The bike should not be a problem. I have done that a couple times with no issues. The run on the other hand may or may not be an issue. First time I tried it I got about a thumbprint sized blister on my instep. That was only 2 miles. I double lubed it and then did not have any problems after that. Unfortunately, that was only 8 days ago. My tuesday run went well, and there was some flopping, but no chaffing. Hope for the best, and I will lube for the worst. My other concern is the swim. Not as much, but my new stroke really messes with my shoulders. Hopefully they don't pop out, cause believe it or not, I have that problem. That image is kind of funny image though, running out of the water on the second lap with a dislocated shoulder. "You did that SWIMMING???"
I also wonder if I will be the only one with a green cap, or if everyone in the first stage has a green cap, and I am just paranoid. I AM the only one in the Super-Clydesdale division for the Olympic distance. I wonder why that is... Are there just no 225+ pound men besides me who do this? or do they get good enough and just race in the age grouper division. My wife wants to find a really big bell like the ones they put on Clydesdales and ring it for me at my 70.3 in September. It is a good thing I am not self concious or anything. People are always doing that type of thing. CB wants our team jerseys to be white with orange. A team-mate wants me to put mange-butt on my backside for the race. Still it is nothing to worry about. I am pretty sure that most race designers and tri clothing designers try as hard as they can to make us look funny anyway. Who else designs these skin-tight uniforms? Have you ever seen someone in transition 1 who has lost it? running around in a funny colored swim cap, skin tight clothing, and bike shoes, which are like high-heels only backwards. Not that much different from college basketball, where the guys on my team gave me the knee high school socks with the school logo on them, but they were designed for a much taller player, so they went half way up my thighs. Couple that with a super small jersey from the 70's and you have the basketball equivalent of a tri outfit. Skin-tight, and funny to look at. I was 50 pounds lighter then, but the effect is the same. Anyway, enough worrying, I am going to try to get some sleep before my race.

I will post my report, should be interesting.

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