PACEMAKER STORIES: FALSE BRAVADO
I’d say that “back in the day” I’d not have felt ready to do a 70.3 on the training I am doing, but the reality is that almost every time I have stood on the starting line for a race of any distance I have had the thought that I am vastly unprepared for that which I am about to embark. Even if I was in the best shape of my life at the time.
I am not in the best shape of my life.
Nay, nor am I detered.
Call it false bravado, naiveté or just plain stupidity, but I am not terribly worried about the race I am plummeting towards. Maybe it’s because I have signed up for one of these the week of the race on almost no training and was able to endure it. Maybe it’s because like I stated, I am dumb. Whatever. May 18th is coming.
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Most of the last 25 years I have swam twice, ridden three times, and run 4. If you’re scoring at home that means 2 different sports on a couple days of the week. This isn’t bragging, it’s just what I fell into and lived for a long time. This post-pacemaker insert build has been different.
Nothing feels strong.
Nothing feels easy.
And that’s okay. I am in a place of just keeping my head down and moving forward. Travel and work have also played a part of upending my traditional weeks and so one week I rode 6 days and then the next I ran 6 days. At this point I need endurance. It will be at whatever speed it ends up being.
I ran from the desert to the sea in Spain, which I can assure you, didn’t suck.
The swim? Meh. It’s downriver. I am setting the over/under at 25 mins.
All of this to say, I am pretty undaunted. I once took off like 3 weeks in the middle of an Ironman build, crammed for 4 weeks and was only a few minutes off my fastest time.
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I continue to raise money for the Ironman Foundation. The reason is twofold.
They are good partners with my company FRESHJUNKIE Racing helping us execute a high school event in Florida.
They are doing good work to get kids into the world of triathlon by providing opportunities within communities across the nation via bikes, clinics and scholarships.
Feel free to check em out and if you feel moved, drop a few nickels towards my fundraising page. I will be raising money year round for them and promise not to wear y’all out on this.