Race Week/Back to the Future...and other stuff

So I'm set to race my second triathlon of the year on Sunday--The Rumpass in Bumpass Sprint.

This, of course is the essence of a "C" race. The main purpose of our trip is for Alex and I to head down to VA TEch to see if he wants to go to school there or up at Boston College. We'll do all of the admitted student things on Saturday and then drive to the Lake Anna environs and I'll get ready for my Sunday triathlon.

I did the Bumpass Sprint race the first time it was held back in 2009 and snagged an AG win. My competition is actually tougher for this race--which I'll detail either Friday or Saturday. I have my work cut out for me!

We learned yesterday that the course was fundamentally changed--it was moved about four miles to anotherplace on the Lake so all three legs will be different than what I did in 2009--I'm a bit bummed by this as I was looking forward to the comparitive data....

The good news is I had (for the first time this year) a very low-key work/life week. As such, I was able to get back to the Future and prepare for my "C" race the way I like to. That is, Days 1-4 heavy up training block. Day 5 (mostly) rest day. Day 6 the standard pre-race gig that Pete Reid taught me. Day 7 race.

So I had a solid 4 day block (in fact, I've had a very solid 9-day block). Here are my totals for the first four days on this week:

Swim: 7000 yards
Bike: 149 miles
Run: 25 miles
Time: 15:04

Editorial comment: that's a lot of training for someone who is not yet in Ironman mode....

I'm very excited about this weekend. I'm quite sore now (I did 8 VO2 max intervals on the CT yesterday) but hope to be reasonably recovered come Sunday morning. It should be a close and exciting race. As it is a C race--while I'd like to win, I promise to not get to carried away one way or the other if I do or don't....

That said, I'm feeling the love. I'm starting to get fitter now (under 180 pounds and heading towards my Kona weight of 165) and I think for the first time in 6 years, my knee will be strong enough to actually get serious about running during the spring (I'm usually nursing a significant limitation).....

Not to get ahead of myself.....but I'm very much looking forward to racing this weekend!

More pre-race stuff to follow....

Bring the spring, the weather, the joy of being an athlete once again.....not many more years left, but I sense that this one will be one of them!!!

Happy, happy!