Giddy Up - Its Go Time. IMC Pre Race Thoughts

I sit here typing away at Smith and Co in Penticton. The last fewdays have been great as I have been able to get acclimitised to the weather and gradually ease into what is Ironman Canada week in Penticton.

Training has all been maintanence in the lead up with no more than an hour per day since Tuesday and I have been focussing on getting as much sleep as possible (Avg about 10 to 11 hours a day) and keeping as "chilled as possible. Only today am I starting to get amp'd up for the race which is a good thing, I will try and chill again this afternoon then focus on the last 36 h of prep and rest prioir to go time.

Part of racing is amking sure you have A, B, C and so forth plans. So as I approach race day I am trying to ensure I have all of these thoughts clear in my head so I am ready for both the good and bad possibilities. Rather than ignore the possibilities of things going bad I like to visualise my plan so if it does happen I just have to execute the plan on race day.

Key Thought for the Race

"Respect the Zone"

My key thought for the race is to respect my zone - anytime I lose on the bike by staying in my effort zone as much as possible will be rewarded with interest on the run. Coming on to the run it is a similar gain - part trying to hold my target pace while monitoring what my effort level is. Essentially i want to red zone the last 5km of the run and if I can do that it means that my day has gone well.

Predictions

Super reluctant to do this as this is the IM distance and there are so many variables so I am not going to through to much out there. Needless to day my main aim for the day is to go fast but controlled. This means exiting the swim around 1:15 and hopefully being of the bike at around the 6:20 to 6:45 mark depending on winds, heat etc. Then it goes to the run whihc is the key variable - hopefully by respecting the bike and my energy output and nailing my nutrition I can have a good run and hold a good pace and cadence. I am looking at the run as a tough progression run where I will gradually build the pace (or hold on) in the second half if everything has gone well.

So I am not going to throw out a finsh time prediction that is specific except will hopefully be somether around 5pm give or take half an hour.

Time to Go Chill

Thats it for now - Thanks to all for the messages of support and are looking forward to enjoying the day on Sunday and having fun while at the same time digging deep and pushing to the limit. Afternoon nap is on the agenda today as well as keeping fuelled and hydrated for the day. Will get all my bags finalised today as well so tommorow is just a quick visiit to Transition to drop off my gear and do a T1 and T2 walkthrough.

good Times all and my next post will likely be on the flipside after the carnage!!!!