It’s finally here!  It’s almost time to leave for Hawaii.  Holy cow.  Our flight leaves at 7am tomorrow.  I cannot believe it.  Tomorrow when we go to bed, it will be in Kona. 

Tapering has been kind of an up and down thing for me. 

It’s common to get sick during taper and I have definitely been fighting something.  There’s a battle of the wills going on in my immune system.  So far the side of good has been victorious.  I have been downing Emergen-C like it’s my job.  What’s the opposite of scurvy?  I might have it. 

The body has also been falling apart a bit.  My foot and calf have been acting up.  It’s like they’re protesting the extension of the season.  I keep telling them,  hold on for just another week.  I’ve been drastically reducing my scheduled runs this week.  I keep reminding myself that I’m not going to build any more fitness now, so better to err on the side of caution.  I went today for a last-minute massage to try to work out some of my kinks and my masseuse was sick.  WTF?!  Sick people all around me.  Blech.

I’m sure things will be fine come race day.  I just need to stay healthy and trust my training.

Someone asked me yesterday what I’m most nervous about.  I guess there are 3 main things.  For starters, I have a pretty signficant phobia about ocean open water swimming.  I’m anxious to get to Kona, get in the water and start getting used to it.  Outside of our honeymoon (when I was drunk), I’ve never swam in the ocean.  I’m a little nervous about that.  I’m sure that adrenaline will kick in and I’ll be fine, but it’s definitely an issue.

The foot and the calf also are a bit concerning.  It definitely feels like there is some damage.  I’m stretching, foam rolling and yoga-ing, but there are issues that definitely just need rest.  I really hope the body cooperates on Saturday.

Finally, the heat is just a big X factor.  I’ve handled the heat well in races past, but I was training in the heat for all of them.  It hasn’t been hot here in a while, it seems.  I have, however, been the nut job in the gym on the treadmill in full winter gear and on my trainer at home bundled up.  Hopefully that’s accounted for something.

All in all, I’m excited and really hopeful that things will go well.  I expect things to go well.  I have some pretty aggressive goals, but, in the end, if I feel like the wheels are starting to fall off, I’m going to remember that I’m in freaking Kona.  My primary goal is to cross the finish line upright and smiling.  I want to be physically capable of enjoying the rest of our vacation.  I want to celebrate.

So, tomorrow, again, we fly out at 7am.  We’ll transfer in Phoenix and then arrive in Kona at 5pm Hawaiian time.  It’ll be 11pm EST.  Yay!!  I expect tomorrow night to be pretty low key, probably just dinner and grocery shopping.  Wednesday morning though, I’m going straight to the pier at Dig Me Beach for a swim.  I’m really excited for it.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that today is our anniversary!  Three years ago, Ryan and I got married on a gorgeous, 70 degree, sunny day on the beach in Ocean City, MD.  It was the best day of my life.  It’s so exciting to be heading to Hawaii for a little anniversary trip.  Without Ryan, I would have never gotten involved in triathlon and I certainly would never have qualified for Kona.  We have a beautiful thing going.  I know it sounds cliché, but I think that we both push each other to be better than we would have been on our own.  I can’t imagine being without him.  I am so lucky.

Signing off for now.  Next post will be in Hawaii!! 🙂