40 days and 40 nights...

Well the countdown continues and I'm at 40 days and 40 nights until the "big" race. So it is a good time to reflect where I'm at and what I still need to achieve.

Last weekend I got over my major mental hurdle, a 2 mile open water swim. My next goal is the first weekend of August. I'm headed to a ride called Amishland & Lakes. I've lost count how many years I've attended, but it's at least six.

The first day offers a century ride which is fairly flat. Riding from the hotel should give me 108 miles so this will really help to simulate race day. My plan is to try to do it hard and fast (just like Tina Turner does Proud Mary) with very little time spent at the rest stops. There's a large group of folks going from my bike club and another local club. But I've recruited two dear friends, Barry and Mitch, to do the century with me. I'm excited as I'll enjoy their companionship for the day and the fact that both guys are very strong riders. They will definitely push me to go hard, but I also hope to try not to draft. Between the distance and the elevation gain this is as close as I can get to simulating race conditions.

Only problem with riding in Amish country are the road apples!

What I will miss by going hard on this ride is that the Amish children get up at 4am to bake goodies which they sell to the 1600+ riders that go past their farms. They use REAL butter and it is always a treat. They usually don't set prices and just ask for a donation. So every year I tell people to bring lots of singles. Maybe I can get one of the guys to stop, buy some cookies or blueberry pie and then bring it to me on my bike so I never have to stop. I don't think that is asking too much as this is done in the Tour de France by the domestiques all the time.

I've been very lucky to have hooked up with a really nice group about a month ago who swim three days a week in a local lake. We have butts in the water by 6am so that means my alarm goes off at 5am. If you know me, I'm not a morning person. But once I'm up and in the water, it is an amazing way to start your morning. Unfortunately I need a nap come mid-afternoon. There's talk of swimming around the lake on Friday. This is just over 2 miles. I hope it materializes as I really want to get the longer distance in.

I also have scheduled those all important pre and post race massages with Allison. I had a 90 minute massage with her last week. Everything hurt until she worked her magic. I have another one set in two weeks, one the week of the race and one a week post race.

Some of the issues I need to work out still are those pesky saddle problems. I may just have to grin and bare it as it is a bit too late to start changing saddles. Also having some underarm chaffing issues with my swim suit. I used Body Glide for the first time on Monday and it seems to be doing the trick. Fingers crossed. But other than that, I'm excited to get this over with. Or at least start to taper. That will happen for the bike about two weeks out from race day. I don't think I'll cut back too much on the swim.

I'm very excited to have two friends joining me in Michigan. My friend Pam and Mark. They will both be doing the Half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.2 mile run). I get to go off an hour earlier than they do, so maybe we'll finish within an hour or two of each other. But I'm guessing they will finish first.

Seems like it was just December when I decided to sign up for this race and check it off my Bucket List. And now it's 40 days and 40 nights. These will fly by quickly.

Enjoy the ride,
Sheri