Taper, (And Now The End Is Near)

So, less than a week to go. I am tapering, although my body wants to go run, cycle, jump, anything but relax. I have a few short, intense work outs to keep the body primed, for example I will do a much shorter swim today, maybe 1500 metres, but all 100 metre sets at high intensity. Tomorrow I have my bike class, a similar swim on Thursday, Friday off, and maybe a short intense bike ride on Saturday. I am equal measures excited and apprehensive. I am prepared, and I got a lactate test last week, and my gains are substantial. My lactate threshold, (LT), has gone up quite a bit, and my top end power output has rocketed. My blood lactate increases a little too fast for my liking from the point LT is reached to the point at which it accumulates in my system, the onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA), but this is mostly because I started my sessions a few weeks late. If I had started two weeks earlier I would have been able to spend more time training in my upper zones lengthening the time before OBLA. It's nothing to worry about though. If I keep this up after the triathlon, that will change. Mostly I am worried about pushing too hard. The last mountain bike race I rode, I killed myself to get up front, but half way through I burned out and finished badly. I’ve never done a triathlon so I’m not sure how to gauge. The swim although my least favorite discipline is easily my fastest compared to most people in my age group, but I am going to take it easy. The bike I will push a bit, but mostly I want to get to the run with something in the tank. Every time I talk to someone about Wildflower, the word “brutal” is used to describe the hilly run which is largely on trails. I have been averaging 7.45 minute miles on my runs, but I expect that I will be well over 8, and maybe even 9 minutes given the preceding disciplines and the course. I will be happy to come in under three hours, but I know if I race well I could do a lot better, however lack of experience will factor against me, and if the weather doesn’t cooperate things could go south rapidly. I don’t work well in intense heat, and it has gotten over 100F in previous years, although it averages in the 80’s. Hopefully the wind won’t be a factor, but it has been in the past, and wind is generally expected to play a role in the race.

So there it is nothing to do but avoid injury. We are heading down to the race site, having rented an RV, we will camp for two nights. Our two eldest kids are coming, as are my trainer friend, his wife and their 2 eldest. Several of the folks from my bike class are competing also, and a few friends are thinking of coming down to cheer along. It should be fun, hopefully…