rekindled excitement

Shawnee Mission Triathlon is in less than two days. Five years after my last true competition, I am finally making a comeback tour. And a full tour it is. Three sprint tris in three consecutive weeks, plus two olympic tris and a half marathon in the next three months respectively. I was at lunch yesterday and realized I need to pick up my pre-race packet today. That's when it hit me…it was a not so subtle rush that washed through my body. Tingles of excitement surged through my veins, my vision became slightly blurred and the corners of my mouth curled up oh-so-slightly. It was a feeling that I hadn't known for years. It was a feeling of excitement that completely overwhelmed any pre-race jitters. I am ready.

Being the planner I am, I stayed up late the other night researching times and placement for the SMP tri in years past. My name is last listed in 2003…along w/ my 81st place finish. My swim was nearly 12 minutes, my bike was over 33 minutes, and my run was just over 18 minutes. My transition times were almost humorous. Oh, how far I've come since then…and that was while I was just concluding my career as a division 1 athlete. This year I am going to break an hour. I am going to exit the water before 11 minutes have passed, the bike is going to take just a hair over 27 minutes, and the run is going to be a strong 17 minutes. And the transition times? Cut in half…a minute 30 for the first, 60 seconds for the second. I've practiced the transitions and visualized the race. I am going to finish in the top 20. I am ready.

A few weeks ago I partook in the Tour de Lakes. It is a 61 mile ride around nearly half a dozen lakes in the Lee's Summit area. I finished in just a little over 3 hours. I was able to keep pace with the lead pack for about a third of the race, which did wonders for my confidence. This is my longest ride to date. To top it off, I rode an additional 40 miles the next day for a smooth 100 mile total for the weekend. Throughout the last few months, I've gotten to know SMP very well. My bike and I have traversed the pavement loop around the park more times than I care to count. I know exactly where the hills are and how I'm going to attack the dam both times. I also know that I need to attack mile three because it is a very subtle downhill that can benefit aggressive riders. I've literally rode this course forwards and backwards. I know exactly where the finish line is. I am ready.