Last Race: BIG KAHUNA

In 10 minutes I'm getting ready to hit the hay. Tomorrow is my last race of the season. I'm half SO RELIEVED and half SO nervous!

Relieved because:
-I don't have to train so many hours every week for the next couple months
-I don't necessarily need to really watch what I'm drinking as much (though now that I've fallen out of the habit of having a glass of wine every night, I don't know that I'll really go back to it.)
-My body can rest for a month
-If I feel, on any given day, like going for a swim, or doing a run, I can. There is no training schedule to dictate what I do on what day, or how intensely or for how long I should be going.
-I can focus on some other things in my life that I need to focus on.

Nervous because:
-It's my last race! I want to do well! I want to EXCEED my expectations! I want to come in around 5 hours!
-I'm riding my new bike with some borrowed Zipp 808 wheels, courtesy of John M (THANK YOU JOHN M.!!!). While this is a GOOD thing because they go FAST, it's scary because they're tubular tires, and if I have a flat, I'm pretty much done. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that doesn't happen. The last time I was in Santa Cruz for a race was almost exactly 2 years ago for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. I had three flats because of a small piece of glass I couldn't find while I changed the tube. I ended up being the last one out there, had a CHP drive me back to transition after the 3rd flat, and was so disheartened I DNF'd because I just didn't have it in me to run a 10K at that point. I'm back to Santa Cruz to change the negative feelings I have whenever I think of racing down here!! It's going to be allllllllllllll good.

I must admit...the wheels sure do make it look even sexier!!!! :)

-I'm also a little nervous about how cold the water is. I brought my thermal cap just in case.

I guess that's all for now. I keep a quote at my desk that says:

"You can't do better than your best."

So, I'm going out there and I'm going to do my best tomorrow. I'm going to practice my positive thoughts, listen to Bolero and visualize my race, and know that I'm just going to get out there and truly enjoy every moment of this last race. In the end, I just want to have a good time - that's what it's all about.