The Big Dance

Well, Saturday is the big day. Tomorrow morning my good friend Will Combs and I will load up the Mazda 3 and head to Muncie for my first ever half-ironman distance race (70.3 miles). To say that I am a little excited would be the understatement of the century. My training over the past couple of months has gone perfectly (with the exception of a little crash on my bike in a group ride 3 weeks ago). I am so fortunate to have found the training partners/groups in Winston-Salem that I have. Before I leave, I want to give a special thanks to some people that have helped me with my preparation for Muncie 70.3: I'm blaming you all if things dont go well ;)
1. Tim Hillen and the Enfinity master's swim group in Winston-Salem, NC. You all made me feel right at home the first day I showed up to practice. Over the course of the past two months I have gone from dreading swim practice to having it be one of my favorite parts of the day. I can't wait to see the time on the clock when I get out of the Prairie Creek Reservoir!
2. Ken's Bike Shop- Matt, Charlie, and Ken at Ken's bike shop have been nothing but supportive of me since I moved to Winston-Salem. Not only can I rely on them to fix-up my bike and order me parts, but I can always rely on them to put a smile on my face. I also want to thank my friend Stephen Vogel the strongest bike rider on the east coast, and I'm not kidding when I say that. When this dude shows up to group rides everyone knows they are in for a large dose of pain. Vogel, thanks for a healthy dose of humility on the bike the past couple of months!
3. My friend Carter for running with me the past couple of months (even if it means waiting until 10 at night when I get off work to embark on a 15 mile long run).
4. My old coach (old meaning she used to coach me, not that she is getting old) Debi Bernardes for her nutritional advice. Apparently some gatorade and a few gu's just ain't gonna cut it.
4. Last but certainly not least is my boy Will Combs, who I somehow convinced to come along and make sure I dont wreck on the drive back on Sunday.

As you might imagine this week has consisted of a good deal of tapering, which has of course been driving me nuts. To occupy my time I have been taking daily naps, baking, working on my blog, watching the Tour de France and catching up on Game of Thrones. I also enjoy watching motivational videos a couple days before the race, this is one of my favorites:

In the famous words of coach Bowerman "The hay is in the barn." Time to hurt a little. Let's race.