Race week

So you know how, in your head you’ll cruise into your final week before a big event, tapering off your training, leaving you fresh to operate at your peak fitness? Yeah, well, that never happened.

I should have guessed it really.

Three weeks before my first half marathon I rolled my ankle, casting doubt on whether I’d actually even start the race. Would all that training go to waste? It didn’t. I ran. But it forced me to run to my game plan. Slow and steady to enjoy the experience.

This time around it hasn’t been an injury putting my training at risk. But as my taper started, I developed a full on head cold. It wasn’t pretty. And it certainly didn’t make for some ideal final training sessions.

Coach arranged a harbour swim before our final run squad. The conditions were way better than the Splash and Dash, but the harbour chop was still evident. On the easy couple of laps to warm up, I struggled to breathe, my cold leaving me tight chested and out of breath. In terms of gaining a nice little confidence boost prior to the race, it didn’t happen.

I’ll admit it. I had a wobble. A full on tears meltdown. Would all my hard work end up wasted for the sake of some pesky germs? Could I even do this? Would the cold count me out? Could I even manage the swim?

I battled on and through everything but the kitchen sink at the cold. Eventually, about Wednesday afternoon, it started to subside. Still not totally out of it, and even now, on race eve, the remnants are still here. But I’m determined to give it my best. Regardless.

I’ve beaten a fair few demons to get here. I’ve sacrificed a few things. My husband has become and ironman widow. I owe it to him, and to me, to get out there.

Turning up in Taupo ahead of the race, it’s quite a buzz to see the signage, transition and feel the atmosphere building. It gave me butterflies standing by that iconic “dot m” logo, knowing I was part of it.

But when I checked in this morning, and had my race number wristband applied, I felt a huge sense of pride, knowing how far I’ve come to get here. 

I can do this. Coach says so. So in his words, let’s hope I smash it!