Counting down

Oh but it's been awhile. I'm slacking in my blogging duties- too much else going on. Here I am a little less than two weeks away from my first (and most difficult) race of the season- the Wildflower Long Course!

Oh Wildflower, how you vex me. I swore up and down after 2002 that I would never do the long course again, but after last year's Olympic effort, here I am again, ready to toe the line for 70.3 miles of fun on the hardest course I've ever done. I have a love-hate relationship with this race. The energy, people and overall experience are unlike anything I've ever done. The course itself- PURE HELL.....

There is the argument for the devil you know however. This will be my fourth time racing the long course, the first since '02. That's a pretty long break! Big difference this time is that I have a full year of training under my belt! I'm as fit as I've ever been and I honestly feel as though I can PR this race. It's going to be hard, but I know it's doable if I can just maintain my focus and dig through the coming pain. I know it's coming. It always comes. It usually comes at about mile 25 of the bike and just hangs around for the next 45 miles or so. Sortof like taking a meat hammer to your quads. That said, I know the course. I know the hills, and I know what's coming and when. I've been doing a LOT of hill work this winter, and I know that Wildflower doesn't have anything that scares me anymore. Nasty Grade? Not so nasty. Try Mines road going out to Mount Hamilton- yes that's right- 4500 vertical feet of climbing in about ten miles. Take that Nasty Grade.

I really don't know what to expect on race day. When I started back into the sport, my goal for 2010 was to get my body race ready, and then race well in 2011. I think I've achieved the first part. Now it's time to perform.

Time to bring it!