Olympic Countdown

Well, it's been a little unorthodox but my Olympic triathlon training is wrapping up and it's almost taper time. 

A month ago I was doing the run/walk thing. In fact, on June 1st, I walked four minutes and ran six. Three times. And it was really hard. 

By mid-June I was running 25 minutes straight. My foot was holding up but my running fitness was pretty pathetic and my speed was down. 

Two weekends ago I did the Welland triathlon and survived a 7.5k run/walk. Technically I was only running 5k at that time. 

It's been almost two weeks since that race. I resumed my running rehab after a few days of rest and built from 5k to 6k to 7k and then 8k. 

I ran 8k on Tuesday and again on Thursday morning this week. Both times I ran the entire distance without stopping or walking. Both times took about 51 minutes. Not speedy by any means but I'm able to run for almost an hour straight which is much more than I was able to do on June 1st. 

I will not have run 10k before the race even though I need to run 10k on race day. I also did not do any hill training even though the running route on race day is apparently hilly. At least according to the girl in the locker room who told me horror stories about the hills. 

I also will not have cycled 40k before the race even though I need to cycle 40k on race day. In fact, 35k is the farthest I've gone in probably a year. I do ride a lot of hills though so I guess I'm ready for those. 

I have, thankfully, swum 1.5k many many times. In fact, I swim at least 3k every time I hop in the pool so that distance is not a problem. Tonight, as a last hurrah before I taper, I'm doing my first Activ Series open water race. I'm competing in the 1.9k swim. And unlike running and cycling where I focus on pacing myself to survive to the end, I want to race. Swimming in the only sport that I feel I can push myself hard. To pass people. To sprint to the finish. To do more than just pace myself to the finish. 

After tonight's race, I have a few shorter runs, a bike ride and a few easier swims next week. Technically, I've peaked in my training and should be ready to go. Realistically, I got about as close as I could safely get to the distances without re-injuring myself. I played it smart and I'm as ready as I had hoped I'd be. 

Here's hoping it's enough to get me to the finish line, upright and in one piece.