Sunshine!

6 grueling months of winter training and it's finally here! I am here, in sunny Florida! (It was raining yesterday and the day before). But the clouds have cleared and its looking like blue skies all weekend! The first race of the season! Well first two actually. I am racing an Elite Development Race both Sat and Sunday. Today, I am feeling confident, relaxed, and ready to go!

Over the winter I achieved my goal of 15% body fat, by consistently pushing my body further and faster than I thought it could in the pool, on the trainer, and on the treadmill.

Mentally I am in a whole different world than I was a year ago. I am far more organized than I think I have ever been in my entire life! I have made considerable payments on my student loans to where I feel they are manageable. I can't even begin to tell you what a relief this is! it takes a good deal of the stress off when those awful doubts come in, "I have a $50k/yr education, and lots of it I have yet to pay for... and I am taking seasonal jobs and training for triathlons and spending money to go to races?"

In time I have also come to accept the above facts, because i realize that I love what I am doing! And, of course, an amazing Bible study on the book of Daniel helped soothe my soul and remind me that God is more in love with me than ever and cares more about my spiritual growth than the size of my bank account. 

There is a lot of energy and free time associated with the week before a race. Workouts come down in volume, and I am not working or coaching. Thus lots of free energy, which I usually use to get through workouts and the day, starts flowing. In my 19 years experience as a competitive athlete, I  have learned that this energy can either be used up in negative self talk worry and anxiety, or I can capture it and store it for race day!  As I sit here in my homestay's lovely home, relaxing and reading, I get random bursts of energy. I get antsy. Mentally, I capture that energy and bottle it up for release on race morning.

Shortly, I will be headed to the pre-race briefing with 100+ other Elite Development athletes. The excitement is building. "The Hay is in the Barn," as Barb says.

Tomorrow the fun begins!