Pre-Race Freak Out

Sunday is the Columbia IronGirl...and right on schedule I had my pre-race freak out today.  I was really OK until I looked up the registration list.  You can sort by age group...and I found out that there are 459 in the age group 40-44.  Now with a race of 2400 women only, with roughly 12 age groups categories, I was thinking 200, maybe 250 in my age group.  Nope...459.

Now you may be wondering what about this worries me.  There are a few things, so I'll try to help you understand each one.

1. This is IronGirl.  This race historically has been a lot of women's first experience with a triathlon.  I'm used to being the newbie among veterans...now I'm the veteran.  After less than a year racing triathlons, I am no veteran. 

2.  This is IronGirl.  See comment above, but add that many of the women who will be newbies will be SLOW newbies.  The bike course is hilly and I'm concerned that I will have to weave through a lot of "traffic" (ie. slow bikers) in order to complete the course.

3.  I have heard some stories about significant contact in the swim portion of any triathlon in Centennial Lake.  Even though I do not plan to start in the front of my wave, I am expecting that there will be elbows, hands and feet hitting me.  And oh by the way, Centennial Lake is kind of gross.  (duck poop and whatnot)

4.  Gatorade Hill.  The run is around Centennial Lake, which is a run that I really enjoy.  However, we have to go up Gatorade Hill once going out and once coming back in.  That's a challenging hill and I'm kind of intimidated...but I'm hoping that the cheering crowds keep me going.  I just don't want to walk.

5.  It's just a big race.  While this is a sprint, it's the largest field that I've been a part of.  I know this shouldn't really matter to me since I'm really only focusing on my personal performance...but it is another factor causing me some nervousness.

I'm sure there are other things going on too...I never feel fully prepared, I am worried about that thin line between doing well in a race and going too hard and hurting myself, my nagging shoulder...and the list goes on.

So in order to conquer some of these fears, I picked up the phone and called Sheila.  She's the registration coordinator who helped me switch from a relay entry to an individual entry.  She was so helpful!  I couldn't load the athlete's guide on my computer so I peppered her with all of my questions.  In a 10 minute conversation, she alleviated a lot of my freaking out...and she asked me to come find her at packet pick-up so I can introduce myself!  That's awesome.  I love having someone to meet.

So in the meantime, I'm taking deep cleansing breaths and working on not freaking out.  The reality of it is that on Sunday no matter what happens, I will get in the water not knowing what's ahead of me.  I will finish the day with a few lessons learned but hopefully a good experience.