5 days to go!

5 short days left till the New York City Triathlon!  I just love the lead up and anticipation for a big race.  I usually don’t get to experience this in the summertime since I don’t do a whole lot of racing in the summer.  I truly hate the heat and humidity that goes along with it.  However, triathloning seems like the perfect summer sport (swim and bike is manageable in the heat) and has totally re-invigorated my summer workouts.

The idea of racing a triathlon myself first entered my consciousness in 2005.  I was in California to run in the Big Sur marathon (awesome race, and highly recommended, by the way) and we were visiting some friends in Los Gatos, CA.  While they were impressed that I was preparing to run the marathon, I was more impressed at their involvement in triathlons.  It seemed so out of reach for me, as I hadn’t ridden a bicycle in years, and couldn’t swim more than a length across a pool.

Then, in spring of 2007, I was in Central Park early for a NYRR race, and saw a bike race going on in the park.  Turned out it was one of the New York Triathlon Club biathlon events.  I decided that I really wanted to do that myself!  So, in June 2007, I finally relented and dropped the $1000 plus required to get a basic road bike, and started going on bike rides.  Signed up for my first biathlon in fall 2007, and first started really thinking that I could work up to a real triathlon.  Now, 2 years later, I’ve done 2 sprint triathlons, and am 4+ days away from my first Olympic distance tri!

In my final preparations this week, I had slated this morning for my last bike ride.  Dragged myself out of bed at 5:30, checked my computer and saw the rain coming.  Regardless, I got myself all ready to go out and brave the conditions.  I’ve never before ridden my bike in the rain, and actually saw this as a great opportunity to get some rain riding in just in case it was rainy on Sunday morning.  My conclusion was that biking in the rain gets one somehow more sopping wet than running in the rain, and now I’ve got some good ideas how to handle my gear and clothes if there is a threat of rain on race day!  In spite of the weather, and literally pouring rain, had a nice, easy, 11 mile ride.

I realize it is entirely possible that the weather forecast can change before then, but, currently, according to WeatherBug, Saturday’s forecast is rain free, and Sunday’s forecast calls for rain in the afternoon.  It will be hot, in the 80’s, but I think that is better than lots of rain on Saturday and Sunday morning.  I know that if there is heavy rain in the days leading up to a triathlon, it is possible for the swim portion to be cancelled.  Even though the swim is hardest for me, and worries me a lot, I’ll still feel cheated if the swim was cancelled.  Hopefully that won’t be the case!