Preparing for Tri #3

3 more days til my 3rd triathlon - the Shelbyville Max Series which will consist of a 400m swim, 16 mile bike, and 5k - my longest tri to date! I've been able to pick up the training this week, and have completed a 1200 swim and 16 mile bike ride so far. The weather has been kinda crappy today though, and my motivation is way low - but I need to try and fit in another swim and run before Sunday's event.

I used to have anxiety dreams that consisted of my teeth becoming loose and falling out, and I was freaked out about how I was going to go to work the next day without teeth and how I could get some dentures - pronto - and how I looked and sounded when I spoke. For the past week however, I've been having some freakishly odd triathlon anxiety dreams.

For instance, in my first dream I get through the swim okay and end up running through a tunnel to get to T1 which, for some reason, is located in the middle of a football stadium's field. As I enter I notice that mine is the only bike left which tells me that I am the absolute last person to finish the swim and get out on the road. After I take off on the bike though, I can't find my way to the start of the route and I'm asking people and no one knows or they can't tell me - and one person says that it's too late to get on the road because time has run out.

Last night, I had yet another dream where, again, I make it through the swim portion and for some reason I have to solve some kind of puzzle or something before I can move onto the bike. Again, time is running out and no one will help me solve this puzzle. When I finally get through it, I get to T1 and someone has vandalized the bikes and the whole top portion of my bike was missing - in the dream this consisted of my seat and handlebars. Completely weird.

The only thing that I can figure is, this next triathlon will be done in the sequence that is normally done - swim, bike, run - while the prior two (due to weather) were done backwards. Seeing as how I'm only a decent swimmer, and a somewhat slower cyclest and runner, I was always able to pick up some ground in the pool. My fear this time around, is that I will be in absolute last place when it's all said and done. That I will get out of the pool, struggle on the bike, and keep up a pretty slow pace on the run only to cross the finish line dead last.

I guess there's worse things than last place. Like not even having competed at all. But this being such a small triathlon (only 53 or participants in the last leg of the series), it's quite possible and I will again get my butt stomped, only to the point where I'm the last finisher. Sigh........ I guess I'll just have to grin, bear it, hope for the best, and see what Sunday brings.