4.12.17 Hump Day!

Not quite synced but getting close--

4:45 AM--1:15 on the trainer; Z3 and 4 intervals (builds). Definitely feeling the burn!
6 AM: 15 minute brick run. It was already REALLY hot (84, 95% humidity). I ran into my colleague who lives in the same compound after--she'd just finished running as well and we both look like we'd just gone swimming! Heat index of 105 this afternoon--it's getting warm!

So ready for bed. Non-stop action from 4 AM to 6 PM today! Tomorrow will be no less crazy!.

Hope your swim goes well.

I don't think I have much "swim prowess". I've been stuck at about the same pace for years. I'm kind of allergic to the pool---asthma means I often can't breathe normally when swimming indoors, and it has caused me to develop some bad habits (over-rotating to breathe, taking too long to breathe, exhaling out of water). It's like always swimming at altitude; better some days than others. Never been an issue in a race, though--most are in the ocean or a lake, where there's no chlorine and plenty of ventilation!. Not sure I would ever sign up for a tri with an indoor pool swim. At least in my AG, my swim is good enough to put me toward the front in most races. I'm lucky to have some youth swim background, but no match for the ex-collegiate fish crowd!

Six mile run. Pushing the speed a little more now that I'm feeling confident in my healing from the running injury I had.

Weight and core work after the run.

Have a great day everyone!

My first replies have vanished as well in several posts. I now copy the post and check to see if it posted and then paste if it didn't. I thought it was just me.

Don't doubt yourself. I haven't done the Nationals but I hear it is a great experience.

6-7am masters 2000 meteres

after work 3 mile descend run

65 minute treadmill run with 4X6 minutes at 10K efforts

Have a great rest of the week!

I would not stress about Nationals too much. People qualify for those (and Worlds) out of all kinds of different races with different quality of fields and course conditions. I was convinced I'd be dead last in my AG at Worlds, and possibly one of the last across the line in the whole race (since mine was one of the last waves to start, and the wave behind was younger women!) In reality, even biking an extra 10-12 km, I ended up MOP in my age group. I was really shocked at that--it's about where I thought I'd be with a really strong race and no extra riding. My coach later explained that she felt I had a chance for the top 20 with a good race, since my own PB was at altitude on a hilly course.

I think the reality is that you will always have plenty of people who, between the time they qualified and the actual competition, have not put in the training for one reason or another--injury, illness, job and life issues, (for women) pregnancy, etc. Then you have people who qualified out of little obscure races where the field wasn't that fast. Plus plenty of people who just don't have their best performance on race day--could be illness, cramping, mechanical issues or....er....missing a turn and having to ride an extra lap. One woman in my AG who has beaten me a couple of times in the past ended up almost an hour behind me at Worlds--even with my extra lap on the bike, I lapped her on the run, which is normally her strength. No idea why, but she clearly wasn't in top form on race day. Shh.... happens.

Just train well, stay healthy, don't get all freaked out by "OMG, this is Nationals" (Do as I say, not as I do LOL), and don't take any wrong turns (again, do as I say....), and you'll in all likelihood be fine. As for who shows up and what kind of shape they are in, that is their problem, not yours.