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From XL to XTERRA
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Posted on Mar 31 2005
It’s getting down to crunch time here, as there are only eight days remaining before the 2005 XTERRA Saipan Championship, and there’s really nothing left to do aside from welcoming all of the athletes to the island, and finishing the tapering process.
Now it’s just a matter of keeping the body loose until the big day, and making sure that I don’t sustain an injury, so it’s going to be a few easy swims in the mornings, not-so challenging bike rides, and light runs from here on out.
Another one of the things on the list to do is have Romey at Saipan Bike Pro give the two-wheeled machine a good once over to make sure that it’s all tuned up for another loop around the course.
But will it be the last? That’s what local multi-sport extraordinaire Russ Quinn asked me earlier in the week. “So, are you just gonna be done with (training) and go cold turkey once this stuff is done?” he asked.
“No way,” I told him. “But I understand why people take a break from this stuff after the race is over.”
The bumps and bruises have added up, but I feel better now than I have since we started the journey from fat to fit back in November. I’ve swum a mile and a half, knocked out a 40-kilometer bike ride, and ran a half-marathon along the way for this thing, and though I feel ready for the race, I think I may have been mistaken last week when I said that XTERRA should be a piece of cake.
I watched the videos of the USA and World Championships again for a little added motivation, and while some of the finishers look really happy when they cross the finish line, the rest look a little rough.
I don’t just mean that they’re tired and out of breath, we’re talkin’ bloody, limping, and banged up. Don’t get me wrong, I am pretty confident about my chances finishing the race, but it’s not going to a walk in the park (Kyczanski).
