Thanks to Jodi Carcamo, for today's guest blog.
I remember the night before my first tri, as long and horrible as it was, the night before that is. Sure the day before was a fun day filled with pre race day activities like packet pick-ups, dropping off your bike to be racked and free stuff from lots of cool companies and even a carb charged dinner with family and fellow first time race buddies. It was the night before the tri that really got me. I was prepared so I thought to get to bed early and get the best night sleep possible, right?? Wrong…I laid in bed with pre race jitters and thoughts streaming through my head at light speed (granted it wasn’t my own personal soft, cushy bed) it was a hotel room in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two toddlers. I know not the best combination. Luckily, even running on very little sleep didn’t seem to matter too much. Once we were in the ice cold lake water the endorphins and excitement kicked in and I had an amazing first tri. Don’t get me wrong it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, but this time I think I would like to do the race on a good nights sleep and prepare a bit more mentally. So, I hope that this tid bit of advice or game plan I might say, will help anyone out there that is doing their first tri. I think this time (only my second tri) I will eat another good high carb meal, followed by a nice long hot bath and be off to bed at oh about 7:00 p.m. Yes, I am a little nervous about waking up at 5 a.m. again after falling asleep finally at about 2 or 3 a.m.
So I have a game plan this time. I am going to visualize the race in my head as I drift off into restless, uninterrupted sleep and hopefully (I’m crossing my fingers) get at least 8 hours of sleep in my own soft, comfy bed. I think that if I visualize myself going through the race and feeling good that I won’t have so much anxiety and in turn I will drift off to sleep and wake up ready to go do the best that I can. I also think that preparing mentally for something gives you a bit of an edge and also helps you get a game plan as to how the race should go. For me I really have a hard time with my transitions and my run. I love to bike and swim, but running seems to be my challenge so I will be visualizing a smooth, carefree run with fast transitions. Sweet dreams fellow mamas and visualize, visualize yourself to a perfect or at least near perfect tri.
