Am I ready?

One week until my first Olympic triathlon. On Thursday, I will drive 1000 km to Jonquiere, my home town. Next Saturday morning, my friends and I will swim 1.5k, ride 40k and run 10k in a bid to reclaim our youth and to show each other that we didn't let ourselves become victims of the Couch of Doom.

Although this is a "friendly" event, we have been secretly training like Olympic hopefuls. My (Google) investigation has shown that two of them have participated in at least one long course triathlon in Edmonton, Alberta. (Full disclosure: I have done a Sprint tri as well in June). The 4th friend is pretending to be sick, following a lame encounter with a hurricane while sailing a sailboat from Puerto Rico to Quebec City. I want to see a note from an independent doctor!

If I'm not ready now, no training can save me six days from the race. This week I plan on doing a bit less volume while maintaining the intensity. I will try to practice my transitions, which were just horrible in my first tri. I would like to do a couple of open water swims in my beloved wetsuit, which will make the 1.5k swim possible for me. There is NO WAY the water temperature will be above 78.

I still have to decide how hard to do the bike. I will try to run the 10k at my half marathon pace, which is 4:45/km (7:40/mile) or faster, depending on what's left in my legs.