I don’t know that I’ve ever had pre race jitters 2 full weeks before a race before, but I certainly do this time. Tapering started the jitters. The second guessing of ‘did I train enough’, ‘am I ready’, and ‘can I finish this’ are all eating away behind at the brain right now, and have been for a couple of days. Sleep is also starting to come at a premium, since there is this crazy mix of emotions that boil down to an almost even mixture of excitement and terror.

As I talk to other first time athletes also tapering for this race, I find that not only am I not alone, but pretty much all of us are in the same boat. There is a lot of panic going on over all sorts of things. Unfortunately, at this point, there really is not a thing we can do to address our worries. So I put down a few things that I am reminding myself:

• I can’t control the conditions, I can only pack appropriately.
• I am as prepared as I can be. It is what it is.
• Race Day won’t come any faster by worrying about it.
• Race Day won’t come and slower by wishing it to do so.
• I will either finish, or I won’t.
• Something WILL go wrong, I need to be prepared and to deal with it.
• I will want to quit at some point, I’ve trained enough to know that.
• Hopefully, I’ve trained enough to get past that moment.
• The people around me that have supported me through training, they deserve medals too.
• No, I cannot go for a long ride/run/swim just because I feel good. Stick to the plan.
• Whatever happens, it has been worth it to get this far.