I am fairly certain that I am not alone in the following, but the week before a race, particularly at a venue or distance that I have not done before, I get the jitters pretty bad 4-5 days in advance. I worry that I am undertrained, have missed something in the preparations, or even really crazy things like did I forget the registration. I love race day, but I am not a big fan of the week leading up to it.

Dog Days Run 2014 Race Day

This week, I am going through the ritual. With the upcoming Labor Day weekend long sprint triathlon at Callaway Gardens lurking on Sunday, the pre race jitters are in full effect. This is only my second triathlon, and it is a quirky distance, with a  1km swim, a 30km bike and 8km run, it is a little longer than the usual sprint triathlon. I do not feel like I am under trained, but it is a new distance.  I have trained at every discipline, at longer than these distances, but there remains an irrational, what if that drives me crazy.

There is a point at which the mind overcomes and I get excited.  Too bad, that time probably won’t be until about midnight on Saturday before the race itself. Oh well.

On the upside, this weekend will be a trial race with aero-clips on the road bike until the budget ( or a sponsor steps in ) to allow for the purchase of a dedicated triathlon bikes.