Fear becoming Anxiety

This morning I was thinking about all the fears I listed yesterday and how as as each race gets closer the general fears I talked about yesterday kind of merge into a form of multifaceted general pre-race anxiety that I'm used to dealing with. Can we get out of Boston in time to get through traffic and get our packets before 7? Can we find the hotel ok? Will we remember to pack everything? Lot's of variables to take into account, but we'll be smart, we'll plan, and we'll be prepared. 


My head cold caused me all kinds of consternation yesterday. The sinus pressure built until it was actually painful, so when I went ahead and took some WADA authorized nasal decongestant and ibuprofen I felt a lot better. Unfortunately, the combination of meds kept me awake until 2 AM. Thankfully I still managed close to my normal 5-6 hours of sleep. Unfortunately, it doesn't make getting up at 5:30 on Saturday any easier. I'm hoping a short swim and run tonight will tire me out enough so I'll hit the rack early. I have a 7:30 call for work tomorrow, which should help get me on schedule for the race.


As I've mentioned previously, doing these races with Rach gives me extra worries. She's a more capable athlete than I am, but I worry for her none the less. Her swim at the Season Opener left her feeling less confident about her swim capabilities, so to counteract this we bought her a wetsuit last night. We went into Fast Splits Multisport of West Newton, MA with the idea of renting her the same suit she wore last time. We spoke to the owner about a wetsuit lease to purchase option he'd been kicking around, but he just wasn't prepared for that process yet. 


Instead, he went digging though his used suits and gave Rach 5 options that fit into our limited pre-honeymoon budget. All showed wear and tear, and some even had some un-repaired damage. In the end, only one fit, and it was the one most like the suit she would have rented. it had some minor shoulder repairs but no open holes and is the fit Rachelle is used to. It's in better shape than the one she was to rent, especially for the price. It wound up costing us only a few dollars more than it would have cost her to rent a suit for the 3 triathlons remaining on her schedule. Plus she can practice with it every week from here on out. I'll post pictures of her in it from the race on Saturday.


As for me, one of the race directors posted on Beginner Triathlete this morning that the mini heat wave we'll be experiencing these next couple days should raise the water temperature as high as the mid 70's. Even in the high 60's for such a short swim, I expect I'll go without my suit. It's getting too big on me to begin with, and for a swim that short, and speed advantage I'd gain swimming with it on would be lost in trying to get it off during transition.


We don't know anything about this course other than what's on the website, and they don't give a lot of details. I'm hoping we get there early enough tomorrow to explore the course a little bit and mentally prepare for the ride.


I'm just hoping the new helmet and sunglasses show up before we leave tomorrow so I can use them this weekend.