Or that's what they're calling it. Mount Solidad or something. In La Jolla. I mean I heard there was a climb in La Jolla, but a MOUNTAIN!? WHAT??!? Did the rest of the DC Tri Club know this and not tell me? Mountains are not easy to come by around here for training. There is apparently also a steep, fast descent after said climb (that is how mountains work, after all) which is followed by a sharp left turn. It's almost like they're trying to kill us. I'm watching the pre-race webinar which includes an overview of the courses, and this is how I have come by this information. Another thing they've said to us? "Watch out for disgruntled drivers". Hahaha. Now that is something for which I've trained!
To be fair, it is likely I could have prepared myself with this knowledge further in advance, but I've been studying for, writing, worrying about, and obsessing over my PhD qualifying exams for the past few weeks (I passed!!!). I've also been fighting off a cold (I've had enough Zicam, fluids and Vitamin C that I should never get sick again for the rest of my life) and have been dealing with some very strange, middle school drama from some friends (or attempting to avoid the drama because my plate is way too full. As my mother always says, "Step away from the crazy"). So reviewing the course has been pushed to the wayside until this morning...
And there's a mountain. SURPRISE!!
I will not panic. I will make a molehill out of this mountain with my legs of steal and my lungs of gold (seriously they should be coated with the gold leaf of Zicam and Vitamin C). I may just pretend I don't know about this mountain until I am defeating it. Twice. Because my bike course is a two looper, hittin' that damn mountain on repeat. YAY!
I hope this repeated climb is not like lasik eye surgery. Once I got one eye finished, I really didn't want to let them do the other one because the first had been so scary.
NO! I WILL THINK POSITIVE, MOUNTAIN-SLAYING THOUGHTS!! (I am currently flexing my muscles in order to psych myself up. You are a beast, Huxster! You got this!)
Ok enough of all that. Today Erin and I fly out to San Diego! As stated in my previous post, my bike is already on its long journey to the race site. I believe it arrives this morning, long before I've even left for the airport. The truck carrying 55 DC bikes stopped in Denver and picked up another load before heading towards San Diego. I've been keeping in touch with the drivers via twitter (whom I assume are NOT tweeting and driving) which has been quite fun. If you tweet, you should follow them (@kanebicycles). Anyway, we fly for many hours back in time and somehow arrive there this evening. Tomorrow we pick up my bike, check in to transition, packet pickup, do the expo thing AND watch the pro women's race. SO excited for that, btw. I am hoping to be able to keep the blogs coming while in San Diego because this is probably the most exciting and biggest race I've participated in. I mean come on, MACCA WILL BE THERE.
There is a service called Sportstats on facebook through which you should theoretically be able to actually track my progress throughout the race. It can send alerts to your facebook, phone, etc. I've tried signing up with my last name but it's not working, so once I have my bib number I will let everyone know how to get it working.
Alright, I am off to drink more coffee and contemplate how to fit my wetsuit into my luggage without creasing it too much. I am fully prepared to keep you more fully posted ;-)
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