6 days, and counting.

On Sunday Baboo and I rose at 3:45, got ready, and drove up to White Rock, New Mexico.  It's northwest of Santa Fe, south of Los Alamos.  Up there, at 6300 feet above sea level, I completed the Atomic Man Duathlon.    I've done this one 3 times before.  What was different about this time was that I PRd, beating my 2009 time by 13 minutes.

I like this little race.  I've only missed it once, and I forget why that was. What always suprises me, as Karen and Sara and I were talking about in low, hushed voices this morning...is how many people complain about how hard it is.

SRSLY.  Who comes to a race in the Santa Fe national forest in northern New Mexico and complains about terrain?  So, it's challenging.  You climb.  Your lungs hurt after.

But not my legs.  I'm not sore.  It was a nice little sprint.

Just a little sprint.  But right now I feel the closest to normal that I've felt in a long time. 

Now, I would never, ever compare a little duathlon to an Ironman.  I certainly know better.  But, I was surprised by my time, and how I felt afterward.  I took a 15 minute nap.  I don't know what my endurance is like, but maybe, just maybe, I can struggle to the end, to the finish line of another Ironman.  As Cody said, maybe I can "gut check" this.  We'll see.  I'm prepared for either success or failure.  It doesn't define me.  It's just a day in the country.

Baboo and I went to the store and bought foodstuffs for the trip.  First off, I'm not sure whether I can get good espresso drinks in this part of Utah, so I bought some Hills Brothers sugar-free instant Double Mocha mix.  It kicks ass.  Also got some low-fat poptarts.  I'm sticking to stuff we can microwave in our room.

494.  1645.  Those will be the numbers we wear on race day.

Reallllly hoping this isn't as painful as I'm thinking it's going to be.

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