"Rhodi 70.3 Countdown"

Five days until the Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island!  I'm getting excited, but have a few major decisions to make prior to this weekend's race. 

The first is whether or not I would take a slot for the 70.3 Championships in Las Vegas, if given the opportunity.  I certainly don't want to jump to any conclusions.  There is a race that will determine whether such an opportunity will exist.  However, it is important to know exactly what your goals are on race day.  My dad always says there are two steps to achieving a goal.  Knowing the goal and doing the work to achieve the goal.  The dilemma I face is that as a triathlete I definitely want to compete in Las Vegas.  However, as a teacher, football coach, husband, and father competing in Las Vegas would mean setting aside those responsibilities for several days.  Further conversations will lead me to a decision.  I'll let you know.

The second decision is the purchase of race wheels.  In the past, I have always rented race wheels from http://www.racedaywheels.com/ to even the playing field with other athletes that own their own wheels.  I have seriously considered spending the money to purchase wheels so that I don't have to continue to throw away money renting them and don't have to deal with the hassle of shipping.  Talk about cutting it close.  Most triathletes wouldn't have the decision on such a major piece of equipment hanging in the balance five days before a big race.  I'll let you know.

As for my training preparation.  I am confident that my preparation has me ready.  Going online and looking at past results won't be very beneficial for this race.  The swim and bike courses have been changed since last year.  The swim used to be an ocean swim, but will now be a pond swim.  Hmm...  Predicted water temps are in the mid-seventies.  I always benefit from a wetsuit legal swim, but have actually raced without a wetsuit more often.  We'll see what raceday brings.  The bike course has also changed.  It's still a point-to-point ride, but this year T1 and T2 are separated by six miles as opposed to 56 miles in years past.  I'm looking forward to riding through the towns of Providence.  Finally, I've heard the run is a two-loop run finishing at the capitol.

So even though time is ticking down, there is still a lot of preparation before raceday.  Stay tuned as the countdown continues...