The day before tomorrow

It's 7:30 am. Old habits are hard to break. Sleeping past 6 is almost impossible. I'm as ready as I can be for tomorrow. Weather is looking like a mixed bag. Rain to start the race then clearing. By Sunday the sun will be out and the heat is going to show up. Should make things interesting.

I've pretty much got my strategy down. Pedal and don't stop till noon Sunday. Ok it's a little more in depth than that but I'm not telling. It is a little unusual not knowing most of the riders. It will make things a little harder for my support crew to track not knowing who the usual threats are.

Since I don't have anything else to write about how about listing things that I have done different coming into this race than I did last year.

First off, I dropped weight. A lot of weight. I'm down 15 pounds from last season at this time. I'm currently at 154 which is up about 2 pounds this week. I'm eating lots. The big thing for me was a diet change. Lots of healthy food, less eating out, less beer, I know that is just a bad idea but it's helped. Overall I'm in a much better place in both weight and stomach.

Awww number two, my wonderful stomach. Obviously finding out I'm lactose intolerant was a huge part of things. This caused so many issues it wasn't even funny. Even a little bit of milk or cream in a coffee would kill me in a hour or so. This also helped with the weight loss.

This links to my gag reflex. I carry my stress in my stomach for some reason but this whole season I have been so calm at races it's strange. Maybe one little hack but that's it. I used to sound like I just finished going on a bender and someone offered me a chunk of liver that was rolled in a dirty ashtray. Nice visual that a picture isn't even needed.

I've raced more and ridden less. Sorta like that. I've integrated more short races in this year but I've also had a coach that kept me on a short leash. I've still put in the long miles but in a different way and it's showed the benefits. In the short races I know my top end is not there like the guys I'm racing but in the long distance my legs have been amazing. Lots of power and I have yet to push to the limits. That's this weekend.

I've learned a lot about my body this season also and thanks to Dr. Bill my knees haves never been better. Last years race showed me what needs to be done to keep them moving.

Of course Dave of Georgian Cycle and Giant bikes have helped out so much with two amazing bikes. No bike issues like last year.

One big thing that has changed is my focus. I'm not concerned with what happens for the rest of the season. Last year I kept thinking about the next race. This year this is the race, everything else is just a training day.

I have to thank everyone that has helped me to this point. Couldn't do this with out you. With all this said, time to get off my ass and get a few things done. Race report update sometime Monday.

Of course you can follow me on Twitter if you are really bored.