• Log in

Gregg Gordon

A triathlete’s diary and other stuff

• Home
• About GG and this Site
• Contact Me
• Professional Summary
• Pics
• Race History (through 2015)
• Hawaii Ironman Report
• Ironman Minister
• 2016 Race Calendar

2 days to go!

Posted by Admin on May 23, 2008 in Training

I’m feeling more and more anxious with each passing day. I’ve done my best to relax and not think about the enormity of what’s ahead of me, but it’s to no avail. Today, I got an hour-long sports massage and while I was able to totally relax physically, I wasn’t able to relax the same way mentally. I did fall in love with my Brazilian massage therapist even though I didn’t see her face until the end; it felt that good. I’ve had massages before, so I’m sure that this experience was more about the allure of the stereotypical Brazilian woman thanks to what I’ve seen in movies and all.

I went for a quick bike ride today and sweated something fierce. I followed up the effort with a quick 2 mile run and couldn’t believe how labored it felt. Honestly, it felt like I had cycled the full 112 instead of 15. Part of the problem is the heat. It wasn’t excruciatingly hot, but it was hot enough for me to not like how I felt. I hadn’t powered up nutritionally, and that fact among several reasons likely accounts for most of the experience. I think that the weather for Sunday should be about 5 degrees colder and for the latter part of the run (for me), it’ll be getting dark. Obviously, cooler weather will prevail which is much to my benefit.

The event organizers held a pre-race pasta dinner tonight right near the race “village” which was attended by athletes and guest alike. The food was pretty good and they had entertainment, complete with a Brazilian percussion troope and gorgeous dancers. It was a great cultural experience consistent with what one would expect at Carnaval. I met up with one of my former training mates (from when I swam in Long Island) and her friend who is a professional triathlete. The friend is a below-the-knee amputee (I think; it was hard to tell from her prosthesis) and she indicated that she is the featured athlete for PowerBar in Triathlete Magazine and Men’s Health. I haven’t yet confirmed that, but if anyone is interested in her story, she’s at www.seeamyrun.com.

Lastly, my spirits are steadily waning and acknowledging that fact helps the vicious downward cycle. I’m getting so much positive feedback from family and friends (Dad wrote me the most meaningful note I’ve ever gotten from him) and while I should feel better about things, I’m so concerned about how I’ll fare physically. It’s simply not enough that I’m already an Ironman; this experience is about doing it well, not just surviving it. I am just so fearful of getting into survival mode while on the run. I’ve been there before several times in my “career” and it sucks. I have no fears about completing; I know that is my destiny but it’s that component of self-doubt which is making this less special beforehand. I simply cannot wait until Sunday night when this is all over and I can go into story-telling mode. Until then, I’m in mental survival mode. Please, to all of you reading this (how’s that for an ego… as if I have some cadre of readership!), do a little dance, make up some voodoo magic, pray, and/or come up with something to get my head right!