Norseman: Taper Madness and Here We Go

Fourteen weeks of training and one week of taper have passed since I won my slot to Norseman in the blueseventy Facebook contest in April. And just like that, it's less than a week away: the race is on Saturday, August 2. I've spent the last few days saying to myself things like "next time I run it will be in Norway" or "next time I swim it will be in a fjord." It's all very surreal and I'm excited to take the next step of the journey, which is our actual journey across the ocean to Norway!

Time for a little reflection first, though. When I was training for Ironman Texas last year, I posted an entry about how ironman training is hard (it is). I went back and reread it a few weeks ago and at the time, I thought, well, I'm not falling apart, I must be soooo much stronger and fitter than last year!

Then it hit, and not without good reason. After a race at Buffalo Springs immediately followed by a week of hard training in Arizona, I thought it would be a great idea to do the Castroville time trial in the middle of the next weekend's 80 mile training ride (Dawn did not approve), followed by an hour and a half run on trails, followed by a long run the next day. So guess what, I'm not invincible, I cracked, had a lackluster ride and two terrible runs, and then I cried and begged Dawn to give me a REAL TAPER because I really, really needed it.

I did get a new 40K TT pr, though, plus a little bit of hardware. So that was fun. :)

Dawn agreed, and scaled my training way back. Which, after like two days, left me smack in the middle of TAPER MADNESS. OMG, I'm getting fat. I'm losing fitness. I'm going to get sick. I can't stand not doing anything. But mostly, OMG, I'm going to get fat. So I made the rookie mistake of throwing in an extra swim (hey, one more easy swim won't hurt - except I didn't take it easy), and going to the gym every day at lunch to do pushups and planks and crunches (I've usually gotten these core workouts in twice a week).

It shouldn't have been a surprise that I woke up a couple of days later with a painful shoulder, and by the end of that day, I could barely lift it. I immediately had it checked out by the amazing Justin at Promotion Physical Therapy. He told me it was tendinitis brought on by an increase in volume when I should have been resting. He put me on ibuprofen and scolded me. Dawn scolded me, and I scolded myself for making rookie mistakes - you're supposed to get a little bit fat in the taper. Rest is so important. Come on Kris, you're smarter than this. But it's amazing how the Taper Madness really does take over.

I got it together after that and did the taper the way it's supposed to be done. Some shorter workouts with bursts of intensity to keep the fitness there. And now I feel really, really good going into race week.

After all that - I'll say the training part was almost easy compared to handling the logistics of this race! Training is something that's hard, but that I understand. Packing up everything I'll need for a nine-day trip across the world is not. And planning for everything that needs to happen was pretty stressful. But it's all done. The bike is in the box. The bags are packed. Robert, Mom, Dad, and I are ready for this adventure.

My poor little bike all broken down inside a box. Thank you Orissa for lending me the box, and thank you Greg at Bicycle Heaven for teaching us how to pack it up and build it back together again!

Matt scolded me too. I can't remember what for, but I'm sure I deserved it. ;) These guys are GREAT; they put brand-new awesome tires on my race wheels to handle the questionable road conditions in Norway.

A super fun send-off from the Iron Whiners! Love love love these people. 

One more swim at Landa yesterday to practice in the neoprene cap (it works great). Got one last "good luck" wetsuit zip from Brian and then a fabulous ride with Trent on one of my favorite roads (River Road!) - a great way to spend a last day of training in Texas before the race.

I want to say thank you for all the good luck wishes and prayers. It's a little overwhelming and it means a lot to me that people want the best for me in this journey. I hope to make everyone proud and have some super fun stories to tell when I get home.

The next time I write a blog entry, it will be in Norway!