The Countdown Is On

This is going to be a short post.  With only 10 days to go, my training is winding down and I'm feeling fitter than I've been in a long time.  Just one long run to go - 12 miles - and the rest is a piece of cake; well, sort of.  I still have some speed work to do, and who ever claimed that speed work is easy has, well, never done speed work.  I'll be doing some training in Australia too (not much) because my half marathon isn't until 11 days after I arrive, so I have to keep up my fitness for that.  Most of you have probably heard about the dust storms that have visited Australia and I'm hoping that they aren't recycling throughout.  I'm fairly confident that they won't be there when I arrive in Sydney because if they are, I'm fairly confident my races won't go too well. 

Memories of Ironman 2003 in Penticton quickly flood back.  The fires in the Okanagan were so bad that the race was in jeopardy of being canceled.  At the 11th hour, they managed to save the race by changing the swim and run routes.  There would have been 2,000 disappointed athletes if the race had been canceled.  We train for eight or nine months for an Ironman distance, and it would be hard to swallow if we couldn't do what we had trained so hard for.  Some athletes were affected on the bike by the smoke at Vaseux Lake, but I was lucky and wasn't affected.  Maybe by the time I got there, the smoke had dissipated.  Sometimes it's an advantage to not be really, really fast (smiles).

My next post will likely be from the airport in Vancouver as I wait to board the plane to Los Angeles.  I'm not looking forward to the security in LA.  I've heard that the Customs' staff are very power happy and like delaying people; they suspect everybody.  One bad apple makes it hard for the rest of us good people.

Ciao for now.