Group Ride or Pre Fight Weigh In?

Sunday I rode down from the cabin (18 miles) and met Jim and Stomper for a Turtleman bike course preview (22 miles). It's a course we all know well, but it was fun to ride together and the families gathered for bagels afterward.

To the casual observer it may have looked like 3 guys out for a ride on a beautiful day, perhaps getting in a tuneup ride on the course the week before the big event. That casual observer couldn't have been more wrong. This ride was about one thing, plain and simple, psychological warfare. It was like a pre fight weigh-in. No one wants to show any weakness and hopes to exploit some chinks in the armor of their competitors.

Ok, I have a sneaking suspicion that the ride was only cloaked in psyops in my mind. I repeatedly rode off the front, trying to mask any effort as if I was easily spinning 24mph and could do it all day. I'm not sure they even noticed.

So what's with all the drama? First of all, it's three guys competing in the same race year after year. Second of all it's the local race for Stomper and Jim. Thirdly, the event distances balance the competition fairly well (Stomper and Jim can trounce me running, Stomper resembles a rock in the water and has improved on the bike, Jim swam in high school and holds his own pretty well in the water). Finally, throw in a silly travelling trophy and you've got an annual grudge match. Here is the trophy pictured in front of anniversary poster from last year.

Yes, I'm aware that it's a tortoise not a turtle and rotund as all get out, but it's currently mine and I'm not letting go of it without a fight.

The shortened swim this year (cut to 1/2 mile) really plays into Stomper's strengths. Monday I took my garmin and used the boat to drop a buoy .25 miles from my dock. Took me 14:30 out and back in ideal conditions. Decent enough, but I'm not sure I'm going to get all the time I need.

The weather also isn't looking too favorable for a big guy like me. 90s and muggy.

I've got my plan in place. If I execute well, I've got a shot. There's a chance I could meltdown (literally) and it won't be pretty.

Got my last hard workout prior to the race today. A 4 mile tempo run. I will not reveal the pace for two reasons - 1) it was embarassingly slow and 2) don't need to help the competition.

Now to rest up and stay out of the kitchen.