Ralph's Goals

It is the Monday of Ralph's week, and I am ready to race.

A solid three months of prep are behind me, and I don't buy that this is nothing more than a "glorified workout" for IM CdA.

While I may not dive head first into the pain cave because I am openly scared of what's inside, I plan on racing harder on Saturday than I ever have. Just a peek inside the cave would do, because I plan on fully crossing the threshold when take on the full 140.6 miles. It has been explained to me that acceptance of the physical pain of racing is a learned response, and being that I've shown that I naturally don't dive in, I believe the hype.

So here are my goals for Saturday in Oceanside...

Swim - 32 minutes (will accept anything under 34 because I've heard this a slow swim...but my PR is 29)
T1 - 3 minutes or less will suffice because of numb feet and a long run up
Bike - 2 hours 48 minutes/260 watts pNorm (If I can hold that wattage, assuming reasonable wind, I should easily nail that time, as I rode 2:48 last year at Grand Columbian with a pNorm of 230)
T2 - 2 minutes or less
Run - 8 minute pace avg. (1 hour 44 minutes 48 seconds)...I believe I am capable of something nearer 7:30's easily, but this is my weak spot

Overall time: 5 hours 9 minutes 59 seconds or faster
Bonus #1: At some point on the bike and run accept the pain and know I can handle it
Bonus #2: Remind myself that I'm fortunate to have the chance to feel the pain of racing, so bring it on

I love comparative analysis, so checking back on this on Monday will be good sport.