I'm coming for you, Knoxville!
As usual, I'm approaching this race with my usual trepidation. As much as I'd love to be one of those people who are all "I'm going to CRUSH this race," I'm really more of a "I'll do my best and see what happens" kind of girl. Not exactly Eye of the Tiger kind of stuff, but it works for me. I get nervous enough for races, I don't need the extra pressure - especially since so many things can go wrong on race day. (Update - while writing this post, I received an e-mail from my coach with details on how I'm supposed approach the race and what times I should hit. Extra pressure added...)
Unlike last year, when the race conditions were absolutely miserable (water temps in the 50's and heavy rain all day), we're supposed to have "pretty" nice weather on Sunday. However, there is a 30% chance of rain that I'm really hoping will hold off until after I get off the bike since the course is hilly. Rain and hills don't mix well for me. I really don't want to wreck on a wet descent, break my collarbone and get knocked out of IM Chattanooga.
Not exactly rollers...
I also have a little dilemma regarding my wheels. My sponsor father hooked me up with a new set of race wheels. Check these out. Sexy, right? I am SO fortunate to have a father who is a bigger bike geek than I am.
Works of art.
The kicker with the wheels is that I only got them on Tuesday and I haven't been able to ride them yet because my mechanic Richard (who is awesome BTW. If you need a mechanic, let me know) had my bike. Since the first rule of racing is to Never Try Anything New On Race Day, I probably shouldn't use them. But LOOK at them! They are circular perfection! I'm really hoping I can try them out a bit before the race so I can use them on Sunday.
It should be a really fun race. There are a lot of Nashville folks going down for it, including a good-sized crew from FTP, so I'll see a lot of familiar faces out on the course. That's always inspiring. Wish me luck!
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