So here we go, the big day is tomorrow, the Australian Standup Paddle Marathon champs. I am usually very nervous the day before a big race, but I can honestly say that this time around I am feeling pretty good.
One of the reasons I am not really nervous is because I have zero expectations on me for tomorrow. That isn't to say I am going in having already defeated myself not that at all, i am actually feeling really positive about tomorrow, but I was never going to come out of this race being the Australian Champion. This event has always been about participation for me and doing my best and it is much easier to be relaxed when you are in that situation.
The second reason that I am not that nervous is because the conditions don't really suit me. That isn't to say that they are not fun, but the conditions tomorrow are going to be pretty technical and the honest truth is that I am simply not experienced enough to paddle quickly in those conditions. I am certainly getting better in that kind of water, but that improvement takes time and practice and I am not there yet. At the moment my strength lies in races that are less technical and more fitness based, which isn't going to be tomorrow. While the conditions don't really suit me, as I said, they should be super fun and I am looking forward to that.
The above issue does raise a point, am I frustrated because I spent a lot of time building fitness and strength for an event where they won't be that pivotal. No, absolutely not. Fitness and strength will still be useful tomorrow and they will mean that I will paddle quicker than if I wasn't fit and strong. Additionally all the training I did leading into this event means that I have had a lot of water time, which will definitely come in handy tomorrow no matter what the conditions. All the training I have done won't be as important as it would be if the water was flat, but it will still play a part.
On top of all that, we actually went out and paddled the course yesterday. While heading out and doing a 90 minute training session two days before a race wouldn't usually be considered a great idea, the course experience that we got from it definitely made it worth it. On top of that being out in very technical conditions and making it through them pretty happily is a massive confidence booster coming into race day. Knowing you can do the course and do it happily has meant that I have been able to come into race day feeling a bit more relaxed.
Yep, this lead up has been unusual, these last few days have been unlike any race week I have ever had. Generally I have been relaxed and had a lot of fun, with very little stress spent obsessing about tomorrow. While this race build up is very different to what I used to do for triathlon (and to be honest probably not that suitable for a long course triathlon), I can safely say this one has been a lot more fun. I can't help but wonder if some of the lessons I have learned about being relaxed etc leading into the event could have been useful when I was racing more 'seriously'.
Looking forward to it.
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