Triathlon Camp: What was I thinking?

Tonight, after work, I'm headed to triathlon camp. I did laundry last night to make sure that I had the necessary workout clothes. I spent an hour or so packing or at least putting stuff into piles this morning. I have a list on my desk of things that keep popping into my head that I haven't packed yet...things like water bottles. I put my bike rack on my car this morning so I wouldn't have to do that in the rain. I'm planning on a trip to the bike shop to pick up a tube and some cycling gloves, and possibly some new running shoes. As you can probably tell, my mind is racing about a million miles a minute and I've got some anxiety about this weekend. What was I thinking signing up for a triathlon camp?!?

Last night, I sat down and thought about all of the different fears and worries that I have about this weekend. I have alot of worries that I can do nothing about, so I need to accept them and move on. In fact, most of the things that I'm apprehensive about are completely out of my control, which means that I'm wasting time and energy on worrying about them. As I mentally listed the things I was worrying about, I also made another mental list of why I decided to sign up for this camp. I figured I should probably write them down so that I can remember them when I arrive home completely wiped out on Sunday evening. So, here's my list...

1. I signed up for triathlon camp because I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from Chris Sweet and Chris Daniels, our local amateur elite age-groupers. They are both headed to Kona in October and I figured they would be able to help me along the path to achieving that goal of mine.

2. I signed up for triathlon camp to test myself and my training. I've been training diligently for 7 weeks for my "A" priority race. I want to see if I'm making progress and how I measure up to my expectations.

3. I signed up for triathlon camp to work on the little things that will make me a better triathlete. I want to work on my bike fit. I'm looking forward (with some nervousness) to having my swim stroke analyzed (I hope it's not too atrocious) and then taking that feedback with me to improve over the next few months. I want to become a better cyclist and swimmer, and I think this camp will help me to do that.

4. I signed up for triathlon camp as a reward to myself for making it through maybe the hardest winter ever.

5. I signed up for triathlon camp so that I can stand or tread water at the start of the Utah 1/2 IM knowing that I have done everything in my power to physically and mentally prepare for that race.

So, I'm still sitting here working on my list of things I probably shouldn't forget to pack, and I'm smiling because I get to go to triathlon camp this weekend. I get to learn from some awesome guys about how to be a better triathlete. I get to test my physical limits and see how I hold up. Oh, and did I mention that this will definitely be fun!