The Sharks Olympic Distance Classic is tomorrow, a combination triathlon/duathlon event. I'll be competing in the duathlon, which is a 5K run, a 40K bike, and then a 10K run. It's 34 miles overall.

I've trained about as hard as I reasonably can, but I am a little nervous. The race, including the transitions from run to bike and vice-versa, will take me about 2 hours and 37 minutes. I'd be thrilled to beat that time, but there is a far chance it will take a bit longer. It's just such a long duration. During training, my legs have been turning to lifeless hunks of meat at around the 2 hour mark. Frankly, I'm counting on good, old-fashioned race-day energy to carry me through.

Race day is such an interesting combination of the early-morning happy beehive of check-in activity, the nervous and careful preparation of bikes and transition equipment, the race-start thrill, the carefully gauging of the "right" race pace and adjusting it as the race wears on, the inevitable fatigue turning to exhaustion, the dizzy, exciting feeling of seeing the finish line ahead, the satisfying relief of the finish, and the internal joy that grows during the post-race recovery and activities. Then, once home, a big, long nap.