Taper Shmaper

Tomorrow is the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. Last year, this was my very first tri. In the week or two before a race, you're supposed to taper your training- take it a bit easy. Unfortunately, my marathon training schedule had me doing a 15-mile run this weekend. I debated how "fresh" I wanted to be for the tri, and ultimately decided that I'm far enough behind with the marathon training so I did the long run yesterday. We'll find out tomorrow what kind impact it had.

It's tough for me to come up with goals/predictions for the tri because I've been more focused on the marathon but of course I'd like to do better than last year (when I was THRILLED with my time.) Last year, I couldn't swim in a straight line; this year, I still can't swim in a straight line. If water conditions are good, I'll do well. If they're not, I won't. Bottom line I don't expect a big change in the swim.

I've focused more on distance than speed with my running, and I don't think I'm much faster than I was last year. My stamina should be better, but my foot isn't at 100%. Again, I don't expect much difference with my run time.

Now the bike is where I'd like to see some improvement. I have the clipless pedals, I had a bike fitting, and I think I'm generally a better cyclist now. Maybe not by a lot, but better. I'd be happy with a 2-3mph improvement over last year.

Oh, and once again, Jon Cryer is going down.