Happy Thoughts

FINALLY! When the gun goes off over the Tennessee River this Sunday, it will signal the official start of my 2011 triathlon season!

I’m racing the Half Ironman distance race at the Rev3 race in Knoxville, Tennessee. That’s 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 hilly miles on the bike, and a beautiful 13.1 mile run near the University of Tennessee campus. I raced the shorter Olympic distance tri in Knoxville last year, and I’m excited about stepping it up to the Half this time around.

Rev3 Knoxville 2010

Back when I was a swimmer I traveled to Knoxville on several occasions. I never noticed how hilly the area was, (most pools are pretty flat) so last year was a bit of a shock. But this year I am ready! I’ve spent enough time in the GAPS, pretty soon I think they’ll probably name one after me.  HaleyChura.com GAP? I like the sound of that!

And just in case the going gets tough (which it invariably will), I have a full arsenal of happy thoughts to fire me up during the race:

1. Goals

It’s no secret what my biggest goal is this year – I want to go back to Hawaii. I want to battle through the swim and lead the pack – all the way to the TOP of the steps! I want to brace myself for the crosswinds on the bike, stay aero, and keep pedaling! I want to RUN ALL THE WAY UP PALANI HILL!  I want to race like I know I can race.

I have tons of smaller (but no less exciting) goals to help me get from now to October. But the picture in my mind is always the same:

2. Workouts

I draw a lot of strength from my training. Coach Diablo knows this and he does a great job of sneaking terrible, awful, really hard workouts into my training plan. Secretly, I love these workouts. They push me to the brink (and occasionally over the edge) of failure, but I always end up stronger.

Long-distance triathlon is a lot like a really hard training day. So when I’m racing, I think back to some of those key workouts. The ones that make me cringe a little and wonder how I ever did them. And I know if I did all those workouts, those crazy sets in the pool, the mind numbing bike intervals, the absolutely ridiculous runs, I can handle ANYTHING on race day.

3. My Support Crew

My family, friends, teammates, coworkers, blog followers: you are my secret weapon. Because when the going gets really, really, tough I think about you. And how you support me, listen to me, send me fun emails, text messages, tweets and wall posts. You believe in me. And that is the happiest thought I could possibly think. So thanks. Now let’s race!