Journey to Kona Day 122: Visualization

I'm fully into visualization mode. I start with the swim in Boulder Reservoir, having done it four times before. I feel strong, smooth and long in the water.  I follow the buoys and I feel great.  I get out of the water feeling great.  The clock shows a swim time of around 1:10.  I make a quick transition and am out onto the bike course.  It's a course I'm very familiar with and I feel fast on the out and back on the Diagonal.  The three climbs between 36 and 65th go smoothly.  I pay attention to opportunities to hold onto speed, but don't burn any matches on the first loop.  The second loop is another story.  I can feel the excitement build as I repeat the out and back on the Diagonal.  Headwinds don't bother me because I'm so comfortable in my aero position.  I take advantage of the accompanying tailwinds.  Rollers are meant to be flattened out, and climbs aren't daunting at all.  As I reach the top of Hygeine and turn right onto 36, I know that the last 16 miles are essentially downhill.  I can go fast and feel good as I finish the bike.  I always celebrate coming off the bike, knowing that I will finish.  The clock shows that my bike time is under 6 hours. Another quick transition and I'm on my way to enjoying the run.  As Coach Lucho likes to say, it will be easy until it is hard.  The first four miles are uphill, but I will be leaving them behind.  My form is good, my breathing is steady.  There is no need to push too hard, just put one foot in front of the other and keep running, except on short, steep uphill sections.  On these, I walk. There's no reason to burn matches unnecessarily.  Besides, walking up these sections is usually just as fast as running up them!  Before I know it, I'm at the turn around near the courthouse.  I'm already half-way through the run.  This year, we only run the "flux capacitor" once, which will be exciting!  The final turn-around, and six miles to go.  I'm reminded of having six miles to go at the SnowDrop Ultra.  Seeing the photos of those kids who have survived cancer, and those who didn't.  This isn't hard.  I visualize making the turn off the main course and towards the finish.  The excitement builds.  I can see the finish line.  I will finish Ironman Boulder in under 12 hours.  I hear Mike Reilly's voice, "Michael Wasserman, You Are An Ironman!"