Abu Dhabi Race Week

When you sign up for an event, it often seems as though you have all the time in the world to prepare for it.  That's how I felt in November when I confirmed my entry for the third Abu Dhabi Triathlon.  The winter months have flown by, race week is now here and I'm raring to go.  Preparation has been great, with some very encouraging training sessions, especially given the time of year.  The first race of the season is always associated with a mixture of emotions - excitement, anxiousness, hope, tension - the list goes on.  Of course I'm hoping to do well and have a good race, but I won't be placing too much pressure on myself.  I'll go out there and have fun, and try to enjoy the day.  Whether or not it's possible to enjoy racing 200km on a bicycle is yet to be seen!  The 2012 race kit is ready for it's first outing, and the folks at Extreme Endurance have given me some cool tattoos for race day.

I fly from London to Abu Dhabi tomorrow evening, arriving on Wednesday morning local time.  That gives me 3 days before the race to relax, check out some of the course and familiarise myself with the environment.  Unfortunately it will be a short trip, as I return to the UK on Monday 5th, just two days after the race.  Still, I'm super excited about my first journey to this part of the world and I'm looking forward to the experience.

The professional field for this race is absolutely stacked and the age-group race will likely be equally competitive.  As with all my international events, I'll be keeping a daily blog, so to find out what's going on in Abu Dhabi during race week, be sure to check in from Wednesday!  Until then...