Taper week for the California Half Ironman

I love taper week! This means I get to rest, do mini-workouts, eat carbs and sleep. I have my first race of the season on Saturday, the California Half Ironman in San Diego. I am a litle nervous because this is the earliest I've ever raced in a season before. Training has been going really well and I'm on track. I'm fired up for this race since it is the famous Ralph's course that I've heard Matt talk about. It is supposed to be 69 degrees on Saturday and Caroline says the water temp is already at 60. Compared to Michigan, this is HOT! I'm a little nervous (ok, a lot nervous) about the swim since it is going to be in the Oceanside harbor (salt water). I will pretend it is Aquatic Park in San Francisco. I'm alrady mentally preparing for low visability, sharks, salt, the hill at mile 40 and a strong headwind on the second half of the bike course. These next two weeks are going to be super busy, I have to get a bunch of work done for classes this week and focus on training, eating and sleeping. I can't wait to test my training to see if I'm getting faster. 18 Weeks to Ironman Lake Placid! Racing is the prize!