Ahhhhh! It’s race week! Six months of training, lots of weekends revolved around running and biking and way too many 5 a.m. wake-up calls to hit the pool will all culminate at Sunday’s ESi Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman in Augusta, Georgia. There’s no turning back now.

Here’s what I’m thinking and how I’m feeling 6 days out:

• I feel well prepared for the swim and the run.
• I’m really glad I got to test drive the course a few weeks ago so I know what to expect.
• I’m really grateful to my Get Fit Atlanta team for all their advice, coaching and encouragement. They have helped me feel confident and have taught me so much this season.
• I wish I’d spent more hours on the bike, but I know I can’t change that now. I’ve accepted that I will likely be slower on the bike than I would have hoped during that portion of the race.
• I’m nervous about how late I’m starting the race. My wave (women 30-34) doesn’t start until nearly 9 a.m., and the high temperature for Sunday is currently 86 degrees. Everyone is going to have to compete in the same heat, so I’m going to focus on what I can actually control. I may have to slow down if it’s super hot. I may be faced with difficult weather and I will push through! (Yes, I’m already chanting mantras.)
• My number 1 goal is really just to finish, but I’m targeting a time of 6 hours and 15 minutes. That works out to about a 32-minute swim, a 3:35 bike and a 2-hour run, with 10 minutes for transition and some padding time. If the weather is horrific, my run time could be slower, but I’m still going to shoot for a 9:10 average pace at this point. Here’s a cool triathlon pace calculator if you’re looking for one.

Here’s what my training schedule looks like this week:

• MONDAY: 1.5 hours on the bike, including 3 x 5 minutes at a hard effort with 2-4 minutes of recovery between each set; 15-20-minute easy run
• TUESDAY: Open water swim in wetsuit (about 2,000 meters)
• WEDNESDAY: Short run speed session: 5 x 3 minutes at 7:30 pace with a 1.5-minute recovery jog between sets
• THURSDAY: Easy bike session (35 minutes); 35-minute easy run
• FRIDAY: Easy swim or rest (will see how I feel)
• SATURDAY: Rest
• SUNDAY: Race day! 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run = Half Ironman

Thanks to all of you for your ongoing encouragement and support! Be sure to follow my adventures this week:

• On Twitter: @rUnladylike
• On Facebook: facebook.com/runladylike
• On Daily Mile: http://www.dailymile.com/people/jesica

Do you have any final words of advice for me before I take on Augusta 70.3? Any race mantras you’d like to share to keep me pushing through the heat on Sunday?