Ironman: Pre-Race

I read a fair amount of blogs. there are some really talented writers out there. I read about peoples' journeys through life and I am amazed at the talent of the writing that just sucks you in...and some posts can be rather lengthy. Made me think about my attempt at blogging. Why can't I write long posts? Probably because I don't take the time to write; I just regurgitate some quick thoughts onto my keyboard. I am always thinking of things to blog about...but then I never do it.

So here goes my attempt at an Ironman recap. I may or may not make it all the way through in one post. 

Pre- Race 

We arrived in Idaho on Wednesday, June 22nd. and it was h-o-t. If it weren't for the lack of humidity in the air I would have thought I was still in Virginia! We were beyond ready for lunch so we hit the town for some sammies. I had travelled in my FAVorite Skirt sports pants and my compression socks. I was so hot, that I had to roll up the pants into shorts and thus showing off my knee-high glory. At this point, Coeur d'Alene had not been taken over by athletes. It was filled with teenagers wearing bikini tops and cut off shorts...unbuttoned. and most of them should not have been wearing those outfits. Not only because of their age and sending the wrong message, but because they were not exactly petite. But I digress. As we strolled through town it was almost humorous getting looks and hearing the whispers over my outfit. 

Anyways, we made it to our house. "Copper Top Lodge" It was fabulous. The decor was not exactly on par with the quality of the home. but it was beyond perfect for our week-long Ironman retreat. It was about a mile from Ironman Village and was at mile 2 of the run course. So roughly miles 2 and 11 on the first loop and miles 15 and 24 on the second loop. 

IronGreg and I were assigned to the pull out sofa in the basement. I was a little concerned about the basement  (and by the end of the week my back was over that sofa bed), but it was great. We were tucked away in the downstairs TV room, connected to the gym, and we had to pass the wine cellar/tasting room to get to our own bathroom complete with a urinal. I named this space the "insert last name Lair" 

So Ironman. Yes, the days drew near. 

Wednesday I drove the bike course with "mi amigas", IronGreg and his coach. We passed one house that had a training tiki bar of sorts. complete with flat changing kit, bars, gus, and a port--o-jon. I mean this town really suports this race. It was so cool! the owner was out and he said they keep the goodies out in May and june for everyone to train with. 

I swam on Thursday and Friday mornings. I prefer to do this swim at the race site and at race time. so at 7am there I was freezing in my wetsuit as the wind swirled around us looking at the white caps thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?" (That wednesday heat previously mentioned was a fluke...back to the cold for this southern belle). the first swim was tough. Having been sick all week and jumping into 55 degree water really takes your breath away. Especially when you have a hard time taking a breath in the first place. I figured out that although I breath every 3-5 stokes, I needed to breach every other stroke in order to catch my breath. I was able to swim for about 30 minutes. And Friday's swim was even better since I figured this breath thing out. We practiced running in and out of the water. That sand hurt my cold feet! 

Thursday we picked up our bikes from Tri Bike Transport. In fact there were so many bikes coming from richmond, that we had our own VIP line. that's how we roll. (haha get it)

I got my rented race wheels and IronGreg put them on Diamond. Man she looked pretty. 

Diamond posed with IronGreg's bike for a pre-race photo shoot. 

The Richmond crew, well part of it, met at our house for a little ride along the run course to get our legs moving and get any kinks out of our bikes. 

Friday, after a much better swim, we picked up our race packets and hit the store for some pre-race shopping. We spent the afternoon putting together our gear bags. People enjoyed my spreadsheets and lists of what to put in what bag. What can I say? I was a Girl Scout. I like to be prepared. 

Saturday was re-lax-a-tion. We finished packing our t-bags up and rode our bikes to transition to drop them and our t-bags off for the night. 

Two Richmond sherpas that volunteered for 

the gear bag drop off. they are awesome. 

Well, like previously stated. It might take me a few posts to get through this one. but hey I elaborated more and I even added pictures. self-high-five!