1 Day: Tomorrow

The day has finally arrived. Tomorrow morning, at 07:00, I will begin my quest to become an Ironman. I've thought about this moment for a long time and it's hard to believe it is less than 15 hours away.

I've gone through registration and the Athlete Expo and turned in my equipment at the transition area. Now it's all about resting, taking in calories, staying hydrated and not over-thinking the task at hand.

Gear laid out with the appropriate bags

This morning the athletes were allowed to swim in the river to get a feeling for what it will be like tomorrow. The water was a balmy 85 degrees with a barely noticeable current when swimming up river. I plan on keeping my equipment simple on the swim with slightly tinted goggles, swim cap, and trisuit. Some athletes will be wearing a speed suit, which goes over your trisuit to reduce drag, but I feel that the benefits would be minimal tomorrow. The course takes you upstream for 1300m, where you then loop the edge of an island and head back down stream for 2600m. The swim exit leads you up a stone walkway to the transition zone.

Transition

After grabbing my bike gear bag and  getting to my bike, I plan on pushing out at a slower pace, ~17.5-18 mph. This is slower that I have trained at but with the uncertainty of the course, it will make sure I can pound the pedals hard on my ride back to transition. The course involves a loop that has a few challenging hills. And the nice thing about the last 30 miles is that it is a slow downhill. Once reaching transition, I plan on staying in my trisuit, slapping on my shoes, visor and sunscreen and tackling the marathon.

The run is a two lap course that basically runs you straight out of town then back twice. It is flat which will be nice because the heat will be at it's peak when I plan on putting my feet on the pavement. 26.2 miles later I hope to coming down the finisher's chute with my arms and head held high.

The finish line being set up

I know this post is nothing special, but I can't put my thoughts into words right now. I hope this tides most of you over. To you others, wait until the post race report.

Happy racing!

Drew