Oct. 9th 2009
Well here we are; almost 12 hours before race start. No turning back now! All of a sudden I feel like time has been on fast-forward. Slept in until 7 am this morning, took my bike out for a 10 min spin to ensure all the gears ares working, and then did a 10 min run to shake out my legs. We headed down to Ali'i for lunch (yummy fish tacos). Who else ran into us at the restaurant was Janet Pike- the woman who interviewed me and wrote the article for ironman.com It was really cool to meet her and introduce her to the fam. After lunch, it was time for bike/gear check-in. What a cool experience that was. All these years I have watched IM Hawaii on tv and seen the transition area, and there I was; physically standing there on the pier surrounded by all the bikes, bags, and changing tents. I was in awe. Bike/gear check-in was much more official that any other Ironman I have done before. Every athlete is escorted by their own personal volunteer who accompanies you to rack your bike, hang up your bags, etc. I suspect they do this to make sure that bikes and gear do not get tampered with and to ensure efficiency. The volunteers at Ironman are just so amazing. I scored a free Cervelo t-shirt on my way into transition. Cervelo is the brand of bike I ride, and they had a few reps out there giving away shirts to athletes who ride Cervelo. We managed to pull ourselves away from the craziness of Ali'i and headed back to the house for a nap. Now we are taking in the sunset about to enjoy some pasta and then a movie. 4:30 am wake up call and race start at 7 am...no nerves yet, just excitement and anticipation. As always the first goal is to finish, but I know many folks are wondering what time I will finish in. My last IM time was my PR (personal record) 13:26. Given the heat and wind and NO mechanical failures, I hope to finish around sub 15 hours. Hours and 140.6 miles away from fulfilling a lifelong dream.....stay tuned for a race report!
Well here we are; almost 12 hours before race start. No turning back now! All of a sudden I feel like time has been on fast-forward. Slept in until 7 am this morning, took my bike out for a 10 min spin to ensure all the gears ares working, and then did a 10 min run to shake out my legs. We headed down to Ali'i for lunch (yummy fish tacos). Who else ran into us at the restaurant was Janet Pike- the woman who interviewed me and wrote the article for ironman.com It was really cool to meet her and introduce her to the fam. After lunch, it was time for bike/gear check-in. What a cool experience that was. All these years I have watched IM Hawaii on tv and seen the transition area, and there I was; physically standing there on the pier surrounded by all the bikes, bags, and changing tents. I was in awe. Bike/gear check-in was much more official that any other Ironman I have done before. Every athlete is escorted by their own personal volunteer who accompanies you to rack your bike, hang up your bags, etc. I suspect they do this to make sure that bikes and gear do not get tampered with and to ensure efficiency. The volunteers at Ironman are just so amazing. I scored a free Cervelo t-shirt on my way into transition. Cervelo is the brand of bike I ride, and they had a few reps out there giving away shirts to athletes who ride Cervelo. We managed to pull ourselves away from the craziness of Ali'i and headed back to the house for a nap. Now we are taking in the sunset about to enjoy some pasta and then a movie. 4:30 am wake up call and race start at 7 am...no nerves yet, just excitement and anticipation. As always the first goal is to finish, but I know many folks are wondering what time I will finish in. My last IM time was my PR (personal record) 13:26. Given the heat and wind and NO mechanical failures, I hope to finish around sub 15 hours. Hours and 140.6 miles away from fulfilling a lifelong dream.....stay tuned for a race report!
posted by Em at 9:10 PM
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