Gosh it takes a ton of shit to race an Ironman
Today was the first day in Ironman Village! Up until this point I've been excited, but more on the level of "I'm going on vacation" excited. Not "holyshit, 12 months of training and prep for one of the biggest days of my life" types of excited.
As I drove down the bike course today (Bee line hwy) the windows were down, the music was loud and I was taking in the road. I had this excited feeling, I couldn't wait for race day to tear that road up.
Kelly and I got to the Expo around 10:30, perfect timing as it was still pretty slow. We met Marcy and we really got to look at everything we wanted and not fight crowds. Packet pick up was a breeze and the merchandise tent was pretty empty.
In the packet pickup someone came from behind me and gave me a big squeeze. I looked up and it was Boston Bob. I met Bob's friend Randy in line last year registering for IMAZ. Randy shared my blog, Bob read it and was hooked. We've been FB friend ever since and it was fun to meet him in person! His smile is as big and his laugh is as loud as I thought it would be!
I cleaned up in the merchandise tent (thanks for the birthday gifts dad & mom) and was on the quest to find Bryan Mayes and David Downey. The two that were waiting for me at the IMKS finish line, long after it had been torn down.
I found David and before I could even finish walking to him he popped up out of his chair and greeted me with a huge hug! He commented on how good I looked and was telling me how he was going to be tracking me and he was going to find me a few times on the run! I told him I looked forward to his cheers and couldn't wait to see him at the finish. He reminded me, people like me, people like my friend Polly, is why he does this.
After running around to several locations we found Bryan! It was great to see him and I found out he'll be in the transition area so he was going to cheer me on as he saw me come through every time. He was going to try to find Mike Reilly to introduce me and he told me how proud of me he was.
We went to go meet Chris for lunch and on the way out I saw they had put up the finisher's arch. I slowly walked over to it by myself. I felt that stinging sensation in my nose and I couldn't help but tear up. I imagined how amazing the finish line would be on Sunday night. It looked so small there by itself, but I could picture the mobs of people, the loud music, the lights and energy surrounding it in a few days. Then I thought to myself "do I have strength to get there?" Kelly and Marcy came up and reassured me that I definitely have what it takes to get there.
We caught an athlete's meeting and then picked up our bikes. It was nice to see SassyRoo again. I was ready to ride her after a long week away. Before I left it was recommended that I move my back tire to the front from riding the last few weeks on the trainer. I paid and left it there for them to do then move to the tribike transport pick up area. My bad, my own mistake. When I picked up Sassy, I immediately noticed that they didn't change the tubes out. So the valve extender was way too long for my front 404 and the back did not have a long enough extender for the 808. So I couldn't put air in the back tire. Fuck me. I took it to the mechanic and it was a two hour wait, so I took it to a local tri shop here. They couldn't get to it until 10 AM tomorrow so I probably will have to pick it up after the panel discussion tomorrow.
I should change it myself and practice changing the tires. But let's be honest, I don't trust myself doing that with this big of a race before. Too much room for an error. So I'll just have to get it and ride tomorrow.
I got home and went for a light run. Felt good. Lungs feel a little tight, but overall not bad. I started the long task of organizing all my gear bags. I spent about 90 minutes organizing all my stuff into piles before I left Indy. Tonight it took about 90 minutes to get my gear bags decorated in teal duck tape (thanks Kim!) and organized. I also wrote out my nutrition on note cards for people to have on the course and for me to have. Labor intensive, but it helps me commit it to memory.
I keep going over the marathon in my mind. That's a fucking long way to run. I can't really get my head around it. So I just stop trying. Just one foot in front of the other until I hit that finish line. I should have ample time to do it, even if I have to walk more than I want. As David says, walk with purpose. As he and Brian told me, don't stop to chat with people and take pictures. Hahha they know me all too well.
I'm looking forward to talking about Back on My Feet tomorrow on the athlete's panel discussion at 12:30 in the Ironman Village. With off-line donations and a few outstanding pledges we've raised $14,845 - how awesome would it be to hit $15,000? Thank you for the support! I love how much this race has become greater than me. It's become about helping others in ways far more reaching than I can ever comprehend.
"The positive thinker can see the invisible, feel the intangible and achieve the impossible" - Unknown
DAMN STRAIGHT. Positive thoughts. Let my faith outweigh my fear. Don't fear my goal. I've got this!
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