Thursday, August 25th.
Today is packet pick up and of course, I'm bursting with energy. I meet a fellow Ironman competitor for breakfast and we head over to the expo. I get my wristband, which must be worn all weekend for every event and my timing chip. The first 100 people also got a free pair of Tyr goggles, a nice bonus.
We then visited the official store but I resisted buying anything with an IM logo on it for fear of upsetting karma. I think you can buy just about anything with a logo on it. But I resisted! Off then for a short swim and very short (15 minute) run. During the swim, I wore the Tyr goggles and loved them so decided to use them on the big day.
Headed off to work, then off until Tuesday so I could focus completely on IM day.
Friday, August 26th.
The day begins about 7:30 am with a little breakfast then meet up with the iamtri group for a short/easy/flat 20 miler on the first 10 miles of the bike course. I did it mostly to test my rented race wheels. No issues so felt ready for Sunday.
After the ride, I drove 3 iamtri members for one lap around the bike course as they weren't local and had never seen the course. What we call hills, one of them thought were mountains. I guess it's all about perspective. That took about 2 hours but it was worth it and nice to help some fellow tri peeps out. That's one thing I love about this sport: the spirit of camaraderie.
Rushed home, grabbed a shower and a quick bite then headed back downtown for the big iamtri meet up on 4th Street Live (the site of the finish line). Probably a couple hundred of us showed up, helped to calm each others nerves, etc. The person that ran the group, also arranged for loads of door prizes. From aero helmets to local business gift cards to shoes. Great stuff! I ended up winning a pair of Asics shoes (my choice) from a local running shop and my wife a gift card to Bearno's.
The rest of Friday were official IM events and the first was the official kick-off banquet. The emcee was Mike Reilly (You ARE an IRONMAN!) who made the event fun. The best moment for me was when Mike asked people to stand up if they had lost 30 pounds, then 40, etc. When he got to 60, there were about 8-10 of us standing. What a feeling! The top loser had lost over 160, though!
My wife didn't stay for the last event, the athlete briefing. There wasn't anything earth shattering, but I'm glad I went to listen to the meeting anyway.
Part II tomorrow.
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