Begin at the Beginning

I'm sure you all want to know how my race went. And I will get to that. But there is so much that goes on during the days leading up to the race. These days are filled with an energy I have never experienced before.

Tuesday: I left Massachusetts and drove to my parent's house in Rochester, NY with luggage, Thanksgiving stuff, and dog in tow. I somehow managed to fit all my junk for Arizona into 1 checked bag and 1 carry-on. If you ask Kevin, this is an amazing feat as I am generally a pack rat. I rolled into town around 2 PM and enjoyed the last few hours with my dog. Since she is wonderful off leash and my parents have a pretty substantial yard she chased the tennis ball like she has never chased a tennis ball before. I figured I should try and tire her out as much as possible before I left. My sister and brother-in-law graciously offered to watch Ellie while we were away. They came over later that night to pick her up. I bawled my eyes out. (seriously, you would have thought she was dying.)

I had other visitors that night as well. One of my best friends, Michaelene, stopped over with her 2 kids to say good luck. Her son, who is 3, kept asking for Taco (referring to my husband who goes by the nickname Paco - no, he's not Spanish). She wished me well and then headed home as we had run out of bananas to feed her children. My aunt, uncle, cousins, and the new puppy (!) all stopped by too. They came bearing signs, balloons, and words of encouragement. My uncle kept telling me that I should try and angle for an upgrade to first-class on the way home after the race (I just might have to try that one).

Then everyone was gone. I headed to bed because 3:30 AM comes quickly.

Wednesday: Travel day. Flew from Rochester to Chicago, Chicago to Phoenix. Rented a "big-ass" truck so I had some way to transport my bike. Found our rental house in Mesa. Figured out the plan for the next few days.

Thursday: Mom, Dad and I loaded into the big-ass truck and headed over to Ironman Village for athlete registration. It was amazing to see so many fit, athletic people walking around in 1 place. People were decked out in the newest active wear, compression socks, and finisher's hats from previous races. (yes, I wore my Timberman hat.... when in Rome.) I must say that the whole process was very well managed. Of course there was standing around but things moved along. Once I was all checked in and bike was picked up (used Tribike Transport and HIGHLY recommend them), mom and I headed over to the merchandise tent. Heaven! I bought stuff... a lot of stuff. All of it says "Ironman Arizona 2011" on it because I want people to know I did a freakin' Ironman! While standing in line I met a few other racers. The guy in front of me was doing his first Ironman as well. His bit of advice that someone had told him, "just keep moving and the finish line will come to you." Excellent advice - I will be sure to remember that come race day. I also met a challenged athlete - she was a below the knee amputee competing in her 3rd Ironman at the age of 58. She told us that she has yet to finish an Ironman but keeps on trying. And right behind me was a pack of Tri Fury athletes. Tri Fury is one of the teams from Massachusetts - a little piece of home out here in Arizona.

Later that day I did a quick 30 minute, easy run around Tempe Town Lake on part of the actual course. I've been use to running in 40-50 degree weather so 78 was a bit of change, and I found myself breathing harder than I would have liked. At least on race day I will be running at night when it gets cooler out. After the run, my parents and I drove the bike course so I could get a feel for the road. There were other bikers out riding the course, hammering up the hill, and working too hard 3 days before the race. But to each their own. Later that night I started to lay out all of my gear in the respective piles, and Kevin flew into town. I felt a little more at ease.

Friday: I was starting to get a little antsy for the race. I kept wishing that it was on Saturday instead because I just wanted to get going. I went out for a short bike ride on Beeline Highway. I started at the turn-around point and headed downhill. The wind gods were with me because I felt AWESOME! I was flying down the hill and had an average speed of 19 mph (usually I ride at 15 mph. If race day conditions were anything like this I would welcome the bike ride.

Friday night we all went to the Athlete Welcome dinner at Tempe Arts Park. Mike Reilly got the crowd going - that man is one big ball of energy. They showed some inspirational video clips and pulled the youngest and oldest competitors onto the stage. There was a man who was doing his 64th Ironman! They also auctioned off a Ironman poster signed by all the pros. Some guy paid $8,500 for it! First of all, what does that man do? Second of all, how do I get him to give me that much for American Lab Rescue?

Saturday: Kevin decided that he wanted to go hiking while out in Arizona - so he did at 5:30 AM. While he was out I headed over to Ironman Village for the practice swim. I suited up into my brand new-to-me wetsuit and made sure it was "wedgie tight" like the guy at Fast Splits instructed me to do. With the wetsuit wedged so far up my behind I found myself waddling as I headed down to the water for the swim. They tell you that you should never use anything new on race day. So I figured my first time swimming with a wetsuit should definitely be the day before the race.

Now I know they told me the water temp was 60 degrees, but I did not realize just how cold 60 degrees actually is until you are submerged in it. HOLY S#*t! I had my trusty wetsuit on but still felt like I was going to start hyperventilating. My face hurt when I put it in the water, my toes went numb in a matter of minutes. I spent about 20 minutes in the water until I thought, "enough is enough." I climbed out, peeled the wetsuit off, racked my bike and gear bags, and headed back to the house to rest up.

Kevin called later saying that he got a flat tire while he was driving and was going to be back later than expected. While he was gone I napped. When I awoke I saw Michaelene standing in the kitchen!!! What!? Apparently Kevin never had a flat tire but went to pick Mich up at the airport instead. They had been secretly devising this surprise for the last couple of months! Best surprise...EVER! She said that she wouldn't miss watching me pee/poo myself for anything else in the world. She sure is a true friend. For dinner another good friend, Mike (lives in AZ), came over along with Liz (Kevin's friend). Mike volunteered to be on security detail at the race while he helped cheer me on. My cheering squad was coming together nicely :o)

With all of Saturday's excitement it was very hard to fall asleep.