T - 1 Day!
I can't believe it's here. It's the day before the race. We arrived in Spokane on Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, our flight was a couple hours late (hence why we call it AMERICA WORST)..... but with that first little glitch in our trip, everything has since gone pretty well.
I can't imagine how the people who don't arrive by Wed or even Thursday don't freak out. I feel like we have been running around NON STOP this whole time.
Between practicing swimming, and eating, and driving the course, and eating, and shopping and eating, and getting everything ready and eating....... Well, you get the picture. We've been BUSY!!! Get the picture?
Thursday night Shane & I had a nice dinner with my grandpa. He's about the only family I have left here in Spokane, and was so excited to come see us. He's getting up there, and as sad as it is to say... just doesn't have much left in him (will) - he wants to go be with Grandma. But, we had nice visit and as always learned more things about his past & history.
Yesterday we did some swimming. Well we did on Thursday & yesterday, but a couple of people had a rough time with the COLD lake & rough waters so we went back out there to get them comfortable. I'm proud to say that surprisingly I was NOT one of them. I think I made the right decision in choosing this race as my first. This lake is like my home. I grew up coming here all summer long, and it's basically like my backyard. My open water anxiety was gone, my fear of what the hell is at the bottom of the lake non-existent..... I was calm and cool and collected.
Yesterday we also got to meet Nytro & Benny. Benny showed us a new trick. He put Vaseline all over his arms before going into the water. He said he "heard" that it kept you warm (sleeveless wetsuit). Apparently it's a myth. He said it didn't do a damn thing! Sure sounded smart though!
Please. Please let that happen to me tomorrow!!!
We also drove the course. Holy.Shit. Hills, hills & more hills..... They keep saying how 'scenic' it is. I'm totally with them. It is beautiful..... but it is hilly.
One good thing ironshane & I have going for us is that last year we did the Lake Stevens 70.3. We were no where near the shape we are in now. We drove the course and all we could think was "OMG - what have we done to ourselves?" It was to this date the hardest ride I've done. I still managed a 3:14 bike split. So, as this course is HARD - I don't think it was quite the Lake Stevens difficulty, and I'm in much better shape. Hopefully this helps me out!
Today we just have the last minute stuff to do. A little warming up. A quick 15min run & bike..... My legs are dying to do something. They are actually kind of achy.
I need to finish getting my race bags together. I'm not really all that organized to tell you truth. It'a big overwhelming with all of the bags you have to fill, getting your nutrition ready, cloths, EVERYTHING you could possibly think you might need.
The weather here looks beautiful. It's about 50degs now (7am) and just slight 6mph winds. The sun is shining and everything is GREEN. Hourly forecast shows very similar weather for tomorrow. Could we be any more lucky?
I can't think of anything else too exciting to write. I'm starting to get a little restless, so I think I better make use of it.
Tomorrow is going to be one of the craziest, most exciting days of my life thus far... I can't wait. I'm sure my jitters and nervousness and freak outs will come shortly... but somehow, I have remained calm.
t-23hours34mins
I can't imagine how the people who don't arrive by Wed or even Thursday don't freak out. I feel like we have been running around NON STOP this whole time.
Between practicing swimming, and eating, and driving the course, and eating, and shopping and eating, and getting everything ready and eating....... Well, you get the picture. We've been BUSY!!! Get the picture?
Thursday night Shane & I had a nice dinner with my grandpa. He's about the only family I have left here in Spokane, and was so excited to come see us. He's getting up there, and as sad as it is to say... just doesn't have much left in him (will) - he wants to go be with Grandma. But, we had nice visit and as always learned more things about his past & history.
Yesterday we did some swimming. Well we did on Thursday & yesterday, but a couple of people had a rough time with the COLD lake & rough waters so we went back out there to get them comfortable. I'm proud to say that surprisingly I was NOT one of them. I think I made the right decision in choosing this race as my first. This lake is like my home. I grew up coming here all summer long, and it's basically like my backyard. My open water anxiety was gone, my fear of what the hell is at the bottom of the lake non-existent..... I was calm and cool and collected.
Yesterday we also got to meet Nytro & Benny. Benny showed us a new trick. He put Vaseline all over his arms before going into the water. He said he "heard" that it kept you warm (sleeveless wetsuit). Apparently it's a myth. He said it didn't do a damn thing! Sure sounded smart though!
Please. Please let that happen to me tomorrow!!!
We also drove the course. Holy.Shit. Hills, hills & more hills..... They keep saying how 'scenic' it is. I'm totally with them. It is beautiful..... but it is hilly.
One good thing ironshane & I have going for us is that last year we did the Lake Stevens 70.3. We were no where near the shape we are in now. We drove the course and all we could think was "OMG - what have we done to ourselves?" It was to this date the hardest ride I've done. I still managed a 3:14 bike split. So, as this course is HARD - I don't think it was quite the Lake Stevens difficulty, and I'm in much better shape. Hopefully this helps me out!
Today we just have the last minute stuff to do. A little warming up. A quick 15min run & bike..... My legs are dying to do something. They are actually kind of achy.
I need to finish getting my race bags together. I'm not really all that organized to tell you truth. It'a big overwhelming with all of the bags you have to fill, getting your nutrition ready, cloths, EVERYTHING you could possibly think you might need.
The weather here looks beautiful. It's about 50degs now (7am) and just slight 6mph winds. The sun is shining and everything is GREEN. Hourly forecast shows very similar weather for tomorrow. Could we be any more lucky?
I can't think of anything else too exciting to write. I'm starting to get a little restless, so I think I better make use of it.
Tomorrow is going to be one of the craziest, most exciting days of my life thus far... I can't wait. I'm sure my jitters and nervousness and freak outs will come shortly... but somehow, I have remained calm.
t-23hours34mins
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