And Here She Is

So my journey to the Great Floridian has arrived. In under 12 hours I should be in the water giving it stroke for stroke. It has been a long injury free training session. Suppose we shall see how it has all paid off.




Today was spent getting my things together from my list. I did say list. I was convinced to make a list for this race since I was going to be solo the day/night before the race. I tell you, there sure is a lot of stuff needed for an Ultra Triathlon. I packed all the stuff in my Civic and headed out. I was of course running late. I had to get songs for my ipad. Priorities. I also had to take my bike to the bike shop just for a quick once over. All seems to be fine.

I got to the check in and got my packet. I was given 6 plastic bags to put more stuff in. A bike gear bag. A wetsuit bag. 2 special needs bags for the bike. A run gear bag. A special needs bag for the run. Special needs? What the heck. Turns out this is for any supplements that you like that they aren't using. Or dry clothing if you wish to change during your run. I am debuting some "funky" shorts for the run. I may put some different shorts in my run special needs bag. As a matter of fact I will put some different shorts in there.

I put my packet back in my car and decided to take a swim. I had already gotten a short run and bike in before I left home. It was time for me to be one with the lake. I was told the water was hovering around 72 degrees. Definitely wetsuit legal. After I got my wetsuit on, I stood at the waters edge and stared at the lake. I said, "Lake. I am staring at you." The water felt great. A little choppy because of the wind. The buoys were not put out yet so I was not stressed about the visual distance.

I got my bike together and put it on the rack. They had to be racked the day before. We were allowed to take care of our bags in the morning if we choose. I chose. I then headed out to dinner. Spaghetti for me. Also had two garlic knots but hopefully that won't make a difference on the wrong side of the clock tomorrow.

It is only natural to wonder if I trained enough. Did I swim all I could? Could I have bike a few more miles? Should I have logged more miles with Tiesto? Did I eat all the right things? Did I get enough sleep. Hell I should be sleeping now. The good thing is I had no significant injuries during all the training. All I can do now is put my toes on the line and give it the best I can. Many have asked what my finish time will be. What time do you want to finish in. I say to them, "I just want to finish. They are giving me 17 hours."