Three days to go

Swim - 1.2 miles, lake
Bike - 20 miles

The swim course is measured off and one line of the buoys are up. I went down to the swim start today to preview the course as part of the official Gatorade sponsored morning swims. Many of the athletes have arrived. It was a cool morning with a beautiful sunrise. My friend CC was floating in the water out at the start when I got in. We talked a little about where we would place ourselves on race day in order to get a good draft. I am thinking that I will put myself towards the back of the first third. I swam a loop of the course at an easy pace and swam back to shore in 39 minutes. The water was a perfect comfortable temperature.

There is an Ironman backpack that I have had my eye on for two years and finally was able to buy today. I didn't allow myself to buy any Ironman stuff until I was actually doing the race. It has been a long wait but I know I earned every bit of that backpack :) I also got some Ironman run shorts, socks, a waterbottle, and a winter hat. It was hard not to buy the whole store. I will get a few more things when I finish and I have so much stuff now that I am now nearly in danger of not being able to go out of the house without wearing something that says Ironman.

I worked Ironman registration from 9-1 giving people their packets and explaining about their numbers, bike stickers, and gear bags. Since I was working, CC and I were allowed to go through the line first for registration as guinea pigs to test out the procedure. This was perfect because it meant that we didn't have to wait in a two hour line. As the first people through, the procedure was a little rough around the edges and some of the volunteers didn't quite know what they were doing. I enjoyed working and talking to the athletes. I was in a good mood and really excited for the race.

After my volunteer shift, I went to the bike shop and figured out my issues with putting air in my Zipp wheels. I got some CO2 to practice with and it turns out that luckily my CO2 pump works with the Zipp valves even though my normal pump does not. I practiced filling it with 100% success. So my solution to flats is now set. On race morning, I will have to find a pump to fill the tires though. That is not ideal and may create some stress, but someone there is sure to have one of the "smart pumps", as they call them, that will work. One of about 1000 anxieties down.

I went on a short ride with my race setup and stopped at my friend BH's house to borrow a rain jacket. It may or may not rain on Sunday but I want to be ready for it. Anxiety 2 of 1000, down.