Thursday, 17 July 2008: Amazing things in store!

The morning dawned beautifully today - had some amazing steel cut oatmeal that I had brought. It's frozen in pre-made packages, mixed with brown sugar & maple syrup. Apparently, a product of Canada sold at Trader Joe's in the US! Wild. Delicious with a bit of soy milk. A cup of coffee and I headed out to the Gatorade Swim to do a lap of the course at 7:00 am.

Gatorade Swim
The Gatorade Swim is simply a cordened area open from 7 - 11 am each day, starting on Wednesday to race day. Volunteers provide bright green Gatorade plastic bags for you to store your gear while you swim. They write a number (1 to infinity!) on the bag and on your hand with dark black marker so you can claim your kit when done. They'll also give you a bottle of Gatorade Endurance formula when you are done. It's a very nice perk!

Virginia, Logan & I were the first to arrive as the volunteers opened, right at 7:00 am. Other swimmers already in the water and getting their wetsuits on, but when I dropped my gear, I was stunned to receive 'Number 1' on my bag and hand. Wild. Certainly that would be a good omen for being able to complete my first IM!

The woman at the table also recognized that Logan was a soft-coated Wheaton Terrier. She had raised a Norwich Terrier who had won Westminster! Wow. We got star treatment with Lolo there!

The swim went well - very easy 42 minutes. I was encouraged that I did it, but still nervous about being able to do two laps with 2500+ athletes surrounding me in a giant washing machine!

Registration
After cleaning up, we walked down to the Transition area & I registered for the race! Ha, ha, ha! Almost forgot the most important thing. It was unbelievably easy. Small line in the High School gymnasium, gave my name, signed my sheets of paper, weighed in [much heavier than expected - what up w. that?? Darn taper] and then had a nice volunteer walk me thru the packet w. numbers and sparkly bracelet which I'd wear for the next four days. Picked up race poster & an extra banquet ticket for Virginia... I was a little miffed to pay $25 for catered pasta & iceberg lettuce salad, but hey, you only do your first IM once!

A Short Ride to Test the Bike, followed by a T-Run
After the swim, we chilled for a bit - had lunch & I had sent an email to ride with one of the guys from the Multisports Camp, Juan Andrade. We met up at 1:00 pm and rode the run course loop, heading up into Lake Placid to ride the Three Bears (a series of gentle, small hills which loom larger than life in the race - Momma Bear, a tiny bump known as Baby Bear, followed by the much steeper Poppa Bear]. In less than the first mile, my cycle computer started blinking, then went dead. Wow - what a good thing to actually do a test ride! Note for next year: Swap out batteries on computer!!!

As we rode out of town, there was a cyclist in front of us who seemed to be tooling around. Juan passed him first and as I rode up, I thought there was something VERY familiar about the guy's low-rider shorts, muffin top & orange t-shirt blowing in the wind. Sure enough - it was Darren! Another guy from the Multisports Camp. He linked up with us and then he & Juan rode hard into town. I took it easy - very easy - tooling behind them.

My bike seat had been raised about 2 cm, so I really wanted to ensure it was not causing any leg/back problems. When I headed out for the t-run around the lake, I was incredibly comfortable. Perhaps it was due to the Taper & rest week, but I felt like I could run the entire course! The Newton shoes are also incredible.

The BEST Surprise EVER!!!
When I returned, after I showered, my sister insisted I have a nap. I wasn't going to argue that one as it seemed the stress of getting ready, driving & fearing the swim had exhausted me. Virginia decided to take Logan for a walk, so I settled down to rest and surf the Ironman Lake Placid info in an attempt to get organized for Sunday's main event.

They had been out for about 30 minutes when I heard a knock on the door and a male voice calling 'Room Service'. Huh? Likely a mistake in room number, but I thought I'd check it out. It even crossed my mind that if it was anything good, I'd just keep it for us!

I was confused as I opened the door to see Logan in his haltie. I guessed Virginia had arrived just behind the room service guy but when my glance caught the man I was speechless. IT WAS MY HUSBAND!

Mike had flown all the way from England to Montreal and driven to Lake Placid to support me in my first Ironman. WOW. My hands went to my mouth and I just stood there, tears welling up in my eyes. What a wonderful surprise! I am so blessed in being married to this amazing man.

After huge hugs and many kisses, I think I recovered, although I was in complete disbelief for at least the next hour!

I had worried that I'd not heard from Mike and he was offline from the computer for the last day. This could have been because he was incredibly busy or the work servers were experiencing difficulty - but he also hadn't called me the night prior. Again, not a stretch because he was likely exhausted, but it did worry me as it is our habit to talk every night [Thanks, Vonage!]. For a nanosecond, I considered that he might be coming to Lake Placid, but I immediately had dismissed the thought: how could he get time away when he was so busy? Besides he had just been here a week ago for the GM Shutdown period! I was so thrilled!!

Mike settled in and we spent the evening prepping for the race, having a wonderful dinner at Nicola's. They do some incredible dishes that border on gourmet, although the service was taxed by the volume of athletes!

I slept like a dream that night thinking just three more sleeps and I have the chance to be an Ironman!