24 hours from the cannon

I am sitting here writing this on my lanai listening to the waves crash into the rocks at my condo which sits about 1k from the first swim turn.  It's 7:01 am.  In less than 24 hours, the navy seals will have parachuted into the water and the cannon will have gone off....and we will be underway. 
It can't come soon enough!

This morning, it's about pure calm.  I will blog a bit, eat some good carbs, drink my coffee (decaf, as I have weened myself off of caffiene over the past 3 monts, and feel great btw..) and relax.  As much as I want to go do something that makes me feel like I earn the calories I consume daily, I know better. 

so now, a recap since my last post...

Thursday morning started off very early.  I was up at 4:15 hoping to return to slumber – but by 4:45 I gave in and got up.    Last night was the ZOOT dinner at the house on Ali’I Drive and maybe I had one too many glasses of wine…and that’s probably why my sleep was so crappy.   Maybe that in conjunction with that my taper has set in full force and I am feeling a bit sluggish, frumpy, and restless all at the same time.   Who knows, but feeling the way I do is usually a recipe for a good race to come J

The hard part will be making it through Friday without losing my mind!  LOL!!

So after the sun came up Thursday, I headed down to the Pier for my last swim before the race.  I ran into Cathy (a fellow Zooter) who needed a few camera shots for an article  she is writing on the stupid things pros/elites  amateurs do even though they have been racing a while.  I have had some great air-headed stories through the years that are all worth a good laugh, so I was happy to share some of my silliness!  Plus, she got a great supermodel shot of me at the Pier, so thanks for that!!

my swim today is an ez 2k – with a stop at the Kona Coffee boat on the way in for a shot of javaJ .   They are there every year and makes for a little fun on the crowded pre race swims!  The water was still a little rough even though I thought the waters were supposed to lay down a bit when the trade winds came back.  oh well, I like a little rolling on the swim :)  But that led to some murky waters for my camera I had tucked in my suit, so the pictures I shot were not so sharp.



leading the way :)



a little advertising along the swim



swimming up to the boat  there were many many more peps around, but the water wasnt very clear

 

 

 



After my coffee break, I was off back to the pier then a quick change to prepare for the UNDERWEAR RUN.  I didn’t get to partake in this last time I was in Kona, so I have been looking forward to this for a very long time!  ZOOT had some awesome uniforms for us to wear (the suit I wore on the swim - multi functional), and we were all decked out for the "run" along Ali’i.  It was like a mini mardi gras walking parade down Bourbon street as far as the costuming went – I took a few pics, but most of the time I was jogging along checking everyone elses get-up.   There was a little of everything - sexy, vulgar, cute...tighty whitey’s and lots of superhero underwear.

before the start, repeating the pledge

 

Newlywed ZOOTERS Bryan & Rachel J.

After the “run” which consisted of ¾ mile of jog/walk, I headed to starbucks for some coffee then off to the running store to get some gel pads for my heel.  The foot/heel is NOT happy, and the short little run convinced me to head over and buy what I already have 3 pairs of at home…I hate that.   But it needs to be done.  After that, it was back to the condo for some down time, a little 30 minute bike ride down Ali'i in my new kona kit, then a 90 minute massage down the street. ahhhhh


After my massage, it was time to get my foot retaped by the KT GUYS at the EXPO.  www.kttape.com

They have been so awesome tending to this foot thing, and have been eager to help me solve the issue and be able to run as pain free as possible on Saturday.   When I got there, Joe said he had been thinking about my pain, and had a new idea about how to tape me this time to see if we can knock out that last little bit of heel pain I have.  So he cut the tape up and did his magic, and it has felt pretty damn good ever since.  I want to test it, but my instincts say no way.  wait till Saturday.  I will have 26.2 miles of testing that day.  Now is the time to be patient.

This day has flown by - after I returned home from my Expo visit, it was time to head to the Welcome Dinner for the race.  We headed out a little early to beat the crowd and got settled in early, but really...from what I saw - there were virtually no lines for food/drink and pleanty of seating.  Ironman has this race down - like a well oiled machine.  They know how to move people and accomodate here.  The dinner went long, and after 3 hours of sitting and watching a luau type of performance with hula and fire dancing, I was sooo tired and ready to be out of there.  I skipped the athlete breifing which was to happen after the Dinner - but I was so tired, I had NO DESIRE to wait around.  Gilbert had already gone to the German briefing, so I already know of some stuff, but I'll have to hit someone up for other stuff that concerns me later.

So a late night, in bed by 10...tonite is the most important night's sleep.  Here's hopin :)