Pre-Race
Wednesday
I arrived in Wilmington on the night of the 26th with Mark, Pete and Patty and found our condo in Wrightsville Beach. The condo was perfect and we were so relieved. We settled in and then grabbed a quick bite to eat at a charming little Mexican joint down the road. Early to bed even though we were jet lagged.
Thursday
I woke up at 6:30 to meet some folks from the Beginner Triathlon forum to swim the second half of the course. Three of us from the forum showed up as well as three other guys who were there to do the same thing. We were exceptionally fortunate because two of the guys were local and had been swimming the course all summer. They gave us a lovely “guided tour”, pointing out the best spots to catch the current and noting the tricky spots. We walked the route from the swim exit to where T1 would be, which was about 400 yards away. Big props to the local guys for being so friendly and helpful…they even gave me a ride back to my car at the swim start. The rest of the family was still snoozing when I returned so I put my bike together. Still snoozing. So a solo trip to the store for a few provisions, including coffee for my lazy bones family back at the ranch. Pete, Mark and I took my bike to Two Wheeler Dealer where they installed the race wheels I rented, a pair of 808 Zipps. They were so sweet and made my beautiful bike look that much sexier….and faster!
Next it was off to the convention center for packet pick-up. I was set-up with a race bracelet (gray for the full…that’s right!), given all my goodies (t-shirt, towel, socks), timing chip, race number and 5 gear bags. Being there definitely got the butterflies going, but it gave me a fun nervous energy.  |
| Arriving at packet pick-up |
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| #85!! |
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| Baby Drew arrives!! |
Jess, Mark and baby Drew arrived at the condo that evening and we had a nice dinner all together before bed time again.
Friday
I took advantage of a slow morning and slept late. I did a short brick workout of a 20 minute ride and a 10 minute run. It was fun to see other racers out on the road and share knowing smiles. The weather had changed drastically from the previous day’s 80 degrees. It was cloudy and windy and had dropped to the low 60’s. The change was just fine for my Alaskan blood.
Next it was back to the convention center for the pre-race meeting. Take home message: Holy crap!
Back at the condo, I spent the next couple of hours organizing my gear bags.
The gear bags and their contents:
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| Gear Bags |
Pre/Post Gear Bag - I packed my wetsuit, neoprene booties, goggles (x2), body glide, cap
T1 - Swim to Bike - Tri shorts, tri top, bike jersey, gloves, helmet, sunglasses, compression socks, bike shoes, rain jacket, towel, two gel flasks (with 4 gels each), 4 honey stinger waffles, 1 bagel with almond butter and honey, salt caps, Nuun.
T2 - Bike to Run - Race belt and number, extra socks (x2), shorts, long sleeve top, visor, two gel flasks (with 4 gels each).
Bike Special Needs - Extra nutrition
Run Special Needs - Long sleeve top, extra socks, little baggie of candy corn
I had to check in the special needs bags and T2, as well as rack my bike before 8:00 on Friday.
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| Special Needs |
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| Rackin' |
After my bike was racked and my bags were packed, there wasn't much else to do but wait...
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