It's Thursday... I'm here in Louisville or L'vuhl as they say it around here and pretty much have adjusted to the time zone in one day. Went promptly to bed last night at 10pm or 7pm on my body clock and woke up this morning at 7am or 4 in the morning which is a time of day I rarely like to see involuntarily let alone normally. Last night I was in search of a grocery store, not easy to find even with my iPhone. I did however get a chance to tour some cool and not so cool parts of Louisville. Eventually found a store, bought some staples, (case of water, milk, cereal, bananas, Triscuits, cheese, OJ) then discovered they had a Whole Foods in the area! Ah, now we're talking! But since it was the end of the day all I purchased was dinner... soup/sandwich and a killer chocolate thingy.
Today, I've done my tune up run... I ran the only hill on the course. It's the bridge that crosses over the Ohio River and is exactly where I am staying for these few days. It was muggy and in the mid 70's. I was dripping when I returned from the 20 minute out and back but if that's the worst of it; I'm feeling fine. Weather reports for Sunday are very nice conditions; less humidity, cooler temps, partly cloudy and where the highs should be in the low to mid 70's. I can't tell you how awesome that is. Ever since Hawaii 70.3, at the end of May, I've been dreading heat and humidity like the H1N1.
In just a little bit (pretty much when I'm finished writing this) I'll go over to the expo site and register. What this means is I'll weigh in, sign the waivers, get my wristband declaring me as competitor, acquire the necessary stuff like transition bags, swim cap, timing chip and then they'll hand you some swag; most of it you won't keep but occasionally there's some nice stuff in there. Then, I'll tour the vendors, try to find a new tire for my front Zipp 404 as I noticed when packing the bike there was a small sidewall blemish. Now, you might think, well if it's not a gash or a hole it the tire why worry... TRUST ME! You don't want to have anything going through your mind while you're racing that you think might, could, perhaps or otherwise be a problem.
Tomorrow prior to the athletes banquet will be an IronPrayer service which I've been asked to speak. I enjoy these events where other athletes, not all sharing the same faith, do come together to place the focus on something other than just a physical endeavor. It's the first time being done here so we'll see how it goes. Also tomorrow, Spence Smith, a friend from Nashville and his gang will be arriving. Spence is competing in his first Ironman. He is very excited and I am happy to be here to witness this. I am very much looking forward to hanging with Spence.
The rest of the time I'll just be staying off my feet, drinking plenty of water, reading and doing a little work from the hotel room. Might try to take in a movie tonight. Although I don't like going to the movies by myself. Which brings up the last thing in this pre-IM report. I miss my wife, who generally comes with me to Ironman events. But this being my 10th IM, she has seen a few and lately has declared she only wants to travel to the "destination" races like Hawaii or France. I don't blame her. I can't stand spectating a sprint triathlon which is generally over in an hour... but one that takes an entire day! Yeah, I can see why. But I still wish she was here.
So that's it... I'm off to the expo. But before I go. If you would like to follow along on Sunday here's how you do it. First Log into ironman.com There you'll see two races providing live coverage, IM Louisville and IM Canada. Click on Watch Live Coverage of IM Louisville. Once there you'll be able to track the progress of the athletes, get a blow by blow description of the race (mostly of the pro athletes) and even a video feed, which turns to the finish line once the pros are in so you can watch for your favorite athlete come across the finish line. My race number is 2648 which is not to be confused with this number - 24601. For extra credit anyone know who's number that is or what it's from. (no fair Google-ing it... Hint: it has nothing to do with triathlon but has been very much a part of my life!)
