Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

As I sit here in my hotel room in Louisville, having completed my last "training" swim/bike/run, my outward exterior is cool and collected. I have trained for this. I am ready for this...or as ready as I can be. The title of this post is how I feel inside. I am freaking out! Everyone else's bike looks like it is from outer space! How can I compete with them?!?! Deep breath, and I'm back.

This morning was the practice swim in the bathtub that is the Ohio River. Water temperatures are between 83 and 86 degrees which makes me feel like the swimming I did over the past two weeks in the small super-heated pool at the Y worth something. As I stood in line with everyone else waiting to get in, I couldn't keep from smiling. Who gets to do things like this? This is such an incredible opportunity. As I began to swim, I felt pretty good. I was taking it easy, warming up, and the water didn't instantly kill me. Then, out of the murk, there was a foot, and it totally threw me off. I had a mini panic attack and could not get my rhythm back. So I treaded water for about 10 seconds, took two deep breaths, and carried on. I got about 15-20 minutes in, and I feel confident that tomorrow I will leave the water (slightly later than I did at 8:32 this morning) and head to T!.

After the swim, Neil and I headed back to the hotel to grab our bikes and do a quick bike warm-up. My baby got some new shoes at Performance Bike in Rockville on Thursday, and they needed a little breaking in. Performance Bike in general has been so amazing throughout this process. They have answered questions and been so accommodating to a newbie biker. We headed out to River Road which is where the bike will start and finish tomorrow. It was amazing! The ride along the river will be a great start to the bike portion of the race. The more amazing this was to see all of the bikers! I wasn't worried about being seen by cars or being alone. There was definitely strength in numbers. I headed back to the hotel to go run, and Neil headed back out to bike train a bit more for his Olympic-distance tri in September.

I did a quick change and headed to the streets on foot. Armed with some serious pump-up music, I started out towards the waterfront. My random playlist provided me with great motivation. The best was "Burning Heart" from the Rocky IV soundtrack. The lyrics are totally appropriate. "It's you against you...In the warrior's code, there's no surrender. Though his body says stop, his spirit cries NEVER!" There were people out walking back from the practice swim, biking, and running. It is no incredible to be around this many people who are healthy and motivated. Tomorrow, we will all take to the river and roads for 140.6 miles of swimming/biking/running. Each person has a different motivation. Some are here to qualify for Kona, some are racing for charities, some because doctors once told them they couldn't do this. I am racing like 1347 other first-timers tomorrow. I am racing for three amazing charities. I am racing to know for myself that I can do this. Most importantly, I am racing for all of my family and friends who have supported me throughout this and many other endeavors. I may never be able to repay them for all they have done, but I will certainly try.

A'ight folks, this is it. It is 11:47 AM, and tomorrow I will be on the bike. 36 hours from now (give or take 00:12:59) I will be an Ironman.