38 hours to go...

What better way to waste some of the time while I sit in my hotel and do nothing than to ramble on in my blog? Today was a good day, so far anyway. I woke up far too early, just too excited to get out and do what I needed to do, so I was on my bike for a nice, easy spin at 5:30 this morning, before it was even totally light out. I have always preferred to train early in the morning. Especially here, when you're in a town crawling with thousands of triathletes, if you get out on the road early enough it's like you have the whole town to yourself. It's amazing how quiet it is compared to what it turns into just a few hours later.

I rode several loops around Mirror Lake since all I wanted to do was get an easy, 45-minute spin in, and there was no reason to go off and start climbing hills. Each time I went around there were a few more people out and about, but for the most part, it was just me. A few ducks in the lake and a couple of swimmers, maybe. It was cloudy and a bit humid, but a pretty comfortable temperature. Traded bike shoes and helmet for run shoes and hat and went out for a nice, easy run. Felt pretty good and it was over before I knew it. Not done yet though, got in the car and drove about a half-a-mile down the road (using the taper as the excuse) to get my swim in. The water is a perfect 70 degrees. Really, if it's too warm I'd just get uncomfortable out there. And again, before I knew it, that was over. It was 7:30 and I had nothing left to do for the day. Nice.

This is actually the first time I've done an Ironman where I've trained at all two days before the race. I had always previously operated under the two days before off, day before a bit of training. Now it's reversed. I have no problem with it, it's just different. There are a lot more people out there I'd say, but then again, either way there are always a lot of people.

First up after the workouts was a nice nap. I love having excuses for that kind of thing. My parents arrived just in time for lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed a big, fat turkey sandwich. You know when you have an idea in your head of exactly what you want and you actually get it? It was perfect. The only problem now is that 4 hours later I'm still full and supposed to eat a big dinner at some point this evening. I had been looking forward to a nice pasta dinner, but now I'm hoping I'm physically capable of handling it! Funny when you are dreaming about eating some nice meals and then the time comes when you're supposed to, and it almost becomes a chore. I'm sure I'll make it work somehow.

I had a meeting with the coach this afternoon to go over my goals. Things are looking good. Let's just hope that I am able to execute the way I'm supposed to! I am sure I will post again tomorrow, when I am forced to spend all day tomorrow doing just about nothing aside from dropping off my bags, resting and eating lots of carbs. I hope my too-full stomach clears some room in time for tomorrow morning's pancakes. I've been thinking about those pancakes for the past 7 weeks, since I had them the day before Mooseman. I can't believe that Mooseman was 7 weeks ago. I've got all of my nutrition ready to go, bags are pretty much packed, nothing left but to keep on waiting and getting antsy and drinking lots of fluids.