Less than 1 week to go

The main purpose of this blog post is that any time spent writing is time that I do not have to spend packing. Although considering my normal packing routine, the fact that I've started at all and still won't be leaving for another 38 hours means that I'm already way ahead of the game. It's not really that hard anyway. Just make a list, and make sure you put in everything from it. I'm not big on scrutinizing which clothes to bring, especially because in the past couple of years most of my clothing purchases have been workout clothes, and I'm running out of regular clothes. As a frame of reference, I just realized that the green sweatshirt I'm currently wearing was purchased when I was a teenager. The pants are from when I was on a ski trip in Colorado in 2002, before I even considered doing a triathlon. And the t-shirt I remember picking up the week before spring break in college when a friend and I decided to go shopping instead of to class. And no, I wasn't a bad student. I got an A+ in that class and really didn't need to go in order to do well in it. Hmmm... maybe it's time for a shopping spree.

So I am leaving for Utah on Tuesday morning, taking a direct flight from Manchester, NH to Las Vegas on Southwest because they are awesome and not only actually treat you like a human being, but charge a mere $50 for bikes. It'd even be free if I could ever somehow figure out a way to get my size 58 frame into some sort of bike box that does not exceed 60" in overall dimensions. Um... I think I'll be ok with the $50. I still cannot believe that I have to do an Ironman on Saturday. For six years in a row it was all about the end of July. I have to constantly remind myself what time of year it is since I'm peaking for this first of May race.

Against my better judgment, I finally looked at the course profile. There is something insane like 1600 feet of descent in the final 12 miles of the bike course. The exact opposite of Placid where it is all uphill. The run looks pretty brutal too, but I don't think the easiest of courses could save me at this point, so I'm not going to worry too much about that one. At this point I just want to go out and try and enjoy the experience. The area looks beautiful, and it will be nice to have a change of scenery.

There's not a lot left to do between now and then. I did my last 4000-yard swim on Friday, and that went pretty well. I did a nice little 4-hour ride yesterday in gorgeous weather, and it is amazing just how quickly 4-hour rides can go by after doing all of those longer ones. It was also nice to ride a particular favorite loop of mine that I hadn't done since last year. Still a hint of brown snow left on Crotched Mountain. A little run afterward and that was it. Much different Saturday than normal. Today was an easy two-hour ride, another easy run and then a little bit of packing. I'd like for the day before I leave for Utah to be much more relaxing than the day before I left for California, when I nearly flooded the house. I don't think I finished packing that night until close to 6. I seriously want to be in bed tomorrow at 6!

Hmmm.... maybe I should get back to packing. I know I don't want to, but it has to happen sometime and I'm sure I won't be interested in doing it tomorrow, either!