One of my ES students stopped by my motel just now to wish me good luck tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a good day. Thanks Devon!

My last meal.

Getting my last minute exercises in with my training partner.

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Iron-dinner.

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Transition area on Friday.

Mirror Lake, T-49:20.

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At the ski jumps.

I've been watching the countdown timer for almost a year- today is 5 days to go! #imlp

What I'll be wearing- ketchup and mustard

Here are pictures of what I'll be wearing, so that you can spot me and yell at me.  For the bike (1st picture), I might have black arm warmers on or, if it's really cold, a bright yellow/green long-sleeved shirt.  For both the bike and the run (2nd picture), I will probably have sunglasses on but hopefully that won't throw anyone off.  If I'm really slow on the bike I might look closer to the third picture when I'm done.



































I've logged a bunch of miles in training so far this year.  Here are my totals:
Swimming- 56 hours and 172,650 yards
Running- 100 hours and 738 miles
Cycling- 169 hours and 3,301 miles

...and I still feel like I should do more.  Oh well!  I'm about done with my taper now and only have 8 days left to go until race day- 8 days!  Here is what my taper has looked like:

The longest ride (green) was 122 miles, then 100, then 85, then 60, and today I did a 50 mile ride.  My run taper started a little later (because of my calf) and I did my long run (19 miles) about 2 weeks ago.  Swimming has been pretty steady but I've added a little quick stuff in here and there.

sorry this is messed up, i'm done

Lists

Why lists? When entering the transition zone from the swim, you are handed your bag of gear for the bike. Then halfway through the ride you can take your "special needs" bag (if you want to).  After the ride is over, and you are back in transition, you get your run bag and halfway through the run, the run special needs bag. You have to pack all of these bags with your stuff and I don't want to forget anything, so hopefully people will comment on what I missed (plus I will have my lists here for posterity's sake).

START
Gatorade bottle (x2- one for morning, one for bike)
Bottle of Ensure (3 bottles for bike)
PowerBar
Gel
Tums
Salt tablets
goggles
wetsuit
earplugs
HR strap
HR watch
TIMING CHIP!!!
tri shorts
cycling shorts (I'm wearing two pairs of shorts on the swim so that I will be comfy on the bike)
swim cap
body glide
albuterol
tire pump
ribbon
Check this in AM: bike tires inflated, bottles on bike, computer reset and working, tires spin, bike bag has helmet and shoes, run bag has shoes.

BIKE BAG
helmet
shoes
socks
sunglasses
race belt
arm warmers
ALS bracelet
number
salt pills 14
phone
albuterol
bag to put shoes in if it rains

BIKE SPECIAL NEEDS BAG
tube
CO2
2 Powerbars
4 gels
bottle of ensure
salt pills 6

RUN BAG
shoes
visor
salt pills 12
"Take off your shorts!" note (to remember to take off my cycling shorts)
calf guards
wet wipes
spare sunglasses
wrist sweatband
Ensure

RUN SPECIAL NEEDS
Ensure
duct tape
bandaids
Salt 6
socks
wetwipes
superglue
sweatband

AFTER THE RACE
t-shirt
boxers
shorts
crocs
sweatshirt

What did I miss?

Official spectator guide and road closures

Click here.

Bib number

I'm number 98...ain't it great?

Athlete guide

In case anyone gets really bored, here is the 2010 Athlete Guide.  Enjoy!

Spectator information

Please check back here before race day because I will post updates, if needed.


The Ironman Lake Placid page has tons of information (more than you need to know) and lots of useful stuff. Specifically, here is the link to the turn-by-turn directions for all of the routes. Here is the map that I made for our motel location, etc.. And here is a list of road closures.

We will be arriving in LP on Wednesday the 21st and will be staying at the Edelweis Motel.  Here is how I see race day unfolding: I will be at the transition area around 5:30 to do last minute checks on my bike and transition bags, then will go to body marking.  I will have my wetsuit on around 6:30 and be down at the beach at Mirror Lake.  The race starts for me at 7am with two swim loops; when I exit the water between the first and second loops I will yell "Bazinga!" so that you will know who I am (everyone copies me and wears the same swim cap and a black wetsuit).  The swim should take me somewhere around 1 hour 15 minutes and then I'll run up the street to the 1980 Olympic speedskating track (the transition area) to grab my bike and hit the roads.  MAP

I'll ride the two loops in around 6 hours (total) and this might be a good time for people to hit downtown LP and check out the sales at the Gap and get a bite to eat.  If people are really into spectating you can see me ride through downtown around 3 hours after I leave.  If you really want to see the "good stuff", you can go to 86 and Northwood Drive and head north a bit to see some of the hill climbing; I think I will be through here about 2.5 hours after I start the bike.  To get here, go past our motel on 86 for about a mile and you will be there. MAP

After the bike (probably 2 or 3 o'clock, but maybe later) I'll start the run which has two loops and two turnarounds- this means that you can see me 4 or 5 times during the run.  The finish is on the speedskating oval and the crowds are crazy (you will all fit right in).  MAP

If I have the energy (and think I will be able to get back up) I will try to "roll the line" in memory of Jon Blaise- a guy who had ALS and finished the Ironman Championship in 2005.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrEUyIiApus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Blais

Here is what my game plan for the race will be:

http://endurancenation.blogspot.com/2007/12/en-four-keys-to-ironman-execution.html

I can't say enough about how much your presence in Lake Placid means to me.  I thank you all a thousand times!

Last long run

I got a 2.5 hour run in this morning and it was hot!  Calves felt pretty good so I'm going to wish for a hot day for IMLP.  18.5 miles will have to suffice...

updates

School is finally out and we seem to be as busy as we were during the school year.  My year ended in a whirlwind but our exam results were good so all is well there.

Since my last post (over two weeks ago) I have run 9 times for a total of 66 miles (with a long run of 15).  Calves are still tight but stretching during the runs seems to keep them loose enough.  I'm hoping for one more long run before tapering- hopefully a 2.5 hour run on Tuesday.

On the bike, I've ridden 337 miles in the last 2 weeks, with a long ride of 100 miles last Wednesday (after an early morning swim and correcting exams at school, it was a long day.  Today I had a nice 85 mile ride on a very pretty morning; somehow I was faster, by 1 mph, than I was last time I did the loop- maybe it's my aero helmet?

Swimming has be pretty good. I had a good swim yesterday where I felt good, swam easy but seemingly fast, and tracked straight. I've swum/swimminged/propelled myself through the water/swam over 10 miles in the last two weeks.

The race is three weeks from tomorrow and I'm super excited.  I can't believe how many people are going to cheer me on personally or will be there for the event itself but will cheer me on- I will need every cheer I can get.

On the home front since school ended three days ago, I've painted three ceilings, ripped up molding, filled wall holes, started to rip up carpeting, bought paint for walls, bought new flooring, bought a new lawn mower, and had a picnic.  Summer is always busy!

Happy Fourth of July and thanks for reading.