Again, as I’ve said, I will not be racing according to the clock. \u00a0I will be taking my time, racing the right race which is measured by feeling, not by specific metrics. \u00a0My time will be my time, whether it is 12:30 or 14:59:59. \u00a0Both will be successes and I have no ego going into this. \u00a0I know that the Ironman is much bigger than me, so I am humbled and honored to even be a part of it.<\/p>\n
Anyway, a bit about today. \u00a0Woke up late, like at 9:15, showered and went down to breakfast, ate with Grazi and his wife and daughter, then agreed to meet in the lobby again at 1 pm to head over to the Ironman village. \u00a0There, the plan was to take the shuttle bus to the swim area (about 12 km away). \u00a0While surveying the Ironman village area, specifically our bike-to-run transition (aka T2), I ran into an old friend from NYC named Israel Rodriguez, and his friend Edgar, both from Guatemala. \u00a0Israel is another impressive athlete with this Ironman marking #6 for him. \u00a0Just three weeks ago, he ran the Guatemala Marathon which he described as being very hilly, through impoverished villages, with huge potholes, etc. \u00a0In a terrible twist of bad luck for this event, the airlines lost his bike, so he was forced to rent a bike and the only one he could get was a road bike. \u00a0It has no aerobars and isn’t perfectly suited to his frame, but it’s better than nothing. \u00a0I feel so bad for him, but he is the kind of guy with indomitable spirit and positivity. \u00a0He’ll undoubtedly have a stellar race tomorrow.<\/p>\n
The bus ride to the swim start was slow, and just getting onto the bus required a good 45 minute wait on line. \u00a0Once at the swim area, we waited on yet another line. \u00a0Here’s a picture of Grazi on line, smiling as usual:<\/p>\n
Here is a pic of Israel (on the left in blue) and his friend Edgar:<\/p>\n Here’s a pic of the head referee whom I mentioned yesterday. \u00a0This dude’s calves were huge!<\/p>\n Here are a couple of pics of the swim-to-bike transition area (aka T1). \u00a0All of the bikes are “racked” on individually-numbered bike racks. \u00a0Because of the forecast for rain, the race organizers provided plastic bike covers for each bike. \u00a0We also had a choice to store our transition bags (containing clothing, shoes, nutrition, etc.) next to the bike or on bag racks to the side of the T1 area. \u00a0I chose the latter.<\/p>\n Here’s my bike on the rack and in the pic below that, the bikes of the top pros. \u00a0Faris Al-Sultan, a German who won the Hawaii World Championship in 2005, will race with bib #1. \u00a0At the time this pic was taken, there were no bikes next to bib #4, 5, or 6. \u00a0I was tempted to play some games and pretend I was a pro, but since I’m already in the Kona race this year, why not let someone else give it a try.<\/p>\n Here are maps of the swim, bike, and run course.<\/p>\n Here’s a pic of the swim area. \u00a0We’ll be swimming a 2.1 km loop on the left, exiting the water, going through an inflatable arch and over timing mats, then swim a different 1.7 km second loop on the right. \u00a0What this picture shows is the swim exit where athletes will run up a sandy hill (it’s rumored to be covered by rugs) and on to T1.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/IMG-20110723-00027.jpg\" "\\"IMG-20110723-00027\\"")
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