Ironman: Day 2

Today we got up to the most beautiful day. It was cold, but sunny and amazing clear. That’s more like it. We got our gear ready, Trevor trained me on how to get my wheels off my bike, should I get a flat. We went on a quick ride to check the bikes and got ready to get to our bike check in. This is where we leave our bikes and our transition bags today, so we don’t have to mess with them tomorrow.

I thought I had plenty of time. I got out of the shower at 10:30 and Trevor told me that check in closes from 11:30 to 2. Shit. We got our stuff together, threw it in the car and hauled ass down the hill to town. We parked in the first place we saw, unloaded the bikes and ran down to the bike check in. We got there around 11:25. Whew.

We racked our bikes, left our bags in the appropriate place. I looked at the water, rough again, and still felt like I needed to vomit.

We walked out of the bike area and headed to the village to look at the merchandise. I have a hard rule that you don’t buy or wear event gear until you have finished the race. It was hard to get excited about stuff when I wasn’t going to buy any and really was feeling sick about the whole event itself.

Then I realized that I needed to be a little more committed to finishing this race. I needed to get all in. This scared shit wasn’t going to cut it. I was going to do Ironman on Sunday and I was going to finish it on Sunday. Monday I would be an Ironman and I could buy all the cool gear I wanted. I would make it out of the swim, onto the bike and off the bike onto the run. That’s all there is to it.

We stopped at Starbucks, got some coffee, hit the grocery store and headed home – up the hill. We had lunch and parked our butts on the couch.

Here I sit now, 14 hours until start time and for the first time in two days, I am not sick to my stomach. I am tired because I didn’t sleep last night. Once I finish typing this, I am going to take a little nap. Then we’ll eat, do some last minute stuff and go to bed.

I am started to get excited about tomorrow. It is going to be fun. My arm has healed well enough that I am going to be okay. It is stiff and sore and still hurts sometimes. I don’t have full range of motion. But I am going to do Ironman tomorrow. I am going to remember that I cried when I thought my season was over, the day I crashed on bike. And yet here I am. Ready to go.

After dinner, I will sit in my bedroom and write out how my event will go. My plan is to be safe, have fun, keep my heart rate under 155 and finish with a smile. The road to Ironman has one last hill. One last long hill. Its been a long journey, a long road.

I am not going to let the person I used to be hold back the person I have become. Tomorrow, I become Ironman. And I can’t wait.