Just an Average SKIRT

We arrived in beautiful Coeur d’Alene Wednesday afternoon and settled into our place on Dixon Court. A sweet little two story on the Spokane River, which later proved to be a great party house. The kids wasted no time starting their vacation and immediately went for a swim.

Thursday morning we headed down to Ironman Village for a dip in the lake. There have been months of drama leading up to this as the water temperature had been unseasonably cold. Just a month ago, it was in the high 40’s. I wasn’t worried I knew that race day would be perfect. Bj and I jumped right in and yes, it was most definitely, unseasonably cold. Despite my neoprene cap and booties my forehead felt like it was going to blow off and moving my hands became one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. But no more then 10 minutes later, our bodies had adjusted and the water felt fine. Gotta love the body! I had no worries heading into Sunday, the swim was going to be great. I was looking forward to it. Thursday night we got together with the CDA crew for dinner and some inspirational words from coach sent via our kick ass support crew.

Friday, the most important day of rest and hydration. My sister joined us that morning and would be with us through Monday. The athlete meeting was that evening and even though I’ve been to many race meetings I didn’t want to miss a beat of this experience. We got a great spot right in front of the stage and I looked around at my fellow competitors. All of these folks had been pushing their limits and balancing life and sport for many months. We were bound by our goals, commitments and ability to sacrifice. After leaving the meeting I felt lucky that the race was still another 36 hours away. Although prepared, I needed one more day. The race meeting moved the reality of this race up another level. My excitement was building; I just knew it would be a great day.

Saturday we headed back down to the village for another swim in the lake. I was especially fired up to get back in the water. I was developing quite a liking to the lake and was most eager for my Ironman swim. I thought that leading up to the race I would experience some nervousness regarding the swim but the only feelings that were developing were sweet anticipation. I couldn’t get in the water fast enough on Saturday, as soon as I jumped in I was elated. The lake had warmed up and the temperature was nothing less than enjoyable.

Hopped on the bike for a quick ride with Brian and BJ – I was riding behind them thinking ‘man, I get to do an ironman with these guys tomorrow’. How lucky am I? What a cool thing to share with my friends and especially my husband. BJ and I love to race together; I live to see him on the course.

Met up with the Skirts, had lunch with the group and then we went our separate ways. Back to the house to relax with a movie and make final preparations for race day. Timing felt right on, Sunday felt like the perfect day to race. My feelings of readiness were growing stronger then ever and again, I just couldn’t wait to get in the water.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 11:01 am and is filed under Triathlon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.