36 Hours To Go.....
I'm currently sitting in the lobby of the Boardwalk Beach Resort's new tower edition..... punching away on the Keyboard. The spot where I'm staying....9 miles up the road doesn't have Internet access capability. While sitting around the house with my feet kicked up....eating meals made by yours truly....me....is nice and all, I felt I needed to get back in touch with the 20th century and find out what's shakin back home and around the world. Coming from an IT background.....I get a little antzi without my internet fix after a few days. I suppose it's similar to someone who's addicted to coffee.....
On to the training and racing front. I've been in the water the last two days and both days couldn't have been more opposite. Wednesday's water was as calm as a swimming pool, the sun was out and temps were into the high 70's to low 80's. There were also more jellyfish than I cared to get close too, including the Man of War. If you don't know what it is...do a google search....Creepy creatures. Probably saw 3-4 of those and another 10 circular shaped jellyfish. The water was so clear. With the wind down and the sea calm....you could see 30 feet away at a minimum. Yep, 30 feet....so when I got out to the 4th buoy.....200 meters past the second shelf, I remembered that was where all the bull sharks like to hang out during the day......deep water past the 2nd sand bar. When I couldn't see the bottom anymore, which was about 200 meters out past the 2nd bar....it got a little Erie...not to mention I showed up late the the Gatorade swim and was out there alone.
Today was a tad different with it being overcast most of the day, temps into the low 60's and an off-shore breeze that churned up the water to give it more of that murky look. I swam for about 30 minutes and headed home for an after noon nap. When I hit the pillow, I still felt like I was in the sea. That rocking back and forth feeling was still with me.
I was out on the bike yesterday and was able to catch a glimpse of both the run and bike course. Both look to have a great asphalt surface which will boast well for running and cycling. Let's hope the winds die down before the race as there expected to get up to 30mph tomorrow. I'll have to venture down to the water when I check my bike in to see the conditions. I'm sure it will make for a pretty sight....NOT!
Actually, I just checked the weather report and it's changed and gone up now. Winds as high as 17mph on Saturday by 9 a.m and a wind chill of 37 degrees.....NICE! My knees are already aching. Base layer clothing might be a must. The way things picked up here in the last 24 hours, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw hard wind conditions all day Saturday.
Other than that, been keeping a low profile during the week, eating in every night. I'm here alone, so I've had plenty of time to relax and gather my thoughts. At times, it's been lonely but makes for an interesting prep going into this race. There's really only one thought going on in my head right now.
As I've been writhing this blog, I've had the pleasure of hanging out with Bella Comerford and Stephen Bayliss. Both are here to race and Bella comes in with 3 Ironman Florida victories. Stephen comes in with strong 4th place finishes at Ironman Brazil and Ironman New Zealand. They were having some trouble with internet connectivity when I showed up. Bella came over to inquire about possible problems and when she saw I was up and running I recommended they might want to switch sides to another side of the room. Since I obviously was in the right spot, they headed over my way. It was only after talking with them for 10 minutes and switching topics over to the race that Bella told me who she was. So after a small amount of introductions we talked a little bit about the race, competition and some other things.....like swimming in open water which is something Stephen says he's not keen on doing. Super down to earth people and they were a pleasure to talk with. I'd have to say, if they end up as a couple long term...they'll end up like the Lovato's which have got to be the friendliest tri-couple around.
Well, that's it. I'm headed home now. No more internet until after the race. To everyone who sent me an e-mail, phoned me up to wish there best....I appreciate it more than you know. It's always comforting to know someone's out there in your corner....where ever they may be!
As for how I feel. I couldn't feel better. I've managed to get some much needed sleep over the past few days and my senses are coming around. Coming of a 13 hour drive....there's a small amount of mental and physical fatigue that you can't hide from..... but I'm coming out of it nicely and tomorrow I should be 100%. I've pulled out all the stops this time for a taper and I'll be excited to see the end product race day.
Until Saturday.......
On to the training and racing front. I've been in the water the last two days and both days couldn't have been more opposite. Wednesday's water was as calm as a swimming pool, the sun was out and temps were into the high 70's to low 80's. There were also more jellyfish than I cared to get close too, including the Man of War. If you don't know what it is...do a google search....Creepy creatures. Probably saw 3-4 of those and another 10 circular shaped jellyfish. The water was so clear. With the wind down and the sea calm....you could see 30 feet away at a minimum. Yep, 30 feet....so when I got out to the 4th buoy.....200 meters past the second shelf, I remembered that was where all the bull sharks like to hang out during the day......deep water past the 2nd sand bar. When I couldn't see the bottom anymore, which was about 200 meters out past the 2nd bar....it got a little Erie...not to mention I showed up late the the Gatorade swim and was out there alone.
Today was a tad different with it being overcast most of the day, temps into the low 60's and an off-shore breeze that churned up the water to give it more of that murky look. I swam for about 30 minutes and headed home for an after noon nap. When I hit the pillow, I still felt like I was in the sea. That rocking back and forth feeling was still with me.
I was out on the bike yesterday and was able to catch a glimpse of both the run and bike course. Both look to have a great asphalt surface which will boast well for running and cycling. Let's hope the winds die down before the race as there expected to get up to 30mph tomorrow. I'll have to venture down to the water when I check my bike in to see the conditions. I'm sure it will make for a pretty sight....NOT!
Actually, I just checked the weather report and it's changed and gone up now. Winds as high as 17mph on Saturday by 9 a.m and a wind chill of 37 degrees.....NICE! My knees are already aching. Base layer clothing might be a must. The way things picked up here in the last 24 hours, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw hard wind conditions all day Saturday.
Other than that, been keeping a low profile during the week, eating in every night. I'm here alone, so I've had plenty of time to relax and gather my thoughts. At times, it's been lonely but makes for an interesting prep going into this race. There's really only one thought going on in my head right now.
As I've been writhing this blog, I've had the pleasure of hanging out with Bella Comerford and Stephen Bayliss. Both are here to race and Bella comes in with 3 Ironman Florida victories. Stephen comes in with strong 4th place finishes at Ironman Brazil and Ironman New Zealand. They were having some trouble with internet connectivity when I showed up. Bella came over to inquire about possible problems and when she saw I was up and running I recommended they might want to switch sides to another side of the room. Since I obviously was in the right spot, they headed over my way. It was only after talking with them for 10 minutes and switching topics over to the race that Bella told me who she was. So after a small amount of introductions we talked a little bit about the race, competition and some other things.....like swimming in open water which is something Stephen says he's not keen on doing. Super down to earth people and they were a pleasure to talk with. I'd have to say, if they end up as a couple long term...they'll end up like the Lovato's which have got to be the friendliest tri-couple around.
Well, that's it. I'm headed home now. No more internet until after the race. To everyone who sent me an e-mail, phoned me up to wish there best....I appreciate it more than you know. It's always comforting to know someone's out there in your corner....where ever they may be!
As for how I feel. I couldn't feel better. I've managed to get some much needed sleep over the past few days and my senses are coming around. Coming of a 13 hour drive....there's a small amount of mental and physical fatigue that you can't hide from..... but I'm coming out of it nicely and tomorrow I should be 100%. I've pulled out all the stops this time for a taper and I'll be excited to see the end product race day.
Until Saturday.......
posted by Mark Gingrich at 9:24 PM
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