Ironman Canada 2010 – The Prelude In Words

Wow…it is Saturday, August 28, 2010.  Where has the time gone?  Tomorrow is the big day, the day I race Ironman Canada!  This year has flown by and it is hard to believe that something that seemed so intangible a short time ago is almost here. 

The week leading up to the race has been a great one.  The Boyfriend and I had an amazing couple of days in Vancouver where I successfully forgot about the big race.  I think this was a good thing.  I focused on having a fun time and not stressing out about the race.  The weather was beautiful, the food was terrific and I even managed a great run around Coal Harbour and into Stanley Park.

We arrived back in Kelowna on Wednesday evening.  I never thought about staying in Penticton for the race, not when I could relax at my parents’ place in Kelowna.  Sure, it is 40 minutes from Penticton but it is a bit more of a comfortable place to be and I’m happy to be away from some of the buzz to tell you the truth.  Not to mention it is a bit more budget friendly…

I made my way into Penticton early on Thursday morning for a 7:30 am swim with my team.  As I drove that morning I really felt the butterflies for the first time.  This was real, Ironman was almost here.  The lake felt great and I felt calm in the water.  On Thursday afternoon I had a great meeting with Angie to go over my race plan and talk about my thoughts and feelings concerning the race.  I never had a chance to write up a race plan before I left Calgary and I think Angie was a bit shocked that I was winging it on such a big race.  I’m pretty firm on my goals for this one though and what I want to do so my race plan was almost easy.  Angie mostly gave me tips for dealing with nutrition on the bike and run and we talked about thoughts to get me through the day.  Later in the day a few of us got a ride up to Yellow Lake and we rode the descent down into Penticton.  It was great to get a reminder on this final part of the route and it gave me a lot of confidence going down the big hill.

Other than that I’ve been back and forth, going for swims, registering at Ironman Village, buying swag, and going back and buying more swag, then checking the bike into transition.  I’ve run into Sister Madonna Buder a few times and said hello – what a wonderful lady!  Plus I’ve also seen Keith!

And with that, tomorrow is the big day.  My goal for the day is PATIENCE.  I plan to take it super easy on the bike, as easy as possible, so that I can have a successful run.  I haven’t done any math at all to compute a finish time.  I just hope to be crossing the line before midnight.  Check ironman.com for a link to athlete tracking.  I’m bib number 2307.  Thanks to all of you for your great comments over the past year and for all of the encouragement.  I’ve been overwhelmed with all of the e-mails of well wishes and the posts on Facebook.  As my friend Tea reminded me, tomorrow whenever I cross a timing mat, remember that I have a crowd of fans cheering me on.  I will definitely be remembering that!  Thanks everyone!