Well, the time has come. It is now time to officially start freaking out!!! The energy is buiding on this island and you can tell people are getting into a zone. Thursday morning was the underpants run and since i am a virgin to this race, I caught just the end of the run. however, I did get a pic with Sarah Reinstein who is such an inspiration. I cried when I saw her finish the Ironman in 2005 as a single leg above the knee amputee. This year I will be cheering on Scott Rigsby who is a double below the knee amputee. MY parents have been volunteering like crazy and I hardly see them. Maybe they are trying to avoid me and my stressing-out episodes but they are really enjoying being part of the action! Not only are my parents my #1 fans but they really enjoy being at triathons. Of course my mom thinks this race is a little too big for her. She likes races with around 100 people. I guess 1800 athletes, 5000 volunteers and over 20,000 spectators is a bit much for her. The carbo dinner was amazing and the videos, Hawaii island performances, speaches, jokes by Mike Riley and huge athlete turnout really got me excited. By the next morning, the excitement turned to nervousness. I rode the in-town bike course once again and I feel good on the bike. Excited to swim hard and I just want to get this going. I am not so much nervous for the distance as I am nervous for the unexpected. How will my body handle everything with my past injury, how will I handle the 12 mile climb to Havi in wind gusts of 30-60 mph and how will I run a marathon after everything I've been through on the course. So much unknown but I guess that is what makes the Ironman. I will take my time and I will try to run slow rather than walk. Since I'm not in pain anymore, I just need to deal with the up and downs of the run course and the ups and downs of not feeling comfortable when I run. I'm hoping for a good dosage of endorphins as I am running and I hope that I can really enjoy myself as much as possible. I do know that when I am getting towards the finish line (not finishing is not an option!), regardless of the time (12 hours or 16+ hours), I will fully soak in the excitement of running down Ali with thousands of people cheering for me and all the other athletes. I will enjoy that moment and for the 1/4 mile I am running on Ali Drive I will think about everything I have been through, everyone who has supported me and everything about myself that I doubted before I started this race. I will be writing another blog later today in order to give out my thanks and shoutouts to all those who have supported me during my Ironman training. I'm just finishing going through my list of stuff for the race in about an hour I will be heading down to transition to drop of Seduza and to hang my bags.
I can't believe I am counting down the hours to the Ironman World Championships. This is just amazing and I can't believe I am here!