30 mph wind??!!?? Seriously??!!??

We tend to have a windy spring here in Texas. One of my cycling coaches used to always tell us that the wind and the hills were our friends. If we suffered a little bit up the hill or into the wind, we always got a free ride on the downhill or with a tail wind. This spring has been no exception to the rule only that the wind has been intense....every day....into the night....without ceasing. Last weekend it was cold and windy and then it warmed up and was still windy. This weekend it was warm and windy the entire ride.

When I climbed out of the car at 6:25 am at the ride start, the wind blew the car door out of my hand and yanked it all the way open. I looked up and could see the low clouds racing across the sky out of the south. Ugh! If it was this windy already, what was it going to be like once the sun got up in the sky. I have seen many days of still, breeze less pre-dawn mornings only to have the wind kick up once the sun rose past the horizon. At least there would be a tail wind for part of the ride. As everyone began showing up and getting set up, the wind only kept blowing. Our fearless team this week would include Greyhound, Coach Luke, Christy, and Cassy.

Our first 30 miles to the Wal-Mart were uneventful. Windy, but uneventful. I had over hydrated and was in physical pain until we got to the Wal-Mart. And as usual, the cleaning crew had the women's bathroom closed at the front of the store and I had to clip-clop my way quickly to the bathroom at the rear of the store while Easter goody shopping people looked at me and my flashing blinky lights like I was a huge moron. So far we had not seen any other riders on the road which I thought was strange since it was a day off for many people on Good Friday.

From the Wal-Mart, we headed north to back to Montgomery and had the wind at our back for most of the way. We saw a few riders including one "Fred" who was wearing his aero helmet on a training ride. Whatever. He gave Christy some grief for "cutting" the IMTX course and not riding through The Woodlands. Whatever. We were going to end up doing 100 miles. Just pedal on dude and leave us alone. Close to Montgomery we got a downhill and a tail wind together and I hit 32 mph before having to start to feather the breaks for a highway intersection ahead. Dang, that is what Chris Lieto must feel like on his bike. Dang that was fast and fun. We hit the gas station for a pit stop in Montgomery at mile 50, and then continued north into the Sam Houston National Forest.

I had shared a Coke with Greyhound at the gas station and it had left me with gas. My tummy was not happy with that. Note to self: Avoid Coke at the aid stations on race day. Christy, Cassy, and Luke had gotten a bit ahead and Greyhound was a little bit behind me so I had a solitary ride through the forest where I could hear the birds warbling and hear the animals dodge through the brush at the side of the road. The temps were climbing, but the shade of the trees helped. We all regrouped at a turn and continued on towards Richards, TX. We did have to make a stop to check out Christy's tire that was going flat from a slow leak and about another mile or two down the road we had to stop to change a flat 3 or so miles before Richards. We all welcomed the rest break.

At mile 70 in Richards, we refilled bottles and worked up our courage to start battling the wind. On the loop from Richards on the IMTX course, the wind was so strong that I was not comfortable getting down into my aerobars with the strong cross wind. Once we turned south and took the wind head on, I saw my speed drop down to 7.8 mph at one point. Seriously??? Come On!!! Weather. com had said 18 mph winds but both Luke and Christy said the wind was stronger than it had been in New Orleans for the 70.3 race the weekend before and the winds there had been over 20 mph. I pulled over and waited for Greyhound so we could work together and caught up to the rest of the gang at a turn. We would have a bit of a tail wind and cross wind back to Richards, but then it would be 12 miles into the wind with some hills thrown in as well.

Greyhound and I worked together as we let Christy, Cassy, and Luke pull ahead and then out of sight over a hill. We caught up to them with Christy off her bike and fiddling with her rear tire again. After we had emptied all of our CO2 canisters trying to get her tire inflated, a group of riders we had seen at the ride start pulled over and offered some help. I changed Christy's tire and got it pumped up and we got back on the road. No sooner had we gotten going, but I had to pull over because the wind had blown something in my eye and I could not see. I cleared my eye, emptied a bottle of water into my aero bottle and worked a bit harder than I should have to catch back up to Greyhound. We had just a few more hills into the wind and then 5 miles back to the cars.

On the last stretch, Luke said he was bonking hard and not feeling good, Cassy looked like she was ready to be finished, and for the life of me I could not catch up to Christy. It seems that her rear tire was going flat again and she wanted to get back to the cars as fast as she could. It was now time to transition to running. Cassy and Luke packed up and Christy, Greyhound, and I headed out for a very hot and windy run.

I was supposed to run for an hour, but 30 minutes was all I could manage because the heat was to intense (92 degrees) and I could feel my heart rate going through the roof even at a slow shuffle. When I got back to the car, I found Greyhound sitting up against my car in the shade finishing a beer. I threw my carcass on the ground in the shade and cussed out Ironman. We still had a 19 mile run to do the next day. We found out that the winds had been 30 mph with higher gusts.

Once home and after the ice bath, I decided that I would skip Masters swim on Saturday morning and just run. Greyhound was cool with that. Saturday was windy as well and I was glad I was not out on a bike. We got the 19 miles done and it was hot. Heat training has begun. It is now less than a month to go and even though I know I am ready, I hope that I can do this. Will the wind still be around in a month to kill me on the bike and shatter me on the run with his buddy, the heat?

There is one more week of big training volume. One more week. One more. Just one.

Stay tuned,

Liz

Awful!!! Just Awful!!!

I'm sure there has been a time where you felt like you were not doing an activity you enjoyed but that you were in HELL. No, not like the violent and miserable punishments described in Dante's Inferno, but your own personal version of HELL. Something akin to cage wrestlers hijacking your good day and beating you to a pulp with a folding chair....for no reason at all. Well, I like to ride my bike. I have had some good times on my bike. I have had some amazing times on my bike with great friends. And then there have been those bike rides from HELL. Today I am going to highlight my most memorable bad times on two wheels.

Coach Liz's Top 5 Worst Bike Rides EVER!!!

1. 2001 Sealy Bike Ride (Metric Century): I did this ride with El Esposo when he still had a bike. Things had started out well. It was a warm day in August or September. I had chosen to do a longer ride but I would probably end up meeting El Esposo at the car around the same time or not long after he finished the 50 mile route. At the last rest stop there was watermelon being served and it looked great, but I passed on it. I should of had it. Not 2 miles from that last aid station, I bonked and I bonked hard. I was pedaling as furiously as I could and could not get over 9-10 mph. The wind had picked up and I was heading all the way back in to Sealy, into the wind. I wanted to die. Some tool on an old ten-speed who was wearing split side running shorts and a purple and teal green old dome helmet was passing me like I was standing still. El Esposo passed me and said he would be waiting at the car. A little kid on a BMX bike passed me up. Again, I wanted to die and I hated my bike for a long time after that ride. I also learned not to pass up watermelon at an aid station.

2. Ironman 70.3 Cancun 2007: As usual, things started out great. About 8 or so miles into the bike, I hit a dried pile of concrete in the shoulder of the road as I was moving over to let faster cyclists pass me by. After getting over the injury to my groin and tasting blood from biting the crap out of my tongue, I felt like I had lost all of my mojo on the bike. I wondered if I was bonking. I was pedaling hard and hardly able to hit the numbers that I was hitting easily before hitting the cement. I was in race mode, and not really thinking about the cement anymore, I was thinking about getting calories and fluids in me. Soon after, the skies opened up and we were pedaling through a torrential downpour. I could not see out through my sun glasses and the fast boys were passing me up like I was standing still as they started their second loop of the lollipop shaped course we were on. At the turn around, the rain eased up and then the rain started to evaporate back up to the heavens. I watch steam rising off the pavement. Good Lord it was hot and humid. I was still pedaling my rear end off and not making much headway. I was getting pissed off at the people that I saw that were drafting. It was making me mad because I was working hard and they were not working much at all. On my second loop, I got passed by this gal who must have weighed over 200 lbs. in a freaking aero helmet. WTF??!!?? How in the hell was she faster than me and how much good was that aero helmet doing her??? On the way back in, I saw some gal in a Team USA skin suit at the side of the road with a flat tire asking for CO2, this was the third time I had seen her at the side of the road with a flat. There was no way in hell that I was going to help her. I had to beat at least one person in to T2. On the last lonely stretch back to T2, the skies opened up again and once more, I was in the middle of a monsoon all the way back in. I finally made it back and I was so glad to be off that bike because I was hating life. When I went to get my bike out of transition at then end of the race, the front wheel would not budge. The front break had been rubbing against my wheel almost the entire race from the time I hit that cement at mile 8. ARGH!!!! God must have had mercy on me because I ended up getting a roll down slot to Clearwater at that race.

3. 2002 Montgomery Lion's Club Bike for Sight Century Ride: I had started my foray into triathlons through the summer months and after my first Olympic distance triathlon in September I had some time in October to get back on the bike and enjoy good bike weather. I decided that I would do the Century Ride and as I recall, there was no one that I knew that was doing this ride. October is still a hot month in Texas, and this day was no exception. We started from the Montgomery ISD football stadium and headed towards Anderson, TX and hills. Big Hills. The temperatures kept climbing and the route had little to no shade. I had taken plenty of water with me, but I don't think that I had more than one bottle of Gatorade on the bike. My bike shoes were a pair of leather Sidi shoes that I had been wearing in my triathlons barefoot. After sticking wet feet in those leather shoes a few times and letting them dry, the shape of the foot got smaller. Now instead of bare feet, I had socks on and my feet were starting to swell from lack of electrolytes. By mile 50 my feet hurt. By mile 60, my feet were burning like they were on fire. By mile 70, my feet were throbbing. I got off my bike at the 73 mile aid station, sat down in a camp chair under a tent and kicked off my shoes. After 10 minutes I knew that I would never be able to get my feet back in those shoes and I called it a day and took the SAG wagon back in. When your feet hurt, your whole body hurts.

4. 90 mile Ironman Texas Training Ride 4-16-2011: This was supposed to be a good ride. I felt great doing 100 miles on the same route just two weeks before and had a great 70.3 race last weekend. The weather was the fly in the ointment here. The night before the ride, I dug out my leg warmers, arm warmers, vest, and thermal top that I had packed away for a season because it has been pretty warm of late. At the ride start, it was in the high 40's and even though I had four layers on my torso and two layers on my arms I was really wanting to snag Greyhound's jacket that he pitched in the back of his car. As soon as we started out, the cold dry wind from the north gave me a chill and caused my eyes to burn and start to water. The left eye was so bad that I could not open the eyelid and tears were running down my face and dripping off my chin. I could only see out of one eye as I watched Greyhound slowly move further and further down the road and leave me behind. Once we made a turn, I had to pull over and wipe out my eyes. Greyhound was gone. I could see again, but I was freaking cold. Why had I not packed my full finger gloves? Why did I not have on a better jacket? Why did I not have a fleece beanie on? I was shivering and wishing the sun was higher in the sky to warm the air. Greyhound was waiting for me a few miles down the road. My eyes were watering again and I had to pull over and wipe them out and get some water. I had been so cold that drinking was not on my mind. I felt like I just kept getting slower and slower and no matter how hard I tried to turn my legs over with some gear on the bike, I was reduced to the easiest gearing where I felt like I was spinning my legs as I watched Greyhound disappear again. This went on for two hours. I was angry at myself. I wanted to throw the bike in the ditch. I wanted to throw my cycling shoe at someone and my helmet as well. I was shivering so hard that I was afraid to get down in the aero bars because I was so unstable. Greyhound waited for me to catch up and then would drop me again as soon as we got going. I just wanted to get to the Wal-Mart where I know I would get a break to get off the bike. At the Wal-Mart I was able to get a big cup of coffee and begin to thaw out a little during my 30 minute break. Greyhound said we would reevaluate my situation when we got to the next stop that was closer to the cars if I needed to call the ride. I was a little snappy and said I had to do the whole ride. I may be fit enough but I had to work the bad brain mojo to know I could do this ride. After that, things began to pick up as the temperature outside rose. By the end of the ride I was feeling better but I was dehydrated and my stomach was not totally right until I was able to eat something that was salty. Oh yeah, I had forgotten to take my electrolytes and take along my inhaler on this ride. Both of them were needed. Ugh!

5. 2002 Tour de Cypress MS-150 Training Ride: I think I was supposed to do 60 miles that day but the SAG wagon drove my @$$ home at the halfway point because I was coughing up huge green globs of goop out of my lungs and I could not breathe. I got into a coughing fit on the bike and had to pull over and could not stop coughing and my ribs began to hurt. I was able to get another mile or so down the road to an aid station and I asked for SAG. I was so humiliated to be SAG-ing in but at the same time glad to be off the bike and going home.

Well, there you have it. The worst of the worst. You may have read something that triggered a bad bike memory for you and if that happened, I apologize. And as bad as these days were, a bad day on the bike is better than a day at work.

Remember that...

Later Gators,

Liz

Memorial Hermann 70.3 Ironman Race Photos

Howdy,

If you are not on my Facebook list, here are the race photos that I put on FB on Thursday. If you did not get a chance to read the race report, scroll on down and give it a glance.

Getting out of the water and heading into T2. Even though I was in the last wave, you can see I passed up a bunch of people with different colored swim caps who started ahead of me.

Leaving Moody Gardens to head out onto the Seawall and 28 miles down to Surfside, TX for the bike turn around.

Heading back in on the Seawall and almost finished with the bike leg. You can see the waves in the water behind me and tell how windy it was. Also, you will see what is left of my Dad's favorite fishing pier that was destroyed in Hurricane Ike.

This is on the first loop of the run when the sun was still out.

Somewhere between lap 2 and lap 4 on an out-n-back by the Moody Garden's Hotel and the Pyramid that houses the Aquarium. I like this photo because my muscles look like an anatomy book rendering. Strange, I know, but I think that it is kinda cool.

Offat's Bayou in the background behind us. Notice that the gal behind me is reduced to a walk. This is probably near the end of lap 2 or 3 for me since I still have a sponge stuffed down my tri top.

Here I am on the back stretch of the run loop that faces Offat's Bayou where we swam. The run course is very spectator friendly. I must be on the last half mile of the run because it looks like I have gotten rid of the sponge in my tri top. Looking cool, calm, and collected!This photo cracks me up. I have no idea who that guy is behind me and why he is looking at me. Kinda creepy and kinda funny. Maybe he is P.O.ed that I passed him on the run. Since the sponge in my tri top is gone and I see Offat's Bayou in the background this means I am probably only 200 meters from the finish. Maybe he is looking at me in awe when I blew by him as I was running my @$$ off to the finish.

Put your paws up! Whoo Hoo! Subtract 1 hour and 40 minutes from that time clock....or something like that to get 5:41:05.

So after last week's spectacular performance, this weekend was a hard one with many challenges in my training. There were times I wanted to cry, throw my bike in the ditch, and pass out from exhaustion. So, stay tuned to hear all the gory details (Tuesday's post).

Later Gators,

Liz

Memorial Hermann 70.3 Ironman Race Report

Well, not bad for an extremely windy day. Not bad for a "B" race. Not bad for the first race of the season. Not bad for racing through a little pain that we will get to later. Awesome pacing that if I can repeat in 5 weeks, I will have an INCREDIBLE Ironman race!!!

Quick and Dirty Version:

The bike is racked and ready to go!

Waiting...and waiting for the show to get going.

Once we got kicked out of transition at 6:45, I had almost two hours to wait around for my swim wave (the last one out of 21 waves!). I stood around and nervously waited and chatted with some friends and then took 40 minutes to go inside a building at the race site to hit the bathroom a few times and to get sunblock and my wetsuit on. I got out to the swim start with a few minutes to spare. I jumped off the dock and suddenly my nerves were gone. I was ready to get this done. The gun went off and I headed towards the first buoy.

The swim was wavy and choppy because the wind was blowing and I kept all my form cues from Coach Tim in mind throughout the seven buoy stretch to the first turn. It was crowded, but not a slug fest that I have in other races. Once around the turn buoy, I felt like I was by myself and I worked hard to stay on the buoy line as everyone else got pushed out by the waves and chop. I was passing different colored swim caps from waves ahead of me and I was feeling good. I was well hydrated and got rid of some excess weight (if you catch my drift) before making the last turn to head towards the swim exit. Now it was crowded with lots of people but I worked my way around the slow swimmers. I swam in and up the ramp and then dashed up the long stretch from the water to the parking lot and the wetsuit strippers. I was out of that wetsuit in a flash and back up and running into transition.

Swim Time: 37:00 pace=1:45/100 meters (this included the long run, the wetsuit strip, and washing the salt water off my face in the shower) 18th out of 154 in my AG yesterday, 20th today after updates. I don't get that.

T1 was pretty darn fast. There were over 2000 people doing this race so the transition was huge. I thankfully had a rack that was close to the swim exit. I heard some people cheering for "Coach Liz" on my way in. THANKS!!! I dumped my wetsuit and stuffed my swim cap and goggles down in it, jumped into my SPI belt with my my number on it, put on my helmet and sunglasses and ran my bike to the bike exit.

T1 Time: 2:25

My trusty steed...

And my lucky blue lizard who would be coming along for the ride.

Once on the bike, I worked fast to get my feet into the shoes. I left the Moody Gardens complex and turned onto a mile long road to get onto the Seawall. Not halfway down the road I see motorcycle cops, the timing truck, and Chris Lieto coming back in to finish his bike leg. HOLY F--K!!! Not only was that a little depressing that I was so far back in the game but at the same time it was totally amazing that he was done with 56 miles of biking that fast. I found out later Chris' bike leg was a 2:02:15. A 2:02:15! A 2:02:15!! 25.8 mph on the way out and 29.4 mph on the way back in!!! Ok, enough on that. Heading out to the Seawall was into the wind and it was not real fun. When we woke up that morning, the wind was howling around the windows of the beach house and Weather.com said they were blowing at 24 mph. Things died down to about 19-20 mph. Once up on the Seawall, the course headed west and we got a stiff crosswind with a bit of a headwind. My plan was to ride this race as if it were a training ride. If I passed people, great. If I got passed, ok, but I will see you again on the run sista'. I worked my way through the pack keeping the heart rate low and comfortable and passed quite a number of gals from my age group that were in the swim start ahead of mine (we were split into 2 groups). I had LMFAO's song "Party Anthem" running through my head as I pedaled along and kept the heart rate around 130 bpm. I had a few "fast chicks" from my age group pass me around mile 20 and blow by me hard on the bike. I let them go. Wow, it took them that long to catch up? They must suck at swimming. I knew my nutrition was on target. I knew my hydration was on target. I was able to make the bike lighter around mile 15 and every couple of miles after that, if you get my drift. Once I made the turn around, it was pretty lonely out there. There was lots of pavement between me and the people ahead of me. A few fast girls blew by me around mile 35 but I pulled them back in on the uphill onto the San Luis Pass bridge. I just kept to the plan and started to see more men that I was riding up on around mile 45. There was a slight tail wind so I was a few miles per hour faster on the way back in but again, I kept things light and comfortable. The only thing that was not comfortable was my neck and a hot spot on my left ischium. You know, the bony protrusion on the bottom of the pelvis that you sit on. I was glad to get back up on the Seawall because that meant that I was almost done and I started getting ready to tackle the run.

Bike time: 3:08:35 16.88 mph on the first 28 miles, 18.87 mph on the last 28 miles. 17.82 mph average. 32nd in the age group.

T2 was fast! I ran the bike in past chicks that were slowly walking and getting in my way. Racked my bike, quickly rinsed any sand out from between my toes, pulled on my socks and shoes, grabbed my Fuel Belt and hat and ran for the Run Out arch.

T2: 1:48

On to the run. I kept the pace light while I got my Fuel Belt on and adjusted and got my hat on. I ran past the Team in Training tent and got some love from my friends and then grabbed a few cups of Gatorade to get some fast calories. Now it was time to get down to business! I found my pace and kept it snappy and light. I had 4 loops to run so I had to find a pace that I know that I could maintain. About a half mile in on the course I saw a "Go Liz!" chalked in purple on the course. It was probably not for me, but I owned it. I kept my eyes open for Greyhound and for Little Ratchet. Around mile 2 there was a sidewalk of paver bricks that led up to a short steep hill. I avoided the pavers and hit the long cement stretches on the left that bordered a planting bed that was flatter and less angled. At the top of the hill, someone had used chalk to write "RAWR" on the sidewalk. I yelled out,"RAWR!!!" and everyone around laughed as I zoomed by them on the downhill. I saw more people I knew on the back stretch of the course before the split near the finish. One lap done and time for lap two. I did a repeat performance on keeping the pace snappy. I saw Greyhound on an out and back section. He was almost a mile ahead of me. I was seeing more people I knew and said "Hi" and I was starting to see some of those fast chicks who had passed me on the bike course. At mile 6 it was time for another "RAWR!!!"

As I started loop 3 I saw Coach Carrie and she gave me a shout out. I was keeping the pace snappy and I kept dumping ice down my tri top to keep my core temp a bit lower in the 86% humidity and the heat. My blister from the Austin Half Marathon was back and burning on the bottom of my left foot. "It is just a blister," I kept telling myself and I put it out of my mind. I saw Little Ratchet around mile 8 and gave her an "Abracadabra Homes!" from Ricky Bobby. I saw another fast chick that I will call "TaTa Nelson" for obvious reasons. I easily passed her up and kept going. I caught up to Greyhound around mile 9 and he gave me an "'Atta Girl". Time for "RAWR!!!" number 3. There were a few people walking up that hill that were not too excited about my enthusiasm when I ran by. My cheering squad on the back stretch gave me some love. Time for the LAST LOOP!!! Things were still snappy and I was telling my TNT cheering squads thanks for the support. I had people telling me that I was looking great and looking strong. I was passing people left and right. No one had passed me up in at least a loop or a loop and a half. Fast chick in my age group with the Shama Team who passed me on the bike like I was standing still....passed her as she was stopped at the side of the course trying to stretch out her legs. "See Ya!" With two miles to go I began picking up the pace. I had been using the mantra of 3:47 through most of the run and I had yet to look at my watch to see the time and how long this run was taking me. I ran purely by feel rather than using heart rate or time. Time for mile 12 and the last "RAWR!!!" I started booking it. I saw my friend Robin who is in an age group above mine and I quickly caught up to her and passed her in the last third of a mile. I was running hot now. I was getting love from the strong looking men who had already finished and were lounging along the last stretch before the Finisher's Chute. All I saw on the time clock was 7:17:53 as I was running in. I finished feeling winded from the last kick in the last two miles but feeling good. I was happy with my finish and very happy with my run. I was trying to do math in my head by subtracting 1 hour and 40 minutes off of the time to get my finish time. 5:37???OMG!!! Totally unofficial but WOW!!!

Run time: 1:51:17 Loop 1 pace = 8:36/mi, Loop 2 = 8:28/mi, Loop 3 = 8:31/mi, Loop 4 = 8:22/mi. Average pace = 8:29!!! 18th fastest in my age group!

The arch to the Finish Chute looking back from the Finish Line.

Well, the official finish time is 5:41:05 and 25th in my age group out of 154 participants. That is only 7:32 off my PR I set in October at the Longhorn 70.3 in Austin. Wow! I felt good the entire time. If I can get this feeling again in 5 weeks for IMTX and repeat the hydration and nutrition, and pacing, I may be in for a great race. I have sunburn, another big blister on the bottom of my left foot, and a nasty ugly saddle sore the size of a shooter marble that makes sitting and getting in and out of the car very painful. Other than than that, I am good. Really good.

Alright, that was not quick, but it was dirty. Thanks for the good luck messages!

Later Gators,

Liz

Ooo! First Big Race of the Season!

Just a short little post to let everyone know that this Sunday is the Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 race in Galveston, TX. I do not expect to meet or exceed my Longhorn Ironman 70.3 PR of 5:33:39. That race was my "A" race of last year's race season. This race is not my "A" race and it is the first race rather than the last race of the season.

Here is the race plan for Sunday:

I am in the LAST swim wave out of 21 swim waves. I just need to find a quiet spot to chill out for 2 hours once we get kicked out of transition. I may watch the pros get out of the water and enter T1. For the swim, I want to focus on swimming steady and with the "tricks" that I have been using at Masters swimming to get a little higher in the water and to swim a little faster with less effort. If I can get out of the water in under 40 minutes, I will be good.

On the bike, I just have to play it loose and easy. The wind is going to be the issue and I have to make sure that I remember that I may have a headwind on the way back in for 27 miles. I have to stay on top of hydration and nutrition so that I am able to pee at least 2 times on the bike. No gentle way to say that, sorry. Heart rates need to stay around 120-135. Somewhere in the 3 hour range is what I am going for.

On the run, I should be well hydrated from the bike and I need to take the first mile with a bit of restraint to see how the muscles are and then settle into my pace for the rest of the run. I need to stick to my nutrition schedule that I have been using on all of my run workouts and stay loose in the shoulders. I will be happy with a 2:10 run.

That puts me right at 6 hours or less and if I do better than that, I will take it and be very happy. I also hope that since I will be out on the race course the latest, that there will still be ice and water at the aid stations. My cousin is coming out to watch me race and I am excited about that. I never have family cheering me on.

Unless the swim buoys get blown off course and I fall off my bike like the scenario at Buffalo Springs two years ago, I expect to do ok on this race.

Stay tuned for results or look up race # 1959 on the Athlete Tracker on the Ironman.com web page.

Later Gators!

Liz