Taking off

Hey everyone! This is my last blog post from Arizona. I leave tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. and I get into Florianopolis at 6:00 a.m on Thursday (2 a.m. your time). So I am in for a long day of flying and sitting in airports. From my house to the apartment we are staying at in Brazil it should take right around 28 hours. Sheesh!

Here is what this week looks like:

Monday: last swim with my coach almost 1500 meters, 20 minute run, and 1 hour bike ride at race pace (about 18.5 mph).
Tuesday: 30 minute run in my new racing flats :)
Wednesday: Travel day
Thursday: Swim 1/2 the race course so about 2000 meters, maybe a short run. Start eating lots of carbs.
Friday: Ride a little bit of the bike course, maybe an hour. Continue to carb up and add plenty of salt to my diet.
Saturday: Rest!!! and tone back the food intake.
Sunday: RACE DAY!!!!

My nervousness has been replaced by anxiousness. I just want to get down there and start racing! I have set a few goals for myself when I get down to Brazil 1) Finish the race 2) finish under 12 hours 3) get better at surfing 4) not get abducted by guerilla rebels 5) and lastly, have fun. All of those seem fairly attainable, so it should be an excellent trip. I just picked up a digital camera so I will be able to post some excellent photos when I get back. I will also try to put up a race report in the days following the race to let you know what exactly went on. You can get live progress updates during the event by going to Ironman.com and going to the Ironman Brazil page and clicking on 'Track an Athlete'. It will show all of my split times, and they also have a live webcam set up so you might be able to see me during legs of the the race. My bib number is 345. I will be wearing black shorts, a red tri-top, and a black hat (So will many others, but it might help?). So keep an eye out for me.

Thanks again to my friends, family, and sponsors. I could not have done this without you.