I've decided I should blog about my experience in Clearwater. As you may know, blogging is not something I'm good at getting to, but this experience seems worthy of a little typing time. So... what's it like in Florida?
The trip here was uneventful and pretty easy from a travel perspective. We flew direct on West Jet from Calgary to Orlando, and then it was about an hour and a half drive from Orlando to the condo in Clearwater. Ken and I had outstanding sushi on the way which really made the trip!
The condo we're staying in is right on the beach. I am sitting in the living room typing this with a very strong wind blowing in our patio door off the ocean. If it was hot it would be a perfect day! Unfortunately it's cloudy, and windy and cold but the weather is supposed to improve between now and Saturday which is race day.
This morning we went for coffee at a quaint little coffee shop a few k away. It was a very yummy latte... 1/4 pump caramel as always. A great way to start the day. Some groceries then off to the expo to get our race packages. It was FREEZING in the gazebo where package pick up is located with rain blowing sideways off the water into where the tables are. As always the volunteers were amazing, and it was a quick trip around to sign the waivers, get my cap and a run down on what to do with ALL the numbers in my bag, sign in my timing chip and of course, get the goody bag. If always amazes me how every Ironman expo feels the same, no matter where you are. This one was no exception. On the plus side there is a pair of Foster Grant sunglasses in our packages! A nice little bonus!
We then went to the merchanise tent and once again I left buying nothing. I did have a great chat though with a lady I met in Oceanside in April. She's in my age group and very fit and fast. We talked about the course and what we both hope to do. She outran me at Oceanside by 3 - 4 minutes. I'm hoping to catch her on Saturday! We both agree though that how we race is more important than results which we can't control. It was nice to talk to a competitive woman who has a similar approach to racing as I do. We talked about drafting too and how to manage "not" giving it energy on race day. I know that will be my biggest challenge.
We had lunch and Jaimie Roth and I went for a 20 min ride. Wow... riding flat is a really novel experience! I can't say I felt all that safe on the roads. There is a bike lane but it's such a busy street that cars are pulling in and out from the side all over the place, so I was a bit nervous.
From a "race" feel... my bike felt amazing! Ken put it together for me... thanks Ken!... and adjusted the placement of my pads for my aerobars and it's a good change. I also have new pedals that feel great and for the first time in a long time I can clip in and out without effort! For the few minutes I was on my bike I felt "one" with my bike! That's a GOOD thing!
I came home, spent about 30 min fiddling with new speed laces in my runners, then went for a 12 min run. I alternated 1 min fast / 1 min easy and it felt SO good! I'm hoping this is a sign that my cold is done and my chest is clear. I do feel a pretty big need to swim... I'm missing the water. That will be on the agenda tomorrow after our fishing trip! (I'm SO excited about the fishing trip. I think it will be cold, but I REALLY want to catch a BIG fish. A bizarre thing coming from me I know... it's just something I want to do!)
So... that's day 1 in Clearwater. No big pro sightings yet. The expo was pretty quiet today but I expect it to be a busy place tomorrow. We are going to go to Jaimie's favorite restaurant tonight even though we have lots of food for dinner:)
So... that's a wrap for day 1!! Hope all is well in Canada. Angie
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