game on!

I can't say I was the most patient person early last week, waiting for the announcement to come out.  I may or may not have been refreshing the page every 20 minutes or so. I was willing to drive down to North Carolina, and in fact, at times, the idea of a faster swim was somewhat appealing, giving me a better chance to meet that midnight cutoff.  But I signed up for Maryland.  I planned and trained for Maryland.  At the end of the day, I want to do Maryland.

Tuesday evening, I did one last weeknight outdoor training ride at Wakefield with Lucy (so glad she sent an email about riding b/c according to the team schedule, we are in transition and there are no group workouts, except for those of us unlucky folks still waiting for our "A" race).  You can't really see them in this picture, but I'm trying out some arm warmers.  I'd bought them a couple weeks ago as a "just in case" purchase, but now with cooler temps, I need to revisit some of my wardrobe choices.  I've also added wool knee socks, hand and toe warmers, a light cycling jersey, long sleeve Team Z running shirt, gloves, and several other last minute items that Amazon was happy to overnight to me for a small fee...

OK, not exactly... but I *did* pack my ski jacket (for after the race)!

So, back to reviewing my checklists and time predictions.  A couple things have changed for the new date.  There will be no bike handlers.  This means that rather than being handed your bike after the swim, we will need to go get our own bike, and then re-rack our bikes after the 112 miles.  What does this mean?  Not much, but a few extra minutes to transition times that I really don't have to spare.  Another thing is that sunrise is 15 minutes later now, at 7:15am.  The race is still listed to start at 6:50am but it has been said that they will wait a few minutes, if need be, for a safer swim.  Unfortunately, this does not mean they will extend the midnight cutoff.  More precious minutes that I did not have to spare.

A few hours at work and then heading out!

Somehow, everything got done. I may or may not have packed everything.  I had to swap cars (and bike rack) with Jon since his is bigger (he's riding with Joann later), and the car is pretty much completely full.  I practiced changing flat tires again, and am happy to report that I did it in less than 5 minutes!  Of course, on my way to the eastern shore, I will be stopping at a bike shop to have them check my work...  Cambridge, here I come!

I am scared, excited, nervous, anxious and ready.  It's a little surreal that this race might actually happen, and in 48 hours I will be self-propelling myself across 140.6 miles.  Game on!