IMMD v2.0: Prologue

It seemed like forever, but the two weeks between the original date and version 2.0 of IMMD actually kind of flew by, especially towards the end when there was so much to get done.  I worked for a few hours on Thursday morning before heading out to Cambridge with a quick stop at the Bike Lane to get new tires for Xena.

I arrived in Cambridge around 2pm and went straight to athlete check-in.  The lines were long, but it gave me a chance to look around and observe everything.  I didn't spend a lot of extra time at the expo.  The lines were long and without knowing for sure how I was going to do in the race, I didn't want to spend a ton of extra money.  I'd already ordered a sweatshirt online, so I was good until the finisher gear.

Then, I drove to Taylor's Island to check into the house rental.  It really was an amazing house, and I think we all wish we were there for more than just the weekend.  I made some pasta for dinner and got my gear organized into piles on the couches while I waited for Cindy to arrive.  When she got there, we chatted a little over a glass of wine and then it was off to bed to get a good night sleep.

Friday morning we had the team's 10/10/10 brick workout, 10 minutes of each sport.  The water was cold freezing. It stung my arms as I started doing some strokes and I wondered [jokingly] if it would be possible to swim 2.4 miles with my head out of water.  Then I dried off, threw on my new Team Z jacket, and hopped on the bike.  I forgot my garmin, so I just followed Kate and I think we did about 3 miles.  Then a quick run.

Just as I was finishing up, I got a call that Heidi T had just pulled in. She met up with me and we checked Xena in for the night (I even remembered to take some of the air out of the tires!).

Then it was back to the house and Jon and Joann showed up not too long after that.  Everyone got to work, helping out and getting me organized. Heidi helped me go through my checklists and get all my gear together.  Cindy made my bike nutrition.  Jon and Joann set things up around the house and got everything ready for later.  It was a busy day!

Then we went to set up a tent at the high school (bike special needs).  After a quick stop at Great Marsh to turn in my gear bags and drop off a car at the finish line, it was time for the team dinner!  My dad, Uncle Jack and Sweeney joined us

Then it was one quick stop at the high school to drop off the stuff Sweeney had brought with him, while the others did some last minute errands for my bike nutrition (uncrustables!), and then it was home to relax for a bit before bedtime.

The next morning, the whole house was awake by 4am.  Nervous energy was everywhere, or maybe that was just in my head.  We had a little dance party to shake it all out.  We went through my race morning checklists and then piled into the cars to caravan to Great Marsh Park.  Joann and I rode with Heidi with Dan following us.  We stopped to have him park and there was some confusion.  There might have been a small collision with another car.  We were all frazzled. This was going to be a long day.  This was going to be the day that I did an Ironman!