Today's Workout: Nerve Control

In the water today at 8AM with my coach, Shandra three and a half weeks after she welcomed her daughter Madison into the world. I was soaking in as much last minute coaching as I could before Shandra took off like a speedboat.

The water temperature dropped two degrees today to 68. To say it had an alarming effect is an understatement. My wetsuit is sleeveless so the cold temperature on my arms did make me feel my pull a bit more today then yesterday. KR, Dave and I practiced swimming side by side and bumping into one another. We made a sandwich each taking a turn in the middle. This will be incredibly helpful on Sunday when I bump and swim with 2,500 other athletes. BTW, the ear plugs seem to have helped with the vertigo I experienced in yesterday's swim. I was fine after one loop so I hope for the same result after two loops.

After the swim we went for a 30 minute run on Riverside Road, the loneliest stretch of the run course. We saw some lugers and ski jumpers before making our turn onto Riverside where the road gets long and lonely.

We ended the evening with a pasta dinner with the athletes and their families out at the horse grounds. There were inspirational videos and stories. The oldest male and female competitors (70 and 67) are married, pretty cool. A blind athlete is competing for his Dad who is in his final days battling ALS. I thought I heard that there are 800 first time Ironman competitors, I am among them. 57 of the 2500 competitors raised money through the Janus Charity Challenge. The evening was one of inspiration, angst, and comaraderie. I'm glad it was tonight and not tomorrow but I'm certain that is purposeful.

For my fan base, my number is 2418. I am the youngest in the 45-49 age group so I will try to beat a few of my elders. Tomorrow, a final bike and run tune up and pancakes with a local church group.