FLASHBACK : A YEAR AFTER
IRONMAN LOUISVILLEÂ 2017
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Saturday starts early with a lot of nervous energy & prepping for everything! So much fun being surrounded with so much energy & camaraderie. So many athletes who have worked so hard to get to theis place. All ready for a great weekend. A lot of organization & planning… starting with checking in at IRONMAN Village. You pick up your bag & race info, get your timing chip and race numbers. Then they funnel you out through the IRONMAN Merchandise Tent… convenient, huh?
Enjoying some of the Louisville waterfront along the Ohio River. Amazing bridges crossing the river. Beautiful now… but a bit overwhelming just knowing that tomorrow I would be in that huge river swimming for my life… a full 2.4 miles of swimming in the Ohio River!
And then it was back to the hotel to pack up my gear bags and prep my bike. An IRONMAN race is organized to perfection… and a system of gear bags staged at different points along the way. So you’ve got to plan accordingly… and then hope for the best.
After placing your gear bags, you have put your bike into the Transition Area according to your race number in the sea of bicycles on the pre-numbered racks. Gotta keep track of where you leave your bike… so you can find it later!!! It gets a little hectic during the race with athletes racing in & out scrambling all over the place – coming in, going out, finding their bike & bags!!!
A lot of bikes… 2,000 athletes means 2,000 bikes!!!
With the bridges off in the distance, it was time to go have a quick bite of lunch. So we went down to Fourth Street Live… kind of the hip & happening area of town. Also exciting knowing that the IRONMAN Finish Line would be right here in the same spot tomorrow!!!
So Chris and I hung out for awhile, went back to the hotel for a nap, and then it was time for a quick dinner. So we went back to Fourth Street Live area for a nutritious dinner that would get me through the race tomorrow. I chose my favorite Chipotle. I know, not too exciting. But I like it. And I know it works well with my stomach with good nutrition for tomorrow. And quite honestly… there was a bit of “superstition” in it as well. I ate Chipotle last year for my first IRONMAN and all went well. No need to change that, right?! So we finished dinner, went for a quick walk through downtown Louisville to work off some nerves… and “maybe” some ice cream… when the sun had set it was time to get to bed for an early night’s sleep. For tomorrow is going to be a BIG DAY!!!
