I Got My Blog Back!!

Shawn would not let me post until we broke my record for the number of blog comments on his post below!!! It worked--thank you so much for all of the positive energy. I especially love all of the comments from Buckeye Country :-) I've lived in Austin for 10 years, but Columbus will always be "home" and I'll bleed scarlet and gray til the day I die! (let's hope that's not this coming weekend!) By all means, keep posting comments on his "husband hijacking" entry.

There's so much to catch up on, so this post will be random tidbits. First of all, the taper is going well. Aside from some "dead legs," I'm feeling absolutely ready to go. I ran 8 miles Friday, biked 40 miles Saturday at 18.5 mph avg, swam 2400 at Barton Springs this morning at 2:06 pace and followed that up with an 8 mile run at an 8:40 pace. All felt great. In fact, I purposely ran slow this morning and never left a comfort zone. My first mile was a 9:44 and I was running 8:10s by the end--still feeling very comfortable. I feel so prepared for this event. Of course, I have some jitters, but it's more from pure excitement than any lingering fears or doubts.

My race number is #2055! On Sunday, you can follow my progress on http://ironmanlive.com/ . Simply log on and click on "track an athlete." From there, you can type in my bib number. Of course, you can also visit this site throughout the day for updates as well!

The other good news is that we have great accommodations for the race. Last week, our RV fell through and we went to plan B. Well, plan B is freaking awesome and kicks plan A to the curb. We're renting a brand-spanking-new house in Scottsdale for the week...4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, pool, kitchen, washer/dryer, hot tub, etc. At least I'll be able to rest well the night before in a nice comfy bed instead of a cramped RV with drunk people! Hell, if I wasn't doing the race, I'd probably be one of those drunk people! Check out Carrie's Villa D'Ironman below :-) Oh yeah, by the way, it's in close proximity to a wine bar and sushi restaurant. If I don't make it to the start line, you'll know why.

I've also begun the arduous task of packing for essentially three different vacations over the next couple of weeks. After the race, Shawn and I are renting a camper and driving to Sedona with my parents for a couple of days and then heading to the Grand Canyon for three days of more camping. I have to be honest with you. I'm almost looking forward to this portion of the trip more than the race. Why? Because the race will be over and we can just relax and drive across the desert with not a care in the world! So, I've got my race clothes, warm weather clothes for Sedona and cool weather outfits for the Canyon since it will only get to about 60 degrees during the day. Needless to say, this is what the inside of my closet looks like right now.

So, what else? I've got my reading material for the road....

And my Good Luck Charm.

My sister-in-law is incredibly talented and makes some wonderful jewelry. She made this necklace for me with Ironman engraved into the metal. So cute and kinda funky! I cheated and wore it the other night as a good luck charm. She also makes them with names and quotes engraved on the metal so if you're looking for a great Mother's Day present, birthday gift, or Ironman charm, let me know and I'll put you in touch.

We also purchased a new toy for the trip-- The new Flip Digital Video Camera. I'm going to be doing some video blogging on the road trip and we'll hopefully get some fun video footage during the race that we'll post on the blog! This should certainly be a blast and you'll get to experience my highs and lows right along with me. Can you say Ironman Documentary??

We hit the road Wednesday night, so I'll be checking in again! I've got a couple of easy, EASY workouts this week and then we're outta here...Thanks again for the awesome comments. DO keep them coming! I promise to make this one interesting ride for all of us :-)