Enjoy.

Well, here I sit, in Penticton. 3 days, 20 hours (and change) until the cannon fires and the race officially begins. The last few days have been pretty good. I’m definitely enjoying the taper and some down time. I had a decent run yesterday along the channel here in Penticton.... Even though its pancake flat, I really like running along the little waterway. On the way out I felt like a gazelle, smooth and quick – then I turned around and realized the wind had been at my back the whole time! Needless to say, the second half of the run wasn’t quite as graceful (although it was slightly faster so that was nice).

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This morning Kirsten and Tyler are in Kelowna visiting a friend, Shane and his Dad are out shooting guns (boys) and Di is at work, so it’s just me and the silence. I figure I’ll take this quiet time to write down my race plan and then just put it away until Saturday. I want to give the day some good thought, but then get it out of my brain for a few days.

Last night we had a visit with Sue, one of Di’s friends who did Ironman last year. I remember seeing her after she crossed the finish line and thinking how great she looked. At that moment I remember saying “I want to look as good and as happy as Sue when I finish next year” and that thought still holds true. She gave us some good tips and thoughts about the day, and like everyone her biggest piece of advice was “Enjoy the day!” Take it in, love it, don’t worry about the weather or other people or the things you can’t control. Just enjoy it. So, I suppose, that really is my race plan:

Enjoy. Stayed relaxed. Eat. Enjoy. Drink. Enjoy some more. Remember to smile. Enjoy.

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Penticton really is an amazing little town and it sure does embrace Ironman and all the competitors. I love seeing all the business marquees welcoming athletes and wishing the racers good luck. As well, all the well wishes I’ve received from friends and family; be it in person, over the phone, over email or even facebook have been amazing too. It’s neat to feel the support of so many people – to have so many people from such different aspects of my life, all rooting for me on this one day. So thank you.

Tomorrow we will head down to Okanagan Park to register and check in, and then Friday is the big carbo load dinner and welcome. I’m looking forward to experiencing every bit of Ironman that I can this week.

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Anyway, as you can probably tell from this post, my thoughts are a little scattered, so I should probably sign off. Time to get my race plan on paper and turn off my brain.