True to my last post, I did not do any exercising yesterday or today. Ahh, the joys of getting ready for a race.
This morning, I was up early to meet the Team in Training group. Since I'm doing Danskin, I had volunteered to be the aid station today. My daughter went with me because she didn't want to go with my husband to my son's soccer tournament. The half marathoners were scheduled to do 3 miles and the full marathoners were to do 6 miles. While they were running, my daughter and I just hung out in the parking lot waiting for them to finish. It was quiet for a while, but then they started trickling in. The coach was hosting breakfast at her house today, but by the time the last person came in and we got there, almost everyone was leaving. And that was ok, because I needed to get my bike checked in for the Danskin triathlon tomorrow.
After leaving the coaches house, we drove straight to the Danskin race site. We went in, got my chip and bib number, got my shirt and goodie bag, and even tried to win a Trek bike (my key was not the winning key - darn!). Then we drove to the transition site and took my bike in for me to find my "spot". I guess different triathlons may do things differently, but the ones I have done have been the same. When you take your bike to the transition area, you don't have an assigned spot. You have to find your own. Some have assigned areas for certain numbers, but that's as specific as you get. I always like to be on the end if possible because it gives me a little more room. No such luck today. I've been lucky with Danskin in that my assigned row has always been in a great spot relative to the swim exit, the bike in/out, and the run start. But I had to be about 4 bikes from the main pathway today. It's still a great spot and having that spot always helps with transition times.
Here are a few pictures from the race site.
After leaving my bike, we headed to Chick-fil-A to grab a bite to eat. The reason we picked Chick-Fil-A is because today (at least in our area), they were donating proceeds from the sale of lemonade to an organization called Alex's Lemonade Stand. Alexandra "Alex" Scott was a young girl diagnosed with cancer. She wanted to donate money to hospitals to help other children like her who were diagnosed with cancer, so she set up a lemonade stand in her front yard. Alex lost her battle in 2004, but her parents continue her efforts. Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundaton for Childhood Cancer has now raised more than $6 million dollars for childhood cancer. For more information on this foundation, you can go to: www.alexslemonade.org. And yes, my daughter and I both had lemonade.
After eating, we headed home and I relaxed while waiting for my son and husband to get home from the soccer tournament. Once they got home we went to eat dinner. I like to eat pasta the night before a big race so we headed for Italian food. We've just got home and I'm getting ready to pack my bag for tomorrow's race - goggles, anti-fog, swim cap, bike shoes, socks, helmet, sunglasses, running shoes, race belt with race number, water bottles, gatorade, etc. You get the picture. Packing for a triathlon requires much more than packing for a running race. For those, you just wear what you need for the race. I wear the same thing throughout the tri, but I have to change shoes for the bike and run and you can't forget the helmet. Anyway, after I'm packed, I'll watch some tv or read a magazine until I'm ready for bed. And that may be early because I need to be at the race site to catch the shuttle to the transition area by 5:30 a.m. I like to get there early and get everything laid out. Transition closes at 6:45 and the first swim wave goes off at 7:00. I think my swim wave goes off closer to 8:00. I'll be ready.
By the way, my son's soccer team won second place.
I'll post a race report some time tomorrow.
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