#1315

That's my bib number for the race tomorrow. That's right...TOMORROW!!

I'll be up, bright and early, to meet the rest of my team at 5am. Hopefully we'll have some jumbo sharpies and we can take care of all of our body marking before heading over to the transition area. I'll have #1315 written all over me, my bike, my helmet...mostly so the photographers can recognize me, but it'll help my parents pick me out of the crowd too. So after the body marking, we'll walk a few blocks from our hotel to the transition area where our bikes are racked. We'll have until 6:30am to set up our small area...lay out our shoes, make sure we have food and drink on our bike, cover ourselves in body glide (so he can avoide chaffing), and build up more and more nervous energy. They close the area at 6:30am, so whatever we need for the swim has to be in our possession. And then I have to hang out for over an hour since my swim wave doesn't start until 7:50am. Then I'll finally get to jump in the water, chill out for a few minutes, and wait for them to sound the horn, signifying the start of MY race.

But enough about the race right now...I'll have much more to share once its over, I'm sure. We arrived in Austin yesterday afternoon, checked into the hotel, and had most of the afternoon to ourselves. My parents and Craig arrived in town around the same time, so we hit up Guero's Taco Bar for lunch. It was delicious! Freshly made corn tortillas, chips & salsa (that you helped yourself to from a salsa bar) and great mexican food! After lunch, I had to pick up my bike since it arrived on a truck, and then I had a little time to relax. Before dinner, Craig and I took a walk up to the Capital and checked out the famous 6th St. It's definitely the place to go in Austin for drinks, live music and tattoos. We met up with Mom & Dad at Stubb's for dinner, but there was a show that night and it was packed to the gills with almost a 2 hour wait. We opted not to wait, and decided we'd go there after the race tomorrow. So instead, we headed over to Hut's Hamburgers for some delicious hamburgers (who would've thought?) The burgers were huge and delicious, the fries were extra crispy and the onion rings were thickly cut and had peppercorns in the batter...a delicious touch. Yesterday's meals probably weren't the best choices for me, but I'm in a new city...I have to try out all the best restaurants! Craig and I walked back on 6th St. to do some more people watching since it was later in the evening and the bars were starting to fill up. There was an interesting mix of people, but there was something for everyone, from a heavy metal pizza joint to a bar with pool tables & shuffleboard to a music venue called, Emo's.

Today was all about prepping for the race. We picked up our participant packets that had our bib number and swim cap, and we got some swag. Not quite what the celebrities walk away with from their awards shows, but I'm content with a shirt, water bottle, and bag! We tried to go for a swim down at one of the parks, but it was closed due to thunder and lightning. So we just took our bikes over to the transition area. I had the mechanic take a last minute look at it, pumped up the tires, and racked it. Tonight was also the Inspiration Dinner. Basically, a giant pasta party for all the Team in Training chapters that are participating. There were 211 of us, and we raised over $780,000 this season! I can't say it enough, but a big THANK YOU for helping me contribute to that total. After the dinner, we headed over to the Congress Ave. bridge to watch the bats! Every night at dusk, hundreds of thousands of bats fly out from under the bridge in search of food. Its an awesome sight! You just see swarms of them flying all over the place...its pretty much organized chaos since they're so bad at flying.

But now, I'm getting ready to go to bed. I'm sure the alarm will go off sooner than I'd like it to, but this is what I've spent the last 6 months training for. I'm trying not to be nervous, and I'm trying to stay relaxed. But i'm sure once I get down to the transition area tomorrow, I'll be a nervous wreck! I don't know what to expect, but our coaches and captains have prepared us as much as they possibly could. I know there will be a big group of Team in Training people out on the course cheering us on. And all I have to remember, aside from what number loop I'm on for the bike and run, is to smile and have fun! That's why I signed up in the first place.

If you're interested, you can check out the course map. We have to do 4 loops on the bike and 2 loops on the run, so I'm hoping I don't lose count. The results will be posted online too. I think you'll be able to search by my name and/or my bib number. But I'll also post something tomorrow...after my nap!

So thanks again to everyone for your support...reading my blog, donating money, or just simply wishing me good luck. I'll be thinking of each and every one of you tomorrow!