3rd Tri's a Charm

Friday afternoon Josh and I drove up to Tahoe and as we ascended the mountain the tempurature dropped dramatically and we started to see little white flakes coming down. Josh was amused as he watched the little white flakes bounce off the car. He asked "Is that ash from the forest fire?" I replied " No, I think its snow" = ( That night it dropped to 38 degree and let me just say I wasn't happy.

Saturday morning 5 am - I awake to the sound of my cell phone alarm clock and pray that the tempurature has risen just a little. I crawl out of bed and stretch. I wash my face and brush my teeth, slip into my tri-suit and some warm cloths, and double check my gear. I head down stairs to get something to eat. I take my vitamins, banana, protein shake, and energy bar. Nothing fancy, just something simple to digest and get me through the race. JuliA was nice enough to get up early to prayed with me in my room.

6:30 am - I arrive at the race venue and find a really nice parking spot close by and sit in my car for a bit to keep warm and finish my breakfast. After a few minutes I climb out of my car to set up my gear in the transition area. They have designated spots so it doesn't really make a difference if you get there early or not. I get my body marking(On my left arm and left calf) and start my warm up of biking and running. About 7:30 I take my last potty break before I lube up and get into my wet suit and head down to the beach. Everything was running a little behind so I took the extra 10 min. to swim in the lake and get my body adjusted to the water. I was surprised to find out that the water was about 65 degrees thats about 10 degrees warmer than my first Ice breaker Triathlon in April.

As I come out of the water from my warm up, I am encouraged to see my friends there bright and early with smiles on there faces to cheer me on and add to the excitement = ) At the start line there is a pad that everyone must walk across to activate there time chips which is secured around each racers left ankle. We wade into the water to await the start ...

2b continued ....