In less than 12 hours...

I will be be heading out on the swim with my training buddies somewhere nearby. Whew....

I thought that I might be a little less nervous for my second Ironman race, but that's not the case. The nerves are here, but I have a feeling I'll settle down once I get to the first buoy. By the way, there are only four buoys in the whole 2.4 miles for us to circle. That's a bit unusual, but I'm sure the race organizers know what they're doing.

Unlike Florida, we were unable to preview the bike course. But, I'm sure I'll have plenty of other triathletes to follow. However, just like Florida, I felt like a complete rock star when it came time to check in our bikes and bags. This Ironman race has tons of volunteers - and they are all amazingly nice & helpful. Would you believe I'm in the same bike rack area as Rick, Mark, Lynn, Karen & Shelley?

I'd like to write more, but our wake-up call is at 3:45 a.m. I think it's time for bed. Yes - it's 7:21 p.m. (6:21 p.m. Virginia time).

p.s. I do have pictures, which I'll upload later - including Mark in his new pink bike helmet....