Fab Friday

It is Friday morning and I am feeling pretty good.  I have been up since around 5:30AM, thanks to my need to pee every two hours due to my constant hydrating.  Also contributing to that is the fact that my family is here (YEA!!!) and of course my girls were up around 4:15AM this morning ready to go....or at least ready to watch some cartoons.

So a little update on my status.  I woke up yesterday morning with my right elbow feeling a bit sore/tender.  I didn't think much of it until I took a look at it in the bathroom and I noticed that there was definitely some swelling on the outside of my elbow.  I checked it out on-line to see if I could self diagnose (of course that is the right way to go about figuring out what is wrong when injured...who needs doctors).  I think what I have is elbow bursitis, which means I have fluid in my bursa sac on my elbow.  I don't have any impeded motion or pain when I move it, only when I press on it.  This is a good thing in the whole scheme of things.  I reached out to my sports doctor in Pennsylvania and he advised me to go to Ironman Village and find the ART docs and have them try to fix me up.  That is what I have to do sometime this morning.

Ironman Check-In & Bike Pick-up
Around 11:00AM yesterday my parents and I drove down to Tempe to complete my check-in.  After wandering around for a while I finally found the long row of tents that makes up the check-in process. 

• First they confirmed that I was who I am 
• Then I had to sign my life way and confirm my information
• On to picking up my race numbers (stickers for bags, bike, helmet and race belt) and timing chip....AND getting my All Access Wrist band
• After that I got my bag of goodies, which wasn't all that great.  Oh, it did have all of my gear bags, etc.
• Last stop was to check my timing chip and get the Velcro strap for it.

All in all it wasn't too bad of a process, I can't imagine what it is going to be like today when the mass crowd hits.  After that was done I found my 'rents making posters for me and I helped out a bit (nothing like making a support poster for myself). 

It was then time to grab some lunch prior to picking up my bike from Tri Bike Transport.  Lunch took forever, at least it felt that way since I was anxious to get my bike and head out for ride.  I did eat what I thought was a relatively healthy meal and around 1:30PM we were done and off to get my bike.  Ah there she was, scratch free and ready to go.  After getting her, I drove up to Scottsdale to pick up my race wheels from RaceDayWheels.com which was a pretty painless process.

By this time it was getting late in the day and me and my 'rents headed back to their house.  I opted to just do my planned hour ride from there house and make my way over to the Beeline Highway to ride a portion of the race course.  First I must say that the race wheels that I had on my bike (Zipp 404 front and Zipp 808 back) are awesome!  I can't believe how much lighter my bike is.  Also, I swear I was going 1 - 2 MPH faster when riding...this might have also been psychological as I was just excited to ride my bike after a week away from her.

All in all the ride was uneventful but fun.  The roads are so smooth and virtually no "hills", at least compared to what I am used to.  Here are some more pics of me along the way.

Ride stats:  28.5 miles, 1:18:00, Average speed: ~22 MPH

The Airport Pick-Up

Finally around 7:00PM last night we headed off to pick up my wife and daughters.  I was really excited to see them.  We were lucky, their plane landed early and I was able to see them just a bit earlier than expected.  We were all really excited to see each other...yes, I think I may have shed a tear.

Today

So that leaves me to today.  It is 7:41AM and we are trying to figure out what we should do today.  At some point I have to head down to Ironman Central to have my elbow looked at and also attend the Welcome Dinner where I, and my wife and kids, are going to meet a bunch of folks who I have "met" on iamtri.com.  In between all of this we have to pick up a rental car and find something fun to do with the kids, not always an easy task.

Two days away from IM Arizona.....I nearing peak freak out zone.  Peace out!