I think I’m all set. Here’s the quick picture tour:
I went to the athletes banquet last night:
And then the subsequent officials briefing for the rules.
After which I walked across the street back to the hotel, but I did skip the Psychic Demo:
This morning I swam and then biked, and then following a nap I unfolded all my bags (Morning Dry Clothes Bag, Pre-Bike Bag, Pre-Run Bag, Mid-Bike Bag, and Mid-Run Bag).
And then as usual I laid out everything I had for each section of the course, to ensure I had all the items covered. Nutrition would come later…
After that I headed down to the transition area to drop off my bike and bags:
First up was finding my rack, which happened to be in just about the exact same place as last year:
After saying goodbye (well, really just goodnight) to the bike, I went on to drop off the bags.
First I dropped off my “Swim to Bike” bag, which contains my cycling shoes and helmet. For this race they aren’t allowing non-pro’s to put their shoes or helmet on their bike.
Then I wandered over to look at the Bike to Run bags. I decided against dropping off this bag today, and instead will ditch it tomorrow morning. Too much to deal with nutrition wise that I didn’t want to have to juggle everything mentally in one day.
And finally, tonight after dinner I put together all my nutrition. I’m using Infinit Nutrition (custom blends) on both the bike and the run. And just in case on the run I also have backup with EFS gel (which I was using previously).
So with that, I’m ready to roll. Coach Alan and I have put together a race plan that should result in a good day. For me, it’ll all come down to the run. And more specifically – miles 6-13. Mentally those are the toughest for me. It’s by the lake, quiet (no spectators allowed there), and you haven’t hit the turnaround yet. Ironically my fastest miles last year were actually 15-26.2 Assuming I can keep running, then I’ll be in awesome shape time-wise. While you can never control anyone else’s race and thus slots to the big dance, I’m obviously looking for a sub-10 race (by a fair bit). I’ll avoid detailing out exact splits, as the only way to guarantee a slot is to be on the podium, so those are the times we’re shooting for. It’ll just be a matter of executing a nice run.
Hope to see some of you out there!
I’m number 175, which you can track all day long on Ironman.com. Swim starts at 7AM PST (three hours behind Eastern time).
See ya – and thanks for all the folks who have e-mailed, texted, or called! And now…I’m off to bed.
FOUND THIS POST USEFUL? SUPPORT THE SITE!
Hopefully, you found this post useful. The website is really a labor of love, so please consider becoming a DC RAINMAKER Supporter. This gets you an ad-free experience, and access to our (mostly) bi-monthly behind-the-scenes video series of “Shed Talkin’”.
Support DCRainMaker - Shop on Amazon
Otherwise, perhaps consider using the below link if shopping on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot. It could simply be buying toilet paper, or this pizza oven we use and love.
Good luck out there! You’ll do awesome!
Good luck tomorrow. I’ll be tracking you.
holllller!!!!!!! Go get ’em!!
I always get nervous saying goodbye to the bike. Have a great day!
Watch out for those little kids on the bike this time!
sorry late in sending best wishes..you are likely transition early in the bike as I write…. give em hell..
btw..great shirt from THE GIRL…
I like the mystery as to her identity…!!!!
So far you’re doing AWESOME!
Saw that you rocked the swim and were CRUZING on the bike..the tracker is kind of lagging/down right now, but keep on trucking, the marathon will be over in…a flash
Whoo Hoo!!! 20.5 mph average on the bike!!! You smoked that course. Ok, waiting on a half marathon split time. That should be coming up in the next half hour.
GO RAY, GO!!!!
Looking great so far – go go go!!!
You’re obviously done by now, but good luck!
you did it again! Well done!!
Congratulations on your PR!
As you predicted, a negative split on the run. Great job. I cannot wait to read all about it.
I hope The Girl got some good pics of you.
Fantabulous!
Congrats on a tough race. I read reports that the winds were high on the bike, so all the more impressive with the PR in every phase (except T1 and T2, but who’s counting) and the negative split on the run to boot! Time to rest up and relax!
Nice job on the negative split on the run! The smoke was crazy today, so not sure how that affected you today. Looking forward to the report, and glad that I was actually able to recognize you at the very end of the race!
Nice job Ray! Looks like running the marathon you wanted was tough again this year, but a 10+ minute overall PR over last year is still impressive. Looking forward to reading your report.
Great job, Ray!
Congratulations!! Well done out there!! I heard the heat was brutal, one of my friends ended the day in the med tent after T2.
I was getting all anxious when I couldn’t find your results and then realized you went to Canada, not Louisville. Duh!
Great Race!!!!! 10:38
HOLY SHIT YOU DID AWESOME!!!! i was tracking you throughout the day and you killed it! congrats!
Ray, we need BLOG! 🙂