Friday

After arriving late last night (thankfully with all my bags too!), I had a GREAT first day in Coeur D'Alene! Woke up this morning, did some stretching, then went down to the lake to meet some friends for a swim. The water was fabulous - plenty warm, crystal clear, and just gorgeous to swim in. Went out a couple hundred yards, floated around admiring the beauty of the lake and surrounds, and then came back. On the way back, I spotted something on the bottom of the lake, so I dove down and found a can of beer - Beusch Light...

So, I pulled it up to the surface and turned to Scott and Sue (friends out on the swim) and showed them my new hydration strategy. Got some funny looks bringing that out of the water!

After registration and bike pick-up, I had a great lunch with friends from my online training/Ironman chat group. After lunch, we drove the bike course to check things out. It should be a real challenge with lots of rolling hills and some technical descents. It is beautiful out there with tree-lined streets along both Lake CdA and Hayden Lake. There are also some pretty sections through meadows and the town. While there are a lot of hills, I did notice that the steepest grades are short in duration and the longest hills are much gentler ascents. Should be a great challenge!!

Dinner was at the resort for an Athlete Welcome dinner. Good speakers and some funs awards. Two particularly incredible stories. First is a man named Craig Sylvester. Craig is a Marine and was scheduled to race with us on Sunday. However, earlier this year Craig was deployed to Iraq. Undetered, Craig kept up his training and now will race with us - from Iraq!! Craig will swim the 2.4 miles in a pool - but not just any pool, the pool in Sadaam Hussein's former palace! Then he will ride the 112 miles on his computrainer, and then he will run around the inside of a US base in Iraq for the marathon. Wow. Secondly is the incredible story of Scott Rigsby. Scott tragically lost both of his legs in a car wreck several years ago. After taking up running and triathlons a few years ago, Scott will attempt to become the first double amputee to finish and Ironman on Sunday. Wow, again.

These two men perfectly capture the Ironman spirit - ANYTHING is POSSIBLE!! Racing with both of them is an honor, and I will happily think of these two courageoous men while I am struggling on Sunday. Their undeniable spirit is something to strive for, and thinking of that will keep me going.

I will try to post some photos in a bit.