Kona and beer money...

At this stage of the game, my whole focus is to stay out of harms way.

For example, the week prior to my 2008 Ironman, I was chased by a highly aggressive dog and could have been bitten or fallen off my bike. Had that happened, all my months of Ironman training would have been for not. Right now, as part of my Ironman preparation, I have a heightened sense of awareness and paranoia.

Today I picked up my bike from the shop and did an outside speed work session at lunchtime. It was a nice 4 C. As I pulled out of the driveway, my front tire started losing air. For a split second, I started to get upset, then stopped and reminded myself this was a good thing, I'd rather have it happen now, than in China. I didn't have time to fix it, so I just switched out the front racing wheel with a regular training wheel.

During today's ride, I averted disaster a few times. The first was when I avoided a backhoe tractor on a country road. He didn't see me. The second was when a pickup passed me and for NO reason, other than to scare me, let out a loud, long honk. The final and scariest, was when a fast moving logging style semi-truck passed by me in the opposite direction and the wind coming off the truck was so strong it nearly knocked me off my bike. Thankfully I saw it coming and I gripped the Aerobars and worked hard to keep the bike steady and upright.

On my speed run tonight, I went to the track, but it was full of ice. I tried another school track and it had ice as well. Finally I went home and decided to do the run through the neighbourhood. The sidewalks were icy in spots and I almost slipped a couple of times. I couldn't run on the roads because I forgot my outdoor blinking red safety light. It turned out being a very cautious interval workout session.

It's all about being careful about little things, like staying relaxed and bending at the knees to avoid throwing my back out. Or walking up and down stairs slowly and deliberately to make sure I don't slip or fall or stub my toe. Or looking for every stone and pothole so I don't ride over it and potentially crash my bike. Or stopping at every red light during my run to make sure the cars stop before I go through an intersection. It is all about safety and not doing something stupid that will prevent me from not racing or not racing to the best of my ability.

On the travel preparation front, I now have my currency for China. I have $500 CNY ($75 CDN) for beer, a gift from my Uncle and Aunt, and I boldly took out an extra $500 U.S. that is ear marked to pay for a Kona Slot if I qualify. I'll also bring a check in case my cash is lost or stolen. I was a boy scout and our motto was "be prepared". Mark Allen's race motto, which I repeat to myself before every race, is "expect the unexpected".

Speed Bike - 59:17 / 30.35 km / 30.72 kph

Speed Run - 52:29 / 10.25 km / 5:06 pace