Getting down to business...

I made one slight error of judgement in my travel plans, I left Toronto too late at night and didn't fully think through the time zone repercussions. By the time I flew into Vegas and drove to St. George it was 4:30 am Toronto time.

The drive from Vegas to St. George was brutal. I was so tired I could hardly stay awake. I was pulling out every trick in the book to try and stay away. I had the window rolled down and my arm catching the wind, I was singing, I was yelling military marching orders, I was blasting the music on the radio, I was slapping my face, and even then, it was tough to stay awake. I was so relieved when I arrived.

I ended up getting only 5 hours of sleep. Not good. I wanted to sleep longer, but wasn't in the zone. I figured I better get up and hopefully over the next two days I can catch up on that missed sleep.

I went to the expo, bought some shirts, a scale and compression socks. First off, I want to talk about the socks. You will NEVER see me race in them or where them around with shorts on. I see people that wear them that way and they look so "dorky". Last year, I asked my family to "put a bullet in my head" if they see me wearing compression socks in public. I'm just going to wear them to bed or under my pants "as a work sock".

I also bought one of those Tanita Scales, they're amazing. Not only do they measure weight, but they do body fat, % of total body water, muscle mass, physique rating, basic metabolic rate, metabolic age, bone mass and visceral fat rating. The scale I have from Wal-Mart tells me weight and BMI, which is usually 20 - 22%.

As the guy was demonstrating the scale, he wanted me to stand on it. I wouldn't. I knew I'd been eating and drinking a lot over the past couple days and didn't want to see it. So he used himself as the subject. After he showed me his stats, one in particular stood out, physique rating. He was an 8 out of 9 and said he was trying to build more muscle to be come a 9 out of 9. I was surprised because he was young and lean looking.

That put me over the edge. I was prepared to see my weight just to see my physique rating. I knew it was good when the guy said, "oh, wow, great numbers". I was a 9 on 9. Although my weight was 190 lbs, 10 lbs more than normal, my body fat was 8.6% and I had the metabolic level of a 29 year old. Not bad for a PFG.

After spending the afternoon on work stuff, I took off to do a training ride on the course. I had no idea where I was going. Thank goodness for the GPS and intersection search. I eventually found the bike course.

It was a windy day, 63 kph winds. The first part of the course was uphill with the wind was to my side or back. It still didn't help much, I was only going around 16 kph most of the time. As I was riding I was thinking, "Johan said he averaged 31 kph on this course on the compu-trainer. What am I doing wrong, there's NO WAY I'm going to average 31 kph on this course.

It seemed like I was climbing for 55 minutes straight before turning around. My average speed was only 21.8 kph, and that was with the wind at my back. I must say, the scenery is SPECTACULAR. At certain points, I felt like I was riding on Mars. The red rock and all the different formations and terrain were simply beautiful.

As I was riding, I had some deep thoughts. The first was, "I'm so glad to be here and I'm so looking forward to doing Ironman St. George". It has nothing to do with speed or qualifying for Kona. It's all about enjoying the Ironman experience with no pressure, other than to finish. I felt like I had my Ironman Mojo back and all was good in "TrainingPayneVille".

My second thought was, "there is no way I'm going to have a fast bike ride. This course is "beauty and the beast". The course is the "beast" and the scenery is the "beauty". Going out to hard on this course is suicide.

From the turnaround back, into a viscous head and side wind, I was flying. It only took me 35 minutes to get back. The wind was so bad, that at times, I was so scared that I was going to be blown into traffic. Again, I was thinking of Johan at IMSA last weekend and the winds he faced on the bike during a training ride. I was riding diagonally into the wind, with my hand on the outside handlebars, just so I wouldn't get blown off and even then it was tough to stay the course.

St. George is DRY, I was constantly thirsty. I've never seen a real tumbleweed, only in the movies. Today, I saw at least three going across my path. Other than the altitude, the heat, the wind, the hills and the dryness, this is one EASY course. Hydration and proper pacing is going to be the key to finishing this race in one piece.

Saturday is calling for 21 C and rain. Never before in my life have I been praying for cool weather and rain. On last weeks ride, I realized I've done "no" training in the heat. Most of my training has been in 12 - 16 C weather. Although, I did hear the wind may die down by Saturday.

I was debating if I should do my run today or tomorrow. I flipped a coin and it said to run. I'm glad I did. It was tougher than the bike. I was so thirsty and felt weaker than normal. I'm glad I got to experience what to expect during the race. Again, proper pacing and hydration is going to be the key.

I did notice that the run is through town and goes past many restaurants and bars. I'm definitely going to put some money under my hat so I can stop and buy a beer if I get really exhausted.

Tonight, I walked across the street to a sports bar for dinner. I had a major pig out session, prime rib, mash potatoes, soup and 78 ounces of beer. I was eating at the bar and started talking to the guy beside me. His name was Mark and he owns TriBike Transport. He was with Taylor, one of the guys that worked for him.

They both looked pretty tired. I should have known Mark grew up in Canada as he was watching the NHL playoff game and cheering loudly for the Habs. Mark was a great guy and when I asked him how he started the company, he had a great story of how the business evolved. After learning more about what he does, I became convinced I should use them.

On the home front, Alice told me a funny story about Reid's swimming. Last night she took him to the pool. When she picked him up, he said to her,"mom, I was told something I'll never get sick of hearing". Alice asked him what it was and he explained that a woman at the pool told him to move out of her lane. She said that he was in the wrong lane and "belongs in the fast lane". He loved hearing "he belongs in the fast lane".

I bailed from the bar just after 10 pm to get my blog done and try and catch up on my sleep. Of course on the way to the room I picked up some salty pretzels, popcorn and lots of water. My lips still feel dry from today's training.

I will say though, all things considered, I feel as strong as I ever have before a major race. I'll also say, I've never been more conscious of what I'm putting in my mouth. I'm food poisoning adverse and paranoid right now. Big time!

Mod bike - 1:30:45 / 42.98 km / 28.42 kph

Mod Run - 30:47 / 5.98 km / 5:07

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