I'm going to need to call Jenny soon...

I can hardly wait until this race is over, I've been carbo-loading so much, that I may be 200 lbs by race morning. Today at least, I tried to pull back on the amount of time I had the food bag around my neck. That's also going to be the plan for tomorrow.

I spent most of the day driving the course. I first went to the swim start. It's in a big water reservoir and the water temperature is around 58 - 60 F. I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't ICE cold. I met another guy from Edmonton there and he was standing in the water and saying, "this ain't that bad". It's definitely not near as cold as Ironman Canada.

Then I drove the bike course and only got lost about 10 times. It was my own fault. I was talking on the phone and trying to read the map and drive. The first part of the course looks a little civilized and then it gets tougher. There is one switch back that is an incredibly tough looking climb. I'm glad I got a 27 gearing on my bike.

At one point, I went off course and was on a stretch of road that seemed to go downhill forever. I was getting tired just driving downhill that long. I was thinking this is going to be nice to coast down on the bike. That was before I realized I was off course. As I got down to the bottom, my ears were plugged from the altitude. I've had that happen to me on airplanes, but never on land.

When I got back to the hotel, I closed the drapes, had a Hersey Bar, and put myself in a sugar induced coma for 2.5 hours. It felt good catching up on some sleep. Afterwards, I hooked up with Martin Paul from the UK, he's a friend of my twitter buddy Jevon. We met up at the buffet, just before the pre-race meeting.

I don't know what it is about Jevon's friends, but the two he has hooked me up with, don't drink. Unlike Jevon, who, according to Martin, "can drink a lot of beer". Martin had some nice things to say about Jevon. I think I may have brought Martin over to the dark side, we're going to hook up after the race at the finish area, have beers and cheer on the others. Assuming, him or I are not one of the others.

I didn't eat any pasta or sauce at the pre-race buffet. While I was waiting for the pre-race meeting to start, I had a salad with no dressing and an apple as a snack. The pre-race meeting was different and cool. They had all the information in a video with the commentators out on the course as they spoke.

It was important to go to the pre-race meeting because it's not a normal Ironman set up course. There is two transition zones. One at the swim and another in downtown St. George. It was important for me to go to figure out the logistics of how to get where I need to go. Once I understood it all, I liked it. I think this is a pretty cool setup. Very different. The only downside is the LAST bus leaves to the swim area at 5:30 am. It's going to be a VERY early morning.

The town of St. George is 1000% behind this event. Throughout the city, there is banners on all the street light posts. The people in St. George are also very friendly. Where ever you go they seem to be outgoing and personable. With the great people, the spectacular scenery and a challenging course, I think St. George is going to become a popular race.

The energy of the event is also fantastic. Unlike China, where the athletes were impersonal and distant, the athletes here seem to be talkative and supportive. I've had lots of great elevator conversations already. I just can't say enough about the event. It feels like an Ironman should.

When I drove the bike course, I kept thinking "Pentiction". This course reminds me a little of Ironman Canada. There is large vast areas of land, hills and valleys and no homes. For most of the course, I couldn't even get a cellular phone signal. The roads are also not very busy with traffic. St. George seems like a perfect place to live and train for triathlons.

And if your a triathlete that likes to drink and party, it's even better. You're only 90 minutes from Vegas.

No Training - Taper Day