The moment of Truth...

As I write this blog, I have 9 hours left until the start of IMSG. It's going to be a cold morning. I've been told to expect around 48 F / 8 C as we get out of the water and start the bike. That doesn't include the windchill effect and there will be some, big time. There also calling for 68 F / 21 C later in the day.

I had a busy day, lots to do and it all got done. My morning started off with a pre-race ride and run. It was only 9 am and it was COOL out. I was second guessing my decision not to bring my arm warmers. I kept trying to convince myself that tomorrow morning I won't notice how cold it is once I get started on the bike.

Everything went smooth today. My bike and run was strong and I'm really happy about how I feel physically and mentally. The real test will be tomorrow, and anything can happen, but as it stands now, I don't think I could be more ready.

I'm not expecting a fast race. EVERYONE I've spoken to that has ridden this course in training says to treat the ride like a training ride. If you don't, you will pay for it on the run. It seems that most people are concerned about the ride and the run is not getting the attention it deserves.

I checked in all my gear and had a late lunch of salad with chicken breast. Today, I consciously haven't been overeating and I've tried to have vegetables at lunch and dinner. I'm hoping they will help me clean out my system when I get up in the morning. If you know what I mean.

After lunch I was talking to a competitor from Utah and he said he was doing a full change of clothes with a base layer and gloves for the bike ride. He knows the area and wouldn't do it any other way. That scared the "Sh*t" out of me and I immediately went to a bike store and bought a front full zipper bike jersey and arm coolers. They were sold out of the arm warmers, but the guy at the shop says the coolers work well at deflecting the wind and they will still provide a benefit.

I'm still going to wear my tri-shirtand when I get out of the water, I'm going to put the jersey and arm coolers on. I also found a pair of gardening gloves at K-mart that I'm going to wear. It still may not be the answer, but it's better than just wearing one layer of clothes.

With all that said, I'm HAPPY it's going to be cool. I have no heat training under my belt and not having to deal with heat, its one less thing I need to worry about.

I video taped my day today and drove the course. I was getting special requests for a VLOG and this will give my family a chance to see that I'm in a safe place. St. George is no China. In fact, I think I only saw one Chinese food restaurant in all of St. George. This is my kind of place.

The only time I got a little nervous about the race was when I was waiting for my take out pasta from "The Pasta Factory". I was killing time by reading the race program and I got a little lump in my throat. I also got a little tear in my eye, I'm looking forward to having an Ironman experience.

When I say "I'm looking forward to having an Ironman experience", that means, I have no idea what is going to happen, good or bad, and whatever it is, I have to deal with it and preserver. I've already made up my mind that if I had a catastrophic breakdown on the bike, I'm running the rest of the bike course. Even if I have 50 miles left and it's physically not possible to finish before the time cut-off, I'll still be going. They'll have to drag me off the course before I quit.

Physically and mentally, no problem, I'm ready. The only thing that can screw me up is something unexpected. I'm hoping the odds are in my favour that I won't experience any major problems tomorrow. I've had my share already.

It's going to be an early morning. I have a 3:50 am wake up call. I've set my alarm for 3:50 and I've set my iPhone alarm for 3:50. The last bus leaves at 5:30 am to the swim start and I need to make sure I have time to get my coffee and bagel.

You can track me tomorrow at www.ironman.com or specifically http://live.ironmanlive.com/events/ironman/st.george/?show=tracker You can enter my last name PAYNE or bib# 1960. I love that number. Easy to remember.

There is also going to be 18 hours of live video broadcast via the internet with Universal Sports at http://www.universalsports.com/triathlon/: Also, I'm told, somewhere on Ironman.com they have live video of people crossing the finish line. Maybe you'll see me. Look for the Captain's hat!!!

Also, last but not least. THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND WELL WISHES. It's humbling to think all these people are watching you, from all over the world, and wanting you to do well. I'll be drawing energy from all of you while I'm out there, especially when it gets hard. Thanks again.

Pre-race Run - 16:06 /3.23 km / 4:58 pace

Pre- race Bike - 16:09 / 8.32 km / 30.92 kph