It's been a whirlwind...

I don't remember what time we went to bed last night, and I don't know how I got up at 6 am to go white water rafting.

I do know it was a good time because I was fully clothed under the sheets when I woke up and we went through a lot of beer for such a small group.

I felt so far behind in my blogging and I knew people were excited for me and wanted to know what was going on.

I spent the next 90 minutes finishing off the race report blog post and Alice and the kids kept telling me to, "Hurry up, we're going to be late, we have to leave now, it's a 90 minute drive, lets' go". It was like listening to a broken record. I wasn't even able to proofread it.

I've been getting so many great tweets, emails and comments on the blog. Last night I'd pop up to the room and take a quick look at them and then go back to the party table. They put big smiles on my face and warmth in my heart every time I read one. I was so overwhelmed with the support and enthusiasm everyone had for me in qualifying for Kona.

I even got a phone call voicemail message from Simon in Maylasia. He was calling to congratulate me. It was great to hear his voice again. Simon was so pumped and happy for me. It was a really touching gesture.

I also got some fantastic emails. One from my mom. I could just feel her excitement, I'm surprised she was able to type it out without exploding. And another from my Uncle Neil. I was suprised he was still reading the blog. Poor guy, him and my Aunt must be really bored in their retirement.

I really aprechiated ALL the communications from everyone and I can hardly wait until my vacation ends and I can take my time to read them and reply.

Qualifying for Kona still hasn't set in. It's just been go, go, go and I haven't had ANY time to think about it. Today I had a major issue that I needed to deal with, its been on my mind for months and the river rafting was just what I needed to think it through.

River rafting was a lot of fun. We did level three rapids and early on we got some good water and got splashed wet. It lasted the entire day and covered 17 miles total. It was a beautiful day, the water was a nice temperature and for a large portion of it, we just floated and took in the great scenery and relaxed under the Sun.

The idea to go white water river rafting was Alice's, it was on her bucket list. Jamie and Barb and their kids Jessica and Alex joined us and we had a full boat all to ourselves. I'm glad we went, it was fun, exciting and relaxing all at the same time.

At one point, the guide took us to a big rock, about 10 feet high, and we climbed it and jumped off into the water. Jamie and Reid were fearless. I got up and said, "what the heck am I doing?" I then looked over and there was an 8 year old from another boat waiting her turn to jump. That's all it took, I jumped and closed my eyes on the way down.

At certain points the guide would slow down and you could jump out of the boat and go swimming. I knew Reid was going to do it for sure, but I was surprised Alyssa and Stephanie went for it as well. All day, Reid was "eyeballing me" and wanting to push me out of the boat with his oar. I eventually gave him the football tackle and the both of us when over.

It was a long day on the Hudson River. Jamie and I were talking about it, for the last 2 hours it was pretty tame, if they would have sold beers, it "would have been heaven" to relax and sip beers as the current took you down the river. With that said, even without the beers, it was an awesome experience.

After finishing the rafting we drove into Lake Placid and stopped for BBQ at "The Tail of the Pup". It's a massive outdoor picnic table seating style restaurant. There was live bands playing and I thought the food was great. Easily 3000 calories on my Meat Sampler of ribs, brisket, pulled pork and chicken. Not to mention the appetizers of chicken wings, riblets and nachos.

Then it was back to the hotel for beers and cigars. Jamie, as always, brought some great tasting cigars that put my "rolled up porch mat cigars" to shame. We actually had an early night by Training Payne standards. Jamie, Barb and Alex left after the street lights went on and Alice and I sat around until about 10:30 pm talking.

When I got to the room, I stayed up until 3:00 am writing an important email and updating my blog.

I haven't even had a chance to find out how Simon or Johan are making out in trying to get into IMLP for 2011. One thing I do know for sure, is Jamie's doing it. It didn't take that much of a "poke from me" and he was in. He signed up and paid the big bucks for a community slot. At least I know for sure I won't be doing it alone next year. I'm also not sure if Rodney or John P got in. I hope they did.

Even though it's only day two after the Ironman, I'm ready to stop drinking and eating. I've been on a tear. I'm actually looking forward to three healthy meals a day and some salads. How gay does that sound?

I'm not looking forward to another 8 weeks of heavy training, but "that's the price of admission" to get ready for Kona. My plan is to SIU and keep a smile on my face while doing it. I haven't had a chance to contact Bill Bradley yet, but with qualifying for Kona, it's at the same time as his English Channel swim and I won't be able to be part of his support crew.

I'm bummed about that, I was so looking forward to the experience of helping Bill and meeting all my UK twitter buddies.

Tomorrow is another busy day. Horseback riding in the morning and Jamie is going to take Reid and I sightseeing around Lake Placid in his plane. Then we have a 6.5 hour drive home.

When I think about it, doing the Ironman was the relaxing and easy part of this trip.

Recovery Day

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