Getting Ready

5 days until IMAZ!!!  I am in my final week of preparation and getting ready for The Race.   It is funny, everyone is asking me:

•  "Are you ready?"  Umm, yes!  I hope so, if not, then what the hell have I been doing all these months??  
• "Are you nervous?"  Heck yea, however,  I am nervous before every race.  I still have trouble sleeping the night before a 5k and this only takes 30 minutes or less, so of course I am nervous prior to a race that will potentially take me 14 or 15 hours!!   I don't expect that I will sleep much the night before - sorry CT!
• I am especially nervous about the swim.   Not the distance, this I know I can do, but all the people.   Although watching the swim start is my favorite part of the race, participating in the swim is an all together different matter.   You are out there with 2000 other people all trying to get to the same destination, arms, legs, and various body parts flying in every direction!   And, IMAZ is an in-water start, which means we have to be in the water, treading, before the race starts, no standing on the beach waiting until the gun sounds!  I am just hopeful I can get behind my friend Mike and draft off of him for the first 1/2 mile or so to get clear of all the people.   I wonder if he would be upset if I just grabbed his foot and held on for dear life? I figure I am pretty light, plus I will be in a wet suit that floats pretty easily! 
• "Are you excited!"   Yes!!  I cannot wait to cross that finish line and hear them say "Ann Kurtenbach, YOU are an Ironman!!"   That really what has kept me going all these months and I envision it in just about every run that I do! 

So, the rest of this week is really just about getting ready and packing for the big trip.   Packing for an Ironman is alot more challenging than just a simple running race.   Mainly because I have to pack for all 3 events.  Not only do I have to bring running gear, but I also have to bring swim gear, biking gear, and any nutrition that I want to have with me on the course.   It is kind of difficult to know what to pack up ahead of time because I am not sure what I will want/need out on the course!   Here is what I am thinking so far.

The swim:  goggles, ear pugs, inhaler, wetsuit, bathing suit or tri suit underneath.   I imagine I will look something like this: 

T1 bag:  towel, biking shoes, socks, helmet, sports bra, tri suit, arm warmers, inhaler, sunglasses, sunscreen, racebelt for my number, and nutrition (I am thinking 3 cliff block shots and 2 protein bars.   My bike will already be in transition.   We are taking it on the plane with us in a special bike box!  CT is kind of enough to help me take the bike apart and hopefully reassemble it when we get to Phoenix.

Bike Special Needs Bag:  This I am really not too sure of, right now I am thinking a second pair of gloves and some peanut butter pretzels or whatever special food I might like midway through the bike. 

T2 Bag:  running shoes, Livestrong sun viser, running shorts, gu for the run, hand held fluid bottle

My uniform:

Run Special Needs Bag:  headlamp and long sleeve shirt since I will likely be run/walking in the dark

End Bag:  warm dry clothes, camera, phone, and champagne (is that allowed??)