We rode 42 miles of the race course yesterday.

The two transitions are at different locations so we drove from T1 to T2. It's pretty hilly with a section of steep switchbacks. The bike course goes right by the T2 spot so we parked there - a nice park with bathrooms and biked most of the rest of the course. There is a three mile out and bike section that we didn't do.

It's a very hilly, technical course. In 42 miles I showed 4800 feet of climbing. The 12 percent grade that Greg Lomond supposedly walked is NOT the steepest climb. There was one hill where I was doing 2.1 mph. I wasn't having a great ride - my right thigh was pretty tight for most of the ride and I wasn't eating properly. I haven't put a Bento box on the Cervelo yet - I'm not sure I can...so that's something I need to work out.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be DFL in this race. I'm okay with that. Based on our moving average yesterday, I'm expecting the bike to take between 3:45 and 4:15. The swim will take no more than 40 minutes. The run up to the transition area is pretty gnarly though. We looked at a little bit of the run course yesterday. We're going to do more recon in a couple of weeks. It's 3 loops of 4.4 miles each. I'm figuring an hour a loop. I am such an awful runner. Oh well...

So, if I can finish sub 8 hours - that will be awesome.

Veronica