IMAZ 06, Let the party begin...

[mommelisa]

Denise!!! I am so excited for you! Tracy and I are going to catch up when she gets into town and we'll find you on the course. I'm going to try to get down there for the swim start.

Only 2 days to go!!! You're going to do AWESOME! The best thing you can do is run YOUR race, and you've got it in the bag!

HUGS!!
Melisa

[maillotpois]

GOOD LUCK!!! You'll be great!

[Running Mommy]

Hey guys. Just checking in... Did another swim today. I'm fighting some mental demons. Once I settle myself down I'm fine. Now I know why atheletes always talk about the mental componet. It's huge. I just have to remind myself "I'm a strong swimmer" and "I can do this. I belong here". and "keep moving forward"!! wheeewwww. Adn really concentrate on my stroke. I think if I keep in the moment and concentrate on my stroke, and not how far I have to go, how I'm a little speck in this huge lake, etc... I will be ok.
Also having goggle fogging issues and I'm not happy. These are brand new goggles. I'm having trouble w/ them fitting as well, so I may go back to my old stand bys. I got new ones because I wanted mirrored lenses sinse we are swimming into the sunrise on the outbound leg.. sigh...
UGH!
Water is suppose to be 68. Feels colder, but I think I'm just a weenie. I get an icecream headache for the first few minutes then I'm ok. But yeah, the cold takes your breath away at first, so I'll have to deal w/ that as soon as I get in.

Anyhoo... While I was writing this the UPS man made a little delivery.. It was a good luck gift from a certain someone here.. I'm all weepy now. You girls have really reached out to me and taken me under your wing. You have no idea how much it means to me. You are the BEST!! And I'll try my hardest not to let you down.
I added a couple more pics to photobucket and will try to add some more tomorrow afternoon.
Ciao!
Denise
P.S. Let it be known NANCI is my hero!! And she talks about me. Psshhaaahh! I'm not worthy! 380 miles, 27 hours... WOW!
Heck come to think of it, anyone who steps out of their comfy box and puts themselves on the line to test their limits is a hero to me! Be it 25 or 250 miles! Rock on girls!!

[Adventure Girl]

Denise:

I want to add my "me too, me too" to the well-wishers here. I hope you have a great time! Don't let those mental demons get you down.

Shouldn't you change your name to Swimming/Biking/Running Mommy?

I remember how thrilling it was hearing the booming announcment "so-and-so YOU ARE AN IRONMAN"

"Swimming/Biking/Running Mommy
YOU ARE AN IRONMAN"

[Nanci]

Denise,

Calm down. By this time tomorrow the swim will be a thing of the past. You'll be riding your bike, having a blast! New goggles always fog. Sometimes washing with toothpaste, and rinsing well, makes that stop. You know spit makes them not fog, right? You can always wear one pair, and carry the old reliables around your neck. One time, BF did the whole race with his goggles around his neck! (Forgot to take them off!) Looked great in the pics :-)

I hope you make time for a nice relaxing bath tonight!

Good luck! I _know_ you'll do great tomorrow. I can't wait! I wish I was brave enough to do what you're doing...

Nanci

[Nanci]

The cold water making you stop breathing for a minute is completely normal. I used to ice dive- I KNOW!! I was taught that, in the water, if you think the word "relax," it will calm you and slow your breathing. That not breathing thing is part of the mammalian diving reflex- pretty cool. Keeps us from drowning is we fall in the water.

And a nice pleather swim cap is just the ticket for ice cream headache! You gorgeous babe, you!!

Nanci

[Running Mommy]

Got another day to STRESS OUT!!
Your so funny Nanci! Yeah the pleather cap is quite fetching. I tried it on but didn't use it. DUH! Think I'll try it out tomorrow. I'm going to swim for a few minutes after the kids run.
Thanks for the advice on telling yourself to 'RELAX'... I KNOW this... I just... well you know... sigh...
Tracy is coming into town tonight. Hope to meet up with her. We have the official athlete dinner and manditory meeting. good stuff.

[LucyBrown]

I'm a total newbie here, but wanted to say good luck on Sunday! You did all the training, now comes the fun part! I can't wait to read your race report.

[KSH]

These are brand new goggles. I'm having trouble w/ them fitting as well, so I may go back to my old stand bys. I got new ones because I wanted mirrored lenses sinse we are swimming into the sunrise on the outbound leg.. sigh...

Go with your old ones. The ones that fit and you are use to. Don't change what you know, now.

Plus, you won't have your head out of the water that much. When you spot, you should just glance up and keep going. The sun won't be as big of a deal as you think it will be.

You are going to do great!

[KSH]

I used to ice dive- I KNOW!!

Now... that's just nuts.

I wear a full wetsuit with a hat.. SCUBA diving in 70F water! HA!

[Running Mommy]

Yeah Nanci is nuts... And that's why I LIKE her!!!

[Nanci]

That's dumb that it's on a Sunday. Then when do they do the awards and all that, MONDAY??? Whatever...How am I supposed to stay up till 3AM watching for you now???

Nanci

KSH, I wear a drysuit and a hood in 70F water!!

[Running Mommy]

I told the class that I would stop in and show them my bib today before school dismissed.
Well when I got there they had made me two huge posters and a card! I was so touched I almost cried!!
The kids were awesome. They all came up to me individually and wished me good luck. It was cool!!
I also did a last minute talk to a second grade class. Those kids were so cute. They all bragged about their mom's and dad's accomplishments. I've found in doing this that kids love talking about things like that! So if you ever get a chance to share your tales from the road with them.... do it. It's very rewarding!
In the meantime there are a couple of more pics..

http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a157/tony66denise69/?

[Running Mommy]

You wanna know why it's on Sunday... You may laugh...
The bike course runs through reservation (native american) land.. And they have a garbage dump out there that is open on Saturday. Last year they threw a stink (parden the pun) and wouldn't let the bike course go by the dump as it would hurt their business. So IMNA offered to reimburse them for lost revenue, but they still said no. So since the dump is closed on Sunday... we are racing on sunday.... All because of a garbage dump and some grumpy native americans...

[Lise]

That is funny. When I read "Native Americans", I thought, violating sacred traditions or something. Not garbage dump!

The kids are wonderful. I am so glad you got to be "their" Ironman.

When all is said and done, Denise, I'd love to hear about what lead you to this dream. And...of course...the race report!!!

You've inspired me to go swim and run at the Y tonight.

And Nanci...ice diving! Wow! You're a natural for the brevets! What an honor to be getting to know such fascinating, brave, and adventurous women. L.