The last deposits are in the bank...

Nothing more I can do from here but rest, not stress about my wacky travel situation, visualize, and stay positive. My first Ironman is a week away. I feel cautiously optimistic about it. I have a great network of friends and family supporting me, I have ridden my bike a million miles this summer, and I am ready for this challenge.

Tapers in Mark Allen Online world are kind of weird. I would not call them particularly mellow. So I still had to ride for 2:30 this morning. A new challenge for this time of year was that it was downright COLD when I started! What?!

Yes that says 48 degrees. RUDE. Luckily I am lazy so I never took my arm and knee warmers out of my Ironman Trunk all summer. Then again it was pleasant not to get all sweaty this morning!

After a burly tempo run yesterday I didn't want to climb much. So I rode up to Lyons and did one of these loops we call Fruit Loops. They call them that because you ride through fruit orchards I think, although I don't know that I've ever seen a fruit tree. Anyway they're pretty, especially in the spring and the fall, but today the river looked really pretty!

I was a happy camper. See, happy camper!!!

It was a nice ride. It has frankly been a great weekend. The extra time I've had has been quite a pleasant change. I have spent a good amount of time with friends including a few ice baths and compression boot sessions with Cathy. We probably annoy the crap out of everyone else at the club because we are so chatty, but we have a great time. I also got some great advice and presents from Katie over brunch. I love brunch, and hanging out with Katie, so it was super fun. Now I am just creating a tornado in my apartment with my ridiculous packing for two weeks away with an Ironman in the middle. Well, if there's one thing I love, it's a good planning challenge, so I am going to stop procrastinating and finish!