Ready to Rock!!!

Well I made it to Madison in spite of my crazy travel schedule. Hooray!!! It is adorable here. Very 

Midwestern. The airport is TINY. So cute. I think there are ten gates. It reminds me of the airport in Portland, Maine. They seem to be excited about the race, there is a welcome sign when you head down the escalator to baggage claim.

The town looks like your average college town. Very much like Lawrence, Kansas, if I had to choose the most similar. Except there is a huge lake in the middle of it. The good news is that there are at least THREE Noodles & Company's here!!! I love Noodles and with where I've been working lately (Northern California and Houston), I am in Noodles withdrawal. But here it is prime Noodles country. I think we might have it the night before the race.

So I am feeling pretty good. Hard to say, I always feel weird during tapers. I am not one of those people who feels great, I generally just feel like my body doesn't know what to do. But I am definitely getting a lot of rest which is good!!

This week I did go for a run in Houston for the first time. I had heard it was miserably hot but it was pretty nice this week (I guess there was a cold front so it was only 70 in the morning, and in the 90s during the day). Uh huh. They have this great park there called Memorial Park. It is huge. There is a 3 mile dirt trail around it. They also have tennis courts, baseball diamonds, a swimming pool, a fitness center, a golf course, and a driving range. Wow!!! Even at 6:30 in the morning it was packed there. Here is a picture of the trail.

I can't wait to go for nice leisurely walks there next week, and to run there again once I start running after the Ironman. There are also TONS of good restaurants in Houston so I am excited to explore them.

I think I have told most people this but this week I had an epiphany about the Ironman. I am as most people who know me know, Type A+++. I am also really, really competitive. And I like to WIN and go FAST. So for this Ironman I have felt a lot of pressure to go out and kill it. But you know that is silly. It is my first one. Some people do go out and break 11:00 in their first Ironmans. But I don't think I will and frankly I just want to have fun, enjoy the experience, soak it all in, LEARN, and be ready to crush my next one. So that is the plan. If you are tracking me and are surprised that I am not going very fast, that is why. Also, frankly it is a crazy thing to do, so I think if I finish, it will be a win for me. So that is the plan folks! Track me if you'd like on Ironman Live, Bib 425, F30-34. I will post a race report next week!!