In case you haven't noticed my ankle, this is a picture of the Ironman Canada tattoo.
As we drove into Penticton yesterday there were dozens of triathletes riding their bikes in last minute attempts to get their legs prepared for Sunday. Now that I mention it, our legs are already prepared. Any riding now is just to keep the muscles loose and blood flowing. I went for an easy 30 minute ride this morning; in fact it was so easy that after only 10 minutes of riding, I stopped for half an hour to visit a friend who runs a local campground. Penticton is a bicycle-friendly town. Drivers aren't honking at riders and there are separate bike lanes on the streets. It would be nice if Edmonton would recognize bikes as vehicles and grant a lane for them. With all the road construction, you'd think they could make a lane wider for us. I also wish some people who ride bikes knew what the laws are regarding sidewalks and crosswalks.
Next on the agenda - a local orchard to buy fruit. Every time we are here in Penticton we stop by Matheson's Family Farm to buy fresh fruit - peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, apples, coronation grapes. When I say fresh, I mean fresh. They pick fruit early every morning. It's not like the local fruit stands or the stuff you buy in the stores - fruit hasn't been laying around in bins for days. The peaches and nectarines are so juicy that the juice runs down to your elbows. I've had to wipe up a juicy mess on the floor more than once. I could handle living here.
After stuffing my face with fruit, I picked up my race package. For $681 I got a triathlon magazine and a nice "Subaru Ironman Canada" bag, as well as a plethora of local literature, which promptly went into the recycle bin. Part of my registration includes a pre-race carbo loading dinner, a Finisher's medal, a Finisher's t-shirt, a Finisher's cap and an awards dinner the day after. Worth $681? Yes. The feeling of accomplishment, learning unusual types of time management skills, being super fit, being worry-free of calorie counting, not to mention a lifetime of pride and bragging rights definitely makes the registration fee worth it.
For dinner tonight we had a spinach salad, pasta and fruit salad for dessert. Mmmm... Here's a picture of everybody staying at the house: My Mom, me, Warren, Val and Aaron and their two kids.
Tomorrow is sort of a free day. The morning is free and then I have a massage at 3:00 pm, but before that I am meeting a couple of friends from Edmonton for coffee. They are down here volunteering for the race. They are going to be wetsuit peelers. Wetsuit peelers are at all the long races. As athletes run into transition after their swim, they take their wetsuit down to below their hips and lay on the ground, legs up, and the peelers pull off their wetsuits. No worries though - there's no public nudity - we have our shorts and jerseys on under our wetsuits.
Next time you hear from me, I'll be an Ironman - six times over.
Great Family pic. Where's your dad?
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