Here I am in sunny Penticton. I came down here to watch Ironman Canada and volunteer. I love the energy of Penticton during Ironman Week. Of course, the main reason I'm here is to register for next year's race. After taking this summer off of triathlon, I'm looking forward to getting back into training. Watching the race is so inspiring.
My volunteer duty started out in the nutrition tent. We were preparing food for the entire race - volunteers and athletes alike. Sandwiches, bagels with cream cheese, muffins, cookies, pretzels and fruit. Every two hours Dominos Pizza delivered about 30 pizzas to feed us hungry volunteers, and by the time the last delivery was made, there were over 800 extra large pizzas to feed us and the athletes when they were finished their gruelling day.
I was making sandwiches when I heard Paul Tichelaar's name announced when he was coming in from the bike. I dropped everything and ran over to see him come out on the run. It was so good to see him out there. I saw alot of other friends as well.
After about two hours in the nutrition tent, the bike transition captain came over and asked if he could borrow a few volunteers to help out in his area. I immediately put my hand up. It sounded like so much more fun than preparing food. When the triathletes finish their 180 km ride, they hand their bikes over to us to re-rack them. It was a flurry of activity because sometimes there were 12 bikes or more that would come in at one time. It was quite an assembly line. Other than wetsuit peeling, I think it is the busiest area. There were about 60 of us running around transition re-racking bikes while working up a sweat. It was 34 degrees on race day. I felt sorry for the athletes. I certainly got my exercise running all over the place. Brian Gerbrandt from the bike club was in transition too. Nice to see a friendly face, not that they weren't all friendly. I met a lot of new friends. Maaan, there were some nice bikes. I was in bike heaven. I must have had my hands on about $200,000 worth of carbon fibre ha.
When my shift was over I went back to the hotel to watch more action. Super 8 is on Main Street, so I didn't have to go very far to see the action.
Some people say they don't understand why I do this and that I'm crazy. When they ask me, I always have the same answer - because I enjoy the training, being able to eat endlessly, and of course the bragging rights - well, I already have bragging rights six times over. It's a healthy way of life and I love working towards a goal. Oh, and I'm never bored! Why do you do what you do????
Today is a relaxation day, but first thing's first - registration at 9 a.m. and then to Peach City Sports to look at wet suits. Mine has a few tears in it so I think it's high time I get a new one.
I also want to check out helmets at the Bike Barn. I figure some helmets may be on sale now that Ironman is over. After that, the only thing I'll need is a new bike - yikes. I guess now that I've said it out loud, I'll have to get one.
Well, I better sign off now and start my day. Stay tuned.
P.S. Paul Tichelaar's time and overall placing:
Overall: 10:34:08
Swim: 53:20
Bike: 5:33:35
Run: 4:03:19
T1: 1:29
T2: 2:29
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