Friday, August 19, 2011

Age Group Nationals: Pre-Race Day

This morning began with a warm-up swim in Lake Champlain at 8 am. I met up with the team and we were all a little more relaxed as our collective travel adventures (bike problems, delays, etc) were behind us. It didn't take us long to feel connected and for personalities to emerge!


Siphiwe and Me
Silly boys...
In front of Sip's rig..
At one point I was talking on the dock with Eric and Danny from Endurance Films and with another guy who was putting on a wetsuit to join the swim. In the course of the conversation I discovered it was none other than Rob Urbach, the new CEO of USA Triathlon! My quick take on him? He's a great listener and fully invested in the future of the sport.

The water temperature was pretty ideal for wetsuits and there was just a bit of chop as you'd expect for such a large lake on a breezy morning. The swim was short, but enough to feel good about the conditions. Quite a few on our team (that would NOT be me) are distinguished swimmers, including Sip (Fitness Trucking Founder) who made it to the Olympic Trials at one point for the 100 free and barely missed making the team.

Late morning I headed to the expo to check out the products and enter all the drawings such as free lunch with Jared Fogel of Subway and a Computrainer! I also bought a new bike bottle since airport security nabbed mine since it had water in it. I ran into most of the Roanoke, Virginia folks at the Expo: Sam, Donna, Betsy, Kimberly (my roomie!), Marshall, Mike, and Mark. I saw Ryan the day before, and with Kate, I guess that makes at least 10 from our area.

Representing Southwest Virginia!
Kimberly, Marshall, Mike, Me, Betsy, Donna, and Mark
Remember the story about discovering Grant's (my son) online friend's dad was also coming to the race? Well, Tom and I met up at the Expo! He's a great guy and I hope someday we'll be able to get our two kids to meet up in person.

At noon the Endurance Films Racing team gathered for some photos and video ops. Afterward, my cheap self bummed a ride from some fellow athletes back down to the waterfront rather than pay for a cab. I wanted to get back to the hotel to eat and rest up before this evening's bike check-in.

sweet bike!
Our hotel room is pretty funny. Kimberly and I both brought food. We have two refrigerators, a microwave, coolers, and tri gear everywhere, including on the headboards:

Triathlete hotel room - kits drying from the morning swim!

As for me, I'm feeling good and relaxed but all the excitement has put me in a slight state of brain-fog!!