race day is finally here

Is today really the day? I can't believe this goal I set for myself six months ago is mere hours away from being achieved.

I'm wide awake and have been for about half an hour, well before my alarm was set to go off at 6am. The family's still sleeping and will stay that way (I hope) as I slip out the door to go to the course with a friend who's staying at the same hotel.

I've already fueled up by drinking a can of Ensure and eating a Power Bar. Now I'm drinking a bottle of water while blogging this last entry before the race. A couple observations from the last 24 hours of getting here and riding the road course:

• NEVER let race day be the first time you go to the course. We got misdirected yesterday on our trip to the lake (4 miles from the hotel) and spent an extra 30 minutes finding the right entrance to the park. I'd have been more than a little pissed if we'd done the same dumb thing this morning.
• My swim time's going to suck today: the level of the lake is really low, so the transition area (in the parking lot) is .32 miles from the shore. At normal levels, it looks like it'd only be a 100 yards from the shore. So, there's quite a bit of jogging in the wetsuit to be done today.
• The bike course is very twisty. Looks like it's been swept recently, but still, I can imagine more than one person's going down as they try to navigate the corners.
• I'm so glad I slept last night. Haven't slept well all this week, but last night, even in an unfamiliar bed, got a good 8 hours in and I'm ready to go.

Ok, time to post this and get on over to the transition area and check-in. Will blog my post-race experience later today.

Wish me luck!