Ironman Wisconsin – Friday

I’m sitting in my hotel staring out at Lake Monona, with a million thoughts on my mind. We got into Madison yesterday and this place and the weather are absolutely beautiful.

We checked in this morning and now it’s time to rest, wait, and . . . think.

One of the things I always think about before a race is that it always seems foreign until you get onto the course. When I watched at Louisville, I somehow felt inferior or like I wasn’t up to speed with the athletes, but that is obviously false.

Pre-game jitters and doubts are just a crazed part of being an athlete. They will be there, and if they aren’t, you’re probably not human.

As I stare at that water, it looks intimidating, but it’s just water. The same kind of water we have swam in a hundred times this year. But it may take until we get in to remember that simple face.

As I drove the bike course yesterday, I thought, this is one f-ng crazy bike course! People said it was full of relentless hills and it’s hard to know what that means until you see it. Let me tell you, it is full of relentless hills. But, I feel like it’s more imposing when you are sitting on your ass in the comfort of a car. Once the blood starts rushing, we’ll be saying, “Bring it on.”

And as I walk around portions of this run course with cold legs, I ask myself, how in the hell am I going to run around this town for that long? I have no idea, but as the guy at the expo said, “the body is an incredible machine, it can do more than you think.” So, okay, man, I’m banking on it.

I’ve been writing about this stuff for a year now and it’s almost here. My official wrist band is fastened, the numbers are on my bike, and my lime green swim cap rests in the corner. We’ll do a quick practice set tomorrow, then before we know it we’ll be waking up at 4 o’clock Sunday morning to tackle one of the biggest challenges of our lives. And, I don’t know about the other guys, but I’ll be doing it with a big smile, no matter how much it hurts.