Yesterday was Friday, our second day here. Mary arrived to the airport at 1:00 am. I picked her up but not after I was stopped by a cop for turning right on a red-right-turn arrow--oops. He asked if I knew why he stopped me..."uh, no. I was just trying to make sure I wasn't going down a one-way the wrong way." He was nice (didn't give me a ticket) and told me how to get to the airport. There were NO signs. We got in around 1:45 am...very tired.
All day it was just Mary, Ri-guy and me. While Mary slept in, I went with Ri-guy to the swim at Law Park (the official swim start) around 8:00 am. It was already pretty full and you could tell there was some excitement in the air...or nervous energy. Athletes were pulling on their wetsuits, chatting with others, and supporters were milling about watching bags for those who didn't check them with the Gatorade tent. It was pretty chilly but okay with a sweatshirt. The lake water was warm which surprised many swimmers given it rained the entire day before.
Per Coach Ken's plan, Ri-guy swam for 30 minutes and got some markers for sighting while in the chaos of what will be the swim portion. We then walked back to the hotel and on the way stopped at the Capitol Starbucks where we luckily missed some insane rush. When we left, the line was out the door. The cool thing is they will be open at 4:30 am on race day...thank god!!!
We went to Marigold Kitchen for breakfast and apparently so did all the other athletes and family. It was awesome and highly recommended. After we went to browse the Expo. We spent a bit of money on items only for me...Ri-guy won't buy anything till the finisher's store opens at 7am on Monday morning...superstitious I guess.
We bumped into Susan and Monty from KC a number of times...it's so good to see familiar faces. Go Monty!!! We figured out how to get our extra carbo meal ticket and gave it Susan to enjoy so Mary and I could go to dinner together.
As we explored the Expo and Marketplace, Mary and I spent about 15 minutes trying to come up with an electronic message that displays during mile 8 and 22 or so of the run. It's triggered by the timing chip...it's a great idea and I highly recommend doing it. It's supposed to be inspirational or motivational for the athlete...problem is you only have 25 total characters including spaces AND their bib number. Try to come up with an inspirational message in about 18 characters...it ain't easy! The funny thing is...I can't remember what we wrote!
After that Mary and I went to the Janus tent to make signs. They have yard signs that you can make that will be placed around the run route as well as paper signs with wood sticks...perfect addition to our other signs we're making. When we got back to the hotel, sherpa duties required a bit of planning and organizing of gear bags.
We ended the day with Ri-guy going to the carbo dinner and mandatory meeting with his girls Kat, Kerri, and Val. Go girls!!! Mary and I went to Harvest...terrific restaurant on the Capitol Square. Ri-guy joined us for dessert...he didn't have any.
Thus ended Day 2 of Ironman Wisconsin for TriSupporter. It was a great day. Fun...interesting...long...and best ended on a bottle of Malbec with a great friend.
Ding, Ding.
PS: Tomorrow is Race Day...Ri-guy is 1039...Good luck Ri-guy..Kat..Kerri...Val...Monty...and ALL the other athletes both first-timers and experienced!! All the best to the TriSupporters!!
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