Hello from Roanoke!

 

The past two weeks have been a bit hectic. Although I recovered really quickly from IM 70.3 Chattanooga, Karel's broken wrist has been giving him a lot of pain. The broken radius is healing nicely but he is still experiencing a tremendous amount of pain from his ulnar nerve. He doesn't sleep well at night as the pain gets worse. I feel so bad for him. He had a follow-up with his surgeon on Tues (and got his stitches out from the three incisions) and if the pain doesn't get better in the next two weeks, Karel will see a neurologist to figure out what's going on. His PT is going well and he is making some progress with using his fingers (he still doesn't have much strength). We have a good friend/triathlete that is a hand surgeon so he has been incredibly helpful as he has been speaking with Karel almost daily on his progress and figuring out a good routine for his medications to help with the swelling and pain. 

So with so much of my emotional energy going to Karel, I haven't really thought much about the race this weekend. Again, it was another week of just going through the motions. We left for Roanoke on Wednesday late morning and after a beautiful 5-hour drive (stops included), we arrived to our first Airbnb. (I reserved two different ones in downtown as the lodging situation was a bit sparse for pet-friendly and a flexible cancellation policy). With Campy being just a few months away from 14 years old, we are always trying to collect more memories with him. 

I did all of the driving to Roanoke and after we arrived, we unloaded the car and caught up on a bit of work before I went to the grocery store (Kroger). After a good night of sleep (Karel and I are sleeping in different beds right now because he has to get up multiple times during the night because of pain in his wrist) I woke up on Thursday morning feeling calm and relaxed that Karel (and Campy) are here with me. 

Karel went for a morning run (exercise is manageable as it somewhat helps take his mind off the pain) on some of the run course and when he got back, we packed up the car for my ride. We drove near the swim start at Carvins Cove Reservoir and then drove the bike course until a few miles before the turn onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. We stopped around mile 20 on the side of the road and I took my bike off our bike rack and it was time for me to ride. 

Karel drove ahead and stopped on various parts of the Blue Ridge while I rode for the next 28-miles of the bike course. I was in awe of the beauty of the course and how quiet it was on the road (hardly any cars!). It was a steady climb and we stopped for a few pics at the top. Campy enjoyed his adventure which included micro naps between stops. Karel even took him for a few short walks on the trails (so technically Campy hiked (on) the Appalachian Trail :) 

After I made my descend back down the Blue Ridge, Karel met me at the turn and I put my bike back on the car rack before we drove the rest of the bike course. We went back to our Airbnb and after helping Karel set up his trainer for an afternoon spin, I went out for a short ~2 mile run near the run course and to check out the transition area (T2/Finish). Karel was in a lot of pain yesterday so it was a rough day for him. Having Campy here is nice as he is a wonderful form of therapy for me and for Karel. 

After Karel did a short bike workout on the trainer (while watching the Criterium du Dauphine) we picked up our online order at Chipotle and then made a quick stop at Kroger for a few more items that we needed.

On Friday morning, I spent a good 20-minutes on mobility/foam rolling while Karel was on the trainer (watching Cycling).  I then went for an easy 20-minute jog checking out the transition area (T2) and run out/finish line and bumped into two of our athletes - Fiona and Will - who were riding. After my run it was time to pack up our Airbnb (moving to another Airbnb later today). 

We then drove to Smith Mountain Lake State Park (~31 miles/~50 minutes away) for an open water swim. We met a few of our athletes there and Karel and Campy walked around as I did a 20 minute open water swim workout with our athletes. Although my run felt a bit blah, I felt great swimming. And the drive to the lake was just beautiful - which seems to be the theme for nature around here! 

Once we arrived to our 2nd Airbnb, we unloaded the car and rested for a bit before our traditional pre-race team pizza party. 

We are all so excited for the inaugural IM 70.3 Blue Ridge - we have 18 Trimarni team members racing! As always, I'll be racing with a present moment mindset and thanking my body for allowing me to race on this beautiful course. If I had to design the perfect course for my strengths, this would be it. So I'll be sure to have some fun on Sunday! 

You can track the race HERE. And follow along HERE.

IM 70.3 FL - one more sleep

Oddly, I'm very calm with one sleep to go before race day. With no expectations or pressures for this race, I'm most excited to kick off the 2018 triathlon racing season and go through the motions and emotions of swimbikerun in a competitive setting. I am also so pumped to race with over 30 of our coaching athletes as part of the regional Tri Club Championship. There's something about seeing familiar faces out on the race course (and the sidelines) that makes for a fun, energy filled day of racing. Here's a list of all of our athletes who are participating:

Ironman 70.3 Florida
Alvaro Velez
Chris Anuszkiewicz
Christine Feiherr
Curt Kloc
Erica Nagy
Fiona Martin
Greg Marshall
Heather Anderson
Heidi Hogan
Jane Green
Jim Nitz
Julie Huyett
Justine Waters
Kathy Petri
Kevin Drury
Kim Crist
Lisa Comer
Lisa McCartney
Lisa Heath
Melanie Ziarko
Meredith Rigdon
Mitch Przybelski
Natalie Ramello
Tricia Rado
Rebekah Miller
Reid Thomas
Stephanie Gibson
Stephanie Lefkowitz
Wesley Cook
Don Oswalt
Dave Barrie 
Tony Madore
Marni Sumbal
Karel Sumbal

You can track on the Ironman Tracker App. 

On Friday morning, we started the day with an outdoor swim at the Lake Eva community pool at the race venue. It's very unique to have a race venue with a free venue for pool swimming in the days leading up to the race. The water was perfect for swimming and I was able to test out my short sleeve swim skin over my one piece tri suit. We only swam about a 1500 but it was a good building effort set.

After the swim we headed back to the rental house and I made a quick grocery shop for a few items for our team pizza party. Karel has been staying busy here in Haines City with last minute bike mechanic work for our athletes as well as a RETUL fit for one of our athletes (he brought his RETUL fit system).

In the afternoon, I headed to athlete check-in just before 3pm and then attended the athlete briefing at 3pm with several of our Trimarni athletes. Since there was a slight change in run course for this year, I decided to bike 1-loop of the 3-loop run course after the athlete briefing to check out the entire run course. I find it helpful to review the start/finish of the bike course and as much as I can of the run course for visualization purposes going into the race.

In the evening, it was time for our tradition of holding a team pizza party for our athletes at our key races. We had over 30 athletes attend our pizza party (with a few unable to attend because of travel) and it was so fun to have so many of our athletes together in one room. Karel and I also gave a team talk to go over some last minute tips/suggestions relative to this race course.

Pizza from Pizzanospizza

After a great night of sleep (9 hours!), it was time to wake-up the body with a pre-race workout of bike/run, swim.

Karel and his friend Roman (from Czech) did their own thing in the morning so I was off on my own for my pre-race warm-up. It was rather windy this morning but it was good practice to include some wind with my pre-race warm-up on the bike.

My 9-12 am morning workout on Sat (day before the race) included:
-90 minute bike (Same course I rode on Thurs with Karel), ~26 miles
Included a pre-set of: 3, 2, 1 hard efforts w/ 3 min EZ in between. Then a MS of 2 x 6 min build efforts with 8 min EZ between.
-Off the bike ~8 minute run with some stops/walks
-~15 min open water swim

It was great to see so many of our athletes out and about warming up before the race.

It was a packed morning of training but it all felt good to wake-up the body with one night of sleep to go before race day.

During our talk last night at our team pizza party (during our pep talk portion of the race), I told our athletes to think of the race as being a carpenter who is building a masterpiece. All of us athletes are carpenters with our own tools, experience and knowledge. The masterpiece that we each decide to build on race day is created by our performance. The goal is for each of us to create a race (or masterpiece) that we are proud of. On race day, we each experience our own obstacles to overcome and we each bring our own tool set and experience to cover the race distance. There's no point to compare yourself to anyone else, not even a past version of yourself. Remind yourself that YOU are in control all day. Don't focus on the end result, stay present tense and be an active participant in the process....and don't forget to thank your body!

IM Kona '16: Day 10

The day has finally come! It's the day before THE Ironman World Championship.

I can't believe how quickly this week went by and now we only have one more sleep to go before 2000+ athletes from around the world compete for 140.6 miles on the big island of Kona. 

After a great night of sleep, I woke up around 6am. After Karel got up, shortly after, we enjoyed some coffee on our patio as we shared some oversized Trimarni pre-workout pancakes that I made while the coffee was brewing. Around 7:20am, Karel went out for his pre-race workout (ocean swim + ride) while I finished up some work on the computer.
Before my morning workout (which was a mini triathlon), I made a buffet of food for Karel to enjoy when he returned home from his workout. 

Waffles, scrambled eggs w/ tomatoes and cheese, yogurt w/ smashed mango, fruit fruit and oatmeal. 

As for my morning, my workout included a 25-minute swim, 75-minute bike, 40 minute run.

My plan was to swim, bike, run but it was all by feel (not by time).
I was joined by my friend Jennifer, from Ironman, for a ride on the Queen K and then I went out on Ali'i drive for a run.

I finished my workout around 11:30am, enjoyed breakfast and cleaned up before I headed out again for a food run. Croissants for Karel!
I also picked up some fresh fruit from the farmers market and fresh bread from Daylight Minds cafe. 

As soon as I returned back from my errands, Trimarni athlete Justine was at our condo ready to check in her bike. I accompanied her and her family (and friend Ginger, former Trimarni athlete) to bike check in and we met up with Trimarni athlete Leigh Ann.

After enjoying seeing my two Trimarni Kona athletes drop off their bikes and gear, I went back to the condo to get Karel so that I could be with him for his bike/gear bag check-in.

It's pretty cool to see how much work is being done to create the main stage of the Ironman here in Kona so I thought I'd share some pictures from throughout the day before the 2016 Ironman World Championship. 

Thank you to all the Trimarni fans who have been following us along during our time in Kona.
We really appreciate the support.
We also want to send a HUGE thank you to the companies who have played an integral part into our training/racing season:


Also, Boco Gear, Hot Shot, Mg12, Alto Cycling.

I'll be sharing updates throughout race day on my Trimarni Facebook page.
I encourage you to watch the LIVE footage of the Ironman at Ironman.com ALL day as I have a feeling this will be an exciting day of Ironman racing.

Start times (island time, 6 hours behind EST).

6:25am Race Start - Male Professional
6:30am Race Start - Female Professional
6:55am Race Start - Age Groups
7:10am Race Start - Age Groups Females/P.C. athletes 

Reduce the pre-race stress

Racing is fun but it is also very stressful.
Stress can be a response to things out of your control whereas nerves can mean you care about your result.

I hate to be the party pooper but every athlete is going to have challenges before and/or on race day - whether it's the weather, terrain or something outside your control or feeling really, really uncomfortable because you are giving a hard effort.

While it is important to focus only on things within your control and to not waste energy on things out of your control, trying to control everything can increase anxiety when things don't work out like you had hoped for.

My suggestion......stop worrying about what's completely out of your control and put positive energy into trusting yourself, your fitness and your ability to overcome anything that comes your way before and on race day.

Race day is an opportunity to show off your consistent training efforts - not besting or matching what paces or watts that you held in training so that you can achieve a specific time-goal outcome.

Don't assume you are going to have a bad day because it's windy, hot/cold or rainy. Race day rewards a great effort and a smart execution.
Don't waste away months of training on worries, doubt or fear.With the conditions you are given on race day, be sure to race your nearest competition with your current level of fitness. 

Racing is all about being proactive. It requires extreme focus to troubleshoot every situation and to not get ahead of yourself (don't think about how you are going to feel on the run when you are swimming). You must execute in the best possible way, on your race course, with the weather you are given on your race day.

The only time you will know what you are capable of achieving on race day is when you cross the finish line, knowing that you gave your absolute best effort and overcame everything that you experienced on race day. 

To race to your full ability and to achieve the best possible outcome, you must understand that racing is a process - it's dynamic and it's very task driven. This is why we encourage athletes to race a few times at lower priority races before racing in a key race so you can go through all the motions and emotions of racing.

When you race, your entire race is built on steps, with each mile affecting the next mile. While there are many things within your control, holding x-watts or x-pace to give you x-final result is not true racing. 

While it may seem as if having metric guidelines (ex. hold x-watts or x-pace) or a time goal to chase will give you comfort so you race to your potential and/or you don't blow yourself up, putting all your energy into the end result will likely cause you to lose focus on the elements that you can control - your fueling/hydrating, the course, your economy, how you manage your efforts (based on the terrain and weather), your mindset and what your body is telling you at each moment during the race.

To help you relax your mind before a race, focus on simply being present during your race. Give your best effort. Be grateful for what your body can do and what it allows you to do. Be proud of your discipline, which allowed you to gain fitness for your race day.

Don't stress about the outcome.

The best race day outcome is determined by how you manage what you can control and how you overcome what you can't control.... from start to finish.

Enjoy the challenges that you will experience on race day and don't stress out before you start your amazing day with your awesome body.

Challenge Williamsburg Race Report - Pre-race + 1.2 mile swim

My alarm went off at 4:05am which gave me 10 minutes to make some coffee with the help of our home electric kettle that we brought + instant coffee (Nescafe Classico), take Campy outside and then fill my Nathan hydration belt flasks (2 of them) with cold water.
I sipped on aminos + electrolytes in a small bottle of water and a mug of coffee w/ milk and grabbed my T2 gear (in a drawstring bag that I brought) which included: running shoes, my dad's Corvette hat, race belt,  number (safety pinned), Nathan hydration belt + flasks (with extra nutrition in my belt pocket: margarita Clif blocks, salt tube  and Clif Bar Gel)  and a small towel and headed 10 minutes down the road to T2. I parked and made the 10-15 minute walk to transition.

I decided the night before the race that I would go to T2 first thing in the morning (it opened at 4:30am) to drop off my run gear by myself. Since my mom was driving us to the beach (T1/race start) we did not need to board the bus shuttles. Our athletes ended up on the shuttle buses and they all said it was very easy and not waiting involved. 

I dropped off my run gear in my designated rack and kept my run shoes in my drawstring bag just in case it rained (lesson learned from Knoxville - although not sure it mattered as cold/wet feet may have been nice in the heat - minus the potential blisters). 

I double checked my gear at least four times - it is so different to just lay out run gear and then know that it will be hours until you see it again and then headed back to the car around 4:40am to make it back to the hotel by 4:55am. 

I took a banana with me for the car ride home so I started my pre-race fueling around 4:55am (2 hours before race start).

When I got back to the hotel room, my mom and Karel (and Campy) were up and I ate my typical pre-race meal of banana (consumed in car) a rice cake dressed up with lots of maple syrup, raisins, cinnamon and peanut butter. I brought everything with me from home and laid it all out the night before so it was easy to make and consume. 

I continued to sip on my pre-race bottle throughout the morning so in all I consumed around 28-32 ounce fluid in the 2.5 hours before the race start and around 400 calories and around 1200 mg sodium. 

Karel drove us to T2 and we parked in the spectator parking lot (cars had to be out by 9:30, athletes who drove could park in a different lot but no shuttles back to T1 after the race) across from the transition area. 

My mom and Campy stayed in the car for 15 minutes or so while Karel and I went to the transition area to pump up our tires with our pump. We had our race numbers on us already (race number temporary tats) so it was a very smooth entry in and out of setting up our gear.

I laid out my helmet, shoes, Oakley Women RPM shades and compression socks. Since calf sleeves were not allowed in the water with it being non-wet suit legal, I decided to wear my CEP socks instead of putting on socks and calf sleeves. I also had a towel to wipe off my feet and my T1 bag which I was to put all my swim gear in after the swim to be transported to T2 by the volunteers.
We were given a dry clothes bag but we put our clothing, transition bag and pump in our car.


Campy came to greet me after we left transition area and it was very nice to have his great energy around us. He makes every situation less stressful. 

Thanks for the pic Elizabeth!

We all (Trimarni athletes) gathered for a picture after transitioned closed for half athletes at 6:20 (and after a bathroom stop) and off we went on the grassy field toward the swim start. 

I had my pre race drink in a plastic bottle so I tossed it in a garbage can as we were walking to the swim start. 

Thanks Elizabeth for the great pictures! 

I warmed up for about 10-15 minutes in the water with a few strokes to get comfortable, then I would just hang out since the water was extremely shallow. When the pro males were making their way back to the beach, you could see many dolphin dives as the water was not deep at all.

I chatted with Amy before the start and we talked about the best strategy with the shallow water and we both decided that swimming or dolphin diving would move us more than walking (and I don't think either of us considered walking in the swim portion).

At 6:50am we all corralled behind the timing line on the beach and then made our way into the water. It was an in the water start although we could all touch the bottom. The water was extremely warm and the sun was rising as we were waiting for our 6:55am start.

Thanks Elizabeth for the great pictures! 

Our wave included all women, relays and the aquabike so Karel was in my wave (he later mentioned how awesome it is to swim with the ladies and not the guys - he said there is no pushing or swimming over each other. He loved the calmness of swimming with the ladies :) )

At 6:55am we were off. I tried really hard to stay with Amy who is a former D1 swimmer and extremely fast but despite swimming as fast/hard as I could, I just couldn't hang. I was a bit frustrated that I missed her pack of a few pink caps but oh well, time to just focus on myself.

I had heard from previous years about the current in the water and I can say that I never felt as if we had it easy as if the current was in our favor. I felt like the entire 1.2 miles, I was fighting hard to not swim off course because the current was constantly changing. 

My main focus was to feel myself catching the water and moving through the water but never losing sight of the buoys. I spotted a lot, probably every 4-6 strokes. 

When I made my way around the 2 buoy, I noticed that despite trying to swim a bit harder than I did at Knoxville, I wasn't as tired. I felt strong in the water but for some reason, it just didn't feel fast. As I start swimming toward the shore before one last right hand turn around a buoy to head toward the finish (there was one more turn buoy to go around near the finish), I felt as if my sub 5 hour time goal was not in reach for I feared a very slow swim just because of the difficulty I was experiencing trying to stay on course. As I was swimming to the last buoy by the finish, I noticed that several athletes were walking. I could not feel the bottom with my hands (maybe because I am only 5 feet "tall") but I never considered walking as I was swimming.  We kept the buoys on our right the entire swim (except the last buoy to swim around toward the finish) and the buoys were very well marked so you could see which was a turn buoy (candy corn colors) and the red buoys were for spotting. Challenge did a great job marking the swim course.

Nearing the shore, I saw many athletes walking. I stood up but I was not walking very fast. I dolphined dived back into the water and swam some more. I kept doing this until I could stand and run out of the water. 

When I exited the water, I made the long run on the grass (so much better than concrete!) and entered transition. I first put my swim gear in my Swim to Bike bag and that stayed near my rack. My mom was there with Campy and I couldn't help but smile that Campy had crawled under the railing around transition and was laying down watching me. It took a lot for me to not go over and kiss him (Karel would not be happy that I spent time in transition to kiss Campy - he would say - Marni that's free speed!). I removed my chip to put on my socks (I have to say in my head "chip, chip, chip" over and over so I don't forget to put it on), helmet, Oakley RPM sunglasses and shoes, powered on my Garmin 500 on my bike as I was running out of transition and I asked my mom what place and she said she thought 4th or 5th female. 

Karel leaving T1...just a few minutes after me!

My competitive spirit was there and I was excited to see what my body could do on this "fast flat"  course. 

I mounted my bike, hit start on my Garmin bike computer, clipped in and pedaled my way on a bumpy side road until I reached the main road. I made a left hand turn, got aero and off I went for 56 miles of chasing the girls ahead of me. 

RACE RESULTS:

MARNI
1.2 mile swim: 31:56
T1: 3:07

KAREL
1.2 mile swim: 33:40
T1: 2:16 

Stay tuned for my 56 mile bike recap. 

If you have any questions that you'd like me to cover in my race recap, just send me an email. 

Challenge Knoxville half - Pre-race part 2

Speaking of food, friends and traveling......

My friend and athlete Kelsey and her husband traveled from Maine to visit us in Greenville and to race in Challenge Knoxville (Kelsey raced the half aquabike). We enjoyed a delicious pizza from Mellow Mushroom on Friday evening (take-out) at our home.

It's a ritual for me to have pizza and salad two nights before a half and full Ironman. If anything is going to make me feel relaxed, it's going to be a piece of pizza in my belly. Yum!

On Saturday morning, Kelsey and I did an hour spin to wake-up our legs since we both were tapering for this race. I did my normal active recovery week two weeks out and then a bit of intensity (with lower volume) on race week. After the ride, Campy joined me for a 10 min run off the bike. I had no choice but to do a few pick-ups as Campy loves to run fast but gets distracted very easily.

It was a beautiful morning and enjoyed wearing my Oakley Women RPM shades. 

After breakfast (eggs and oatmeal w/ fruit, syrup and milk), we packed up and my mom came over around 10am. We all hit the road (in two cars) around 10:30am to make our 2:45 hour drive toward Knoxville. 

The drive was absolutely beautiful with so many mountains to drive through. We packed plenty of food for our trip and I enjoyed a delicious PB and fig jam waffle sandwich with some pretzels and plenty of water. 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in downtown Knoxville, which was a real treat for us to be so close (less than a 10 min walk to the race finish/expo and 20 min to the transition area). Also, the hotel was pet-friendly (only $25 a night) and everyone who worked at the hotel was so incredibly nice. There was no fridge/microwave in our hotel but we had plenty of ice for our coolers and downstairs had a toaster and microwave by the cafe. 

After we unloaded the car and settled into our hotel room, we snacked a little and then headed down to the race expo. Campy enjoyed sniffing all around and checking out the pre-race vibe. We spotted Trimarni athlete and Challenge Volunteer coordinator Tracy and a few other friends. It was nice to see so many familiar faces. 

Campy also enjoyed his royal treatment - lots of butt rubs!

Not sure if you remember Ed from previous blog posts but when we raced IMWI, Ed and his wife opened up their home to me and Karel for a wonderful homestay for 6 days. Ed is an amazing athlete, cancer survivor and wonderful person. It was so great to see him and race with him (he raced the olympic and received an award for his age group!)

The check-in was super smooth and I started to get a little more excited (and feel more race-ready) after going through the motions of checking in. I really do love the pre-race vibe on the day before a race - being around all the athletes at the athlete meeting and registration, getting my stuff together and checking-in my bike -  the entire process of getting ready for a race started to remind me why I really love being a triathlete. 

The swag was awesome from Challenge and they really made us feel like family. 

Along with the hoodie sweatshirt, temporary tattoo numbers and drawstring bag, I just loved this handwritten note that we all received. 

We attended the athlete briefing at 4pm and then checked-in our bikes. The transition area was about 1/4 mile from the expo (which was also the race finish). 

Campy learned a lot at the athlete briefing like learning that he was allowed to run across the finish line with his mommy or daddy. However, we didn't tell Campy that he would be running across the finish line because he would be hanging out with his grandma and his mommy and daddy were racing. 

Karel and I rode our bikes to the transition area on the run path and then checked in our bikes. We just loved the added touch of seeing our names on the floor bike holders. There was a chance for rain on Sunday but I didn't really check the weather much so I didn't really stress about my bike getting wet. 

My bike was near the bike out and Karel's bike was near the run out. 

After we racked our bikes, Karel and I walked down to the swim start (across the street). The buoy's were set-up so it was nice to be able to make mental notes of the swim course. 

We then made our way back to the hotel and then time for dinner!

Rather than eating out at a restaurant, we found a Whole Foods just 6 miles away. Karel and I usually head to a grocery store the day before a race and "make" dinner in our hotel room with a microwave but this time, we opted for pre-made dishes. 

Kelsey, her husband, my mom, Karel and I all shopped the salad bar area and we all ended up with great options for dinner. I had mushrooms, eggplant, tofu, rice, sweet potatoes and chickpea salad.

Karel and my mom shared a rotisserie chicken.  Karel stayed back in the room because he was a bit tired from the drive and then he worked on my friend's bike (Katie Thomas who races pro) and plus we needed a Campy sitter so I got Karel a few sides - mashed potatoes and rice. 

We all ate in our rooms which was nice to be in comfy clothes, in bed. Karel and I watched the Tour of California on the computer while my mom watched TV. After we ate, Karel and I went through the course maps and by 9:30pm, it was time for lights-out. 

I didn't sleep very well which is not like me. Normally I can sleep straight through the night the night before a race but I guess something was on my mind. But then again, I did have a furry little one snuggled super close to me under the covers all night. Every time I moved, Campy moved so that he was always touching me. Love this little guy. 

At 4:30am, it was time to get up!

First it was time for tummy rubs and then Campy and I took a walk outside (which was actually a very calm way to start the morning - it was so peaceful and quite outside at 4:45am).

I brought our electric kettle so we heated water and made instant Nescafe coffee (and mixed with organic milk in travel coffee mugs) and by 5:30am, we were eating our pre-race meal.

Karel had a bagel with butter and jam and some of a yogurt drink (Bolthouse) and I had a rice cake dressed-up with lots of maple syrup, peanut butter, cinnamon, raisins and a banana.

We filled our sport bottles and Nathan hydration flasks with cold water (we poured our sport drink powder into our bottles the night before the race), made sure we had everything in our transition bags and around 5:45am, Karel and I walked down to the transition area. 

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Stay tuned for the rest of the pre-race recap and 1.2 mile swim.