Getting to the Starting Line

Well the race is done, goal achieved and I am an Ironman.  Just writing that leaves a bit of lump in my throat, just thinking of what it took to get me from the starting line to the finish.  But there remains a bit more work to accomplish so like any good writer I have decided to put the trip into a trilogy starting with the trip to Zurich, the race report, and our vacation in France.  So let's get started back before I was an Ironman and the days leading up to the big event.

For two weeks leading up to the race there was some piece of planning, packing, or logistics to complete.  It really hit home for me when I dropped off our bikes at Bonzai sports for Tri Bike Transport to ship to Zurich, this is it, we are really going to do this race.  Our expert mechanic Jay had the bikes in proper working order but I was worried about how the bikes would survive the trip.  Turns out I had nothing to fear, besides removing the pedals the folks from TBT do nothing to the bike but make sure it is delivered to the proper race destination.


Travel Day
Our flight to Zurich was on Wednesday late afternoon, which gave us some time in the morning to complete our packing, review the check lists a dozen more times, and begin worrying about all of the little things that could go wrong when traveling to a foreign country along with the potential for DC traffic in simply getting to the airport.  The hardest part of the day was dropping off our pups, Islay.  We booked Islay a visit to "summer camp" at a neighbor's house who does pet sitting through an online service called Doggy Vacay.  It was difficult saying goodbye to our happy girl but we knew she would be in good hands and those happy thoughts of her would play a mental role in our minds at some point on race day.

Bags ready to go, cab on time, off to the airport and light traffic.  Even the long line for check in at the United counter moved along and left us plenty of time for a glass of wine before boarding our flight.  Brief glimmer of hope we would be upgraded to business class with our names on the board but it was not to be, back with the rest of stowage and no free cookies!

Easy flight but not much sleep with an ontime arrival in Zurich, now to pick up our bags and find the rep from Endurance Sports Travel to take us to our hotel.  For this international tri, we used EST and they definitely made our lives easier in the days leading up to the race.  A bit of traffic on the way to our hotel but it was the am rush hour in Zurich and I enjoy checking out the new sites and trying to familiarize myself with the new city.  No luck with early check-in, I expected as much but with little sleep on the flight and the race just three days away all I wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep.  We killed some time walking around the hood looking for coffee but settled on a a grocery store and picked up some little ham sandwiches for our breakfast.  Hotel found a room for us which was great until we realized it was the size and style of a college dorm room but a bed is a bed so we crashed for a few hours knowing that sleep would be in limited quantities with the nerves leading up to the race.

Waking up in the tiny room, finding out the TV had only one channel that worked (German soap operas) and weak wi-fi I knew this was not how we needed to spend the days before the race.  Fortunately the hotel upgraded our room with a queen size bed and a working TV (BBC and CNN International are awesome when that is all you have).

Night Out
Being our first night in Zurich and Jen's birthday we decided to take a train into the city for some exploring, cocktails, and dinner wherever we could find it.  Zurich has an efficient and functional mass transit system using light rail, best to buy the 24 hour pass if you go. 

On our way to dinner at Lake Zurich, we would get to know this route very well.

Jen already had a destination in mind, a bar and restaurant called the Kronenhalle.  If you go to Zurich and appreciate a fine cocktail you must go to this bar.  Not only is it stunning inside with dark paneling on the walls and ceilings but you will find some of the best cocktails and service of any bar in the world.  We were fortunate enough to have Christian Heiss as our mixologist.  He crafted Jen a manhattan while I enjoyed an old fashioned made with Willet rye.  Christian was not satisfied in just making us drinks, he made sure we sampled several types of vermouth to experience the wide variety in flavors and explaining what pairs best with specific liquors.  The paprika flavored chips were good too.

For dinner we went looking for a Thai restaurant called the Blue Monkey Jen had found in a guide book.  It was a beautiful evening in Zurich and when we found the place with no one sitting outside or in we opted for the more lively  patio across the cobblestone street at a place called Tank.  I am pretty sure this is a local Swiss chain and there is nothing fancy about this place but it was great to sit outside and enjoy a local beer. 

Local beer that pairs well with a burger and fries.

For Jen's birthday dinner we went all out and ordered burgers and fries.  While expensive (this is Zurich after all), the burgers were actually quite delicious and just what we needed.  After a romantic walk along the river we found a train station and headed back to our hotel for some rest.

Waiting for our train back to the hotel

Hurry Up and Wait

Friday morning, lots of little things to do in prep for the race but I just want it to start.  While I was a bit nervous it was more about just wanting to start and see if I could really complete the distance.   Friday morning we went on an hour ride led by Ken Glah from EST and the rest of the folks in the group.  It was good to get out on the bike and ride up Heartbreak Hill (not so bad) even in the busy and narrow streets.  I still don't think it was a good idea to skip the bike path and take the auto only tunnel into downtown and neither did the truck drive who rode his horn while I pedaled toward the light.

Down to registration and check out the swim and transition areas in the afternoon.  Pizza near our hotel for dinner with plans for getting the last good nights sleep we would see in a couple of days.  We met up with several other folks along with EST and enjoyed lively conversation about power meters and race struggles.  Clearly Jen and I were not taking the hydration part of the pre-race plan seriously enough.  No way was I drinking a Nuun flavored water with pizza on a Friday night.  Of course this made me worry that I was doing something wrong but it really is a good lesson in stick to your own race plan.  If you have been drinking a beer or two during your training your body is not going to revolt.  Besides I am doing all of this training so I can enjoy beer and ice cream.

Waiting for the bikes to arrive

Swim exit, I will be happy to see this on race day.

Anything is possible, right?

While the TV in our hotel was limited, I opted to pay for the high speed wi-fi so we could stream episodes of Entourage in our room.  I really having to thank the cast and crew of this show in helping get my mind off the race and relax in the days and hours leading up to race day.

Saturday, last few hours to make sure we understand all of the race rules, logistics, and packing our transition bags.  It was a long day of doing lots of little things including bike drop off at 5 pm.  The only positive out of the long line was a chance to talk to one of the EST athletes who had competed in several Ironmans including qualifying for Kona.  He really helped to put my mind at ease over the race including the swim, everyone feels a bit of panic during the start.  Plus he told me had four beers the night before with Ken, that is my kind of training.

Pasta dinner and extra pizza for the pre-race breakfast and now to spend the next 10 hour laying in bed thinking about the race while the minutes ticked away.  What would happen on race day, what would go wrong and how would I handle adversity, are my legs ready for five hours of running after 112 miles on the bike?  There is the alarm, blaring the "Happy" song in my ear, something I would be singing in my head during each portion of the race.

Time to go earn that medal......