Thursday, June 23, 2011

IMCdA Race Week - Mon-Wed

We made it to da 'Ho!  Mom flew into PDX on Monday night, she ran errands all day on Tuesday while I frantically wrapped things up at work, we spent all night packing, and then headed out on Wednesday for the 7 hour drive to Coeur d'Alene.  The ride was uneventful, other than the pesky virus that seems to have taken up residence in my stomach.  I'll spare you the details.  Thankfully I have a few days to get the germs out of my tummy.  In the meantime, bland foods and extra hydration are being consumed diligently.

Here's our overloaded car.  We are over-packing extraordinaires.
Upon arrival, we checked into our awesome rental home, which is located about 6 blocks from the finish line.  Yes, that's a wrap around porch with a hammock.  It also has a cushy green backyard, lots of open space, and comfy bedrooms.  Go to CdA Getaway for outstanding vacation rental service in Coeur d'Alene.
I'll be spending lots of time sitting on this cozy couch over the next few days!

Mom went grocery shopping while I headed out for a 30min spin around town.  As I was airing up tires and getting the bike ready, I set my 2nd spare tube and extra CO2 cartridges on the counter.  Since, you know, I was only heading out for 30 minutes, and it wasn't worth the time to cram all that stuff onto the bike.  You know where this is heading, right?  Part way up a little hill, my rear tire went mushy.  I finished the climb, then pulled over to change flat #2 of the week.  It went pretty speedy and I did a little hip shake to celebrate my ninja tire changing skillz.  But...a few pedal strokes later things went mushy again.  3rd flat of the week.  Did I pinch the tube?  Or twist it?  With no 2nd tube (doh!) I called my directionally challenged mother to come pick me up in a strange town, having no clue where I was.  With time to kill, I took the tube out and did some inspecting.  Turns out a wire was sticking out inside the tire and puncturing the tubes.  Bomber Gatorskins = not so bomberish.  I was able to patch one of the tubes (after using another CO2 to find the hole) and use my final CO2 cartridge to get things inflated again, just as Mom showed up.  Of course.  I decided that the tire gods were frowning upon me that afternoon, and headed back to the house instead of finishing up the ride.
Lesson of the day - buy lots of extra tubes and CO2 cartridges (unless you are flying) before you leave home.  Your local bike shop will be MUCH cheaper than the Ironman expo bike shop.  At $10/tube and almost $6/cartridge, this was an expensive 20 minute bike ride.

Next Up:
Thu - 30min practice swim, registration, 20min run, pick up little brother from airport