Twas the Night Before Beach2Battleship HIM

THURSDAY & FRIDAY

The last two days in Wilmington, NC have been amazing.  This particular race getaway has felt more like a vacation than any other race we've participated in.  The town of Wilmington is adorable and the people here have really opened their arms to all of the athletes.  SetUpEvents is running a top-notch show.  It seems like every "i" has been dotted and every "t" crossed.  The weather has been in one word... WOW!  Morning lows have been in the 40s and afternoon highs in the mid-60s.  Bright blue skies are everywhere with nary a cloud to be found.  Perfection!

We made the nearly 13 hour drive (if you count our pit-stops) to Wilmington on Wednesday and fell into bed around 11:30 PM.  I drove the last six hours of the trip and my system was running on pure adrenaline-- the kind that makes you feel sick to your stomach.

Our Thursday wake-up call was 5 AM.  We were scheduled to meet a group of athletes from BeginnerTriathlete.com at Wrightsville Beach and swim the last 1500m of the swim course.  Scott & I were excited about testing out our new full wetsuits in something other than chlorine.  The channel water was about 62-63F, but it felt warm compared to the air temp.  It was quite windy on Thursday morning and the wind chill was out of control for a bit.

Pre-swim with Brian, Alan, Cecilia and Martin

Scott says, "brrrrr...."

 I was snug as a bug in a rug in my suit.  It fits so well that hardly any water leaks in at all.  I opted to wear booties (even though I had never swam in them before) and kept in mind that the race director was also allowing neoprene caps and non-webbed gloves.  I didn't have the latter two items, but I thought that if that water was "that" cold, then I would pick them up at the expo.

We swam at the very beginning of incoming tide, so there was a decent current.  Unfortunately, I came to realize all too quickly that I am one of those rare people for whom a wetsuit offers no advantage.  I have good body position in the water already and a wetsuit (plus salt water) actually makes me "too" buoyant.  I had NO kick for the swim.  I get a lot of propulsion from my kick (as opposed to balance) and without it, I felt like a snail.  No wonder why I always fall behind on pull sets in the pool.  Normally Scott and I swim at a similar pace, both in the pool and in open water.  During our practice swim, I couldn't even stay in his draft.  He has a super pull, but lacks a bit of balance... hence, he benefits greatly from a full suit.  This is really good for me to know for the future.  I can't do much about it now, but it's clear that while my strong kick is definitely an asset for most of the non-wetsuit races that I do in FL, I need to work on my pull.  Strong kick + strong pull... deadly!

Kicking and pulling aside, I did not find the water to be cold at all.  In fact, I sort of felt "warm" towards the end of the swim.  Probably from dragging myself through the water without a kick!  Honestly, if the run to T1 wasn't a 1/4 mile on painful chip & seal, I don't think I would wear the booties.  I definitely have no interest in a using a neoprene cap or gloves.

Post-swim- with BT.com friends Brian & Martin

Following the swim, Scott & I went on a quick 25 minute run and then set out to find some coffee.  We were ridiculously pleased with how the morning went and found ourselves riding a pre-race high!

Later in the afternoon we attended packet pick-up, strolled around downtown Wilmington, had lunch at a quaint little deli, took a brief nap and then attended the athlete kick-off dinner.  We met up with a few of our new friends from the morning swim and had some good laughs.  Bedtime came early at 9:30 PM.

With our new friend Alan at the Athlete Kick-Off dinner

This morning we set out for some coffee and a bite to eat, took a spin by the USS North Carolina and saw where T2/Finish line would be staged and then returned to our room to prep our changing bags.  The Beach2Battleship transitions are in two different locations and this was the first race of this kind that we had ever done.  Deciding on what to place in each bag is difficult when you are used to having just one transition bag and one spot that you return to again and again.  However, we managed to pull ourselves together and figure it out.  We dropped our bikes and changing bags off at T1 this afternoon.  It actually felt good to get them off our hands.

Visiting the "finish line"... USS North Carolina!

After dropping off the bikes/bags, we bumped into Alan from the swim again and the three of us decided to head to IHOP for an early dinner.  A stack of pancakes and some good conversation later, we now find ourselves back at our hotel and trying our best to relax.  Our alarm is set for 5 AM-- a relatively late wake-up for a triathlon.  However, since the half iron begins 1.5 hours after the iron, we have the luxury of sleeping in a bit.  We are booked on the 6:30 AM transfer bus.  Scott's wave goes off at 8:30 AM and my wave goes off at 8:45 AM.

PRE-RACE THOUGHTS

Race day expectations... the good part of the post, right?  I'm not going to go on about how, "first and foremost I want to finish."  Barring any medical emergency or catastrophic mechanical bike failure, I will finish the race tomorrow.  What I do have is a time goal.  I want to break 6 hours.  This should not be out of reach for me if I can manage to reign in my bike, stay hydrated and eat enough.  The cool temps should help with the hydration (although I will note that I was definitely the only one running in a bathing suit and running shorts on Thursday morning) and I have more than enough calories on my bike to fuel myself.  Staying composed and within my limits on the bike will be my biggest challenge.  If I am unable to do this, I will not be able to run what I know I am capable of running.  There is no bullshit here; that's really all there is to it.  Sherry + over-biking = a snail could run faster.  Sherry + cycling within limits = PR.  Hence, a PR will not come from my swim or bike split.  If it comes, it will be on the run.  If I run what I'm capable of running, it will be a HUGE PR, but I'm not going to get ahead of myself.  A goal of breaking 6-hours is reasonable and attainable if I am smart.  So, this may not be a big PR (this is not a flat run course), but it should be enough for me to break that 6-hour mark.  At least, I hope it's enough.  And there it is.

I hope to return to the finish line after I'm all showered up to cheer for the rest of the HIM participants and to cheer for ALL of the full finishers!  If I have it within me, I'll be there until midnight.  This is a very special race, with a ton of very special people and I want to watch as many of their smiling faces cross the line as possible.

On Sunday morning we will be attending the full-distance awards cruise on the Henrietta Riverboat.  Even though we are only doing the half, we thought that since we are here we might as well just enjoy the entire B2B experience.  I will try to post a brief race re-cap sometime on Sunday and then a more detailed one next week... so stay tuned!