Day 3 at Ironman Arizona

Not sure quite where the time is going but ahhhhhhh its Thursday! Today is the official start of Ironman with the expo opening and registration taking place.
Yesterday, was a lot quieter but busy. I put my bike together without any problems...always a relief! I then headed to Landis Bike shop for some Co2's and in search of my LUCKY socks! I then headed to the Bee Line Parkway for an hour ride with a few pickups. I was a little concerned as I thought the road might be dirty but I was pleasantly surprised. There were very few bikers on the road. I did however meet a very nice Frenchman, well actually Brit who lives in France who has defintely got the Ironman bug. He now travels the world with his wife that joins him, in the hope of having that perfect race! If you read this Brian I hope your race goes well here in Arizona. Keep having fun and working hard! The bike felt great and it was so good to be riding outside in beautiful weather.
My run was uneventful with a few pickups that did not feel super great!
Last night I joined a friend Mike from NJ for dinner at PF Changs (I think)where I defintely ate alot! I am not usually a big chinese food fan but this was delicious!

Today I awoke and gathered my gear for a swim and bike. I met Paulo,Jonnyo,Sergio,Mariana, Andrea,Judy ,the whole Portuguese group(Sedi,Helder,Hugo and Codinha.) Then there was Mike from Miami and Miranda too....it was exciting to see them all looking fast and fit!
The canal in Arizona is dark and every year it is questionable how safe it is to swim in. Paulo assured me that the water was up to par,even though I had read that it had been iffy the last few days. They have to add chemicals to bring the PH down...luckily we have had no super hot weather yet or rain so I was feeling more comfortable about going in and not getting sick! The water was cold at first and sighting was quite tough going out. I need to wear my darker goggles for sure! My shoulders felt quite stiff in the wetsuit for about ten minutes then I relaxed and the stroke came easy....I did my pickups and felt pretty good. On the return there was quite a chop and every time I sighted I took in a BIG gulp of water...not such good feeling. The 45 minutes seemed pretty long and I really started to get a chill the last ten minutes. By the time I got out I was in full hypothermia state. Well not really but it took me two hours to warm up. I now am looking forward to the hot race day. Today was only around 68 degrees.
After swim Sergio, Jonny and I headed to the pro table to register. I got to see my friend Linsey Corbin who is so pumped to race. It was good to see Paul Fritze from Westchester too.
I then headed out to get my bike workout over. I drove part of the race course back to Bee line and got a good 50 minute ride in. It was quite windy again today and the disc made me quite unstable at times when trying to drink. I felt good though and once again was happy to feel the heat on my back!
I am HAPPY to beable to RELAX now for the rest of the day!