May 01 Sometimes the expression “Florida – the Sunshine State’ is an oxymoron. We have periods of time where, well, it rains A LOT. We have sunny hot days that are chamber of commerce perfect, but occasionally we have days where it rains. All day. For several days in a row. Since Sunday, we have been stuck in one of those periods. A frustrated friend who came down to visit me one spring described Florida as “A terrarium full of old people” just before she cut her trip short and went back to Boston. In March.  More

May 02 Early morning is my favorite time of the day. You know – that period before dawn when most people are still fast asleep and you have the new day all to yourself. On the way to swim practice I put the top nearly every day. Even during the cold snaps in the winter. I just crank up the heater and bundle up. I did it in Colorado, Texas, and Nevada. And down here it’s far easier than in the High Country. More

May 03 5:00 The weather woman said “It looks like summer is here to stay” and she is, for once, right on. The typical heat and humidity that has been largely absent in our El Nino spring has finally returned.  And in this part of the world, it will not leave us until early November. Or, as we reckon time, after Ironman Florida. Today we are rolling down Florida State 50 on the way to Clermont for the big ride day. I look forward to this as the start of my weekend training splurge, with the big run coming tomorrow. I usually do a big brick on Saturday and a “bike sandwich” on Sunday, but with the upcoming race I will just be doing a ride today and run tomorrow.. More

May 04 3:00 PM    - “Truckin, got my chips cashed in…”

       Yup. And traded them in for Traveller’s Checks. And in addition, every spare Euro, Mexican Peso, Canadian dollar, and other assorted refugees from the Orphan cash drawer. First stop in Kennedy will be the currency exchange to get enough Euros to cover the layover in Spain. We have almost a day to kill when we get there until the Iberia flight lifts off for Ibiza tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, we have Chris’s favorite Classic rock station cranking out the old Grateful Dead anthem while we watch the Olde Florida landscape drift by. More

May 05

5:00 AM    - “Monday Monday, so good to me..”

         On the East Coast of Florida the sunrise builds slowly out of the South Atlantic. The sky starts to lighten, then turns a pastel hue worthy of a French Impressionist, before the sun emerges from a turquoise sea. When I’m over here for races I like to get to the transition area early, get marked arrange my gear, and then take my water bottle to a quiet spot and watch the show before I start  my warm-ups. Back on the West Coast, we get to do this in the afternoon, and it as nice as it is, sunrise always has a different emotion than a sunset. Sunrises to me are about promises, the road rising up to meet you and the feeling that you if you squint your eyes enough, you can see down the road to your future. More

May 06                                                                

7:45 AM    - “I once was lost, but now I’m found..”

         Possibly the greatest fear I have when traveling to races is getting my bike lost. This has happened to me twice – although each time it was eventually found.  Both times were at the world’s in  Lausanne in 1998. On arriving at the airport in Geneva, we transferred all the bike boxes to one bus and then boarded athletes on another for the drive out to Lausanne and also to Montreux. This was necessary since not everyone could fit into the hotel in Lausanne up the hill from the race site. When we all checked into the hotel in Montreux, the bus with the bike boxes showed up later. And I got a sinking feeling in my stomach when I noticed mine wasn’t among them. During all of the events in the first two days, I kept checking with the lobby, but no sign of my bike. More

May 07

6:30 AM    - “It’s only the beginning – of what I’m going to feel forever…”

       The best way to shake off jet lag is to get out and exercise. Do something that gets your body moving. It centers you, grounds you, and puts you on the right path to having a good race. I got up an hour earlier than usual today, but immediately put on my bike gear and headed for the lobby. The dawn brought clearing skies, a strong wind, but equally strong sunlight. The feeling that the storm had past was definitely in the air, and I wanted to get out and get my legs back after yesterdays travel gauntlet. More

May 08

This is going to be a busy day. There is a group swim at 7 AM, followed by a ride of the course at 9 AM, followed by a run at 1 PM, then packet pick up at the expo about 4 PM. When you function as an age group captain, you function as sort of a combination social director and recreation leader. No one in their right mind does any serious training the week of world’s, More

May 09

  7:00 AM

       Today I decide to try the sleeveless suit, and use the QR  neoprene “helmet” that I bought years ago in Colorado for the notorious Aurora Reservoir Sprint. Notorious because a cold front had dropped through Colorado two days before the race, bringing snow squalls and high winds.

And that was during the second week of September. More

May 10

  9:00 AM

         There is a final team meeting today where we go over the course, the timetable for race day, strategize, and have a question and answer session. Going over the course maps is crucial to having a good race. An important part of practice for an athlete in any sport is mental imaging, rehearsal, and positive self talk. It’s a component of performance that is too often ignored, yet is often the determining factor between having a good race and a mediocre one. Tim always does an outstanding job at leading teams through the various courses and pointing out  More