Countdown to Lake Stevens Triathlon

The race officials at Lake Stevens Triathlon registration are so impressed when they note that I have come all the way from "exotic" Tokyo - some 5,000 miles -- for the Lake Stevens Half-Ironman.   I don't want to point out that I was born in Seattle and actually used to run along Lake Stevens some 20 years ago.  The starting line is only a 20-minute drive from my parents house north of Seattle.

The 5,000 mile trip from exotic Tokyo on Wednesday was not optimal preparation for tomorrow's half-ironman.  I feel really jet-lagged.   But I decide that I have been whining about jet-lag too much and I will simply not let it enter my mind  tomorrow.  It is not something that thousands of milligrams of caffeine cannot solve.  And caffeine is in abundance here in Seattle.

 

The old bicycle I left at my parents starts to worry me.  As I look around at the bike check it seems apparent that my bike is easily the oldest, the heaviest, the cheapest in the entire field of 1,100 participants.  But I decide this isn't terribly important either.  Keren sends me an email exhorting me to pass as many people on $8,000 carbon bikes as possible. 
 

The fact that I haven't done any open water swims since last September could also be a source of concern.  Especially since the water will be cold in the morning and we will have little or no opportunity to warm up.  Nothing like the shock of icy water to precipitate panic and hyperventilation.  But I have swam frequently in choppy oceans, and a calm lake will not be intimidating.

All in all, my preparation for Lake Stevens has been adequate.  I may not be at the level I was for Sado last September, but I certainly should better the mark at my only official half-ironman - Wildflower in 2003.  And it will be fun.