We left D.C. around 8:30 on Friday morning for the short flight down to Tampa. TNT orchestrated all of the travel plans for us which made it a lot easier to deal with pre-race jitters. Tuesday before the race we dropped our bikes off on Alexandria to be loaded onto a semi truck that was driven down to meet us. This in and of itself is a huge benefit since flying with a bike case doesn't look all that fun (or inexpensive).
After waiting around at the airport for what seemed like a log time we piled into some vans and were driven to our hotel. The lodging was definitely not the high point of our weekend. Billed as a Holiday Inn it is actually an independently operated establishment. The fact that they probably lost their Holiday Inn accreditation should tell you something. On top of that Liz and I got stuck in what is probably the smallest room in the place right next to an ice machine that made noise all night long. They eventually ran out of towels (Towels! At a beach hotel!!). I really didn't want to drink the water from the taps. Location was nice, though ;)
After settling in for a bit we walked over to the
bike drop off to get our rides off of the trucks and put the pedals back on. Back to the hotel to stash the bikes (which left almost no space to walk around in our little closet of a room) then down to registration to pick up our packets and wander the vendor expo for awhile. I think everybody picked up a few things here or there (I got an ankle strap for my race chip, Liz picked up a new bright pink Bento Box). It was amazing to see the crazy expensive bikes people were wheeling around. Triathlon is a sport that attracts more than its fair share of people with more money than sense, or at least people for whom looking good at an event is just as important as getting a good time. But, hey, who am I to argue with someone who has the money to blow on a set of $3,000 race wheels that may gain them 1-2 minutes on the bike. I would later pass a couple of these people on $5,000 rides chugging along at 17 MPH on the course.
It was pretty hot by the early afternoon so we went back to the hotel again (we were only about 4 blocks from registration and 6 from the transition area). At 5:00 we all went down to the swim start for a little open water swim practice in our wetsuits. They already had the marker buoys in place, and it was really good to try some open water sighting. We had practiced this in the pool numerous times, but it just isn't the same thing. Swimming in the ocean (I mean swimming, not just playing around in the water) was something new for me. On the first 200 meters or so I was having real trouble getting into a good rhythm breathing. Don't know if it was nerves or the wetsuit or if I just went out too fast. Probably a combination of all three. Better to have it happen no and get my nerves in check than on race morning. I eventually settled down on the siwm back in and found a good stroke with my normal breathing pattern. One other thing I discovered: I guess I tend to take in mouthfuls of water when I swim and swish them around before I exhale. This is a much different experience in the ocean than in the pool! I got used to it after a few minutes, but needed a big swig of water after we got out.
We didn't have anything "official" on the schedule for the evening, so we all went home to shower and then back out to grab some dinner for Teen's birthday. Back in bed by 10:00 or so and slept surprisingly well.
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