Wildflower, Day Before Race

After a few hours of sleep from our late arrival into Paso Robles, we got up and showered and hit the road with Steve and Jeff (who had flown in the night before). Steve drove the course which was nice because I got to sit back and just take it all in. I was excited to see that there were some descents on the bike course to reward all the hard work. Let me tell ya, folks.....this bike course is tough, not just physically but mentally. The hardest part is the last 15 miles.......so that's just hangin' over your head the whole time.

Here's Steve and Jeff, I thought they looked like they belonged in some kind of men's catalog.

Laura went into the port-a-potty......I was going to shake it but thought that was mean. Not to mention, she was going to be my sherpa the next day and I didn't want her injured in some freak, port-a-potty "accident".

Coming out, totally unscathed.

Here's me, trying to look important. I don't know if anyone was even on the line.

Jeff and Steve heading over to registration.

Here's the view of the massive transition area. Pitter patter.

Here's Jeff, standing in line at registration. I had to put this picture in here because, little did anyone know around him that he'd place in his age group! Nice job, Jeff! Note: Jeff just started triathlon last year with a running background. Coeur D Alene was his second triathlon and he qualified for Kona there. Not bad.


Laura, Sam and I went to a BBQ place for dinner. Jeff and Steve opted for something less fun.

As we were walking out, Laura wanted to get a picture. So, Sam grabs this random guy to take a picture with us.

It just so happened that this monster truck belonged to the stranger in the above photo. Knowing that Sam and I are both vertically challenged, that Sam has a background in monster trucks and mullets, I couldn't resist having my picture taken with him in front of the truck. And yes, we are standing.

After dinner, we headed back to our posh accommodations and settled in for the night. I felt ready and excited to tackle this difficult race and quickly fell into my best pre-race sleep yet.