Ironman Fever

If I were ever on the fence about doing Ironman, being here at the race has made me certain I made the right choice. Day Two of my Ironman experience was another incredible day. I had an 8:00 volunteer meeting that lasted a little over an hour. Since I'm volunteering for two posts, I had to choose just one meeting so I went with the Changing Tent since it's in transition 2 and required more than simply pointing runners in the right direction on the course.

I am really looking forward to being in the transition area. I'll get a chance to spend a few minutes with the athletes at a critical time in their race. They warned us to be prepared for a variety of emotions. Some women will be having a dream race and others will be feeling defeated. I'm such a sap that I can't watch the Kona coverage without a few tears so I may need a stockpile of tissues to get through the day.

My run course marshall spot could not be better. I'm at MLK and Doty, about 200 yards from the finish line. I'll be directing the athletes on their final turn so I imagine my job will be simple. I'll be able to watch hundreds of athletes finish, albeit from behind. I'll be out there to watch the last athlete finish the race.

After the volunteer meeting, I ran into "1stTimeTri" from Beginner Triathlete and spent a couple hours chatting with him on his volunteer shift. He knew the whole Wisconsin crew plus others so I got to meet a lot of BT people. It was funny to be introduced all morning as the Lazy Marathoner.

I ended up spending another few hours around the expo area somewhat unintentionally. I left and went to the farmers market and Cafe Soleil (yet again) and finally read the information one of my volunteer leads handed out. She said we'd have to pay cash on Monday to register for 2009, something I've never heard of before. Since Phil (1stTimeTri) got to register this morning, I went back to find him and get the details. I got sidetracked by the Newton shoe tent (no, I didn't buy them... but likely will at the NYC Marathon expo) and spent at least an hour there talking to one of the sales guys. I've had a habit of absorbing hours of people's time over the past few days. I think I really need more triathlete friends.

I ended the day with a quick trip out for drinks even though I have to get up really early in the morning. It was worth it. I'll have plenty of time to sleep when I go home.