We left Thursday night around 5:00pm. It's never smart to leave on a trip at 5:00pm. Those Inland Empire folks create so much traffic for people trying to leave town. This night was no different. We finally got out of Orange County and headed towards Phoenix. We had Skyler's laptop in the car to entertain us with Arrested Development.
Neither of us had ever been to Phoenix, but we knew it was about 6 hours away. It was a long drive with not much in between. We finally arrived in Gilbert around 1:00am or so (there's a one hour time difference). Skyler's friend Jaime graciously allowed us to stay at her house. We are so thankful for her (and her mom's) great hospitality!
We woke up that morning ready to start our busy day. And, oh yeah, it was my birthday. I nearly forgot because, well, you know...this weekend was devoted to Ironman. Jaime took us to breakfast at .... I can't remember the name, but I can't forget the delicious birthday cinnamon roll I ate. So good!
After breakfast, Skyler had arranged a special surprise for me, a birthday massage. Instead of getting a full 60 minute pre-race massage, he shared 30 minutes of it with me. He's so sweet, isn't he!
After the massages we headed over to IMAZ central, aka Tempe Town Park. Skyler did all of his check-in stuff while I browsed the booths. I bought myself a pair of Kswiss running shoes. I've always wanted to try them out, but most running stores don't sell them.
Skyler really did his best to make sure my birthday wasn't too overshadowed by his race prep. But I must say, it was a little depressing. This was the first time that I didn't do a triathlon that Skyler did. It was hard to be in the moment of everyone's excitement, but not be preparing myself to race. I wanted to race so bad. I kept telling myself that I couldn't race even if I wanted to because I wasn't prepared. IF I ever do Ironman, I want to be prepared.
We headed to lunch next. Pizza--light on the cheese. Next stop: cupcakes! What is a birthday without cupcakes?! We stopped by Cupcakes of Scottsdale so I could do a review. You can read about it here.
We headed back to Tempe Town Park for the athlete's dinner. The athletes were free, but it was $30 for family. That was the most expensive pasta I've ever eaten and it certainly wasn't premium.
We stayed for the athlete meeting after dinner, but it started to get cold. I didn't have race adrenaline to keep me warm.
These guys couldn't have been more excited though!
2 comments:
I've been to Phoenix, silly.
I've been to Phoenix, silly.
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