IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships: Course Preview Day

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Today was my "get sh*t done" day. Zach will be arriving in Australia tomorrow (!!), and after being apart for the longest time ever since we started dating 5 years ago, I'd rather spend time sight-seeing with him than taking care of numerous pre-race tasks.

Thus, I got a lot done today:

* Sunrise run/run course preview, 6.5 miles easy-ish
* 0.66 mile ocean swim/course preview
* Went grocery shopping
* Bought a crap-ton of stuff from the IRONMAN store because who knows if I will ever qualify for another Worlds....?
* Picked up my race packet
* Picked up The Tomahawk from Tri Bike Transport
* Drove the majority of the bike course

What I Learned in Australia - Day 2

* Despite being dubbed the "Sunshine Coast," the sun rises at 6 and sets at 6. Pretty darn short day!
* The birds are so noisy they woke me up!
* Apparently Aussies don't eat waffles. The only option was potato waffles. To my dismay, they tasted like French fries. Needless to say, I will -not- be eating those with peanut butter for my pre-race meal.
* Aussie drivers are patient. I have yet to hear a single one honk, despite the fact that there are times I've been in the wrong lane, or driven extra slow.
* I learned from an Aussie triathlete that instead of Mike Reilly, the Asia-Pacific IRONMAN MC  is Pete Murray (who was "warming up" the crowd at packet pickup).

Course-related (in the order I previewed):

* Run: weaves along the ocean and past a few residential areas, holiday parks, and shops. It's quite pretty. The hill we run 4x is nothing to speak of (thank you hilly CT!), and if I play my cards right, I think I have a good shot of PRing my run.
*Swim: the ocean is less salty here. :-) It's a bit chilly, but as soon as I got going, it ended up being the perfect temp. The crashing waves are a bit ominous at first, but with a deep water start, and most of our time spent swimming parallel to the beach, they are of little concern (and helpful when we head for the exit!). 
* Bike: on paper - and the preview video - this course looked flat, fast, and PR-worthy. Wrong. The first 30 miles are....until you hit the hinterland. They throw in a hella 20% grade hill that I will need the smallest gear of my smallest chainring + be out of the saddle. It's so steep that when I first saw it, I started laughing out loud because it was so ridiculously steep. There will be lots of shifting in those 20 miles, as there is lots of climbing. I'll have a fast first half, but as one of the pros said, strong bikers will separate out in the hinterland.

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