So the alarm goes off at 3am- thank goodness as I have been tossing and turning all night. Up and get the coffee brewing....final check of gear for the day. Coffee, 2xtoast with PB and honey and some carbo pro in the coffee.

We roll out just before 4 with Ron, another one of KP's athletes and we are at the Finish line in 10 min, parked, dropped off special needs bags ( bags that they will give you 1/2 way through the bike and run during an Ironman), and we are on the first bus out to SandHollow Reservoir.

The wind has abated for the morning...it is calm and 55 degrees (which feels balmy after the 45 degrees the other mornings) So we are now at the reservoir at 5...what do we do?. Hit the porta pottie, recheck our swim to bike gear bags and I again am in a quandary about what to wear. I decide to wear my tri shorts since it is a bit warmer today and stick with the sports bra and put my tri top on in the tent after the swim. Amazing how the time just ticks away and soon it is time to suit up.

So my wetsuit has a few repaired holes and I know I need a new one but.....well I don't have that now. I have swam in this the last 3 days and all was fine. So I am pulling in on, adjusting it etc and I discover a reasonable size hole in the armpit that goes all the way through. Nice!!! A cooling vent for the swim. Not what I need when the water is 51-53 degrees NOT the 60 degrees as advertised, for the record! Don't panic, don't panic.....I have 15 min until the race starts. Head to the med tent looking for duct tape. She tapes me up and in the process binds my shoulder....which in hindsight may have been a good thing- my bad shoulder did not hurt while swimming. The tape consequently did not really stick and just gave me a ghetto look with a taped together wet suit that still leaked live a sieve.

Now this is a water start - which means they need to get 2000+ swimmers in the water, deep water and then start. This is not unusual but when the water is 51-53 degrees, no one wants to get in and not for long. I wanted to be front row so had to debate how long I could wait....with 2 minutes to go I slipped in and wove my way to the front- painless. Few minutes of chilling and we are off. I love swimming in a lake- fresh water is nice. The swim is a big rectangle and we swim counterclockwise. It opens up quickly and I basically swam the entire 2.4 miles alone. A group ahead of me a significant space and then me and one lone swimmer off to my right- which happened to be Ron (of course I did not know that then) Swim was fine...but about 1/2 way through I was cold, could not feel my feet or hands and I was shivering. I generally love Ironman swim, but today, well just get me through it. I pushed hard and was hoping for a good result after moving down a lane at masters. I am out of the water finally and I see 1:10- I am devastated, I am hoping for 55 or 56. I soon find out the clock is running from the Pro Start and they go off 15 minutes before us so I did swim a 55! Nice when the extra work pays off.

Out of the water and drop on the ground- wetsuit strippers are great and I am in the tent. One benefit of being a fast swimmer is the volunteers are eager and looking for something to do. I have 3 people putting on my shoes and helping wrestle on the tri top which is virtually impossible with frozen hands and wet. But they did it reasonably quickly. It is quite a treat to have people putting on my cycling shoes, race belt and stuffing things in my pockets.

Out of the tent and they have my bike and I am rolling. It is chilly....doable though. Best day by far! No wind, at this point. The ride into town was great. Rolling hills and warming up. Roads are marginal but not an issue. We cruise onto Red Hills Parkway and onto Snow Canyon, sounds beautiful yes and it is as we wind through the neighborhoods and on a random bike path and make our way out on the loop. Soon the smooth roads end and we begin our journey on chipped seal paved roads which are bummmmmpy and noisy. And the climbing begins and the wind picks up. We are headed along a 2 lane highway, settling in for the work. Our next big turn is toward the town of Gunlock and we are on rolling roads and the scenery is nice but the roads are rough, there are cattle guards covered with boards which you have to bunny hop over or risk losing water bottles - there are 10-12 random bottles scattered about as proof of the big bump. And the ride is a grind, hilly, rough road and lots of wind. As you crest the "wall" into Veyo there is about 3 miles of more rolling hills and a 90 degree right turn to Highway 18 and a screaming descent toward town.