I received my wake up call and 3:30 AM and prepared my re-race breakfast. I ate two packets of instant oatmeal, one bagel, a Promax power bar and drank a 16 ounces bottle of Gatorade (approximately 800 calories total).
By 4:30 AM I was finished with my second nature break and was ready to take the short drive to the race venue. The forecast called for high of 62 degrees and a low of 46. My dad and I left Shannon and the girls at the hotel so my daughters could get a good nights rest and watch me later on the bike and then at the finish line. Once I stepped out of the car, I had determined that the forecast was right on. It was cold and starting to get windy. (more news about that later.) I dropped my special needs bags, check my gear bags, got body marked, check my bike, pumped up my tires, visited the bathroom one more time and found a quiet place to collect my thoughts before having to head down to the beach for the start.
With a half hour to the race start I put on my wetsuit, said good by to my Dad and headed out to the swim start.
With about 10 minutes until the 7:00 AM race start the wind really picked up and cause white caps and waves in the lake. (Check out the flags and the water surface.... Cold and Windy)
Because of the choppy conditions, the race director offered people the option to skipping or only doing one lap of the swim course if they felt they would not make the swim cut off time of 2 hrs 20 minutes. About 60 people decided to take the offer and avoid the swim. They would be required to sit in the transition tent until 9:30 AM before they could head out onto the bike course.
