By the Numbers

The message for which I had been waiting was received today. While not entirely pleased with the results, getting the number I wanted was a one a million shot; well, one in 2400, give or take a few.

Bib numbers for the 2009 Ironman Coeur d'Alene were posted today, so, like all other tri-geeks anxiously counting down the remaining days, hours, minutes, seconds until the cannon goes off (almost down to single-digit days!), I rushed over to Ironmancda.com to find mine, and here it is:

807.

Kinda lackluster, I know...not something I can get entirely psyched about. One digit up, and it would have been a cool wheelset made by Zipp, but, I guess it's not possible to switch now. I will forever by bib #807 for this race, so I need to make sure I make the most of it. At least I can now compose that email for friends & family that includes the bib number, for whatever difference it makes; apparently, last name is the preferred method of tracking athletes over at ironmanlive.com.

Grumbling aside, that's now one less thing over which I need stress, if, in fact, I've been stressing. With ten days & change until race day, insomnia has again surfaced. Fortunately, I can sleep during the days, now, if need-be (which I did today; just got up from a ~4-hour nap; felt good), and do what I must in the evenings. However, a pattern must be established, so I'll be working on that in the lead-up to the weekend. Elsewhere, I've made the arrangements for transportation from the airport to the resort and dropped off the Slice and my transition bag at Britton's for the long ride up to Idaho. And, yes, I did remember to pack my Big Red for the special needs bags. Apart from the whole lack of sleep thing, I think I'm pretty well set. Come on, June 21st...or at least the 18th. Methinks I'll feel much more relaxed once I'm at the race site. One week to go.

With that said, it's time to tend to things around here. Both my & N---'s vehicles need oil changes, and I'd really like to make it through as much of that book that N--- gave me for Valentine's Day this year before the weekend, in order to devote full attention to an in-depth reading of In Cold Blood; I want to be better prepped for PAPE2 this year. Enjoy whatever's on your summer reading list, even if it does include this blog. Thanks for reading.