Out on the course - Trial Run

Today was a swim and ride the course day. Bugga me this is going to be a tough race. But firstly I went for a run on the treadmill in the hotel yesterday just to stretch the legs for a short 5km. Well 2km in and dooh pain right quad, was not too bad so slowed the machine from 9mile/hr to 8.5mile/hr and completed the 5km but the pain was still there. I have actually done something and I am not at all happy (currently writing this on the lounge with ice pack on quad).

I woke this morning and the quad was not bad so decided to keep the swim/ride in the schedule. We drove out to Lake Las Vegas and made our way to the area we decided would be the start. When we arrived at the pontoon we were presented with a sign Ironman No Swimming. For some reason they do no want us to swim the course until Saturday. There were a number of people swimming so decided to jump in and swim for 30 mins anyway.

The water was clean and fresh, a little murky green but not unpleasant. The only word for it was slow, I found it to be a slow swimming water - if that makes sense. So did my 30 mins and the quad was OK so got the bike out and started to ride the course.

At the 10km mark I arrived at the entrance to the Lake Mead National Park as was advised that I need $5 to enter the park. For some dumb reason I had left my money with Michelle so had to ride back to get the money - which I did and rode back again. Wow it is a very specky course as you will see in the photos below, but gee it is hot it was 11am and the car temp gauge stated 104deg F. The humidity is low but the temp is high. I consumed two full bottles way to quickly so had Michelle drive in behind me to deliver more water.

The heat effect is that the mouth dries out quickly and you feel dehydrated just after drinking. It is a totally different heat than I have experienced before. This ain't going to be an easy ride or race. The hills are constant and everywhere. You get a good ride down but there seems to be more ups than downs and the speed drops out on the uphills. It is amazing country but a lot nicer in the car. I rode about 62km and decided that was enough as I left a little late so the temp was just getting too high for me.

The quad was ok till I sat in the car for 30mins then it started to ache. We drove the rest of the bike course and then head back to the hotel for a shower and a rest before we decided to hit the strip for a few shows and dinner.

So here are some pics from today.