Canada, Day 3 & 4

Wait, I'm doing an Ironman Sunday? Cause it sure feels like I'm on a vacation doing my thing -- well at least that was the case on Wed/Thus (minus working, but that entailed writing an article on Rinny, so I can't complain lol). Granted, it's not like I've been out hiking in the mountains or doing extreme physical activity, but I'm not about to hide in our house for a week when I'm in beautiful British Columbia. It's been really nice getting here early to have time to chill rather than feel rushed and having it just be all about the race.

Yup, we are having a blast! Just another random evening in our yard....

On Wednesday, the day began with Mike, John and I going into P-town for a morning swim. Talk about a confidence booster/stress reliever! My shoulder actually felt pretty good, even in a wetsuit (thank you Zoot Prophet!), and the water felt amazing... not too cold at all, but chilly enough for it to be wetsuit legal. I felt fresh and mentally ready to tackle 2.4 miles! Unfortunately the shoulder was sore as heck later in the day so I decided to scratch any swims until race day.

After swim I did a short run and the legs were kickin. Maybe it was the rad scenery of wineries combined with some great tunes on my iPod and just general excitement, but I held myself back from going too hard and too far :)

Backing up a little... on Tuesday, we were going to attempt a "mini" wine tasting because we're staying along "Bottleneck Drive" wine country, but we headed out too late and everything was closed (figures), except for a fruit wine place, but that was weird (pumpkin pie wine is just too much, even for me). I was hesitant to go wine tasting on Wednesday with the race getting closer, but John had gone on a 40-mile bike ride around the lake and up the other side into a town called Naramata, and he came home raving about all the cool wineries he saw... and wanted to visit :) I decided it'd be nice to drive out there and check it out, and hitting up a couple wineries along the way wouldn't be detrimental. Not to mention, they give pretty small tastes here in Canada, and turned out I didn't even get a buzz, a good thing in this particular case lol. I even saw some other triathletes doing the same thing out there haha.

View from Laughing Stock Winery...Stopped at Hillside too...

While we were wine tasting, my mom and sister got a raft and floated down the river. For anyone who's in town, it seems like a great thing to do. I'll probably do it Monday post-race to soak my legs in cool water. My mom and sis later told us that the first half of the float is pretty awesome, but the second half gets really slow and they kicked most the way -- it was a 3-hour trip even with them kicking to go faster!

That night, we were all hungry so we hit up The Local Grille & Lounge in Summerland. Hands down some of the best food I've had in a long time, and we were all in agreement on that. Legit! I got the halibut with a potato-celery-root mash, asparagus, a corn sauce and some other stuff. Took pictures of the other dishes everyone else ordered, too...

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Thursday was a mellow morning (aka I worked) so we eased into the day and eventually made it to the expo for check in and picking up my bike. The highlight was FINALLY meeting my athlete, Erica, who's doing the race too! She's just as sweet and awesome in person as she has been on the phone and email for the past year :) She's had some tough blows in her first two rounds at IMC, so I'm confident that third time is a charm. She's going to do great.
After getting my bike from Tri Bike Transport, Mike, John and I went out on a little ride along the 97 Highway. At 10 miles in, PPPFFFFFFF!!!!! I got a flat!!!! Ahhhh! Long story short, I got a whole new tubular put on and everything is taken care of. Just praying that was THE ONLY flat I'll be getting in Canada :)

Mike and I waiting for our sag wagon along Lake O (John was way ahead and didn't even know I flatted till later lol)...

That evening John and I went on a short jog at around the same time I hope to be finishing on Sunday. It was so nice out, and I felt very at peace. I could see myself getting more excited with every step. Then it was back to work on the Rinny article for the evening, while my crew cooked for me. Love them :)

There's been much more going on, but that's all I got time for now. Stay tuned for Friday's crazy adventures :)

Btw, BEST sweet potatoes EVER here...