The Gold

It is Wednesday midday here on the Gold Coast of Australia (3rd full day) and I am still adjusting my sleeping patterns, but things are good. In 4 days i will be competing in the Coolangatta Gold. Big deal, whats that? The Gold is a lifesaving Ironman spanning the length of the Gold Coast, twice. Totaling over 46 and a half kilometers, this race has seen the best of the best struggle to conquer it. And so, here I sit, a lone American in a field of national and world title winners, looking to conquer this race, and test my own limits with a bat-to-the-head type of litmus test.

Training since i have arrived has gone well thus far, but, I am constantly reminded of how far behind we are as a country in training and organization of sport. Nevertheless, I am trying to absorb as much as possible, and incorporate these last minute sessions into my base for Sunday's endeavour.

With new adventures come new toys. A new ski and board have been waiting here for me--the board is phenominal, havent had a ski session yet--so a thank you is due to Mark and Wally and the crew at DOLPHIN surfcraft. Also on the sheet were some good luck tokens from my boys at WATERMANS Sunscreen, so thank you Pete and Macon; and some discounted threads from TYR thanks to Erin Howarth.

Things are looking ok for sunday's race. Weather should be fine with light southerly winds building up throughout the race. The tide, however, is doing any of us any favors. With a high tide scheduled for 1130am, the 10k run to the finish is looking like it will be all soft sand. The first 4k run earlier in the race might have a chance of running hard pack with shoes, but we'll see.

more to come...