Being in Kona this week leading up to the Ironman World Championship has made me think about triathlons in a different way. This race is clearly the Super Bowl of triathlons. Being here makes sprint races feel like scrimmages, olympic distance feels like the pre-season, half ironman distance the regular season, other ironman races the play offs and now this week is leading up to the Super Bowl 2014.
I feel extremely privileged to have qualified for this race and I am in awe of the amazing athletes I'm seeing everyday here as they go through their paces in a taper week. The level of energy and excitement is palatable, especially in the morning at the pier, where the languages and accents from the 66 countries being represented in this race can be heard. Tears welled up in my eyes as I joined the masses swimming at "Dig Me" beach for the first time because it hit me that I was joining in on something I've dreamed of for so many years. 
I'm impressed by the sheer number of people who are cheerfully volunteering throughout the week at swim practices, information booths, registration and other venues. There are an even larger number of companies with booths in the Ironman Village than at any Ironman race I've attended. Some of them are giving very nice swag away to registered athletes. Yesterday I was given a pair of yurbuds (http://yurbuds.com/17all-products?semData=yurbuds-t-48290432668-e&gclid=CNHtmIT1nsECFQGqaQodbz4AcA&mpch=ads) which are my favorite (expensive) ear buds because of their comfort and ability to stay in place when running. There is so much going on that I can't do it all without wearing myself out before the race even begins. I haven't even gone to any of the brand sponsored events that I've heard so much about.
There were certain activities that I just had to do this week. I had my workouts of course and they took some time and energy, helping me get acclimatized to the heat. Fortunately Nick Nicastro/SagMonkey (http://sagmonkey.com) is here this week and he fixed some gearing problems and other issues I was having with my bike. I participated in the Parade of Nations which was fun and pretty low key. I met and marched with one of my competitors, Rose Hajjar, who's name I've seen on my age group results list (as a winner) over many years and was surprised to learn that she also knew of me. 
The other "big event" was the Kona Underpants Run (UPR) on Thursday morning. My sister and I had been "planning" what to wear for many months centered around My Soxy Feet socks and my Team Soxy Feet. (mysoxyfeet.com) Our plans kept evolving and our final product was a bit over the top, but oh so much fun. The Kona UPR was a great way to burn off some nervous energy this week.
It's now less than 12 hours before I will toe the line at the Ironman World Championships. My bike is racked, my bags dropped off and time to try to sleep.
