Paris got the Eiffel Tower for their World's Fair. Knoxville got the Sun Sphere.
Anyway, we headed down to the boathouse, which is also the home of the Lady Vol Rowing Team. Looking back, I'm actually kind of surprised at the lack of UT stuff I saw, being that we were only a few blocks from campus.
Pretty much the only UT sign I saw.
After wet-suiting up (Barney Stinson, anyone?), we walked a little further down the dock to check out the swim layout since the course was set up. I really need to not do this because no matter what distance my race is, seeing the course layout always makes it seem SO FAR. It always makes me question my sanity as to why I do this crazy sport.
Kathy, Coach Andrew, me and Marc
That little white cap is me.
A bit closer. Hi Dudley!
The purpose of this swim was to get a feel for the water and check out the temperature, which wasn't bad at all - 71 degrees. I decided right away that it was warm enough to race in my short-sleeved wetsuit. It's a little tighter, if that is possible, but I really like having my arms free when swimming.
While we still had a lot of race things to handle, like actually checking in to the race, we were starving so we decided to go eat after the swim. Knoxville has this cute little area with restaurants and shops called Market Square. This also happened to be where the International Biscuit Festival was being held. I wanted to check it out, but you had to pay $10 and you only got to taste five biscuits. Plus, we didn't think the extra walking would be great right before race day, so we went to a little cafe in the Square and watched the Festival from the outdoor patio. Fortunately, they had biscuits with homemade jam. Win!
I easily could have had just biscuits for lunch. I love them.
After lunch, we went down to check in to the race, and drop off our bikes in transition. I've heard amazing things about Rev3 races - how organized they are, how well they treat their athletes, etc. I was looking forward to experiencing this first hand.
Kathy and me under the Finish Line Arch.
I picked up my race packet without any issues, but when I went to get my race shirt, the volunteer asked "You ordered a small, but we're out. Is a large OK?" No, that's not OK! Sorry - that's one of my peeves. I'm of the mindset that if you spend a lot of money for a race, they should at least have the shirt size that you ordered three months prior. (I also think that races should have gender-specific shirts, but that's another issue.) After speaking to a REV3 employee, they dug around in the boxes a bit and found some mediums, which still wasn't my size, but it was better than a large. Not a great first impression for REV3, but I was hoping this was a one-time hiccup.
The check in / expo was held in this giant field. They had check in at one area, the timing chip pick up in another and the swag bag pick up in yet another. I'm sure logistically there was a reason for this, but I thought it was a little confusing. It would have been very easy to walk out of the check in area without your timing chip or swag bag. The swag bag consisted of (because I know you're wondering) a few coupons, a REV3 sticker, a REV3 neck gaiter / headband / thing of 100 uses and a REV3 musette bag. I have no idea when I'll use the musette bag, but I think it's adorable. And I'll absolutely use the neck gaiter. Thanks REV3! You are well on your way of redeeming yourselves for not having my shirt size.
I love swag.
Kathy and I needed to get a little ride in prior to dropping our bikes off into transition. We had noticed a few cyclists riding down by the boat dock, and knew there was an assigned bike lane there, so we headed down there for a quick spin. Unfortunately, this route took us over some of Knoxville's infamous railroad tracks. Infamous to triathletes, at least. The athlete guide actually recommended that you walk your bike over them because they're that bad. Of course, Kathy and I totally ignored that advice because we've ridden over hundreds of railroad tracks without incident...until today. On our way back to transition, Kathy's back wheel got caught in one of the tracks and she went down. Hard. I was behind her and watched the entire thing. She landed on her hip and her head. (WEAR YOUR HELMETS!) Fortunately, other than a cut finger and a GIANT bruise on her hip, she was OK. We then assessed her bike. It didn't look good. We're still trying to figure out how she did this, but there was damage on both sides of her bike. Her shifters were all askew and her front derailleur was smashed into her chain. We thought for a minute that she cracked her frame, but then realized that the crack was only a piece of protective plastic. Phew! While her race was in jeopardy, at least she wouldn't have to get a new bike!
I dropped my bike off in transition and went with Kathy to the expo area where REV3 had several mechanics working on bikes. I texted Coach Andrew and Dudley, told them about Kathy's wreck and asked them to meet us there. Not that they were going to work on the bikes, but they know more about bikes than we do. Both thought the bike was fixable, but whether it would be ready in time for the race was debatable. The mechanic said that they'd get to it in a few hours (they were SLAMMED), which would be after transition closed. Fortunately, REV3 was very cool about that and told Kathy that she could just drop her bike off in the morning if she needed to.
Since the only thing we had to do now was wait, we went to the hotel and rested for a little bit. Actually, I full-out fell asleep for an hour or so, and woke up to an empty hotel room as Dudley left to go to the store. It was about then that Kathy texted letting me know that her bike was fixed (HAZZAH!) and she was heading down to transition to drop it off. I joined her and took what was the best photo of the day:
Smiling Kathy in transition!
Being that the day had been exhausting enough, we decided to not venture out for dinner. Dudley picked up some pizza on his way back from the store and we ate it in our hotel room (actually, it was a suite - the Holiday Inn upgraded our room for free because they were so crowded. Another win!). After dinner, I did one last run though of my gear, and went to bed hoping to get a few solid hours of sleep before my 5:30 alarm. I really need to find a sport where I can sleep in a little more...
Next up - RACE DAY!
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