Well it's just after 1.30pm here and I can't speak for the others but I have checked in my bike and transition bags. I've wrapped plastic bags around my hoods to protect the cabling from the predicted overnight rain and my helmet is also in a bag and tied to the bike.
The forecast is apparently now not as bad as was predicted yesterday, showers overnight and in the morning but drying off to be overcast in the afternoon. The wind will start off as a westerly and switch to a south westerly in the pm (headwind on the way home booo).
At the race briefing the guys were going on about how we had to wear the ponchos they hand out if the run gets cold and wet. I will remain as resilient as possible - last year I turned them down each time as they would have acted as a sail and made us slower!
Last night's dinner was good, we had a 30 minute Maori show (spine tingling as ever), quite a few back slaps for the organisers, interviews with Paula Newby-Fraser and Greg Welch (he is a crack-up) and then an inspiring video at the end. Almost had me in tears remembering last year's race.
We had a pirate table - Trogs, Anders and Jaggy and I all managed to find each other, and Andy S (sometime poster but usually on TT) also joined us.
Will post a race report some time on Sunday (NZ time).
Our race numbers for tracking are:
Ally Bally Bee 288
Troglodytes 1205
Anderssnog 1037
Jaggy 1110
Richard Melik is also here but racing as a Serpie, #900
The Baylisses are numbers 3 (Stephen) and 13 (Bella), though my money is on a Kiwi 123 in the men's race (Brown, Bozzone, Ussher) and for Gina Ferguson to take the women's title with Jo Lawn 2nd and Charlotte Paul 3rd.
Spent hours today standing staring at two beautifully packed kit bags wondering what I'd left out before convincing myself there wasn't anything left out to put in them, and it was all in the correct bag. All handed over an out of my hands now.
In case I forget after, thanks to Ally, Aanders and Jaggy for keeping me calm and answering my stupid questions over the last couple of days.
Jaggy is suffering a recurrence of his shoulder problem which is not good news but he was planning on trying to get some treatment for it today so hopefully it will ease up before tomorrow.
Not sure if I'll get on line on Sunday but plan post full report on return to Auckland on Mon/Tues.
Right I'm off to bed to try and get some sleep. Even more nervous about the swim than normal with the tweak in my neck / arm - anyway most pirates are one legged - I'l swim one armed
Thanks for the support guys - I'll do my best to keep the good ship afloat.
Comments
Well it's just after 1.30pm here and I can't speak for the others but I have checked in my bike and transition bags. I've wrapped plastic bags around my hoods to protect the cabling from the predicted overnight rain and my helmet is also in a bag and tied to the bike.
The forecast is apparently now not as bad as was predicted yesterday, showers overnight and in the morning but drying off to be overcast in the afternoon. The wind will start off as a westerly and switch to a south westerly in the pm (headwind on the way home booo).
At the race briefing the guys were going on about how we had to wear the ponchos they hand out if the run gets cold and wet. I will remain as resilient as possible - last year I turned them down each time as they would have acted as a sail and made us slower!
Last night's dinner was good, we had a 30 minute Maori show (spine tingling as ever), quite a few back slaps for the organisers, interviews with Paula Newby-Fraser and Greg Welch (he is a crack-up) and then an inspiring video at the end. Almost had me in tears remembering last year's race.
We had a pirate table - Trogs, Anders and Jaggy and I all managed to find each other, and Andy S (sometime poster but usually on TT) also joined us.
Will post a race report some time on Sunday (NZ time).
Our race numbers for tracking are:
Ally Bally Bee 288
Troglodytes 1205
Anderssnog 1037
Jaggy 1110
Richard Melik is also here but racing as a Serpie, #900
The Baylisses are numbers 3 (Stephen) and 13 (Bella), though my money is on a Kiwi 123 in the men's race (Brown, Bozzone, Ussher) and for Gina Ferguson to take the women's title with Jo Lawn 2nd and Charlotte Paul 3rd.
15 hours to go
I'm suffering from mixed emoticons
Spent hours today standing staring at two beautifully packed kit bags wondering what I'd left out before convincing myself there wasn't anything left out to put in them, and it was all in the correct bag. All handed over an out of my hands now.
In case I forget after, thanks to Ally, Aanders and Jaggy for keeping me calm and answering my stupid questions over the last couple of days.
Jaggy is suffering a recurrence of his shoulder problem which is not good news but he was planning on trying to get some treatment for it today so hopefully it will ease up before tomorrow.
Not sure if I'll get on line on Sunday but plan post full report on return to Auckland on Mon/Tues.
Got to run away and panic some more now.
I'll follow as much as I can on IM dead
race well pirates!
will try to follow online
Right I'm off to bed to try and get some sleep. Even more nervous about the swim than normal with the tweak in my neck / arm - anyway most pirates are one legged - I'l swim one armed
Thanks for the support guys - I'll do my best to keep the good ship afloat.
Well the athlete tracker is up and running and they haven't even started yet
Less than 1:30 till the off
GO PIRATES
thinking about you Trogs ready for your big day - I'll be watching
Good luck xx
I know what the main topic of conversation is going to be on Sunday morning H
Pro's are off
Absolutely Greeny, first one in the club if you don't count Lindy who I think had left by the time she did her first.
And will you be the second HC ?? I shall never be on that list
Are they off - oh how exciting
Maybe
I think we need to get you down the pub
c'mon you slacker! I reckon he should be around the hour mark in the puddle....
Oh my giddy aunt!!!!
Trogs is out of the swim - 1:29:33
Go trogs!
Didnt realise Melik was playing?
Pity I am actually busy at work for once!
Ally Bally Bee 288 - swim 1:26:27
Troglodytes 1205 - swim 1:29:33
Anderssnog 1037 - swim 1:22:40
Jaggy 1110 - still in swim
Am I a geek?
Anders in 1.22 and Ally in 1.26
no sign of Jaggy yet though