The morning after

Just wanted to write a few things while the thoughts are fresh.

First off, it was so cool meeting all the BTers here.  We had a great time and it really added to the race experience.  Last year I didn't know anyone here but this time I was here with 50 or so of my BT friends.

I have to tell you guys that I suck with names and meeting 25 or 30 of you this weekend overwhelmed my name-face memory banks.  So for eveyone that said "Hey Mike" on the course and I was not able reply with your name, I'm sorry.  Some of your names I actually do remember but by the time my brain retrieved your name from memory, it was too late.

Anyway, here's lesson #1 for those of you doing this race next year.  Get to know the other BTers who are doing the race and learn their first name.

The BT Cheat Sheet that I made up with people's names, screen names and pictures was very helpful too.  Someone, I'm not sure who, brought name tags for all the BTers and we had BT/IMKY tee-shirts made up which made it really easy to find/identify the BTers for the dinner and practice s/b/r.  So lesson #2 is to make up cheet sheets, bring name tags and order tee shirts.

For the second year in a row I stayed at the Galt House and, while it is pricey, I highly reccomend staying here.  Last year I was here by myself and stayed in a standard room and this year my wife and kids came and we got the suite. 

The line up for swim start was different than last year.  This year I got to the swim start at least 30 minutes earlier than last year that the line was 3 or 4 times as long!  Evidently word go out that if you want to be in the front of the starts, you need to get there very early.  I don't really see an advantage to being near the front of the pack but I guess that is a personal preferance.  I was fortunate to meet up with 3 other BTers before the swim so we enjoyed some good coversation while cooling our jets (for an hour and a half) waiting to start.

I'll have much more to ramble on about in my race report.  Which brings me to my last reccomendation #3 read every race report minning for the gems that you can use.

Oops, just thought of #4.  Do NOT put your biking shoes on in the T1 changing tent!  By the time I got to my bike, the cleats were filled with mud/grass.  I tried to wash them out with my water bottle but lost a lot of time being unable to get clipped in due to the mud in my cleats.  This was just plain stupid.  I should have just put them on the bike and put them on at the bike mount or, if you wear socks, use rubber cleat covers till you get up on the concrete.

~Mike