REV3 Quassy 1/2 IM, the start!

Where to start?  Well Quassy was slated to be one of my big races of the season.

My super supportive hubby and I left out early 6AM to start the 7.5 hour drive to Middlebury, CT.  The drive was actually a nice change from my normal southern direction drive down 77 and I made pretty good time, driving the whole way averaging 40 mpg in my awesome lil honda fit!

We managed to check into the hotel just after 2 and then made our way to Quassy to hit the expo.  First stop, Trakkers booth of course!  I was able to pick up my device for the race and mama bear took the time to go through a quick tutorial with me of the new waterproof device!  THANKS!  Most of the rest of the team had gotten into town early and had helped out with volunteering at an aide station on the Oly Course that morning and many more helped out during the Sunday half race.  It is great to be involved in a team that is so willing to give back.  More on the Trakkers aid station later!


Next I made my way to the packet pick up and chip activation where I was joined by Cleveland peeps, Tiffany and Steve.  Everything went pretty smoothly.  Again major props to REV3 for more nice swag.  It says a lot when a race outfit goes the extra bit to give out different items at their different races.  At Knoxville, packet included black Tyr Bag, White Shirt, Gray Visor...this one I got a blue bag, black tshirt, and White Visor and of course a nice long sleeve finisher shirt and medal :-)  Also I stopped by the REV3 booth and bought myself the super cute spaghetti strap black tank that I had kicked myself for not buying at Knoxville that was even under $20!  Did I mention how nice and affordable the expo stuff was?  So I listened a bit to the athlete meeting and went back to the hotel to prepare everything.

Yes, I have learned to take my time to get everything ready.  Applied Foggle to my goggles, sprayed some anti-fog on the glasses, applied numbers to race belt, helmet, and on and on.  Oh with triathlons, there is always so much more to remember!

After a quick shower, we headed out for some Italian with Tiffany and Steve and I opted for my normal pre-race lasagna and let's not forget the bread!  Returned to the hotel by 8 and settled in for an early night.

The crack of dawn came and after a so-so sleep I was up.  Tif returned the hero with Dunkin for all.  I had a multigrain bagel, coffee and just before the race had some First Endurance PreRace Mixed in my waterbottle.  I managed to get to the race site at 6pm and was able to quickly get body marked and set up my transition, hit the portopotty and still had the perfect amount of time to relax.  Relax turned into snapping a few light-hearted pics around the park.

I find that I feel better about my race if I try to not get too stressed about things too early!


Then I took my spot behind the announcer and watched the start of the real show.  The helicopters, the pontoon boat and the pro start!  HUGE!  It was a great vantage point watching everything including the official countdowns and I WAS JUST LOVING THE ENERGY THE ANNOUNCER HAD AT THIS EARLY HOUR(what was his name?) !


After a quick kiss, I headed down to the beach to focus on the task at hand and get ready to start my day!

To be continued...