Let's Do This!

Dane and I check out the swim course at Lucky Peak reservoir

"More than 1,450 triathletes -- professionals and age group athletes -- are registered for the fourth annual race that starts at noon in the cold waters of Lucky Peak Reservoir," reads the front page of the Idaho Statesman.

The noon start is a strange twist for this event. Typically I'd be at the starting area getting ready to swim at this time of morning. Instead I'm sitting in the Metro Cafe at Hotel 43 enjoying a latte and bowl of oatmeal. Doesn't seem like race day, but it won't be long before we head out to catch the shuttle to Lucky Peak Reservoir.

The water temperature, reportedly 53F, remains my biggest concern. Leslie, Dane and I drove up yesterday to drop of our bikes and stick our feet in the water. Sure enough, it's cold. Dane doesn't seem too worried. But then again he plans to spend about 28 minutes in the water (my goal is 45). I was encouraged, though, by the clear water. This will be the first triathlon I've done in water with visibility greater than 1-2 feet!

While we were at the reservoir we ran into Pam Reed, who back in 2000 became the first woman to win the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon outright (which climbs from the lowest point in the country in Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48!).  She repeated that feat in 2003.


Pam Reed (center) tells Dane and me how much she loves BEEF!



When Pam saw my Team BEEF shirt she immediately said, "I eat a steak the night before every race." She also shared the story of her 490-mile run in the Self Transcendence Six-Day Race (she is the American record holder in this event). What she told us is that she craved steak throughout the race. As she wrote in her book, "The Extra Mile, One Woman's Personal Journey to Ultrarunning Greatness," "We all went back to the hotel, where I had a bath -- I couldn't even stand up to take a shower. Then I put on some clean clothes and went to dinner." Her friend Craig Bellman explained, "Pam wanted, I don't know -- a hamburger or steak. Some large slab of beef."


At 5'3" and 100 lbs, Pam told me she used to eat pizza and pasta before a race but she couldn't ever eat enough to really fuel her body. Beef, she said, fills her up; and gives her body the nutrients she needs. I think I love this woman!



Traci O'Donnell (left) and Idaho Beef Council staff took Dane (right) and I to dinner at Fork in Boise

Of course we took her advice and fuled up on beef last night at Fork in Boise with the staff of the Idaho Beef Council. Beef is the official protein of Ironman 70.3 Boise and beef council staff and volunteers will be handing out beef sliders at the finish line in the BEEF Recovery Zone. I can't wait to see them there and celebrate with other members of Idaho Team BEEF! 

Well, it's time to pack up my run gear bag to take to the bike-to-run transition (T2), then catch the shuttle to the start. Let's do this.

Ride on...

Daren