Midweek at IM Brazil

It's been a relaxing few days here in Florianopolis. Nothing beats being 6000 miles away from the beeper! We went on an afternoon tour of the island on Tuesday. There are ~400,000 people who live on the island year-round and the population swells to ~1,000,000 in the summertime with tourists. This will clearly be the most urban of the IM races I've done. Parts of the bike course have a Formula One feel.

The training routine has included bike/run on Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday and swim only on Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Planning short SBR on Saturday. Weather's been cool and cloudy, with periods of rain each day, but we've managed to squeeze in the training during the dry spells. Forecast for race day: occasional shower early, winds at 16 mph, 67 degrees high, partly cloudy almost all day.

Visited the expo yesterday and again today. Nice assortment of local vendors. By comparison, very little IM or IM Brazil merchandise. Surprised.

Race registraation was today. I think that, for me, registration day is the most stressful day of IM week. Not entirely sure why, but perhaps patience is lagging....and who wants to stand in line? After registration, we had the English version of the pre-race briefing. Probably 150 people were there--most with our tour group. I think most entrants are Brazilian or S. American.

Planning a 30-min swim at the course tomorrow morning....1 lap around. Water's been much calmer these past couple days. Massage again tomorrow. Pasta party tomorrow night. Saturday includes short SBR for training, then afternoon gear check-in, early dinner, and early to bed!

I'll check in again on Saturday with some thoughts about the race and some thank-you's. Looking forward to the race!