Hey - Portland. Great city.

That's all.

No IMLP feedback (sorry) - but I'm sure you'll do a cracking job.

Reg.

Reflective Tape:

Curious thing. In both Coeur d'Alene and Wisconsin, I wore reflective tape, but never did I see anyone looking for it or disqualifying athletes without it, nor have I talked to anyone else who has anything more to say about it. So I think you could easily get by without it.

Purchase in advance. Or hit the event store and purchase there for mark up. But it will be there.

Same with putting your name on everything. Ironman wants you to do this, but it's not required. The only benefit is if your gear gets "kicked" around or lost, they'll know who to give it to. The chance of this happening are slim, and most people don't care if they get back much of their gear without a number already on it, so nobody does it.

Can't help you on the swim. Don't place yourself too far out. Because you are a strong AND fast swimmer. Know that. And get in there with the best, because it probably will thin out. Just don't get discouraged if the entire first lap is thrash and splash. Stick to your guns. I was amazed in Coeur d'Alene how, with the exception of one idiot who punched me several times, after which I yanked him up a foot out of the water and stuck a finger in his eye for being such a d*ck, everybody was very polite in the water. But that was probably because of the very rough conditions. Wisconsin last year was very different. Conditions sucked (but not nearly as bad a CdA this year), but I never found clean water and also got beat up quite a bit to the point I was in survival mode the entire way.

Good luck! Stay calm. You deserve to be there. Don't compare yourself with others. Just go out there and have fun, because it is an entire day you will remember for the rest of your life. The rest of your life. Know also that as soon as the cannon sounds, your nerves will be long, long, long gone.

Should have also said, if you do indeed get reflective tape, cut two short strips of maybe 2 to 4 inches, peel the backing and stick to the back of the jersey you will run in. Do this before the race. Wear it until it falls off. Even in the swim if you want to. It probably wont. But don't sweat it if it does. Because truth is, people expect to where certain things on the run, but when weather changes, they mostly never wear the same thing, which means no reflective tape. It's all good. Don't sweat it.

Hey Doc.

Skip the tape, it's useless and a complete watse of money. Your gonna be in a line of a 2000 athletes. When it gets dark they give you a lighted wand anyway. I put some dots on the back of my sneakers and some dots on my hat, but I don't think it made a difference. It was good however after the race when I was out just before dark.

You need to be near the front for the swim. I bet your under and hour if you find clean water and you won't do that from the back of the pack. Get up front and stay there.

No shoes. They wouldn't allow it anyway. can you imagine 2000 pair of shoes and the mess it would take to find your pair when you got out of the water?

Your doing an IM and that's all the questions you can muster? Surely you can do better than that.

On a side note. I had the exact same experiences in the water as Thor at both races. Wisconsin was a survival mode swim and CdA was more open, but seemed harder.

S

I'll also be at LP, but I'm planning on starting at the back for the swim since I'm much slower than you. You might want to consider starting to the right (as you face the lake) and towards the front. Most people will try to be left so they can follow the underwater wire, but if you start right and angle in after a couple of hundred meters, then I think you'll find clearer water and you won't have to swim much further. Just a thought considering I've read about a gazillion race reports and this is what has worked for some others who are fast like you.

By the way, the numbers are up. I'm #2329!! Woo Hooo!!!