Arriving at Ironman

Yesterday afternoon, we made the drive down to Tenby (me, my mam and Harvey the dog – dad has to work so is following down with my aunt, uncle and cousin on Friday). It was a lovely drive down through Wales, with amazing scenery all the way. But, boy did we see some bleak weather.

Unfortunately, the apocalyptic conditions continued all the way to Wiseman's Bridge – where we're staying in a static caravan that we've rented for the week. 

The static is great – really spacious and it's nice to have all my kit here and spread out. 

Wiseman's Bridge is a couple of kilometres north of Saundersfoot which, in turn, is a couple of kilometres north of Tenby. It's also right on the beach and the bike course runs straight past – in fact, one of the most feared inclines (a long 16%-er) climbs from Wiseman's Bridge to Saundersfoot.

Yesterday, we had a little drive into Tenby and I did an easy 30 minute run from Wiseman's Bridge and along the beach into Saundersfoot – it was a bit wet and windy but actually not as cold as I'd expected. The scenery is also stunning. Before going to bed last night, I said a little prayer to the Ironman weather gods – it'll be a beautiful race if (and, at the moment it's a big if) the weather plays ball.

While driving and running, I've spotted a few other Ironman athletes out jogging (trim, fit and looking scared as hell...easy to spot) but, by and large, I've not really had the chance to start soaking up the atmosphere yet; that'll all change today.

Later this morning, registration opens – as we're already here, I figure it's worth getting registered nice and early. The plans for the rest of the day include a 20-30 minute run and a little 20-30 minute ride. Then I'm going to drive most of the bike route to check out what's in store.

Anyway, I'll report back later.

Can't believe this but...three days and counting!