Welcome to Switzerland!

We're here! We got in Thursday morning, having not slept on the plane at all, and proceeded to spend the ENTIRE day out and about. We did the City Tour and the Lake Tour (on the boat), in an effort to learn our way around Zurich. While on the boat, I realized that the first stop was at the transition area for the race. So I told Theresa, I thought we should just stay on the boat past the point where we boarded, and the very next stop would be the transition area so we could check in for the race. I even asked one of the guys on the crew if the boat was going to go around the lake again and he said yes. Well clearly I was not specific enough in my question, or something was lost in translation, because no sooner did we sit back down and the boat pull away and it headed back out the opposite direction around the lake. So instead of the transition area being the first stop, it was the last. Another hour on the boat. Me and my brilliant ideas!! Absolutely exhausted, we finally got back to the hotel around 10:30pm and slept for 10+ hours.

Yesterday Amy and her parents arrived and we met up with some other friends doing the race. We decided to bike down to the lake for a swim, which somewhat resembled biking through New York City for the NYC Triathlon a few years ago - only without the skyscrapers but with the addition of trams to look out for. Not fun. The lake is beautiful, but with the storms coming in the water is getting choppy - I'm expecting a slow swim, but hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.

We walked around the expo for a while, where this girl I went to high school with (and haven't seen since) recognized me, even with a baseball cap on. Crazy! And would you believe that there is no change tent in the transition area?!!! Welcome to Europe! No gear bags, no change tent. You set up your transition area just like any other race, so I'm still pondering exactly what I'm going to wear and whether I'm changing clothes for each leg of the race. There does appear to be some sort of screen you can stand behind, so maybe that will do.

Next we climbed into Amy's friend Ronnie's VW bus for a tour of the bike course. I really wish I hadn't gone. I really do think ignorance is bliss for races. While a fair amount of the course is flat, there are two major hilly sections labeled "the beast" and "heartbreak hill." I wasn't freaked out until Amy started freaking out about not having the right cassette on her bike, etc. The beast looks something akin to Skyline Drive for about 3 miles or so and Heartbreak Hill resembles Mt. Weather, but narrow and will be lined with spectators and cowbells - like the Tour de France. We do each loop twice, with heartbreak hill coming at about mile 110 the second time around. Lovely! I will say though that is a spectacularly beautiful course. I'm glad we drove it in the sunshine so that we could fully appreciate it.

Betty, Amy's mom asked me yesterday if I was nervous. I replied that I'm not nervous, I'm annoyed. That got a good laugh, but its true! Having done this twice before, I know what its like, but I'm annoyed and uninspired. Annoyed at the logistics of the race, annoyed that there will be bad weather to contend with all day, and annoyed that I have these nuissance injuries to deal with. I think maybe I'll do one loop of the bike and then just be a spectator. :-)

Sorry no pictures. I haven't taken many yet, and I'm paying for internet access so don't feel like taking the time to upload them at the moment.