Richard Simmons creeps me out

Welcome everyone and all their friends and families to Penticton. I think it was really cool of you all to come out and watch me swim this morning..... all 500 of you.... I realise that is no where near the number of participants who are numbering just over 3000 (3085 to be exact), but good on ya for making it down to "the peach." Just one question, though.... is it really that hard to swim in a straight line? WOW! Take away that little line on the bottom of the pool and some of your are sincerely screwed.... thank goodness that you can follow the toes of the rest of us who are just a little bit better at pretending that we know what we are doing.

No life guard..... no wonder everyone is wearing neoprene.

Part of lakeshore drive is now closed until after the race and the grandstands are now in place. The guys were even out this morning painting the seats and making everything look all new. It actually gave me the sense that this was something special and worth worrying about the little details.

Even at 6:45 people are hard at work. I imagine it will go around the clock until Monday.

So after the swim I headed out on my bike for an easy spin just to keep the legs moving. I was in my little happy spot when I realized this guy was waving at me from inside of a truck. To be honest, it scared the crap out of me... I swerved thinking I was about to get "Doored" and then I realized what it was.

Who the hell has a life-sized cut out of Richard Simmons in their rear window. I'm calling this one...... creepy.

After a quick shower, I went down to the registration area to get signed-in and to pick up my kit.... well the other 2500 athletes that were not in the water this morning, decided to join me. This line moved fast enough (about 45 minutes) and there were lots of people to chat with to make the time go faster.

Barnum was right... there is a sucker born every minute.... PEOPLE!!!! We are paying through the nose to stress our bodies to the limit.... Hmmmmm.

So when you get to the front you are directed to a table with your race number. The Iron crew is famous for being friendly and helpful.... So you can imagine that I was surprised to be checked in by Joan the overachiever...... man.. this lady literally made my day... she was so happy I bet she leapt out of bed this morning, knowing she was going to meet Tri-Guy in person.

Joan the enthusiastic.

She, in turn, gave me some forms to fill out....

No dying on the course.... and if you do... it's not our fault.... sign here.

Then we made our way to the chip tester and confirmed that my chip says Tri-Guy from Winnipeg. You can see that there were loads of people to help and it was absolutely as efficient as possible. I truly was neat to see all these volunteers here to support you.

Apparently red is the new black.

SO... after that I made my way to the merchandise tent..... wow if I thought the line was long to register...

If it had the Ironman logo on it... you could get it here.

Outside the Timex tent was this huge inflatable watch. You see, I am the kind of guy who wonders.... why October 14th..... and why 10:09:36 a.m. on a Wednesday.....

Of all the times to pick why this one? Well here is what the research turned up.... aka... what I found on wiki. I am guessing that one of these things may have involved a Timex.

• 1947 – Captain Chuck Yeager of the U.S. Air Force flies a Bell X-1 rocket-powered experimental aircraft, the Glamorous Glennis, faster than the speed of sound - over the high desert of Southern California - and becomes the first pilot and the first airplane to do so in level flight.
• 1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane and its pilot fly over the island of Cuba and takephotographs of Soviet missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads being installed and erected in Cuba.
• 1968 – Jim Hines of the United States of America becomes the first man ever to break the so-called "ten-second barrier" in the 100-meter sprint in the Summer Olympic Games held in Mexico City with a time of 9.95 seconds. Hines remained the only athlete to sprint 100 meters in under 10.0 seconds until the year 1977.

Deaths:

• 1944 – Erwin Rommel, German field marshall (b. 1891)
• 1959 – Errol Flynn, Australian actor (b. 1909)
• 1977 – Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (b. 1903)
• 1990 – Leonard Bernstein, American composer and conductor (b. 1918)
• 2009 – Captain Lou Albano. American Professional Wrestler and Manager. (b. 1933)

Births:

• 1927 – Roger Moore, English actor (James Bond)
• 1958 – Thomas Dolby, English musician
• 1959 – A.J. Pero, American drummer (Twisted Sister)
• 1975 – Floyd Landis, American cyclist

That's all I've got..... see you all tomorrow.