24 hours before race day

Friday was nerve-wracking. I was in constant anticipation of the race. The following two things were constantly crossing my mind:
1.) There are x number of hours until the race.
2.) "At this time tomorrow, I will be (insert disipline here)..."

I woke up way too early---4:50am and had breakfast. At 6:35am I departed on my pre-race brick (this is a workout typically consisting of a bike and run. Brick implies that two workouts are conducted back to back to simulate race conditions.) Then we went to Walmart so that I could pick up some additional sunscreen. Actually this trip began as a trip to Ihop, but I didn't realize that Ihop is on the other side of the island, so instead I opted for McDonald's pancakes at Walmart. The pancakes were great. :) Always a favorite of mine. I also picked up some additional essentials for race day----some Red Bull (just in case of an emergency on the run), sunscreen, postcards and baby powder. I also got some M&M's (coconut and pretzel) for post-race. Then we went to BikeWorks because I wanted to buy additional race tubes. Yet again, I ended up buying more than intended. :) A chuck (a tool used in cycling to fill your tire with air using a CO2 cartridge), tubes and lace locks. We headed back home and then my dad went golfing for the afternoon while I prepped my gear bags and bike. I spent about 3 hours figuring out what I wanted to put in my bags. There are 5 bags. The first is the pre-swim bag. This bag is one that you put warm clothes in that you arrive at the race in. Those bags are available after the race is over. The second bags are for food. One is for the halfway mark on the bike and the other is for the halfway mark on the run. These bags are called special foods bags. They are specially colored and they are collected race morning. I had other things besides food in the bags. For example in my run special food bag I put a pair of socks in a ziploc bag and some chapstick. There are another 2 bags that are for race gear. The first bag is the bike gear bag. This is the bag you grab after you are done with the swim and getting ready to head out on the bike. The other bag is the run bag and you use this to dress for the run. These are also colored and labeled. I also prepped my bike. When we went to drop it off at 2:00pm I ended up locking the keys in the rental. Go figure. So we had to wait an hour for the AAA rep to arrive. Fortunately it was quick because the back window was cracked. Bike check in was pretty quick and the volunteers were great. They escorted me to my bike rack slot and gave me a thorough tour of the transition area. I also got pictures. It was very impressive how they fit all the bikes in such a small compact area. After dropping off my bike and my gear bags we returned to the condo. After picking up my dad from golfing we had dinner and watched Titanic. :) I went to bed at 8pm because I was planning to wake up at 3am.