Eagleman tomorrow!

I'm all checked in for Eagleman half IM in the morning! 3AM wakeup for that 6:55 swim start! I drove the beginning of the course just to remember it better, checked out the transition layout, waded in the swim entry and exit but didn't actually swim, although lots of people were. It took me 3:30 just to walk the T1 transition - they're going to be long! The swim course looks BIG but I'm not as intimidated as I was at Columbia and before our open water swim practice in the Choptank. The water feels pretty comfortable, but not too warm for a wetsuit.

I attended the "pro forum" which consisted of a panel of professional triathletes taking questions, first from the moderator and then the audience:
Natascha Badmann (Switzerland)
Karen Smyers (Mass, USA)
Bryan Rhodes (Taupo, NZ)
Luke Bell (Melbourne, AUS)

First they gave Natascha Badmann (the returning champ) a special proclamation from the Governor of Maryland, which was a nice surprise for her.

A few items I recall from the forum (I may have mixed up who said what):

Karen Smyers was genuine and warm and I enjoyed listening to her. She says she does "minimalist" training, 20-25 hours per week. Swims 3-4 times per week, 60-90 minutes each; 3-4 bike sessions, one of them a long ride of 100-120 miles; and 3-4 runs, one of them a long run of 15-20 miles. She believes in recovery days OFF!

She also said that she has a good breakfast, and so she doesn't begin taking on calories until about an hour into the event. She likes to do a short warmup in all 3 disciplines if she has time - says she usually does a 5-10 minute run "looking for the portapotties". She emphasized that getting the nutrition right is one of the hardest things about long-distance triathlons. She doesn't take anything that requires chewing (just uses gels or Gu20 every 20-30 min), because she says it interferes with her breathing (and she doesn't like to see it on the pavement). She said her race strategy tomorrow will be to swim as fast as she can and then bike as fast as she can so that she's as far down the road as possible before Natascha passes her.

Natascha said that she likes Red Bull on latter part of the run - "It gives you wings!"

Bryan Rhodes described a tough training schedule of 40-50 hours per week, including one open water swim per week, and is doing 3 half-ironman distances in 3 weeks, so he only "tapers" for a day or two for them.

Luke Bell said that for the last 3 years he has been on a cycle of competing in the USA all summer, then to Kona, then back to Australia for their summer and competing there all summer. He goes hard in races, and says that he likes to "swim like there is no bike; bike like there is no run; and run like you're scared".

I got the autographs of all four on my race bib for good luck!

Good advice for me? We'll see tomorrow! My minivan is all packed; my alarm clocks are set - Here's to falling asleep early tonight (I hope!).