I made it to Coeur D'Alene!

I made it! I am in Coeur D'Alene! I am going to try to blog daily (I couldn't do this in Lake Placid because I did not have internet) as I proceed through IRONMAN WEEK!

me and Erin! I look ridiculous, as usual

This may have been the longest traveling day of my life. I woke up at 3:30 am to hit the road at 4:20 am to drive to the Buffalo Airport. Flew to Las Vegas and arrived at 9:20 or so (12:20 eastern standard time). Grabbed a bite to eat and met with my friend Erin who lives 15 minutes from the airport! She is a college friend who I haven't seen since 2007 so it was great to see her AND simultaneously kill my 3 hour layover! She picked me up and we went over to the strip - visited the Bellagio and Caeser's Palace.

I then departed from Las Vegas and flew to Spokane, WA. Both flights were really good, on time, and there were no clouds so I could see what I was flying over! I have never had this happen before, and since I really haven't seen a lot of the USA west of Pennsylvania, I was super excited! So forgive me for the horrible, out-the-window, airplane photos, but it was really cool to be able to see parts of the country that are SO DIFFERENT than from where I have lived!

flying over Kansas (we asked the flight attendant what state it was)

I am assuming.. the Colorado Rockies!

So that was interesting to look at, to say the least. Finally landed in Spokane, both of my bags made it (suitcase and bike case) and I caught the shuttle from the airport to Coeur D'Alene. Who happened to be on the shuttle with me? Two guys around my age doing the race, and one of them knows Mary's because.. HE'S QT2!!!! The minute he told me that he was from Boston and was here with 15 teammates I go "WAIT, what team is it?" and then he goes "QT2" and I go "MARY EGGERS IS MY COACH!!"

Craziness! He was super nice, as was the other guy in the van! My god, I love Ironman.

Anyways, I am here, in probably the nicest hotel room I have ever stayed in (I think it might be bigger than my apartment). I walked down the road to an Irish pub for dinner, took a shower (I was gross after flying all day) and now, considering it is 7:30 PST but 10:30 EST, I am quickly crashing.

The plan for tomorrow is get up early (shouldn't be a problem with the time zone change), grab breakfast at the hotel, build my bike, go down to the race site and register, hit up the expo and the Ironman shop, pick up my race wheels, come back and get them on the bike. Then get a nice 30 min swim in to see if the water is as cold as everyone says. I also have another 30 min workout that I can't remember if it's a bike or a run.

So that's all for now! Thanks to EVERYONE who has emailed me, tweeted me, or commented on my facebook today! It makes traveling and racing alone a lot more fun when I have so much support from friends at home! You guys are the BEST!