The day before...
Back in Eilat again for my 26th triathlon. Twenty-sixth!!! How on earth did that happen? This was my fourth time at the Eilat Triathlon. It's probably my favorite race for several reasons. First of all, it was my first ever triathlon -- in 2004 I did the now defunct "super sprint" -- 300 meter swim, 8 km bike, 2 km run. That was my first taste of multisport racing, which has since become an obsession. The following year, Eilat would prove to be my biggest challenge. Eilat 2005 was the only race I've ever dropped out of in the middle. About 6 km into the bike course, I crashed into (and flipped over) a road block, totaling my bike but miraculously remaining more or less intact. I have a small scar on my knee to remind me of that day (well, that and a lot of teammates who like to point out "Bari's road block" every single time we enter Eilat). The accident happened so quickly that I don't even remember part of it, but it was traumatic enough to stay with me for a very long time. The first few races I did after the crash were stressful and even now, two years later, the bike course in Eilat does something to me that I can't describe and when I complete it, whether in a practice race or in the actual race, I feel both relief and a sense of accomplishment. And of course, Eilat is the national championship -- the biggest race of the year. Everyone is there, it's a huge "happening" and a lot of fun.
So on Thursday, I was back in Eilat. A year ago, I thought I'd be doing the Olympic distance in Eilat in 2007, but this wasn't to be. However, I was in Eilat this year with a new attitude and a new set of personal goals that I hoped to achieve (oh, and a new tri suit to go with the "new me" -- pictures to accompany the race report). These weren't time goals, but rather mental goals -- I've spent the past few weeks working on a new attitude and my main goal was to tough this race out with only positive thinking.
On Thursday, we did a quick workout -- a short run, which felt great, and then a short swim. The water was cold and I was pretty dizzy when I got out (as was everyone else I spoke to). I actually don't mind swimming in cold water, but it did make me wonder how exactly I was going to get out of the water and run to the transition area on Friday. I didn't dwell on this for too long, though -- those kinds of thoughts don't fit into the new attitude and besides, I had other things to do (like drag my very heavy duffle bag from the parking lot up to the hotel entrance).
At around 2:15, we went to check into the hotel. Everyone got their rooms and started getting settled. Well, everyone except Ronit and me. Our room "wasn't ready". We were wet and cold and really wanted to shower, but that would have to wait. Instead, we grabbed out bikes and decided to make sure they'd arrived with all parts intact and everything working. We did a very short and very frightening ride (frightening because there was a lot of traffic on the road and the cars were way too close to us for comfort) and then headed back to the hotel, confident that our room would now be ready. They'd promised us the room by 3:00. It was now 2:55. No dice. Still not ready.
At 3:00, we'd both lost our patience. Our check-in was through the travel agency responsible for team reservations, but since they hadn't yet received an envelope for our room, they suggested that I check with the front desk. At the front desk, they didn't even have our names on the guest list (but we were on the list with the travel agency). I found the person in charge and she said she'd take care of it. Well, she did take care of things, but not fast enough for Ronit. After this woman told me that we now had a room and that she'd be able to give me the keys soon and that she'd call me when it was ready, Ronit had had enough. I don't know what she did exactly, but she disappeared for a few minutes and when she came back, our room was ready. It was already 3:45. We were still wet, still cold and getting colder and both dying to hit the shower, which is exactly what we did when we got to the room.
The entire hotel had been "decorated" by Nike with signs everywhere. For example, the sign in the elevator said, "Instead of riding in the elevator, your opponent took the stairs. What about you?" In our bathroom, the sign on the mirror said, "You are looking at a winner." Then there was the one on the TV that read something like, "Instead of sitting around watching TV, your opponent is out training." They were in the rooms, in the lobby -- everywhere you looked. And they left us a few bumper stickers with similar slogans, as well. It was impossible to be at Sport Club Hotel and not feel the spirit of the race.
After getting settled, we hit the expo. I bought the last of the chocolate flavored gel that I hadn't been able to find in Beer Sheva (good thing I hit the expo early or I wouldn't have found it in Eilat, either) and looked around at some other stuff. I'd been looking for a pair of long women's running tights and for some reason, I hadn't been able to find anything (all the women's running "tights" that I found had flared legs, which I don't like), but I finally found a pair in the Nike booth (at a 35% discount, which didn't make them cheap, but did make them affordable), which I would buy later on.
After the expo, we headed over to the Royal Garden Hotel auditorium for the race briefing, where Ronit and I both fell asleep! I'm not even sure why we bother to go to the briefing every year, as the course hasn't been changed for the last three years and they never say anything new, but it's just kind of a tradition. Anyway, the nap was nice and I saw Michaela, who was disappointed to hear that I was doing the sprint and not the Olympic distance (I keep promising her "next time"). I didn't talk to her after the race, but from what I heard, although it wasn't her first Oly distance, the race was tough for her this year.
After the race briefing, we had a team meeting, where we got our numbers and other race stuff. We went back to our room to put our numbers on our bikes and get our stuff ready for the next day and then we went down to the dining room and had dinner with coach Yigal, who didn't say a word about all the chocolate I had for dessert!
Before going to bed, I took a walk on the Eilat boardwalk. I needed to clear my head before the race and start concentrating on the things I wanted to achieve. The boardwalk was unusually empty -- I guess most of the people in Eilat this weekend were triathletes who had already gone to sleep. I walked and walked and even went into a store or two (but didn't buy anything) and then went back to the hotel. It was time to go to sleep. I had triathlon number twenty-six in the morning...
So on Thursday, I was back in Eilat. A year ago, I thought I'd be doing the Olympic distance in Eilat in 2007, but this wasn't to be. However, I was in Eilat this year with a new attitude and a new set of personal goals that I hoped to achieve (oh, and a new tri suit to go with the "new me" -- pictures to accompany the race report). These weren't time goals, but rather mental goals -- I've spent the past few weeks working on a new attitude and my main goal was to tough this race out with only positive thinking.
On Thursday, we did a quick workout -- a short run, which felt great, and then a short swim. The water was cold and I was pretty dizzy when I got out (as was everyone else I spoke to). I actually don't mind swimming in cold water, but it did make me wonder how exactly I was going to get out of the water and run to the transition area on Friday. I didn't dwell on this for too long, though -- those kinds of thoughts don't fit into the new attitude and besides, I had other things to do (like drag my very heavy duffle bag from the parking lot up to the hotel entrance).
At around 2:15, we went to check into the hotel. Everyone got their rooms and started getting settled. Well, everyone except Ronit and me. Our room "wasn't ready". We were wet and cold and really wanted to shower, but that would have to wait. Instead, we grabbed out bikes and decided to make sure they'd arrived with all parts intact and everything working. We did a very short and very frightening ride (frightening because there was a lot of traffic on the road and the cars were way too close to us for comfort) and then headed back to the hotel, confident that our room would now be ready. They'd promised us the room by 3:00. It was now 2:55. No dice. Still not ready.
At 3:00, we'd both lost our patience. Our check-in was through the travel agency responsible for team reservations, but since they hadn't yet received an envelope for our room, they suggested that I check with the front desk. At the front desk, they didn't even have our names on the guest list (but we were on the list with the travel agency). I found the person in charge and she said she'd take care of it. Well, she did take care of things, but not fast enough for Ronit. After this woman told me that we now had a room and that she'd be able to give me the keys soon and that she'd call me when it was ready, Ronit had had enough. I don't know what she did exactly, but she disappeared for a few minutes and when she came back, our room was ready. It was already 3:45. We were still wet, still cold and getting colder and both dying to hit the shower, which is exactly what we did when we got to the room.
The entire hotel had been "decorated" by Nike with signs everywhere. For example, the sign in the elevator said, "Instead of riding in the elevator, your opponent took the stairs. What about you?" In our bathroom, the sign on the mirror said, "You are looking at a winner." Then there was the one on the TV that read something like, "Instead of sitting around watching TV, your opponent is out training." They were in the rooms, in the lobby -- everywhere you looked. And they left us a few bumper stickers with similar slogans, as well. It was impossible to be at Sport Club Hotel and not feel the spirit of the race.
After getting settled, we hit the expo. I bought the last of the chocolate flavored gel that I hadn't been able to find in Beer Sheva (good thing I hit the expo early or I wouldn't have found it in Eilat, either) and looked around at some other stuff. I'd been looking for a pair of long women's running tights and for some reason, I hadn't been able to find anything (all the women's running "tights" that I found had flared legs, which I don't like), but I finally found a pair in the Nike booth (at a 35% discount, which didn't make them cheap, but did make them affordable), which I would buy later on.
After the expo, we headed over to the Royal Garden Hotel auditorium for the race briefing, where Ronit and I both fell asleep! I'm not even sure why we bother to go to the briefing every year, as the course hasn't been changed for the last three years and they never say anything new, but it's just kind of a tradition. Anyway, the nap was nice and I saw Michaela, who was disappointed to hear that I was doing the sprint and not the Olympic distance (I keep promising her "next time"). I didn't talk to her after the race, but from what I heard, although it wasn't her first Oly distance, the race was tough for her this year.
After the race briefing, we had a team meeting, where we got our numbers and other race stuff. We went back to our room to put our numbers on our bikes and get our stuff ready for the next day and then we went down to the dining room and had dinner with coach Yigal, who didn't say a word about all the chocolate I had for dessert!
Before going to bed, I took a walk on the Eilat boardwalk. I needed to clear my head before the race and start concentrating on the things I wanted to achieve. The boardwalk was unusually empty -- I guess most of the people in Eilat this weekend were triathletes who had already gone to sleep. I walked and walked and even went into a store or two (but didn't buy anything) and then went back to the hotel. It was time to go to sleep. I had triathlon number twenty-six in the morning...
posted by bari | 10:58
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