Something about Ironman races that's different from the other races I do. Well, aside from the distance and time factor of the race itself. The camaraderie and honest-to-goodness friendliness of the competitors is great to experience. Part of that, I'm sure, has to do with getting to a race site days (or in the case of Hawaii, almost weeks) in advance for some "on course" training. It's not something that happens with shorter distance triathlons or with running races. I've done a bunch of marathons and it's usually get in the night before the day before the race. Registration processes and expos are completely different, as well.

There are also a gazillion marathons. But, relatively speaking, only a handful of Ironman, and ironman distance, races. And I start to see the same people at various venues. Renewing old friendships and making new ones. And, speaking of friends . . .

Yesterday, I had just gotten back from my easy brick and I was ready to hop into the shower. My cell phone rings, but I can't fish it out of my bike seat bag in time to answer it. I'm scrolling through to see who called. Renate's cell rings. It's Bianca, another Dragon from Downingtown. She's here to do some reconnaissance for the future and to help out her friend Cecily who is racing. They've just arrived at the Kona airport. They were an hour away from landing in Kona when they realized that they left their wheel case with their wheels in it back home. They need two rear wheels and one front wheel (I guess they were able to squeeze one front wheel into their bicycle case built for two bikes) so they can get in some training. They've already made arrangements for the wheel case to be Fed-Ex'd to Kona. Could I help? I called up Lesley and was able to score two sets of training wheels for Bianca and Cecily. Lesley would bring them with her to the race meeting. I'm sure Cecily is going to be on edge until the wheel case arrives, but I think Lesley has a spare set of race wheels if the need arises. Great karma for Lesley. And thanks to Rich for donating his wheels to the cause. It's certainly nice to have local friends like them.

	“	It would be entertaining to qualify for Boston by doing the Ironman Hawaii marathon...maybe something to think about those last few miles on Saturday. That is if I'm able to think about anything other than finishing..”
		— Steve Noone

And then there was the "hey, now I remember you" episode at the end of my bike. I was cruising the last mile or so back to the Aquatic Center when I got to chatting with a fellow competitor. We discussed the necessity of the race meeting. (It was his first Hawaii, and his second Ironman race so I strongly recommended that he attend. Heck, I was going, mostly because it was Hawaii and I didn't want to miss anything that would potentially screw up my day. Race meetings in general are pretty worthless and this would probably be as well. I just didn't want to take the chance.) We talked about races. He'd done Blackwater (to validate his lottery slot - I offered congratulations for that, it was how I did things back in 1997 with my lottery pick) and Lake Placid. Age groups came up and I mentioned that I was in the 45 to 49 group. He said that was the same as his coach. I asked who his coach was. He said Don Fink. I asked why he wasn't at the breakfast. He said he was. I said I'm Steve Noone. He said he was Don Tedesco. And then the light went on for both of us. People sure do look different in helmets, sun glasses and biking clothes. (I had noticed that earlier in the week with swim caps. It's hard to recognize people.) In fairness to both of us, we were at opposite ends of the table and didn't talk much at the breakfast.

As I mentioned yesterday, today is a rest day. I'll sort gear and put numbers where they're supposed to go. Get everything ready for check-in tomorrow afternoon. And I've decided against the carbo dinner. I'll watch the Yankees - Red Sox game and try not to run the race through my head too much. One of the guys at last night's dinner was the run director for the race. During the race meeting and, again, at dinner he mentioned that the marathon course was certified to be exactly 26.2 miles. That meant that it would be a Boston qualifier. It would be entertaining to qualify for Boston by doing the Ironman Hawaii marathon. Heck, that's only a 3:30 run for my age group. Something I've done exactly once in my Ironman career, but maybe something to think about those last few miles on Saturday. That is if I'm able to think about anything other than finishing.