3:50 in the morning is, indeed, quite early

Post #: 4
Weeks of training complete: 10 weeks, 2 days
Time until Ironman: 21 weeks, 5 days
Miles swam: 35.8
Miles biked: 434.45
Miles run: 139.51

Goal: $5,000
Total money raised: $270

I started my day a little before 4 a.m. with my run. It was hot. Then I swam. It wasn't so bad in the pool. In fact, I'm starting to really enjoy my swims. There's something very peaceful about being in the water, just gliding along.

It was great to be done so early, but come 4 p.m., my mind just sort of shut down. I plan to get to bed pretty early again tonight, just to be up early for another day of training - on the bike and on the ground - tomorrow.

Eric, my friend who is also doing the Arizona Ironman, and whose blog can be located here, and I have been laughing a lot about the many characters we run across at the gym. A couple years ago on the Slow Twitch tri forum, somebody started a running post about the strange denizens of the pool. (You can read it here) But I've noticed they extend far beyond the pool, into the locker room and the actual gym floor itself. As a side note, the post actually made me realize I was the guy with the blown own bathing suit - the back was so stretched you could see my backside ... I had never looked until I read it. Who knows how long people were staring at that unfortunate sight.

Anyway, at the gym, there a few "strange denizens" that instantly come to mind: "Guy who wants to talk to me while we're both naked and changing," for example. He just sort of opens up the conversation without you even looking at him. It goes something like this:

Me (in the corner, changing): (silence)
Naked guy: So, how about that presidential election, eh? It's like Goldwater in '64 all over again, huh?
Me: What?
Naked guy: I knew Goldwater, you know.
Me: Really?
Naked guy: Yeah, I used to work out with him back on this old gym on Broadway and McClintock, back when it was a dirt road and the gym was actually an elementary school that served as city hall and spare parts depot when the kids were gone.
Me: Wow.

At this point, "The laugher" - he's the guy that is usually just sitting in the locker room for what seems like hours, usually pipes in:

The Laugher: Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo!
Me: (silence)
Naked guy: You remember that?
The Laugher: Hoo, hoo, hoo. I do! Do you remember old Smitty's pub?
Naked guy: Yeah, I used to work out with Smitty back at this old gym ...

It's about then I leave ...

There's other characters - like "Wild Arms Power Walker," "The Human Fan" and "Mack Truck" - but you'll have to wait for another day to hear about those.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my son's efforts to achieve rock stardom.

Signing off,
Ed