In summary...

Other then "WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" I'm not too sure what else to say!!

Bike packed = tick
Kit packed = tick
Nutrition packed = tick

(the miracle being with that amount of gels and powder I'm still not over the luggage limit!)

Other clothes packed = tick

Passport and tickets in bag = tick

So all that is left is for me to crap my pants..... only kidding... at least I hope I'm kidding, I've heard all sorts of things about this Ironman malarky!!

I've read a lot of blogs and articles over my taper period (as well as playing a great deal of Bejeweled on Facebook... but still).... the two most memorable and which are clearly suitable given what is about to happen to me (fingers cross all my luggage arrives in one piece of course);

First from Wes's ex (coach that is .. mwahh)..  the elf... http://elizabethfedofsky.blogspot.com/2010/09/iron-time.html .... it was whilst reading this that a couple of weeks ago I thought "SHIT" I haven't been noting my nutrition anally enough.. it was with that I did my final 4 hour ride with my intended plan and discovered that would have been oh so wrong as I over carb'd gloriously. I small tweak and a week later and everything was perfect... so to the Elf... you may not know it but you saved my bacon! I thank you for your post!

The next came from a link sent from a EverymanTri which I get news flashes of on Twitter. It seemed appropriate to read the article "The Ironman Marathon"..... now this got me laughing and laughing A LOT (particularly the longest run I've managed is 12miles... ahem... )... here's the quote direct from the article;

"I'll tell you what an Ironman marathon feels like," says 37-year-old Australian Chris McCormack, a 12-time Ironman winner. "Go out and party all night, dance all night, get on the drink, come home and sleep for two hours, get that little slight hangover in the morning, then stand on the start line and run a marathon. That's the feeling -- your body feels sick, your body feels run down. That's how you're running these marathons, so when you're halfway through it, it's like you haven't slept, your body wants to stop, your body wants to sleep. It's depleted, it's empty."

I read this and thought "shit - I should have trained more ...drinks on a Saturday night and a run the next day... should have done it at least once".... ha ah ha....

On that note time for me to sleep - up at 3.30am for trip down to Gatwick and excitable flight to Sunny hot Spain... WHOOP!... see you on the other side whatever lays ahead!