Almost Nothing New on Race Day

My tri suit arrived this week and I am happy to report that it fits. I don't look horrible in it but I'm not going to be so pretty on the bike :-). I don't expect to be self-conscious about wearing it at the race and I'm planning on riding in it next weekend but I am so not running or swimming in it before the race. Sorry but that will have to be something new for race day. That and my transition bag and I am done with goodies before the race.

This week's swims were okay. I think I need to have an easy swim workout rather than easy swim weeks. I seem to lose fitness by doing a whole easy week. I was really out of gas at the end of Thursday's swim.

I volunteered at the Amgen Tour of California today. I did my 29-mile ride this morning then headed off to the Rose Bowl. It started off a bit frustrating with all the roads to the Rose Bowl closed. How was I supposed to get to the volunteer parking lot? I finally found a way in and got checked in. Free t-shirt and free lunch! After checking in I had a few hours before I had to go to my post so I walked around the Lifestyle Festival. Lots of bikes and components that I can't afford. $30 for an official ToC cowbell? The ToC jerseys were okay but nothing I had to have so I passed. Watched the race on a jumbotron for a bit before it was time to get ready to move out. I brought my bike so I changed shoes and rode off to my post. I was a Course Marshall and we're supposed to clear any debris and make sure nothing (people, cars, animals) get on the course once it's closed. I was out in the boonies so I didn't expect much to do (and Pasadena is so clean there was no debris to speak of). However, just as the CHP are coming down the road there's some bozo on a mountain bike. I wave him off and the CHP encourage him to get off, too. The breakaway comes in first but I can't take a picture of them because I'm telling two women to get off the road and onto the sidewalk. The peloton arrives a few minutes later but I didn't get any good pictures at that time. After a while the caravan completely passes and we volunteers race down to catch the circuit around the Rose Bowl, which was very cool. I got pretty close, too:

That's tour leader Levi Leipheimer with Lance Armstrong right behind. Sports photography on an iPhone is not a piece of cake. Anyway, it was a fun day. Next year I will either volunteer again or make a run on the course ahead of the pros. We'll see how fit I am in a year.