Louisville Arrival

We made great time driving from Ohio to Louisville, found the Galt House hotel and checked in by 1pm. Our room was actually ready, which was a big bonus. Jan immediately got in line for pre-race check in, which the volunteer said would take no more than 10 minutes. Sure. Well, he was right. They had a room of 20 or so volunteers at tables, the athlete got called over and sat down. The volunteer spent about 5 minutes going over everything. Then Jan verified her chip, got weighed at the medical station, and picked up a goody bag. In and out. This was great!

We took everything to the room, 11th floor with a view of the river. Much nicer than the Motel 6 the night before (which actually was ok, just small and pillows the thickness of a pancake, but clean and not noisy).

We found our way to the expo, which wasn't great, but being the first year at Louisville I don't think the local businesses understood the money they are missing out of. Andrea and Renee arrived and took Amanda to their hotel, the Holiday Inn, about 6 blocks away. Jan had an athlete briefing meeting at 4pm in our hotel, so I went out and ran to the site of the new swim start. It was about a three mile out and back. It was 98 degrees. It was humid. Those who have had the pleasure of running with me know this is not good. I was surprised when they let me back into the hotel. It was the hottest temperature I have ever run in and a new record for the day in Louisville. Hurrah for us!

So, I just came out of the shower, and there is a knock on the door. I have no clothes on. I'm still dripping, from sweat or water, who knows. I look through the peep hole and see two guys. "you've got the wrong room". "Mike, Mike, it's Augie". Holy crap! "Hold on, I've got to get dressed!"

Augie flew up from Orlando to watch the race and visit his son. Wow! It was so cool. A few minutes later Jan came in and couldn't believe it. I think she was starting to cry.

Things were going well.

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