I decided to volunteer at IMChoo since 1. It sold out really quick for the inaugural race and I don't want to miss out on getting in like I did with IMLP, and 2. I wanted to have the experience and see what an Ironman race was like in person. It didn't disappoint!
Chattanooga is still a descent drive from Raleigh, so I planned to stay overnight, at least one night, if not two (ended up being 2) but trying to save some money, I went with air bnb for the first night. It was a really weird experience. Not bad, just weird. I never actually met the guy, Khang, who's place I stayed at, since he was at a wedding or something until late and I was gone before he was up. His place wasn't in the greatest looking of areas, but I didn't have any scary encounters, so I guess that's a plus. I got in late the night before the race, so I pretty much just used his place to brush my teeth and sleep a few hours. Since the race started bright and early, I only slept a few hours before getting up and going to breakfast at a diner closer to the IM Village. The diner played oldies and the food was good and cheap, so that was nice. I parked in the parking ramp right near the village and headed down to check in. I met up with the team captain for the sunscreen application team (something I'm for sure gonna use when I do my race) to get my wrist band and t-shirt. The morning was a lot of waiting around and trying to stay out of the way. The swim is a point to point swim down river, so we didn't see the start, but after setting up the station I went over to the swim exit to watch the first pros come out of the water. I figured heading over 35 min after the start would give me plenty of time. Wrong! The first pro came out of the water at 38 minutes. Let me repeat that, 38 minutes! That's insane, and I'm a swimmer.
Ran back to the station, and from there it was a steady stream of people coming through. Some wanted sunscreen, others didn't. We had the spray stuff, and must have either been too liberal or not given enough, because before the last athletes got to transition, we had run out. I had a couple bottles of sunscreen in my car, since I burn so easily, so I ran up to my car and brought it back down. Had enough to get through the rest of the athletes. Every single person finished the swim in time, which is pretty rare, but with the current down river it helped. We had a little time between the last athlete in T1 and the first pro coming into T2. Was able to get some lunch and sit down for a bit after moving all the stuff over to T2. I was trying to be as helpful as possible, since I was there anyway, and didn't have anything else to do. The team captain really appreciated that I think! Here's a picture of me with her.
The second half of the day wasn't nearly as busy. Fewer athletes wanted sunscreen, as it had gotten a bit cloudy and even drizzling a little off and on. Actually, a lot of people seemed pretty desperate for Vaseline coming out of T2 onto the run. Not sure if it was chafing, sunburn, or both, but I felt bad that we didn't have any to give them. I stayed for a bit after the last person came through T2. Watched some of the finish line action, which was pretty exciting and inspiring. Since it was late, getting dark, I was glad I had decided to book a hotel room for that night, even if it was a bit out of town, because after being on my feet all day I definitely didn't want to deal with any of the air bnb stuff, also since the early reg for the 2015 race was early the next morning, I had to stay in town for the night. I didn't stay at the finish line too long. I was eager to get some dinner and head to the hotel. I found a Mongolian Grill close to the finish line, so I ate there. It was really good! I got to the hotel and was exhausted. Cleaned up and headed to bed. I got up early the next morning so I could get down to the Village and wait in line to sign up for my first Ironman race. There were a lot of volunteers waiting in the registration line, not to worry though, there were plenty of spots left. Once the line started moving, it went pretty quick, and before I knew it, my bank account was $800 lighter and I was registered for Ironman Chattanooga 2015!
It was almost a bit surreal and it took a bit for what I just did to sink in. No turning back now.
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