Friday, September 8-2:00 p.m. (31 hours to go)

I wheeled my bike through the merchandise tent, past the vendors who were selling everything an athlete might need to do a triathlon, to the restricted section in the back: Athlete Pick Up.

As soon as they called my name the next disaster of this trip struck. I could not locate my confirmation email from the Ironman headquarters.

(How do you lose an email?)

It must have been deleted.

(So, check your deleted file.)

Look at that.

(Idiot.)

Station 1: Scan my invitation to confirm that I was registered for the Ironman World Championship.

Station 2: Receive my Ironman World Championship token. I’ve only heard about these. I paused and stared at this acceptance that I had finally…

“NEXT!”

Station 3: the competitor bracelet. This linked me to my bike. My orange swim cap linked me to my swim wave; 7:10 a.m. My bike and helmet stickers (to identify me so they can sell me back pictures of myself).

Station 4: backpack.

(You get a backpack?)

Every Ironman and every Half Ironman event gives out a commemorative backpack. I have an attic full of these things. Once I had everything, I stopped for a picture. I had worn my work shirt intentionally. My school district had sent me, and I was representing them. My superintendent and principal had been kind enough to permit me this opportunity and I wanted to give them the chance to brag about it.

(Were you worried about representing your family, your school and the Jewish people?)

Yes, but more on that later. Right now, I was over the moon and I wasn’t going to let my anxiety suck all the fun out of our trip.

(Compartmentalize much?)

“This is really happening!” I exclaimed. I was giddy, I was jumping up and down.

(Were people laughing at you?)

No, they were smiling … I think they were feeling my excitement. I had waited since 2008 for this opportunity. Every year, my wife Janet and I would watch the NBC rebroadcast of the Ironman World Championship … and dream of going. I never thought it would happen.

(Why not?)

First, the race is usually on a Saturday. Second, I never believed that I would be fast enough to win my age group.

(So, what happened?)

The Ironman Corp moved the men’s World Championship to Nice for the first time since 1978. Then at Ironman UK, no one in my division wanted to race here.

(Why not?)

Maybe it was the cost. Maybe because it wasn’t Kona, Hawaii.

(But now you were ready?)

No, there was one more problem to resolve.

(Another problem?)

Yeah … the bike computer was not receiving data from the power meter on my bike.

(How important was the power meter?)

Not enough for me to worry about it if they couldn’t get it working.

(I’m guessing that the bike mechanic next to where you were standing couldn’t fix this problem.)

They were French and the device was set to English, so no.

(You usually leave us with a problem cliffhanger.)

Yeah, not this time. The power meter is helpful to me when I train on the bike trainer and when I’m on a flat road. But 95% of this bike course was hills. I was going to be relying on my cadence meter and the bike elevation feature of the computer to help me determine gearing and effort.

I had tested this idea three weeks before at Half Ironman Mont Tremblant Canada … and it worked.

Now it was time to get back to the hotel and put my transition bags together. The bike and the bags had to be checked in before race day. I had 30 hours left … and I still had to try out the swim goggles I bought earlier to replace the ones I forgot at home. I did not want to be “futzing around” at race start with the fit of my swim goggles.

(“Futzing around?”)

It’s actually, a 1920s, Yiddish expression, that has become part of American nomenclature. The English we speak is a mutt that traces itself back to Anglo-Saxon Brits … who trace themselves back to the Germanic States and the neighboring Dutch. Add some words of French origin and you have a language of rules with exceptions that make teachers crazy.

(Like?)

Like, if eight beige heifers seize your neighbor.

David Roher is a USAT certified triathlon and marathon coach. He is a multi-Ironman finisher and veteran special education teacher. He is on Instagram @David Roher140.6. He can be reached at [email protected].