Hey y'all I absolutely love Texas. We arrived on Tuesday morning - flew from Buffalo to Cleveland and on to Houston. We are staying at the host hotel for Ironman Texas - The Woodlands Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre. The hotel and surrounding areas are gorgeous. We are about a 2 minute walk to the athlete registration and expo. When we arrived - Glen, Carolyn Senechal and I, we met up with the rest of Team Texas - Shawn Reid, Michelle Peacock, and Kevin Burke. Registration was so well organized we were in and registered in about 10 minutes and off to the expo which was huge. We got the best swag ever - a beautiful triathlon bag. One of the first things we noticed about Texas is that EVERYONE is so nice and friendly. You would think they were Canadian. When we returned to the hotel, our bikes had been delivered and that was one less worry. We took some time off on Tuesday afternoon from our vigourous schedule of registering and shopping and hit the hotel pool for some leisure swimming and soaking up the sun. And it is hot here. Everyday it has been 90 degrees. I have been very careful with my sunscreen. Even with a layer of 100 SPF and a layer of 85 SPF this morning I got a little pink during a 30 minute run. Today we hopped on our bikes to ensure they had survived the shipment to Texas and all was in good working order. Good thing we did. Within about 20 feet, Shawn's back tire blew. We cycled down to the transition area for the bike and run. Part of the swim is in a canal which is filled with turtles - huge turtles- and koi and tons of other marine life. Needless to say, the water is not the pristine water of Lake Placid or Penticton more like the swim at Musselman. We then cycled down to the swim start which is about a 30 minute walk from the bike/run transition. The water is 78 so wetsuits are still being allowed but you have to start 10 minutes after everyone else. I still have not made a decision whether I am wearing mine or not but am leaning towards wearing it. After seeing the marine life and the size of the snapping turtles I need all the protection I can get and I like the comfort of my wetsuit. Tonight we are packing our transition and special needs bags and droop ping them and our bikes off tomorrow. Coach Paul has arrived and is meeting with me tomorrow morning to discuss race strategy and to make sure my head is in the right place. But like I said, I love Texas! The area we are staying in seems devoid of horses and cowboys but there is definitely a lot of money. Porches, Bentleys, and tons of Mercedes. I have not given up hope of finding a cowboy yet. I am missing my kids horribly but talk to them everyday and they are surviving without me. Am having lots of laughs with Team Texas and am looking forward to the race. Lisa