Back home in Washington

Since my last post I swam the Kona harbor twice, 1 mile each in 35 and 30 minutes. Beautiful place to swim. There were only a few swimmers in the water so it is basically you and the fish. Water temperature is warm and this year the ocean was relatively calm with mild surges and a manageable current. You just swim out to the coast guard buoy and back from Digg Me beach. Excellent. I also completed another short run: 4 miles on Alii Drive in 49 minutes. Now that I'm back home once I get organized I will be back training again. In the last week or so as I pondered my training while enjoying the beauty of the Kona coast I have come to the conclusion that I still have a long way in terms of training mileage to go if I want to be able to complete the long course triathlons. So there it is, an early new year's resolution: more miles. Specifically on the bike and run. I hope to pick up the new Lemond Revolution trainer from Mr. Crampy's today or tomorrow and Saturday we have a Monroe Tri Club meeting to go over the "off-season" training and commitments so that will help with accountability. As far as the swim, the Y Master's are doing all they can to kick my butt.

So until the next time, a hui hou, and I'll see you on the road.

Ironman Country

Aloha from Kailua-Kona Hawaii. This is the last leg of our trip to paradise and we are at the Sea Village condos here in hot hot Kailua-Kona. That's right, we are right in the middle of Ironman country, or soon to be in October. Looks to me like people here are starting to gear up for the competition. Sad to say for the local economy, it still looks pretty slow around here. Beautiful but lacking many tourists.

The other day I was able to get in one last run on Maui, just 30 min. but enjoyable. Today I hit Alii Dr. and went 30 min. (about 2.75 miles) down to the pier and back. Met Maureen (loyal crew and spouse) part way, so we walked the remainder together. While on the road today I observed several runners and cyclists who looked like they were seriously training. I absolutely have to say that after 10 mins of running this morning that I now understand the impact of the climate on athletes. I was entirely dripping most of the 30 mins I ran. Understand and respect. Once you begin to feel it you get it completely.

For fun we drove part of the bike course out towards Waikaloa and did some shopping and hit the sand at Anaeho'omalu Beach Park. This is a beauty of a beach with palms in the sand and a huge fish pond. You can find it easily on an entry road abutting the Queens Shopping Center. Buses often park by the gate, once you see it you know you are there. It has facilities, fresh water, and a killer view. Nice for swimming. While there we learned about the Naupaka shrub whose bud resembles a half flower. Very unique and there are two varieties of these growing on the island, one on the beach and the other in the mountains, when you put the buds together they form a whole blossom. This is also the basis of a sad love story about the separation of two lovers by an angry goddess, Pele. http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii/naupaka You have to check it out.

Tomorrow swim in the harbor. Part of the swim course, about a quarter mile, is marked with buoys. I should be able to give it a few laps. So, a hui hou, see you on the road.