Thursday in Kona: 1 day and 22 hrs.-

With less than two days until the race, this was a pretty uneventful but strangely busy day. Started with a light breakfast and then a quick spin around town on Alii Drive. Headed down to the King Kamehameha to get a treatment at the ART tent. Had two great guys, brothers bend and stretch my ankles, calves, hips and neck. Really appreciate the work they do. Headed back early tomorrow morning for a repeat. After that I headed back to the condo for some more eating. Did a little reading and a nice nap. In the early afternoon Bob and I went down to the expo to check out the vendors. Walking the streets is becoming more difficult as there are more people here now. It was fun looking at all the new products. I saw some cool goggles at Tyr and checked out the Torque Elite swim skin, I don't know how it passed, feels like rubber coating all over. The new Specialized Shiv, a race bike released this week, was pretty exciting. I am craving the DuraAce electric shifters with the shifters at the end of the aero bars and at the brakes. It was very cool. After the Expo I spent some time texting Martin who is now on the island about getting the bike checked before I have to take it to the transition for the overnight. Bike and helmet check in for me is from 12:00 to 2:30. Back at the condo getting ready for the welcome banquet. We didn't get a car so we walk every where. Tonight there were rain showers and we got a little wet going to the KK Hotel. During the dinner it was mostly dry but towards the end of the program it really dumped. They tried to have the pre-race meeting but I think most competitors bugged out. There are 970 first timers at this race. The dinner was fine and without the rain would have been memorable, maybe it was. Didn't actually see Martin and family but my crew numbering 10 tonight, 12 tomorrow, enjoyed the evening. Afterwards we split up, some shopping, some to listen to music and enjoy the night life, and I went home to get to sleep. I'm relaxed but nervous, if those two can co-exist. Tomorrow I'll jog on down to the ART tent, get a treatment, then meet up with Martin. We'll get the bike ready and then it will be time to check in. Might take a 20 minute jog tomorrow but that is it. Have to sleep and get up at 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning. don't know if I'll be able to post Friday and Saturday, but I should have the time on Sunday. As always, a hui hou, see you on the road.

Wednesday in Kona

Today the big event was ride from Hawi town the bike turn around. I had been advised to ride a portion of the course there to get used to the variable winds. This was really good because I didn't have any idea what it would be like. We drove out to Hawi which is nearly the end of the road on the north Kohala coast. It is a very small town with a few restaurants and shops. We had coffee and then I headed back towards Kailua-Kona on the bike. Coming out of Hawi it seemed like a head wind, no problem. Then as I passed the wind turbines the wind picked up and came across from the left to the right. I started a descent and picked up speed. I'm tucked into aero and all of a sudden my bike jumps 4 feet to the right. I jumped out of the aero position and recovered. This went on for what seemed like 10 miles. Part of the way the wind came from the left and part of the way from the right. It fluctuated in speed but it was hard to get used to. It finally calmed a bit and stopped gusting the last few miles to Kawaihai. Making the turn from Kawaihai, I headed south again towards Hapuna State Park. Here I met the family and friends who were having a beach outing there. I spent about an hour there, and then we drove back to town from there. If I had continued there was about 34 miles to ride, with varied elevation and generally it felt like head winds. On the ride I averaged 15+ mph, up to 37. On a couple of inclines I slowed to 9-12 mph. While resting at Hapuna I decided that I was ok with the heat, it was hot but not unbearable. I had salt tracks so I need to increase my electrolytes. I think my pace was consistent with my past, so I really can't expect much more race day. If everything goes as planned it looks like about 7.5 hours on the bike. Final assessment, it will be a very long day. Also, I can feel the effect of the sun on my skin, the sun even penetrates my jersey. I have been layering the waterproof sunscreen but the sun is still very intense. I'm sure I will be feeling it at the end of the day.

After the ride, I left the family at the Keahou KTA market and biked back to the condo, showered up and took a nap. Teri, Danny, Kaleo, Mike and Maria all arrived today, so we got together for dinner. Kanoa and Anna made some awesome beef and fish with pico de gallo and pineapple salsa, we added rice and guacamole, Teri brought pineapple and everyone brought their own combination of beverages. We had a fun time together, a great meal and now everyone has gone back to their individual condos for the night.

I am ready to go to sleep, still up a little late for my program but what can you do. I'll get 8 hours so it will be fine. Tomorrow is pretty low key. A little easy spin and jog in the morning, take a walk to the Expo, meet up with Martin sometime, take a nap, eat and hydrate, go to the welcome dinner and pre-race meeting, then get to bed. Main event for Friday is bike and helmet check in between 12 and 2 p.m.

That is all for now, hope you are well and keeping your love, ko aloha la ea. A hui hou, see you on the road.

Tuesday in Kona

Great day in Kona. Went to register at 9:00 a.m. Line was about 45 minutes. Everyone was awesome and enjoyed talking to people in line. got some cool stuff, ironman back pack, containing a program, a few nutrition samples and ads. After that I went to Dig Me beach to swim. Since yesterday the waves have come up and the swim had more current and swells. No problem with the swells but the general current slowed me down. Still there were a lot of people out churning up the water. It was a good swim, great place to be for it. After that it was breakfast at Splasher's overlooking the pier. Maureen had pancakes and I had the Loco Moco. According to local lore, it was ono grinds. We had a good meal and watched all the athletes and tourists moving up and down Alii Drive. Ironman workers were setting up bleachers in the area that looked like the finish line. There were crowds going in and out of the water at the stairs. There were also locals out on the pier fishing and jumping into the water. Down the sea wall the waves would crash and splash high in the air covering unsuspecting pedestrians near the wall. After breakfast I went to the Ironman VIP House on Kona Bay Drive to participate in a focus group survey. The house is in a closed gated community in one of the best ocean front properties in Kailua Kona. Amazing place, very exclusive. I finished about 1:30 and headed back to the condo at Sea Village. Rested up a while and then went out for my afternoon run. This was about 3:30 or so. Headed south on Alii Dr. at an easy pace and had no trouble working up a sweat. Just after I started another runner came up along side and we ran the next mile together. His name was Bob from Laguna who was here with his wife who was going to be in the race. After about a mile he turned back and I continued on past Magic Sands beach. Even though this is still training Ironman had already set up working aid stations with Perform and water, very much appreciated as I did not take any with me for the run. I planned to be out only an hour or so and didn't feel like I needed it. The Cytomax people had set up an aid station in front of the house they were at and very nicely gave me a water bottle and some electrolyte mix which I really appreciated. I was out for about 50 minutes and covered 5 miles. Then a soak in the cool water of the pool. Later we all went to Jackie Reyes Ohana Grill for dinner. Excellent food and service. Town is full of people and the restaurants are jammed. The challenge now is to fine a few places to eat for our support group where we don't have to battle the crowds. Tomorrow we're going to grill at the condo.

As far as training tomorrow the plan is to head north and ride from Hawi towards Hapuna. Need to get a feel for the winds. If you are out there I'll see you on the road, if not then a hui hou. Keep the love and kulia i ka nu'u (strive to reach the highest).

Training in Kona, Monday and Tuesday

Yesterday I swam the course. It took about 2 hours and it was a very enjoyable experience. As far as actually swimming, 2.5 miles in a single loop course in the ocean is way way longer than the same distance in the pool. I have learned some new skills and honed some old ones. It really is helpful to be able to alternate breathe because the current comes across your body so it is better to breathe away from the surges. As the swells come at you it takes some getting used to bobbing up and down, coordinating your breathing so you don't suck up a lot of water and to time your sightings. Several times I would try to sight but at the bottom of the trough and couldn't see anything. Consequently I spent more time sighting than I wanted and it took more effort than I wanted to make. On the way back it has more of an impact on you. I got off line a few times. Now the good thing about the swim is that it is just like being in an aquarium. There are so many beautiful fish, many colors and sizes, schools swimming right below you. The sea floor is either sand or layers of coral. There are several types of brain-like coral and many sea urchins. It is not a good idea to step on those. To some however they are a delicacy. When you climb down the stairs at Dig Me beach, I have no idea where the name comes from, it is sandy and calm in the morning, no beach and high tide in the afternoon. You walk into a brisk 70's ish water, put on your goggles and swim cap if you wear one and off you go. There is a single line of orange buoys leading out approximately 1.5 miles, at which point you turn around and swim back. You are several hundred yards from the shore. The water ranges from knee deep to what appears to be 20 to 30 feet deep. The water color is mostly green in shallow water but as the water gets deeper it gets blue. You can see for quite a ways but as the water gets deeper you lose sight of the bottom and it can be a bit disorienting.  I like swimming over the coral parts because there tend to be more reference points and fish. All and all if you don't let the distance from shore get to you or the fact that you can see so much under water, if you are patient and swim a good line, you can really enjoy this part of the race.

Today I went for a partial ride on the course, mostly around Kailua town, then out to the Energy Lab road which is just about a mile south of the airport. I was on the road about an hour and covered 16 miles. The first thing you notice is that the shoulders are nice and wide. Also the surface is quite smooth. When you come to intersections you are told by signage to move across to the bike lane and cars making right turns are to yield to the crossing cyclists. This works really good except for the occasional impatient driver. I rode about 10:00 a.m. and it was already quite warm, so I started to sweat and hydrate quickly. The quality of the road helps minimize the work and the wide shoulders let you concentrate on your aero position. After the turn around I did notice some headwind and slowed, but I think it will be alright at that point during the race. As I have talked with race veterans, the wind at the north part of the course is still very strong and will make the ride difficult there. Another veteran warned that the decent from Hawi can be difficult and in order to maximize brake use, riders definitely get out of the aero position. Thinking about heading out that way Wednesday and riding a bit of the course at that end. I have to wait and see if I have transportation because I don't want to ride too far or too hard so close to race day. I've been told that it is helpful. I think about it tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, I have on the calendar: swim in the morning, then athlete registration, after that a focus group, and hopefully some food. Then off to a nap in the afternoon and close with a short run in the heat.

This evening I, along with Maureen, Charlotte and Bob, attended the Irongent Ironwomen dinner which has been a tradition for a couple of decades. It is a dinner for all racers who are 60 and older. When this dinner there only a handful of people in attendance, this year's race has over 130 entrants who qualify for the dinner, 4 of whom are 80 or older. Part of the festivities included talks by Mike Riley the voice of Ironman, and Lew Hollander, 81 years young, starting his 22nd Ironman Hawaii in a row. Also all of the racers were asked to speak. It is inspirational to see how many seniors who have completed multiple Ironman races. If you want to see how many there are just take a look at the bib number list, and look at the lower numbers around 200 and that is where you will find the seniors. You can see their names, ages, and country. I got to speak with several of these senior statesmen and they all say, keep on doing triathlon. One who was a retired MD said running is the best for you knees, he was 81. There you go, amazing. There also six lottery winners at the dinner, including yours truly. It was a great evening at the King Kamehameha Hotel, good food, good people, good times.

One of the secrets shared included from Lew, "do something anaerobic every day." Hope you are loving what you're doing today, we are totally loving it here. More to come so, a hui hou, and I hope to see you on the road

Race week begins tomorrow

Yesterday was a travel day. Went to the Big Island Grill for dinner after checking in at Sea Village condos. This morning i swam the Ironman course. It took two hours at a comfortable pace. Following that met Maureen, Charlotte and Bob and went to Bubba Gumps for breakfast/lunch.

In the afternoon I reassembled the bike, slowly hoping not to cause any problems. Everything came together finally and I had only to inflate the tires. The extender on the rear wheel and the air valve didn't work so I had to take out part of the tube, open the Schrader valve then put the tire and tube back together. Thanks to some quick texting help from Martin, I finally got it all together. I planned to run this afternoon but instead gave the bike a test ride for about 10 miles. The whole assembly project from start to finish took about 3 or 4 hours. While out on the test ride I passed Amber Moncreife, former Ultraman winner, and Chris Mccormick who has won ironman several times.. There were both quite fast. I also saw that Conrad Stoltz, Xterra champion is in town, holding court at Lava Java before swimming. I'm sure we will be spotting celebs all week. Also saw a few challenged athletes on the road.

Tomorrow I'll go for a one hour ride, low intensity, and a short run later in the day. Going to go to the Ironman office for banquet tickets for friends and family. Charlotte and Bob are here already, Kanoa and Anna arrived today, Kaleo, Mike and Maria, also sister Teri and Danny will be here Wednesday, Emmy and BJ arrive Friday. Martin arrives Thursday. Also will be attending the Iron Gents and Ladies welcome tomorrow. Comes with buffet dinner. Might check out the Ironman Village and souvenir shops when they open.

After dinnner at Rosie's Cantina, headed back to the condo to post todays blog and get some sleep.

There were competitors out on the roads all day and in the water. Saw Macca filming with a van and chase car for a two camera shot.as he was running down Alii Road. That is the plan for the next day so until I see you, A hui hou, see you on the road.

Digg Me Beach

At Rosie's Cantina

Eleven days! Taper taper taper!

It is down to the wire. Less than two weeks of training until race day. Instead of 15 to 20 hours of training every week, a cycle that began about ten months ago, the next two weeks will include approximately 15 hours, less frequency but with good intensity. My program is divided between shorter bursts of training and lots of rest in between. This week includes three full swim sessions, about 4 hours of biking, and 3 hours running. The following week includes 2 swims, 3 short bike sessions, and 3 runs. This of course is just the lead up to the final day, Saturday Oct. 8, which should be a very long day.

In addition to training I'll be organizing my gear for the trip. Planning on boxing up the bike at Snohomish Bicycle on Wednesday. I've got a ride to the airport arranged but have yet to get one home when we get back. We decided to skip the car rental since most of our friends and family will have cars. Not sure how we will actually get all our gear from the airport in Kona but have faith that everything will be fine. Just to drop a word here, between my own meditations each morning and Maureen's constant reminder, faith is what has brought us here, and faith will see us through. Lots of details as I start stacking piles of supplies and clothes for the trip, still need to be resolved. I've got a plan and a good checklist so everything should be fine.

This coming Saturday is our travel day. I will be glad when we arrive and all our gear is off the plane. Once on the ground in Kona I think any issues we might have we will be able to deal with. I know I will be more relaxed there focusing on the race. We've been to Kona this time of year and it is usually very relaxed and the weather is good. Our family and friends will be arriving at different times but by Friday we will all be together for the big day. As I get closer and closer to the race I will probably become less social but will try to let the celebration of the event keep me positive. I'm sure race weekend with all the competitors, friends, family, and other visitors, will be crazy around town. Kona is not very big and the numbers of visitors will make it seem even smaller.

Anyone who wants to follow the progress of the race can do so on the Ironman site. There is live video and you can follow everyone on the athlete tracker. During the day it will list times as the athlete completes checkpoints during the race. Also in the later part of the race long after all the pros and highly capable racers have finished, the finish line is broadcast live so you can see all the finishers cross the line. I'm hoping to be done around 10:30 HST. This will be after a day that will start around 3:00 a.m. with breakfast; 4:45 in the body marking line, then get the bike ready in transition; line up to get into the water around 6:00, it is a deep water start about 40 yards from shore;then at 7:00 a.m. the cannon goes off and the race is on.

I've been asked about goals for the race and as you can imagine I have visualized the race daily it seems for months and as I have trained attempted to develop time goals for each part of the day. What follows is my best guess for each segment, that is without any kind of mishap either human, mechanical or environmental. I feel very comfortable in the ocean swim, I have the patience for the bike which will be long, and hope to have the mental courage at the end of the day to run the longest distance of my life. These benchmarks do not include time in transition. There are also time cutoffs for each part which if not met eliminate you from completion of the race. Cutoffs from 7:00 a.m.: swim 2:20, bike 10:30, and complete the race before 17 hours total.

Swim: 2.4 miles 1:30; bike 102 miles 6:30-7:00; run 26.2 miles 6:30. These are my most generous estimates.

If by some chance I end up on the video slated to air in December, I'll be wearing my Snohomish red kit from the Snohomish Bicycle Shop. In addition to Martin and Brian who have helped me with all kinds of real support and encouragement, everyone on my tri-team, all of my Monroe Family Y team supporters, all my friends and family, the SCC family, Head 2 Toe Chiropractic, Jason and Bob my riding partners for the last month, I will be thinking of you all everyday from here on out. There is no possible way I could be contemplating this with out all of you.

Training summary for the last week:  swim 5.4 miles 3:45; bike 75 miles 5:30; run 14.25 miles 3:05. Total miles 94.6, total time 12:20, plus 3 hours with chiropractor, trainer, and Pilate's trainer.

For the next two weeks I intend to focus on my training, rest when I can, stay healthy mentally and physically, and maintain a positive attitude. In case you haven't heard me say this before, God has placed this desire on my heart and I am grateful for it. So till the next post, a hui hou, see you on the road.

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17 days to Kona

The photo is my finisher picture courtesy of Budu Racing from last weeks olympic tri.

Starting to pull down on the training volume. Last week was a long week and I look forward to the reduction in my training hours. I was able to come back after the Lake Stevens Tri and got most of my scheduled workouts done. Dr. Annie is working on the deep tissue issues, Brittany is helping with my glutes, flex, balance, and Heather is challenging me on the reformer.

Training summary from last week: swim 5.75 mi. 4:05; bike 103 mi. (80 miles on Friday) 7:05; run 23 mi. (16.25 at Lake Tye with my nutrition table set up to practice fueling and fluids); 3 hours with specialists. Total active training 131.75 mi., 16:20, total time for the week 19:20.

I am now starting the beginning of this training week. Scheduled 3 hours swim, about 6:45 on the bike including one long 4 hour session, and 4:45 in the run. On the short run days I am including elliptical and treadmill sessions.

This week I'll start organizing my bags for Kona. I need to get Brian and Martin the bike shop to coach me up on packing my bike for shipping and putting it back together again. This week and the next will be one for anxiety as I am sure that I will begin to second guess my training and worry about all the details as I get organized to leave. With only 10 days left at home and so many things that I can't control, who knows how the week will go. I got some help today at the pool on my stroke so I still have a few more sessions to fine tune that.

The next 10 days will be active. A hui hou, I'll see you on the road.