Since my first visit to the Big Island for the 2004 Ironman World Championships I have returned every October, racing or not. The years I am not racing I volunteer (and get a healthy dose of swimming, biking, running, snorkeling, kayaking, etc.). This year, for the first time, I took two full weeks of vacation time to devote to the Island. To try to describe the entire 2 weeks would take volumes, this post will just touch on the highlights. I also can't begin to mention all the great friends, old and new, that I was able to connect with...but they all know who they are and having a chance to spend some time with all of you was fantastic!
Day 1:
I arrived in Kona on Friday afternoon, 8 days before the Big Dance. Stepping off the plane I felt as if I had arrived home: an immediate connection with the Island, a falling away of stress and anxiety, a sense of deep calm, a quiet mind. I swung by the car rental to pick up my "economy compact" ride and found a fire engine red Mustang convertible waiting. How fun is that?
My Red Mustang Convertible
The second thing I did (after a short "shake out" run) was head to Mauna Lani resort to catch the first running of the K-Swiss Pau Hana Sunset 10k being held on the same venue as run portion of the Honu 70.3, one of my favorites half ironman races. I was there as a spectator but it looked super fun and next year I plan to run it.
Start of Pau Hana Sunset 10K
Day 2:
My first full day dawned bright and early, not a problem since I was still on California time and wide awake by 3 AM. I was off to participate in the Kukio Blue Water 1.2 mile swim along with my coach Luis Vargas and a couple of other triathlon team-mates. It was held in a beautiful, protected inlet just north of the airport. I had a little performance anxiety after my disastrous swim at the 70.3 World Championships. My fear of finishing last in a race populated by triathletes and Big Island residents (read: eat, sleep and breathe the ocean) was unfounded. I had a lot of fun and actually swam well...thank you salt water! I highly recommend this event for anyone who finds themselves on the Island the Saturday before Ironman.
Kukio Blue Water Swim course
Kukio swim S/F, Maui visible in the distance
Brunch was served after the swim
Day 3:
Sunday was the PATH 10k run, an out and back on Ali'i Dr. staged from Hale Halawai Park (Ironman expo venue). This was a new Big Island adventure for me but actually the 26th running of this race. A fun, low key race with some seriously fast participants. I had not made any effort to acclimate to racing in Hawaii so after a great 7K of running I melted in the warm, humid conditions and crawled in feeling a bit like a blob of molten lava, but still enjoyed every moment. Something about having that much sweat pouring off of my skin felt spiritually cleansing.
Finish line in Hale Halawai Park
After the race I cooled down by jogging to the pier and Dig Me Beach for my first dip in the hallowed Ironman swim venue of Kailua Bay. With the race still a week away there were not many people swimming. Conditions were perfect! Calm water, 100' visibility. I could have stayed out there forever except I had neglected to bring sunscreen so I limited myself to 30 minutes of swimming bliss.
Swimming Bliss!
After forcing myself out of the water I strolled to Uncle Billy's on Ali'i Drive which was in the process of being transformed into the Rudy Project "hot corner" so I could have a long overdue visit with my cousin Paul (aka Emperor of Rudy) who is president and co-founder of Rudy Project USA.
Rudy Project Hot Corner at Uncle Billy's
Day 4:
Every year I am in Kona in October it is traditional for me to ride the Ironman bike course. If I'm racing this detail takes care of itself. When I'm not racing I have tackled it solo the day before the race. This year was a little different. I had signed up to volunteer at bike check-in on Friday, the day before the race, so I moved my ride up to Monday. I also found a sucker...I mean friend to do the ride with me. I rode the 5 miles down Ali'i Dr. from my condo into town to pick up my friend and team-mate Debbie Potts and we proceeded out onto the Queen K for a little jaunt to Hawi and back.
Views from the Queen K
I had logged mega mileage on my bike in the spring but had done no rides longer than about 65 miles since early summer. Despite this (and the fact I was riding with a stronger than me cyclist) I had no trepidation about what I had set out to do. We were blessed with some of the most benign wind conditions I have experienced on the climb to Hawi and the temperature was moderate, in fact we actually got a bit chilly riding through some little rain squalls a few miles out of Hawi.
Debbie
One cannot ride to Hawi without an obligatory stop at the coffee/ice cream shop before turning around and heading back down the hill.
L'Oiseau wants ice cream!
After yummy ice cream that tastes especially good when you've ridden for it we mounted up for the return trip. About 90 miles into our ride I have to admit the distance began to catch up with me and my legs were losing their pop on the climbs, we also hit that pesky headwind between Waikoloa and the airport that has been the undoing of many an athlete on race day. So even though I was having a great time I was happy to see the airport and the energy lab, markers that there are single digit miles to ride, lessening winds and no more climbing...except I forgot about that extra 5 miles I had to ride to get back to my condo =:-O! When I finally stopped my Garmin I had covered 118 miles at an average pace of 18.6 mph. Phew!
Ended the day with fish tacos, friends and a gorgeous sunset on my ocean front lanai.
Day 5:
The tuesday before the race is really the day that the Ironman action kicks into high gear. Most athletes are in town and the Parade of Nations marks the official opening of Ironman Village. It is also the day that the floating expresso bar from Coffees of Hawaii makes its first appearance. Nothing quite rivals a salty expresso savored while treading the waters of the Kailua Bay. I swam "halfway to halfway" on the IM course then took a detour for expresso on the way back to the pier.
Floating Expresso Bar
Day 6:
Wednesday started with a Mark Allen Online team swim (and another salty expresso).
Coach Luis gives MAO athletes tips on the swim course
Geez, they're acting like the water is cold! A bit rough today, but not cold.
Wednesday also brought some big wave action, some of the highest surf seen on the Island in many months.
Surf's Up!
After the swim, some of Team MAO regrouped at the Natural Energy Lab for the 5+ mile run back into town (specifically Starbucks :-)).
Coach Mark at the Energy Lab, camera always ready.
Team MAO readies themselves to run in the mid-day sun
Perfect ending to yet another perfect day was dinner at Huggo's with a group of people I had never met but felt like old friends from the social network "I Am Tri" 50+ Triathlete Group.
Day 7:
Wow, has a week gone by already? The seventh day began with the Mark Allen Online team breakfast and photo shoot. It is always great to get together with teammates, some that I've known for a while and some new friends. After plenty of good food and good conversation, Mark and Luis shared their wisdom with the group. I always get some pearls to treasure from these talks. Then it was a session of herding cats to get the team lined up for the photo shoot.
Cats herded successfully for a brief moment
After breakfast my Canadian friend Karen Bonham and I headed up island to Waimea for me to do my long run on my "rave run" route, the Mana Rd. I can easily imagine losing myself and running forever on this quiet rural road on the flank of Mauna Kea.
Rave Run
After my 10 mile run we headed to the end of the road north of Hawi and the Pololu Valley overlook. It would be really cool if there was a way to replace that first 10 mile loop of the IM bike course with going further north on 270 to Kapa'au, unfortunately it would trap the local residents in their homes to do so. We watched some outrageous rain squalls for a while then headed to Hapuna Beach for a magical sunset snorkel.
Pololu Valley
Squall on the water
Day 8:
The day before Ironman the chaos of Ali'i Drive begins to wind down. Energy is directed inward, a time for reflection and anticipation. I squeezed in one more swim from Dig Me Beach and one more stop at the floating expresso bar before beginning my two day volunteer stint. Today I was volunteering as an athlete escort at bike check-in. My job was to walk athletes through transition while they racked their bikes and dropped off their transition bags, explain the lay out of the transition area and answer any questions. My athletes ran the spectrum...from amateur to professional, from all corners of the world, from 20 years old to 80 years old, from first time ironman athlete to Louis Alvarez prepping to do his 79th. It was tons of fun having the privilege of spending ten minutes chatting with these amazing people poised on the brink of their big day.
A whole lot of bikes successfully tucked in for the night
'Twas the night before Ironman....
Race Day!:
I was up with the athletes but I had the luxury of lounging on my lanai with my mug of Kona coffee to watch the dawn. I eventually meandered my way to the water's edge to watch the drama of (what I consider) the most famous start in sport.
Pros are off with media chopper in tow
Canon blast sending off age group start
Age group athletes away!
I shifted my position to the sea wall when it came time to cheer in the last swimmers who were swimming their hearts out to beat the cutoff. It was really cool to see the water safety crew cheering them on, willing them to swim faster.
Water Safety crew encouraging swimmer to beat the cut-off
Water Safety crew celebrates the finish of another safely completed swim leg
Spectating done, it was time to get debriefed for my big job as bike catcher in T2. In this race athletes hand their bikes off to volunteers right at the dismount line so they can continue directly to gather their run gear while the volunteers rack the bikes for them. Let me tell you what...this is by far the most intense, most high effort and most fun volunteer job I have ever done. If you are used to racing, but cannot, this is the job you want! After catching an athlete's bike (often on the fly, at some speed) the goal is to recycle yourself as often as possible. So I sprinted my bikes to their place in the racks and sprinted back to catch another, often with just enough time to catch my breath...for five hours! I don't have any pictures of this but if you watch any video or TV coverage, keep an eye out for the bike catchers as the athletes come into T2 :-).
I left my bike catching post a little before the 5:30 bike cut-off to get my own bike to head out onto the Queen K and locate Coach Luis, who would be walking the marathon due to a calf injury. The plan was for me to keep an eye on him, talk him up if needed and relay his progress to his friends and family at the finish. Given that he was walking I was amazed at how far out on the Queen K he had gotten before I found him and luckily I found him just before it got too dark to tell people apart, about a mile shy of making the turn into the Energy Lab. He headed into the Energy Lab sounding very tired, a bit dejected but determined to finish. He emerged 3 miles later totally transformed...smiling and joking, having reached, in his words, "the acceptance phase".
What *really* happens in the Energy Lab?
Luis transformed and transcended to the astral plane of acceptance
Dad is an Ironman and a hero!
After seeing Luis across the finish line and through the post finish mosh pit, it was time to head to my last volunteer task of the day, finish line catcher from 10 PM until midnight. This is the time to be assigned to the finish line. The crowd is huge and pumped up! Every athlete feeds the enthusiasm and is, in turn, fed by it. Finish line catchers sometimes do just that - but mostly we escort the athletes from the finish line to the post finish athlete area, making sure they are going to be ok..and if they are not that they get handed off to medical. Shortly before midnight the finish line crew ran short of volunteers to lei the finishers and the woman in charge of the leis grabbed me by the arm and shifted me to that task. This change in duty had two rewards: I got to lei the great Harriet Anderson when she finished and I *had* to stay right at the finish line, rubbing elbows with the likes of Chrissie, Mirinda, Craig and the tireless Mike Reilly for the final countdown to midnight, a very exciting place to be!
I was one tired puppy at the end of the day! More wasted than I've ever been after racing the thing ;-).
Day 10:
Serious hangover from all the action the day before. Spent a lazy morning knocking around town, visiting with my cousin then a lazy afternoon hanging out at the beach reading and snorkeling. Got a VIP pass to the awards banquet where the highlight of the evening was witnessing Mike Reilly's induction to the Ironman Hall of Fame.
Day 11:
My Birthday! Another day of snorkeling bliss. Sunset Mai Tai's. Birthday dinner.
Happy Birthday to me!
Day 12:
Kona had nearly returned to its normal sleepy little town status. Only a smattering of athletes sighted. I started with a short, uncrowded swim from the pier. I had planned a swim across Kealakekua Bay to the Captain Cook monument and the amazing coral reef there but had failed to find someone to act as my water safety in a kayak. I decided to go out there to at least do some snorkeling but when I arrived I knew I was going to swim across and back solo. The water there is beautiful with >100 foot visibility, but it gets so deep that the bottom disappears. It was an outrageous feeling to be swimming out there alone, unable to see the bottom and, at times, unable to see any land between the swells. I felt very small but very safe. Round trip was probably around two miles. I had a little time to admire the reef before swimming back but there was a setting sun to race!
Day 13:
My last full day. I decided to spend it under the water, SCUBA diving for the first time in 30 years. I went for a 2 tank boat dive and it was my lucky day...I got to dive with dolphins!!!
Pod of dolphins approaches the boat
Let the show begin
Aloha Kona! I'll be back in 2012!
