The "Here We Are In Kona" Thread
I'm sitting here in Lava Java with my iPad reading Mike G saying he's living vicariously thru our reports from the Big Isle. So here's a thread where we can share the magic of the dream at the Big Dance.
Anybody know how to attach a photo to a post via the iPad? Here's my attempt:
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Meanwhile, on the quiet end of Alii a few miles from Lava Java:
Rode about 60' as a short out-and-back from the airport North on the Queen K, and then a quick (as in 'brief', not 'fast') 30' run just south of the Energy Lab. Rode north into the wind for most of the FT work in the session, and then had a fast return with the tailwind at race watts. Tried to practice really getting my head 'turtled / Yvonne Von Vlerken'ed' ... I would like to maintain that head position for at least the ride out to the Hawi split, and for as much time as possible on the return from Hawi to the Veteran Cemetary.
I went through 2 litres of water and could have drank more. The run was another learning experience, going by HR and RPE first, and looking at pace as an afterthought. Two German guys efficiently passed me on the run like I was standing still (I was at sloppy z4 / TP effort).
A lot of riders and runners along the highway, all on 10-gadzillion dollar machines and with 2 percent body fat. Many are motorpacing. I'm amazed, though, at how friendly everyone is this week: I have yet to have another rider / runner fail to wave and say hi when we're passing. This will probably pass once the prerace nerves kick up, but it's a nice vibe that I haven't really experienced at large races for a while.
I'm still trying to maximize heat and humidity adaptations - the drive to, from, and admin-ing the session were with the windows up, heat on, in the car, and I've been living AC free in the hotel with the doors wide open 24/7. I tried to get away from Alii this afternoon to have a mentally quiet day, catch up on some work, take a nap, and do some mechanical tweaks on the bike.
Off to have a Yum Gai salad at a nearby thai place, then early to bed for a 6am Facetime meeting. I'm going to make sure the ocean and rocks are the backdrop to punish my coworker for making me get up so early.
Tomorrow will be an early-ish swim at the race start, then another run from Kona Commons along the Queen K south, and back. Then, off to Walmart / Target to make up arrival 'gift bags' for family and SO coming in on the weekend. Contents: leis, macadamias, ukeleles for guitarist brother & his son, $3.99 grass skirts fo' the ladies, and bottles of purel for all. Anything else I should add?
@ Al - Thanks for the tread. I always enjoy the stories leading up to and around the big race.
@Dave - I found that amusing about showing your co-workers that ocean background. Nice job with the welcome packages for the family and SO. The only other suggestion for the coffee drinkers is perhaps some Kona coffee or perhaps $5 card from lava java.
Gordon
I still haven't figured out how to get photos from iPad into EN forum ... so I'm posting them to my FB page, and into my daily blog from the Big Isle, should be ready by the time East Coast wakes; also more details there on today's activities.
Today the weather turned ... no more haze, the trade winds hit, so more sun, more heat in the PM, even a little wind on my ride up to Hawi. I drove to Kawaihae, parked at the Farmer's Market (and gratefully bought a soda, and a pineapple when I got back), and hit the 18+ mi trip up to Hawi. I was looking to lock in a positive attitude towards this section of the course; the downhill from the top, and the rollers after have been a bugbeasr for me in the past, I just dont like the feel of going down with winds swirling, and then you hit the heat and a seemingly endless series of rollers in the bottom ten miles, which is not a good way to start the trip back to Kona.
But good news: half the road has been NEWLY paved, so all the old rumble strip, narrow shoulder, and moth eaten surface is now like black glass. I flew up and down the rollers, and used the anticipation of that to get thru the scary winds and downhill, only ten minutes worth. This up and down represents about a third of the bike course, and I made it today in 2:03, surely a good sign, and faster than I;ve ever done it before. I'm going to hit it twice more before race day, to exorcise all the bad thoughts i have about this section for good.
Cool on the new road surface
Still livin' the dream ... I swam in some big swells mid-morning and tested the swimskin ...leaving me two large hickey-esque abrasions on both sides of my neck. I think the marquee crowd comes and goes from the beach between 6 and 10am, because there were very very few triathletes left by the time I arrived. Tourists from a monster cruise ship: many. Triathletes: not so much. Members of these two groups are very easy to tell apart.
Ran mid-afternoon from Kona Commons, just off the Queen K, and most of the session was an out and back in the area around the 17-19 mile marks of the course. I am now getting a better appreciation and respect for the impact of the sun along the Queen K, and just how punishingly rolling the highway is. Finshed off the run at the Dairy Queen and spent every gram (for my US mates - ounce) of discipline forgoing an extra large skor blizzard as a 'recovery meal.' Joked with two Brazillian triathletes about how much we hate being triathletes when there's a Dairy Queen in the picture. The Blizzard really brings cultures together.
Tomorrow will be focussed on drafting out a race plan, and a 75' run on course. It's my intention to take this by HR and RPE, observe observe observe, and review pace later in WKO. So far, I'm seeing an erosion of about 15 seconds / mile on my EP in the post-game analysis, but there are now so many moving parts that I'm not going to get preoccupied with trying to hit paces or run to a certain number. I'll be particularly interested to see how far north the HR drifts over the hour, though.
Nice ahi sushi for dinner that must have had 9 pounds of meat tramped into a single roll. A beer with it would have been very very very nice. I'm finding that I'm hungry all the time and keeping calories and intake in check is very challenging. Gotta come back here for an eatin' vacation some day.
Great thread guys. Sitting in my office living vicariously through you, dreaming of what one day might be.... Thanks!
@ Dave - I'll be moving everything forward a day, as the race is on Sat, not Sun, as assumed by The Plan. So I will do a 3 hour ride tomorrow, Friday (Waikoloa to Hawi and back), then a shorter ride on Sat, and swim the full course on Sunday. Run today for 75 min out on Queen K
Some photos, and report on the Kaiwaihae/Hawi ride: http://bikrutz.org/triblog/
Great posts from everyone. Keep them coming!
@ Carol - remember, this pic was taken @ sunSET. In the morning, the water has been like glass. Also, the swim course is set up outside of the waves, so while there are swells at times, nothing which breaks.
As to the winds - being aware of where and how it hits is half the battle; also, being willing to get up out of the aerobars when needed is a key for me. A lot of things about the course here require large doses of patience and humility.
With that succinct sentence, Al, you've given me my race strategy.
Quick shower and transition, and then a drive to the parking lot at the top of Palani Road to run an easy 45 minute out-and back on the Queen K. Do you ever have one of those days where you know it's just going to be a sucky run from the first step? Well, I knew. The oddest part was I actually bailed - I can't think of the last time I did that - and after those first steps, blew off the session altogether. I've run every day of the last 6 that I've been on the island, on course, at the hottest and most inhospitable times of the day, so I was 100% ok with the decision.
Walked back to the car, and saw I had goose bumps. It was 80 degrees out with 67% humidity and I had goose bumps! I must be getting acclimitized - this is good!
Carried a bit of shame packing in a run after 1 minute, particularly in front of a large audience of triathletes sitting on the patio at Starbucks. I waved and smiled and told them I'd live to die another day. Every one of them had legs that said "we've not missed a run since 1981; after our coffees we're going to to hill repeats on Palani because we can."
So i'm hungry. I walk to the plaza nearby, and see a group of 5-6 Team Abu Dhabi athletes going into the self-serve Yogurt place and come out with troughs of delicious-looking treats. Faris isn't with them, but it's still a good enough arguement to hit the self-serve HARD.
Then, off to Killer Taco (near Bicycle Works) for a feed. Despite being in an industrial park, this place gets rave reviews on foodie websites, and it stands up to its reputation. A bit off the beaten tourist path, but it's well worth the detour if you're on the way to Target.
Did some more groceries, bought more treats for my support crew who will be coming in over the next few days, and drove the Alii Drive part of the run course on the return to Keauho. I've run most of it in bits and bites, but I still can't get my mind around just how many climbs on that stretch are serious, and how many are non-starters. I might schedule a run recon along the entire Alli sectino to get a contiguous understanding of the flow. Despite being on it as my main route to and from town, I just can't get my mind around it as a run course.
Tomorrow will be a longer bike / run along the Queen K, and the weather promises clear skies and 10mph winds from the west while I'm out, so this will be a good opportunity to see some further variations of conditions along the course. I will probably start this from Moana Kea Resort, partially up to Hawi, and then into the headwinds on the return ... these really demoralized and challenged me in the RR last week, and I want to take another run at them, perhaps with a new steady IF of 200 instead of 203 watts, and see what happens. I also want to try to ride with adequate hydration this time around. The run will just be race pace in the heat and sun. I'm expecting that there will be a lot of riders on the hwy as well, and this will be a good opportunity to start practicing an internal focus and staying on task. Lots of great toys and intimidating paces out there, and I'm ok to sightsee these right now, but they'll really get into my head on race day.
I've been reading the daily reports I wrote the first time I was here, in 2006, 3 years before joining EN. Paula Newby Fraser spoke at the pre-race dinner. Here's what I learned from her that evening, apparently: (emphasis added)
...I've learned that when it comes to mental approach and race strategy, as well in depth understanding of the race itself and what athletes go through, she has no peer. She articulated in a very personal way the essence of what I feel is the key to success in an Ironman. After briefly acknowledging that training, pacing, nutrition, and hydration are all important, she went on to what she felt was the final lesson she had learned on the big island - letting go of any thoughts or plans for objective outcome in the race, meaning time or placing. Humility, suppression of emotion, and attention to moment-to-moment detail, coupled with an underlying passion (which is best understood as understanding of and commitment to your fundamental reason for being there, not emotion) are the final keys to success. I believe I have learned this lesson at last in my last two races, and am ready to see it all come together here. There may be a stage beyond this, but, hey she's won more times at Kona, and more races overall, than anyone else, and if this is the final place she's come to, who am I to argue, or look further at this point?
Here's an excerpt from my blog post about yesterday's 3 hour ride:
Whatever karma I got from moving my car and showing my gratitude by overpaying for a pineapple was clearly gone the the time I returned, two days later. My intent was to ride from Waikoloa (@ MP 76) down to Kawaihae (MP 67.5, then starts a new set of MPs, from 1.5 to 3.5 before the turn up to Hawi), then on up to Hawi, flip it at MP 21, and return. This would be close to 60 miles, and doing it in 3:10 would be a good sign for race day.
I was making great progress down through the dreaded winds from Hawi, and across the sauna bake of the lower rollers. I was steeling myself for the trip up out of Kawaihae. Besides the bad road, the climb goes from sea level @ the port to 280 feet two miles later – a climb which one is simply not expecting, after all the work through the hills on the road to Hawi. It just doesn’t seem fair, and many folks try to hammer up, crushing their legs when they’ve got the winds and further climbs out on the Queen K in the final 34 miles awaiting. I determined to take it easy – avoid the gravel, glass, and metal bits on the shoulder, easily pedal up to the right turn ahead, when I noticed my rear wheel sliding around. Curses, unrepeatable here.
There’s a tiny little National Park at this spot.. In 1790, King Kamehamea built a heiau on the bluff over looking the ocean here. It’s basically just a big rectangular pile of rocks, but it apparently served as a giant alter from which he could seek support of the gods on his qwest to conquer the other islands. It must have worked, as a few years later, he had consolidated the chain, thus making things much easier for the Americans when they came in 40 years later and took over the place – just one guy to intimidate, not a whole series of tribes.
Anyway, I found a small shady spot in the deserted parking lot, changed my tube (cursing quietly all the while), and took off back up the hill, at the same measured pace. The next few miles on the Queen K replicate the rollers, and is also the place where the cramps hit me big time in 2009. My inner thighs turned to stone, and I felt as if I could not stamp on the pedals without literally breaking my abductor muscles. Bad memories here.
To which I can add – a second flat, in the front wheel. Since I was now about 6-7 miles out from the car, and I would have had to try and patch the tube, I just rode on in on the flat. The tube balled up inside, causing a “thump … thump … thump” every time it made a revolution and hit the swollen spot.
Aloha, ladies! Today I biked the first section of the course, out past the airport and back, inlcuding the in-town admin loops. This afternoon, 30-40 minute run from my condo (@ MP 1 on Ali'i) up to Makala & Queen K ("Mark and Dave hill") and back. Then, tomorrow, I'll be @ the pier @ 7 AM, intending to due a full race rehearsal swim to the final buoy and back. Keep in touch.
Just saw this on the wall in my condo (which is odd, cause I've stayed here - same room - three times now for a total of maybe 5 weeks), a little poster with Hawaiian words for each of the letters in "Aloha":
A = kindness
L = unity
O= agreeable
H stands for ha'aha'a, meaning HUMILITY, to be expressed with modesty and
A stands for ahonu'i, meaning PATIENCE, to be expressed perseverance.
Al et al.
One of the neat things about the big island, is the sense of Hawaiian history and all the neat historcial sites. Prbobably more so than any of the other islands.
We ate at Bite Me seafood at the Marina tonight. Legendary meal.
Here's my "star sighting" story for this year's race:
Yesterday, I stopped at the expo, and spent some time talking @ the Profile Design booth with the woman who fitted me for my TT bike - which I still ride on - 13 years ago. She worked for QUnitana Roo back then. She asked me to bring it by, so she could see it. This AM, I went there, and decided I wanted to talk about aero bars, extensions, etc, as my pruchase for next year. She handed me off to a lean, tallish guy in his fifties with a goatee. After a minute, she called him "my former boss", which made him - Dan Empfield. So I got a 10 minute discussion with Slowman about aerobars, pads, extension, base bars, angles, heights, etc etc. The very guy whose article about this subject is sitting on my computer, reminding me to look into making the purchase when the dust settles this winter. And the guy who kind of invented triathlon bike geometry and fitting back in the early 90s, after sort of inventing the triathlon wetsuit. And oh, by the way, the head honcho @ Slowtwitch, although I don't go there any more. Very cool.
-I was stopped by John and Ginger Cobb on the street yesterday walking my bike to the expo ... they thanked me for being a Cobb user (I have John Cobb forks, bars, and a saddle going on my bike. No lie: I was starstruck meeting the guy.)
-this morning, met Crissie Wellington at the Swim start just after the Underpants Run!
I would love to have the energy to get out there - there are so many legends out and about.