Lavaman, Waikoloa, Hawaii. March 28, 2010

OK, Andy, I'm sitting on a plane and have some time to write a few race reports. I am going to enter them into the blog separately just to make it easier to find should someone be contemplating the race and wants to search the blog for possible entries...

Lavaman, Waikoloa, Hawaii. March 28, 2010
This is a very nice Olympic distance race that often coincides (though not always) with the Los Alamos schools' spring break, so for all of you parents thinking about a Big Island vacation, I highly recommend this race. It is held on a Sunday, and there is a kids race the Saturday morning prior such that you can get the whole family involved. It's also nice for those of you intrigued by the Ironman World Championship videos of riding along the Queen K highway in the wind and lava – most of the Lavaman bike course is along a portion of that same course. One more important planning note: Bike Works Hawaii rents high-end tri bikes, so no need to lug yours over on the airplane. It's something like a 3-day minimum rental period around Lavaman, but training rides early in the morning before the rest of the family gets up is a great way to spend part of your vacation.

The race is put on by the WTC (you know, the Ironman guys), so they know what they're doing. Even down to the India ink block-number body marking in the morning, although that actually took a while so people who showed up last minute started to worry about actually getting to the starting line on time. Timing chip pickup is on race morning as well. Registration is Saturday afternoon at the Hilton Waikoloa. The race starts at a civilized 7:30, and there were 5 waves: elite, young guys, old guys, young girls, old girls. This is a huge Team in Training destination race, so never feel like you will be last one finishing – there are plenty of people to pass along the way. The swim is in the ocean so the visibility is quite nice, and the buoyancy from the saltwater compensates for the fact that it is typically not wetsuit legal (last year it was actually cool enough to be legal, though very few people wore one). And you get the bonus of seeing coral, colorful fish, and occasionally a turtle swimming by. I got lucky this year, and ended up following a woman wearing those goofy white compression socks who swam just about the same speed as me, and more importantly, in a straight line. My need to try to sight buoys was thereby greatly minimized which helped a lot. It's a decent little run from the beach to your bike, but not too bad. The bike course is well marked and straightforward. There are definitely some rollers, and the wind seems to be squirrelly, but that's part of racing in Hawaii, I think. The road surface is good, and it has a nice wide shoulder.

Back into transition for the run and here's where it gets a little more challenging. You run out on a brief rocky lava trail and then onto black top. Easy to follow but the footing on that first trail makes you pay attention. The run loops around the Waikoloa Beach Village area and then enters the Hilton property. Here you run by their golf course, lagoon, and swimming pools, and get cheered on by your luxuriating family, too busy having fun in the water to really come watch you race (at least, this is what Dan and the boys have done every year, but who can blame them?!). Then the really tough part, but much more fun – you run the last mile on a sandy, rocky trail right along the ocean side back to A' Bay and the finish line. It is a really nice little stretch, but loose footing at the end of a race is always a challenge.

I have done this race at least three times now, coming in second in my age group for the first two, and finally winning the AG this year. They have very nice lava-based ceramic awards for the top three in each age group, and an EXCELLENT post-race beach party for all. Kona Brewing Company is one of the title sponsors so free beer flows along with live music and a good buffet, all right at the beach park. Need I say more?