Kona Ironman week

FordIronmanWorldChampionship – it's all one word you know – at least that’s the way it sounds whenever you hear it mentioned.

Dan and I were both racing together again this year. The plan was to actually enjoy the experience together (I was way too crabby during last year's race to make it fun for either of us). Our youngest, Ben, joined us for the trip, although the two older kids got to stay home with my visiting mom (what a terrific person she is).

We met some friends in Honolulu who are now on their third year of spectating on Tuesday, and all made it to Kona just in time for Ben to compete in the Keiki Dip n Dash. (I was going to try to put photos into this blog as well, but think I will go for the wordy version here and you can go to the Triatomics Photos link for commented pictures).

They do a nice job of keeping the kids organized and safe in the water, and Mike Reilly (the IM announcer) leads the runners on a Vespa. Medals were given to all kids – handed out by Paula Newby Fraser and Michellie Jones – the kids couldn't have cared less, but I thought it was cool.

Just like previous years, Dan and I would go out in the morning for a swim along part of the course. Gatorade was not a sponsor this year, and PowerBar Perform drink took its place, including at the gear drop for your morning swim. What a great service – being able to leave your stuff at the pier while you swim without having to worry about it. The scariest part is that the morning swims were simply out and backs, and there were so many people in the water, there was a decent chance of swimming into someone if you weren't careful.

We spent some time snorkeling every day. One day we rented kayaks and paddled the one mile over to Captain Cook's Monument for some excellent snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay. Where we also found Faris Al-Sultan (the 2005 IM champion) and some friends getting ready to SWIM back to our starting point. That's one way to avoid the morning swim crowd, I guess.

There's been a twist this year that a number of people were not ready for (even up until race morning) – WTC and USAT have different rules pertaining to swim skins. Acceptable USAT suits are not necessarily acceptable for WTC, which now requires ONLY fabric (my old speed skin has a slight neoprene portion to it). Luckily for me, suppliers of TriSports.com very generously provided its Kona athletes new helmets and new speed skins, so I was set with the new TYR Torque Pro. We thought Dan's would be OK, but when we checked in with Zoot, they said no, so Dan was faced with swimming in just his tri shorts, and then pulling on his jersey over his wet body afterwards (or buying a new skin – but it's tough to swallow that price tag for essentially a single race).

We also went for bike rides and runs every day, although they were rather short. My new Louis Garneau Superleggera helmet is really cool – literally. It's one of those dimpled aero bullets, but the styrofoam is only around your head, not filling the entire aero void (like our original LG from a number of years ago), and it has some great vent holes, which were terrific not only for the wind, but also for being able to dump water through to further cool my boiling head mid-race. I had just received this new stuff at Elephant Man, so although the smart advice is don't use anything new race day, I'm sure glad I did.

Thursday morning is the annual Underpants Run. It was started 13+ years ago as a way to spoof all of the Europeans who are quite comfortable walking around in their Speedos and nothing else all day. It has grown and grown each year. Multiple hundreds of people participated this year, and outlandish undies were everywhere. Ben chose to wear his conservative Bear Bum boxers although white briefs are the standard. They sell T-shorts to commemorate the event and all proceeds go to West Hawaii Special Olympics. It was a hoot.

Friday was gear drop day. You get multiple colored / labeled bags – one each for Bike Gear, Run Gear, Pre-Swim Gear (morning dry clothes), Run Special Needs, Bike Special Needs. We dropped stuff off, and saw Julie Dibens getting ready to drop off her gear. We did not have as much pro-spotting this year as we have seen in the past – don't know why (although Kate Major was on our flight back to the mainland). As you enter transition, there are a large number of people with clipboards lining the entrance chute – I am guessing they are company reps doing gear counts. You get a personal volunteer tour guide as you take all of your stuff into the transition area. They literally take you by the arm and walk you all the way through, going over the route you will take during the race. The day was now ours, so it was off to the City of Refuge for some more excellent snorkeling – this time while a pod of dolphins swam around us during their mid-day snooze.

Saturday 10/09/10 – Race Day.

Big news in the morning - Chrissie Wellington had dropped out due to illness. We had a bit more of a n understanding of that than we would have liked. A few days earlier, Ben had learned the term “praying to the porcelain god” as he hurled multiple times. And the following day Dan had been fairly under the weather with an upset stomach as well. I am guessing that I did not get sick less to my iron stomach, than to my lack of grazing at a local farm co-op earlier in the week. Ben seemed to be free and clear after 24 hours, but Dan was still not feeling great come Saturday.

We were up and out early, having dropped Ben with our friends well before the crack of dawn. Body marking is a serious endeavor there, with all of the block numbers and the India ink. You are not allowed access to your gear bags, but you can get to your bike to pump tires, add your nutrition holders, etc. We hung out together and then finally I needed one more critical bathroom stop so we parted ways and I went off to find the shortest line possible. Afterwards I still had time left over to wait but couldn't find Dan, so back to transition to quietly hang out when I ran into a TriSports.com teammate Karin Bivens, who we had spent part of race morning with last year. Her husband was a volunteer in the gear area, and told us how people were still wearing illegal swim skins, and were being told last minute to take them off or be DQ'd. (He had just taken one guy's suit to his gear bag). I'd love to know how that all played out in the end...

The pros go off half an hour earlier than the age groupers. I tried to postpone the inevitable and didn't get in the water till 5-10 minutes to go. I hung towards the back a bit, trying to strategically avoid the combat swimming I encountered last year. And who do I see treading water in front of me but Dan! Of course, we soon went our separate ways again but it was nice to see a friendly face before the cannon went off. I was pleased with my “don't get caught in the fray” idea, as the swim was much more pleasant, yet still strenuous, and there were still enough people around me the entire time that I did NOT have to worry about sighting, which I have had issues with in the past. And only one serious elbow to the forehead clobber (OK, I don't know how it could have been an elbow, but something really hard smacked me right in the middle above my goggles). I was pleased, that is, till I saw my time when I got out. I thought I should have been faster. Oh well. At least the speed skin worked out really well, and is truly a neat piece of swim gear – even if I will only use it once or twice a year.

Out on the bike, it was fun. I saw Dan and was able to yell to him after the turn around on Kuakini before we headed out of town, and got a big yell from Ben and our friends as I headed up Palani at the Sack n Save hill - always a welcome treat during a race. The wind and the heat really weren't too bad, until we went around a bend up the long hill toward Hawi. Then it was spectacular Hawai'i wind and I worried about getting blown off my bike. Lots of leaning sideways, and almost being blown into the center line simply because you couldn't keep it on a straight course – you know, all of the classic stuff. I felt pretty good till the last bit home – it just becomes a really long ride. 112 miles will do that to you.

Onto the run, thinking that perhaps I had conserved enough energy at least to not blowup on the run like I did last year. And where was Dan? I had seen him after the Hawi turnaround, but he was still behind me – a very unlikely position for him to be in. I saw Ben and friends at our condo on Ali'i Drive about 2-3 miles into the run, which was great. The whole run along Ali'i was actually going pretty well for me, and feeling pretty good, although I knew there were quite a few people in my age group already well ahead of me. With so many already in front of me, I figured it would be great to be able to run with Dan, enjoy the experience, and overall have a nice race. Then I saw him after the Ali'i turn around and he was not a happy camper and was encouraging me to go ahead rather than wait for him. Which I did. Still feeling good, I again pass Ben, but then I hit the little Palani hill. Three years ago, I remember this as a welcome break from the flat course and a nice way to stretch my legs. Not so this year. I felt like I slowed to a crawl, and could not get it back once I got up onto the Queen K Highway. The death run now took over and the world's longest 10k out to the Energy Lab ensued. Finally downhill into the Energy Lab and a grab at my Run Special Needs bag (some Gus and Enervitene) helped. Kept looking for Dan, having expected him to have come along and passed me miles ago. Finally found him heading down as I was heading back up and out. He did not want to run with me, and had been visiting all portajohns possible along the route. BUMMER. Ford sponsors an Inspiration Station around this point, where family members can leave their athlete a 25 character message that gets flashed up on a Jumbotron screen for you to read as you pass by. We always try to make each other laugh, or at least cheer up. Ben had submitted something from earlier in the trip that totally cracked me up, and with the B-52's “Love Shack” blaring in the background as I ran through, I have to admit that I was inspired and totally picked up my pace. And I had a very strong last 10k. Of course, that's what I felt like, and that's what the various people I passed said (“ooo, nice pace,” etc), but the 9:12s that I clocked out on my watch certainly told the real story. Well, at least I was back to being consistent and not feeling like I was dying and when will this thing ever end? As usual, sunset came way too early, and I was way too far out on the Queen K to be happy about it, but I once again dodged the glow-stick bullet, and did not need one before I got back into town. That last half mile up Ali'i truly is a cool one, but someday I'd like to feel good enough to really enjoy it – at that point I mostly just wanted to be done.

I waited for Dan at the finish, but he was much longer than expected, poor guy. Turns out his heart rate monitor stopped working on the bike so he could only go by perceived exertion; he had been unable to really eat anything on the bike; and was down to only taking on water by the run. Never do a Hawai'i Ironman without nutrition – it's really hard.