Kona 9/30: T Minus 6 Days!

Hard to believe after waiting for three years that I'm actually in my Race Week!  My Ironman focus is now shifting to executing all the tasks necessary for getting to Thursday morning at 7:25am when the Big Dance begins for us dinosaur types.  I'll comment on today's events in a couple of minutes but here is the schedule ahead:

Saturday 10/1:  Kona Town Run (5k) with Judy and a 1,000 yard or so tune-up swim with Anders.

Sunday 10/2:  The 2.4-mile "practice swim" with Anders and a short (1-hour) ride with a bunch of ramp-ups

Monday 10/3: Rest day.  Parade of Nations.  Register and pick-up Transition bags, etc.  Evening Manta Ray Dive.

Tuesday 10/4:  Underpants Run. Short Ride/Short Swim.  Welcome Banquet.

Wednesday 10/5: Final short ride.  Optional short Swim.  Drop off bike and Transition stuff.

Thursday 10/6: My race

Saturday 10/8: Anders' race.

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Today, Anders and I got up early had some coffee and breakfast and prepared for our bike workouts.

We drove out to about 10 miles past the airport where Anders hopped out and started what would be a 65-mile or so round trip up to Hawi.  

I drove on to Kawaihae and jumped on my bike and rode back South to remind myself how much I don't like the climb back-up to the Queen K from Kawaihae.  The wind wasn't that bad but the sun was baking and it was already near 90 degrees at 8:15am.  

I turned around and rode back to Kawaihae and started the climb up to Hawi for the second time on this trip.  The conditions were very different from my earlier trip with a good 25+ mph headwind as I climbed the 11 miles of "stair-steps" up to the real climbing that starts about 7 miles out from Hawi.  Around here Anders caught me and we chatted a bit and then he went off to do his first Hawi climb.  I chugged along staying as close to my target watts (NP of 160-170 watts) as I could.  With the wind, I jumped up above 200 watts here and there but did a pretty good job of keeping it under control.  My new X-Lab bta works like a charm and I even had to stop to pee along the way as I did a pretty good job of hydrating.

As I neared Hawi Town itself I begin to hit a bunch of cross-gusts, that weren't too bad but I definitely had to pay attention.  I joined up with Anders in town and after a couple minute break we started the descent. 

Anders followed me down for the first 4-5 miles or so and there were more than a few times that gusts would move you a foot or so to the side.  I sat up mostly but still got up above 30 mph on several occasions.  It was a nervous descent for sure but no where near as bad as what I experienced back in 2014.  If that was a 10 then today was about a 7 or 8 and the descent earlier in the week was maybe a 2 or so.

I navigated the ride down to Kawaihae without any drama for a 40-mile round trip in around 2:20 or so.  I was quite conservative and felt great throughout.  I bought some refreshments at the market there and then hopped in the car and drove up past Wailkola where Anders met up with me and then transitioned into his running gear and set off for a 4-mile brick run back North into Wailoka.  

I scored him a DQ Misty freeze (lemon lime) and we met up near there and hopped back in the car and drove back to Kailua.  We grabbed some Subway and then basically chilled the rest of the day....

Anders felt great about the effort, a real confidence builder.  I also felt very good and basically decided to skip my planned swim and instead focused on resting and hydrating.  Judy later joined us as we stopped by the IM store and also saw our names on the big posters outside of the King Kam.  A rainbow appeared down by the bay which was very much in the spirit of an awesome day!

We grabbed some Thai food and are chillin' after watching a fantastic sunset where I even saw the "green flash".

Life is good.  It's such a privilege to be able to do this!  Onwards and Upwards!

Kona 9/29 part 2

 Late update….we went to Umekes because Kona Brewing was mobbed.  I had the best fish tacos of all time and Anders and I went crazy and even had a brew dog!  Hitting the sack early, Hawi tomorrow!  Onwards and upwards!

Kona 9/29

 One week to go!  I got up early and had a banana,  some toast and a cup of Kona's finest and watched a giant cruise ship pull into the waters in front of our house.

It was a beautiful morning and it really is easy to fall into the Island way of life!

However, I needed to get out and do my rather poor imitation of running and I went for a three mile run around the old airport runway and the little park that's there.  11:24/mile, which is unfortunately my Z2 cruise pace in the heat/humidity down here (which is way more noticeable when you run then when you eat a banana!).  I reflected on the fact that I will most likely only have 2 more runs on my left knee before it's replaced in November--I'm doing the 5k Kona town run on Saturday and of course, I hope to run at least a little bit in the Ironman next Thursday.  I've had a lot of great adventures with this old knee but it's definitely well past its "use by" date!

I went over to Bike Works and there was a line of folks almost out the door with their bikes looking for some help.  I was lucky enough to have a mechanic recognize me and he motioned me over to get my bike.  They had pulled the crankset off and cleaned and greased it and also straightened my rear derailleur and when I got back home and took it out for an easy hour spin, it was smooth as silk.  I think I finally have my trusty steed all dialed in--yea!

Kona weather was definitely back as it was blowing strong up on the Queen K--would have been a very long ride back from Kawaihae into that headwind if the race had been today!

I took Anders up to the Queen K and he did about an 11-mile run and upon returning jumped immediately into our pool.  Later, he went over to the Kona Aquatic Center and swam and I guess Joe Skipper and Heather Jackson as well as some folks he knows from Boulder were there as well.

I elected not to swim today and the plan tomorrow is for Anders and I to head north and he is going to do about 70 miles up to and down from Hawi and I'll do something in the 45-50 mile range round-trip with the Hawi climb/descent.  He's going to do a 40-minute brick run off of that bike and I'll play sherpa for him.  Later I plan to swim somewhere in the 2,100-2,500 yard range down in the Bay.

But for now, we are heading off to the Kona Brewing Company for some din-din (and no brews 😢)

Kona 9/28

Kona weather returned today.   Hot (91 degrees out by Waikola) and humid and a fair amount of wind out on the Queen K today.

Anders and I got up fairly early and he went for a 2.5-hour ride and I rode out the first 30 minutes to help familiarize him with the bike course as this was his first time riding here in Kona.  I felt pretty good and did 19.6 miles for my hour round trip.

Unfortunately, my bike began to creak quite a bit and I guessed, based on past experience, that I likely had an issue with my bottom bracket.  After the ride, I once again took my BMC over to Bike Works and after they closed I learned that the bike was ready to be picked up.  I'll get it in the morning and hopefully every thing is a go...I suspect all will be well.

I tested out my new hydration set-up and I'm very happy with in--it's a go for the race.  Here is a picture:

I have a new X-lab bta which is a major upgrade from my old Torhans solution.  It works very well as its easy to reach while I'm in the aerobars and also quite easy to fill from my two frame bottles.  I'm going to go with these three bottles on the bike to start and as the bta gets emptied refill from my frame bottles.   As the frame bottles are emptied, I'll pick-up replacements from the aid stations along the way.  I'm confident this will lead to more effective hydration on the ride.  The back bottle holder is for my "fake" bottle where I'll carry a bunch of my tubes/COs/inflator/tire iron stuff.  I'll also have a "bento-box" like set-up on my frame up above where it says TM01 for nutrition and electrolyte supplements.

We then went over to the pier and swam.  I once again did about 1,225 yards and again averaged above 2:00 minutes/100 (2:04).  I did swim a bit easier today, but I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm likely to swim in the 2:00-2:10+/100 yards range come race morning and so will be adjusting my race plan accordingly.  I'll post that plan in a few days...Kinda' a bummer as I thought I was ready to do 1:55/100 or perhaps even better,  but I think it's realistic given the consistency of my slow swims here....

In the afternoon I drove Anders out to Waikola for his Wyn Elite Racing Team photo shoot for their Kona product release.  It was a lot of fun and it was cool to meet Luke and Beth McKenzie.  No photos from the photo shoot until after the 10/3 release.  However, here are a bunch of photos from the days events:

With our good friend Midge Kerr who stopped by after her masters' swim at the Kona Aquatic Center which is right near us:

Kona 9/27

The weather has been interesting here as of late.  Yesterday was crazy nice and this morning was very mild as well.  I went down to the pier around 7:20am, which is about the time my wave will start on 10/6.  It was only 76 degrees and the swell was way down.  I did a shorter swim...about 1,250 yards and once again averaged 2:02/100...not great but maybe that's all my body will be able to do this year....time will tell but if so, I'll just have two deal with it.  I felt pretty good and hit the first 500 yards under 10 minutes....I guess there was current flowing south today...it's kinda strange because it seems to be different every day...

I have limited data, but the weather seems very different this year than I remember in years past (this could be a function of my memory of my times here 8-12 years ago).  Around noon each day the clouds/fog/vog flows over and down the volcanoes across the spine of the island and the intense sunshine seems to go away.  The heat feels less intense and today we even had some rain in town, which made things seem downright pleasant!   Last night we were actually a bit chilly (we sleep with windows open each night and over the last couple of days have generally kept the AC off to help facilitate acclimatization).  I would have gladly taken the weather either of the last two days for the race day weather...unfortunately, we don't have that choice.

After the swim I went over to the new Safeway and bumped into Sebastian Kienle doing his shopping.  I had my 2010 IM Euro Champs t-shirt on (IM Germany) which I think he got a kick out of.  We exchanged pleasantries....he seems as nice and humble in person as his public/professional persona is.  So fun for this old Age Grouper to see folks like him and Lionel and Magnus as you bop around town!

I then went out and did a couple hour ride on the Queen K and felt very good.  The wind was blowing more today, mostly a sidewind where I was, and I definitely had to concentrate to keep things under control.  Nothing too challenging but I definitely had to pay attention.

Judy and I went out for a brisk 3-mile walk near our house...tomorrow I have to convince my knee to allow me to run again!

Anders arrived around 3:30 (as did our friends Tim and Midge Kerr) and I picked him and his gear up and he joined us at our rental home here.  He went out for a 6.5-mile run and put his bike together--all good! We ordered some seafood bowls from Umekes and took some pics of the sunset.  Tomorrow he joins the Wyn Elite Racing Team for some type of photo shoot, which should be fun!

I also finished configuring my bike's hydration set-up.  I'll post some pics tomorrow.  Speaking of pics, here are some from today:

Kona 9/25

 Beautiful day here with relatively mild weather.  Seemed cooler with relatively little wind.  Rained in the pm during a short ride…we also had brunch at Lava Java…brought back memories!

The main task of the day was to have a better swim.  I put my tri suit under my swim skin to try out what I think I’ll do on race day day.  That seemed to work well.  I tried to up my stroke cadence as in my wetsuit I tend to have a longer stroke with a bit of glide.  Without the wetsuit I felt I was probably bobbing up and down a bit.  On Saturday I only managed 31 spm but today was up to 35 spm.  This seemed to help.

Still nothing to write home about but I did manage to average 2:03/100 for 2100 yards.  My target is 1:55-2:00 for the race so at least I’m in the ball park:

I worked on my bike and got it mostly set up for the race….still experimenting a bit but I think I’m just going to go with my bta and two frame bottles for hydration.  I have enough other options for spare tubes, co2, nutrition, etc.  I’ll post a picture once I lock it down.  Took the bike out for a quick (21mph) hour spin.  

Spent most of the day chilling (and shaving my legs, etc.). Anders arrives tomorrow!

Kona: 9/23-9/24

 A post to update you on the last two days in Kona.

Yesterday (Saturday the 23rd), we again went down to the pier for a tune-up swim.  This time I decided to run down to the pier in my speedo....I know when you take the Underpants Run Pledge you promise not to do that, but it's been 8-years since my last UPR and I think there is a 7-year statute of limitations so I thought I'd get it in before this years UPR....

Anyways, for the second consecutive day I swam out to about even with the Sheraton, which is about 2,200-2,300 yards in total.  Aldo for the second consecutive day I had a depressingly slow swim.  Well off what I'm capable of....for the moment I'm going to chalk it up to the full-day of travel on Thursday and the big time zone change (plus, I was pretty dehydrated in retrospect).  I decided to take today off swim-wise and I'll be looking for a much better swim tomorrow....

One highlight of the swim was that I exited the water about the same time as the "Danish Hit Squad" and Judy took a selfie with Magnus Ditlev, who has to be one of the nicest guys in the world....

Both Anders and I think he has a real shot at the title this year.  Since this is his first Kona (and he is just 24) he will have that working against him, but I think he's the real deal and with his great results at Roth and PTO Dallas, he is obviously in great form.

I ran back from my crappy swim and got my BMC out for another couple hour shake-out ride on the Queen K and I shifted my front derailleur as I rolled out of our driveway and I heard a "pop" and my shifter stopped working.  Snapped-cable, end of ride about 8 feet into it.  

Luckily, I was able to take it over to Kona Bikeworks and they quickly put it back into top-notch working order.  I was even able to get out for a 75-minute spin as the sun was going down.  I felt really good on the bike as I think I had addressed the dehydration issue (btw, it is still hot and humid here in case you are wondering).

Last night, we walked out on the lava in front of our house and took a bunch of pictures as the sun was setting:

We went to Umekes for some "bowls" and crashed by 9....

The morning, I left the house around 7am and drove the 35+ miles north to the town of Kawaihae and parked my car at the market there at the bottom of the road to Hawi.  I then rode the 18 or so miles up to Hawi and back. The 7-mile or so climb and descent adjacent to Hawi Town were quite mellow this morning.  I had virtually no wind until the last 3 or so miles and I was able to ride the descent without the usual white-knuckle side-winds that are typical there.  I've probably done this ride 10 or so times through the years and this morning was probably the easiest.  Anyways, I cruised along at an overall average of about 17 mph, which is reasonable, I think given the 1,600+ feet of climbing and the modest wattage I put into it....I'd love for race day to be this mellow!

On the way back I saw Lionel Saunders cruising south towards Waikola and gave him a shout out.  As an aside, I think LS is also one of the all-time great dudes and I would love nothing more than to see him grab the crown on the 8th....going be hard to do with the Bergen Boys toeing the but I would really love to see that!

Really happy with the ride and I'm looking forward to laying down a more normal swim tomorrow!  Onwards and Upwards!