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: