Kona 10/13: Staying a bit longer than expected!

We said goodbye to Anders on Monday evening after getting to hang out for almost two weeks--what a treat!  While it's always sad to say good bye, I'm sure he was happy to leave the heat and humidity here.  It's difficult for us Christoffersons to race in the conditions here.  That's been evident to both of us for quite a while.  I for one am glad I won't do another Ironman here (or anywhere for the matter).  I suspect Anders wouldn't be heart-broken if he didn't race here again, but he has a long road in front of him so who knows?

After Anders left, we began to turn our attention to returning back East.  I was taking it mostly easy but I did notice that my throat was a bit sore (Saturday night/Sunday morning), which I attributed to post-race physical stress and the long, hot day out watching Anders on Saturday.

I still felt pretty good and in fact met up with Midge Kerr and we swam out to the King's buoy and back and then I hiked for 90+ minutes on Tuesday afternoon.

We had dinner at the Kerr's beautiful home up on the side of the volcano overlooking Kailua on Tuesday night and I noticed I felt pretty sore in my shoulders, which was surprising given that we only swam about 2,300 yards.  That night I had a lot of trouble sleeping and finally took some Advil as my body was achey.

Early Wednesday (about 4 or 5am) Judy and I decided we should test for Covid given my symptoms and  we were scheduled to fly out Thursday night.  She tested negative but sure enough, I tested positive.  I wasn't really that surprised given how I felt.  I texted Midge and she tested and found out she was positive as well (later we would find out that lots of folks who raced or volunteered have now tested positive).  It appears that Kona 2022 was something of a "super-spreader" event.

I donned my mask and drove over to Urgent Care.  I tested positive with one of those tests where they scrape your brain (or so it seems!).  They checked me out and everything seemed fine (99% blood sat, no fever, clear lungs, etc.)  They prescribed Paxlovid and Judy picked it up at Target as well as a bunch of vitamins (Judy should be granted sainthood as she had to do all of this on her birthday and basically has been taking care of Anders and I for 2+ weeks!).

The doc told us that the current versions of CoVid on the Island were relatively mild and given my mild symptoms and my vaccinations, she thought I would be fine.  She cleared us to fly on Friday (Day 5 or 6 for me), but we decided to fly out this coming Saturday to be on the safe side.  I feel pretty much back to normal today--no fever nor body aches, and very limited nasal itchiness.  I don't know if its the 9 Paxlovid pills I've swallowed, my 5 vaccinations, a mild CoVid strain, or just good fortune, but it seems like my first brush with CoVid will be relatively easy.

I wonder where and when I "got it".  It's impossible to know of course.  I may even had the early stages of it prior or during my race.  I do remember being surprised at how profusely I was sweating at the beginning of the run leg.  I'm not citing this as an excuse and probably the more logical reason for my DNF was my relative inability to deal well with heat/humidity but there is a chance I was impacted by the virus last Thursday....

Anyways, I'm taking it really easy and I might even go out for a short and easy stroll this afternoon.  I already packed up my bike so as to not be tempted to hop on that!

Onwards and Upwards!

Kona 10/10: Anders is now a Kona Ironman! And the Joe Skipper Beer Mile!

Quick update on Anders and then a report on the Joe Skipper Beer Mile. 

First off, we are so, so proud of Anders!

He had a very good swim at 63 and change.  Then he followed that up with a 5:07 (on his Garmin) bike that he said was very conservative.  He felt great leaving T2.  He had been very aggressive at hydrating and taking care of himself on the bike.  He left T2 with a realistic shot at sub 10.

His early run miles were nice and conservative and when we saw him at Palani he was running well but we could see the physical stress etched on his face.  He made good progress until the Energy Lab and then a 26 minute/mile split.  Turned out he was throwing up (a lot) in a bit of a repeat of my experience on Thursday.  The Christofferson inability to handle heat was coming to the fore once again.

Long story short, he was forced to walk a lot and had several more episodes of throwing up.  Somehow he kept it together and persevered to finish his first Kona in just over 11:30.

Since, imo he's in sub 9 shape (not at Kona but at a cooler race) this is not what he was looking for but it was a tremendous display of grit!  

He was whisked off to the medical tent (like father, like son) and was down 12 pounds.  After an IV (and then some pizza and fries from Target) he started the road to recovery and is feeling a lot better today (and no doubt glad he toughed it out!)

This morning, we bumped into Colin and Mikal (Judy took a selfie) at the Ironman merch tent and then went to Lava Java for lunch:

And then we saw that Joe Skipper sent out an open invite for the Kona Beer Mile at the old airport, which is about a half mile from here.  We rode over two watch and I served as the official timer.  About 20 guys participated and Joe finished 3rd.  The winner did 7:09 and Joe was a few seconds behind (in fairness, the course was probably a 100 meters long):

Off to Huggos tonight.  A more detailed set of race reports in a day or two!

Onwards and Upwards....

Kona--post race: DNF

Quick update, I'll post a longer version over the next couple of days.  I pretty much had the swim/bike I had planned on (at least time wise).  85 and change on the swim and 6:50ish on the bike.  A bit longer on my transitions but I was focused on trying to hydrate so pretty much on plan.

It was very difficult on the bike after the first 7 miles coming down from Kawaihae to Hawi.  I was later in the day (7:25am start) and it was very hot (Garmin read 103 degrees at one point) and there was a very strong headwind.  I had a long period (15+ miles) of what I estimated to be a 25+MPH headwind and I slowed to below15mph for nearly an hour and that and the longish distance between aid stations meant long periods between refueling.  To be clear, I'm not blaming that as the reason for my DNF (although it didn't help) as I knew about it and had planned for it.  I was really focused on hydrating and I was drinking close to 1.5L an hour but apparently it wasn't enough.

When I got out of T2 and started running my HR jacked to 170bpm and my respiratory rate was probably close 30 bpm.  I began to cramp and could feel the early onset of dizziness.  I tried slowing down (I only had to do about 20 min/mile to finish) but it seemed to get worse.  It was a long time to the first run aid station (it took nearly 2 hours for me to go from the last bike aid station to the first run aid station) and by then I was cooked.  

I made it out to the three mile mark and things were getting worse so I decided to sit down and see if I could calm things down.  In short order I threw-up 5-6 times and felt very woozy.  My right leg was cramping and twitching like a banshee and I knew that things didn't look good.  Some nice folks came over and looked after me and I tried to rehydrate as much as I could...maybe got 25-30 ozs down as I rested about 25 minutes.  When I got up and still felt quite wobbly and I ran the math on what I needed to do to finish in under 17 hours I knew that it wasn't going to happen (especially with my knee).

Off to the medical tent and I was down just under 10 pounds (on a pre-race weight of 172 pounds).  After an IV I felt a lot better and soon was able to leave with Anders and Judy.  I drank, in total about 150 oz last night and just peed once or twice so the rehydrating is well under way.

It was disappointing for sure but I am completely fine with it.  I knew before the race that this was at the edge of my ability, especially if conditions were challenging (which for the most part they always are here) and I was very fit coming in, I did all the work (nearly 400,000 yards swimming and over 10,000 miles biking), and I gave it everything I had yesterday.  But it wasn't enough.

We are now turning our attention to supporting Anders tomorrow and enjoying the privilege of having another week in paradise!  Looking ahead, I can't wait to get my knee replaced and getting on with future adventures (riding solo across the country is on the top of the list).

Thanks for sharing my adventure with me--I take comfort in that!  And as I said, I'll post a proper race report in the next few days...

Onwards and Upwards!

Kona 10/6: Go Time!

 All checked in.  90 minutes until my start…I’ve already cried 3 times…..

Kona 10/5: T-Minus 13 Hours: Locked and Loaded

Ok, pretty much every checklist has all the boxes checked off at this point and now its time to Zen out and embrace the mellowness!

I did one last easy ride of about 15 miles out to the Energy Lab turn-off and back.  I felt great on the bike.  I'd feel like I was riding easy and look down and see 200+ watts--kept having to ease-off.  Averaged close to 19mph on about 145 watts...oh, to do that tomorrow! (lol).

Later I went over to swim and encountered the Bike/Transition Bag madness.  It took me a while to figure out that I needed to go over in front of the Honu restaurant (where we exited the Sunday 2.4-mile swim race) to get out into the bay.  It was choppy from the mid-day wind and I noticed a bit more swell then we've had most of the last week.  I didn't swim particularly fast but felt quite comfy in the water--did a bit over 700 yards.

Spent the afternoon chilling for the most part and did a couple of Facetimes with my family back east.

When it was time to go check in (I was in the 4-5pm slot) we couldn't find the car keys.  Anders and Judy looked all over while I tried to just sit back and relax.  We finally decided that I should just ride over to check in and Anders followed me over on the e-bike we've rented.  Long-story short, I had the keys in my back-pack that I was using to carry by Transition bags over....tail between the legs time!  In another post at another time I'll tell you about my biological grandparents on my father's side who were committed to an insane asylum in their 30s and diagnosed as "feeble-minded".  Apparently their blood line runs strong in me....

Anyways, here are a bunch of pics Anders took as I headed over to get checked in:

In transition I ran into Midge Kerr who is the big boss there!  When I broke the strings on my bike transition bag she jumped in and helped me out!

Anyways, back home now and chilling.  Judy is making us some pasta with marinara sauce and chicken.  We're going to watch Lionel's latest Youtube and then try to get some sleep and have at it tomorrow!

I'm number 2655 if you want to follow my (slow) progress around the course...

Onwards and Upwards!

Kona 10/4: T Minus 40 Hours

OK, starting to get that little bit on anxious feeling as this so very long awaited race is drawing close!

After a late night post Manta Ray dive, Bill, Judy, Anders and I got up early, downed some Java, and headed down to join the Underpants Run.  It was the usual madness down there and the three boys had a great time being part of the festivities!

We grabbed our private parts and took the Underpants Run Oath which is: “I (state your name) solemnly swear that I will resist the temptation to wear the evil garment known commonly as:“…togs, scungies, bun huggers, plum smugglers, banana hammocks, crack splitters, butt floss, Speedos, etc., etc., etc." outside of swimming or racing.

“I further promise to uphold the sanctity of the local’s home of which I am a guest by frequenting public places in proper attire, obeying traffic laws, and being courteous at all times. This I pledge as an Ironman veteran, 1st timer, or wannabe.”

After that and some calisthenics, we were soon on our way....

We jogged (and walked) the mile or so and then Anders and I jumped up on the wall by Dig Me Beach and did the pose that Tim Kerr and I did 10 years ago:

Lots of fun for sure and great to get away from the more serious parts of this endeavor.

Judy drove Bill to the airport, after a short but wonderful visit, and Anders went for a run out near the old airport runway.  He did some 3 minute repeats at 6:00/mile and then 5 or 10 minutes at IM pace and his HR was quite low--a very good sign.

I hopped on my bike and rode out to the airport (about 17 miles roundtrip) and my bike worked like a charm.  I'll post some pics later when I get all my gear for the race organized.

------

As promised, here is my race plan (and yes I know I am very slow!) along with my prior 3 Kona races for comparison:

As you can see, I'm planning on swimming quite a bit slower than I have previously, even with the 1:25 I swam at the practice swim on Sunday.  My goal in the IM swim is to have as little drama as possible and if I happened to replicate that 85 minute swim that would be "Great" (from my perspective), but I'll be fine even if its slower.  I'd like to swim 90 or so, given all the work I've put into swimming this year.

I'm planning on changing out of my swim skin and into a bike kit for the ride so I'm not planning on a super fast T1--7 minutes is my target but no biggie if I'm slower.  I plan on drinking 20 oz of Gatorade in T1 as I'm really focused on trying to stay as hydrated as possible.

I biked near 6:20 in 2010/2012 but with the winds of 2014 I rode closer to 7:15.  If I'm going to push it a bit in this race, it will be on the bike.  6:45 would be great with the typical conditions here and if we get lucky I might be a couple of minutes faster.  If I go much over 7 hours then things may start to get a little dicey for me (as far as 17 hours goes).  I've been comfortably riding at 160 watts AP/165-170 watts NP on my 100+ mile rides this year but will probably err on slightly less than that on Thursday (hopefully, not too much less).  Normally this would be very easy for me to do but, with the heat and humidity, I'm really focused on staying as hydrated and fueled as I can.

My T2s have historically been slower here at Kona (unlike most triathlons I've done) and I'm planning on doing the same this year.  I'll down another 20 oz in T2 and switch over to running shorts and a tri top.  This year I have the extra complication of strapping on my big, cumbersome Offloader Brace, so I might be a bit slower than planned here.

Lastly, the Run, which will mostly be a walk.  I'm hopeful of being able to hit 16-18 minute miles for most of the race and if all goes well before then, I should be able to comfortably get in under the 17 hour cut-off.  It will not be easy for me even at that very slow pace and I've steeled myself for the 7+ hours of pain in my left knee.  I mostly plan to really be present and try not to dissociate too much and enjoy this, my last IM!

Onwards and Upwards!

Kona 10/3: T Minus 3 days

I took a full rest day today as all of my significant physical preparation for Thursday's race is done.  I joined the XC group for breakfast and it was great to bump into a bunch of old friends and familiar faces.  It was very interesting to hear Andrew Messick (the CEO of Ironman) talk about the challenges of running a global events company during CoVid as well as the evolution of Ironman and Ironman70.3 and how that has led to this year, the first year of a two-day IM World Championship.

I also spent some of the day tweaking my bike for the race.  Most importantly I had a Ceramic Speed coated chain swapped in for my old chain.  I raced once before with the Ceramic Speed UFO chain at IMAZ back in 2019.  It's supposed to provide a 2-5 watt benefit, which if it does, is pretty significant.  I  don't know if it does or not, but I can tell you that it is a joy to ride with as it feels butter smooth.  I'm convinced its worth the $145 price tag as I frequently marveled during that race how great my drive train felt and I know just that positivity boost was worth some extra speed.  I hope to gain a similar benefit on Thursday.  I think its good for about 200 miles or so until the special coating wears off.  I'm planning on riding at most about 40 miles over the next 2 days, so it should be good for the full 112 on Thursday.

Anders did a bike and swim today and in both felt no ill effects from yesterday's bike spill nor from the 2.4 mile swim race.  He reported that there was noticeably more swell today.  In fact it seems like the weather is changing after about 3-4 days of mostly hot, windy clear weather.  It rained for quite a while beginning around 8 or so tonight.

Our friend Bill Price joined us (Bill is the co-founder of the Texas Pacific Group, a PE firm and he currently lives on Oahu).  Bill joined Judy, Anders and I as we watched the beginning of the Parade of Nations and then Anders and I registered for the race.   On the way into the King Kam we posed in front of where Anders and I signed the big athlete banner with MIOGA (Making It On Guts Alone).

We grabbed some take out from Umekes (love that place) and Bill entertained us with his great sense of humor and his amazing set of life adventures...

Later, the four of us went south down the Island a bit and did a late night Manta Ray dive--it was truly amazing--at one point we had about 10 of the graceful "monsters" doing barrel rolls below us as they ate the plankton that were attracted to the lights under the boards we were holding on to...a great adventure.  

We are going to bed after 11 tonight, which is a good 90 minutes past where we've turned in so far on this trip and we have the underpants run bright and early in the morning!  

Race day is almost here!  I'll lay out my race plan and go over some of my equipment/gear choices tomorrow...Onwards and Upwards!

KOna 10/2: T Minus 4 Days

We got up around 5:15am to get the Joe going.  Had our PB toast and lots of hydration and headed over to the area in front of the King Kam to get ready for the swim.  I was bib 349 and Anders was 712.  We would find out later they gave him the wrong bib/chip--more on that in a bit.  Nothing too dramatic in getting ready for the swim prior to jumping in the water but here are some pics/videos:

First off getting our chips--I'm wearing my "Have No Fear, the Norwegian is Here" T-shirt in honor of Gustav and the great video he did for my mom yesterday!

We donned our Roka swim skins and began to get into the mindset necessary to swim 2.4 miles...

Soon enough it was time to head down to the water....in case you're wondering, I'm the gimpy one courtesy of my left knee...

(sorry about the vids not posting--maybe too long?)

The "Kona Boys" were ready!

It was a bit confusing figuring out what to do.  There weren't the usual paddle boards marking the start line.  I was able to get out and join the mob (about 800 finishers) about a minute before the start.  Anders was still on Dig Me with about 3 minutes to go when he figured out he needed to swim out about 200 yards to the starting area.  He proceeded to sprint full on out there and arrived in the middle of the pack just as the starting horn sounded....not the best way for either of us to start a race!

Anders had a great swim.  He described it as a 3 out of 10 effort.  He found a great set of feet to follow most of the outbound part of the swim but was not as fortunate on the way back.  He finished in 62:48, according to Sportstat, which was good enough for 24th out of 98 in his 35-39 YO Age Group.  He was 169th out of 743 overall.  Because of the mixup with his number he is listed as "Florian Diebl" on the results page...makes you wonder what happened to Florian!

I had a less dramatic start.  I was off to the left away from the pier and the buoy line.  My object was to finish with as little drama as possible, so that I could build my confidence for the Ironman.  I felt really comfortable right from the start.  I didn't swim very hard, just trying to be smooth and under control.  I was jostled a bit here and there throughout the swim but it wasn't really that challenging from a physical contact perspective--something I always worry about in a mass start swim like this.

I glanced at my Garmin here and there and could tell I was having a good swim with my 100s ticking by under 2 minutes each.  I was content to swim out to the turn buoys with this relatively easy effort.  Soon enough I made the two right turns and was heading home.  When the bottom became visible again I could tell that I wasn't moving as fast as on the outbound leg.  I wasn't surprised by this as this is my 5th 2.4-mile swim in a race at this venue and each time the current becomes apparent as you head back north towards the pier.  Undoubtedly, fatigue was a factor as well and since I'm not a very good non-wetsuit swimmer, my form tends to fall apart more quickly as I tire than most of the swimmers here.

I really had the swim I was looking for and even pushed it a bit over the last 750-yards or so.  I exited the swim in 85:01 according to my Garmin (which isn't great I know but I'm quite content with it).

Here is what the Garmin data looks like:

You can clearly see the slow down over the back half.  Also, not the best job of navigating a straight swim (it was challenging to navigate and the rest of swimmers were zigging and zagging quite a bit as well--very confusing) although my GPS had me at 4,192 yards, so pretty darn close!  

I'd grade my level of effort as a 6-7 vs. Anders' 3.   We each had essentially the same HR at 142bpm, which seems to jive with our relative perceptions of efforts as his max HR is quite a bit higher than mine, given my age.

I finished 6th out of 13 in my Age Group and 462nd OA (out of 743).  Notably Monty and SlowMan (Mark Montgomery and Dan Empfield) went 1-2 in my Age Group and they were a good 19 minutes faster than I.  All-in-all, this was exactly what I was looking for in today's swim and I'll carry a lot of confidence into Thursday's Big Dance!

After resting up for an hour or so back at the house, Anders and I went out for short rides (he did 24 and I did 22 miles).  At the end of the ride, we were riding together down Makala (talking about Heart Rate Decoupling) and when we reached the dead-end by the old airport he thought we were turning right and I didn't and we bumped into each other.  I cried out and swerved right but was able to correct and stay upright.  Anders was not so lucky and down he went.  The good news is we had slowed down form 20+ mph to about 7 or 8 mph and both he and his bike were ultimately OK.  Not so his Wyn Racing shorts and he did get a couple of scrapes on his upper right leg and right elbow.  

Very scary when it happened but we luckily dodged this bullet!

Onwards and Upwards!