Wednesday in Kona

Judy and I went down to "The Freak Show" early and we both did a nice little swim. Judy really liked it--loved the pretty fish. I swam out to the expresso bar and had an expresso mid-swim...hard to beat that! I just did 30 minutes today. Afterwards we gawked a bit and took some pics and video....



Here is a little clip of Chrissie...she looks pretty ripped!

I went to an XC breakfast. Paula Newbie-Fraser, Lindsay Corbin, and Jon McDonald were there to give us some pointers. A couple of the folks who participated from the first IM were there as well...




Later I went out towards Hawi and then rode the last 10 miles of the bike course out and back to see how bad the wind was. It was BAD. Probably 40 mph+ gusts today. I could only average about 9-10 mph on the 7-mile climb and I sat up to deal with the cross-winds on the descent...even sitting up i was going 30 mph+ for 5-6 miles....Its going to be interesting on the ride on Saturday if the conditions are like this...the ride did give me confidence though--if I concentrate and stay very conservative I should be able to stay rightside up....

Underpants Run in the morning!

Rolling along on Tuesday

Morning found me down at the Pier for another 1750 yard swim--feeling very comfortable in the water now--very pleasant swim--water was exceptionally clear this morning.


This will be a bit shorter post--busy day and I need my beauty rest.

It was noticeably more hopping this morning--Saw TJ and bumped into Macca plus a host of others. Talked to Dave Mulaney from PA--he is friends with Nace and Sully and I raced with him at NOLA. He is the defending XC champ.

After swim went back to hotel and had a huge brunch and hung by the pool. At 1 I was able to get my bike and register for the race. I picked up Judy at the airport (yea!).

I then took the bike out for a short spin on the queen K. It was VERY hot today and quite windy--a good 25+ mph--mostly crosswind where I was but I know up by Hawi it would be a headwind. My bike performed like a champ and I had no problem on any of the climbs--even into more of a headwind--I think my 42/27 will prove to be fine. I was solid on most of the descents--comfortably spinning my 55/13 and cruising at 35 mph. On one steeper descent, however, with big crosswinds and several huge trucks blasting past I did have some speed wobbles--mostly due to my tenseness i think. I'm hoping the abscense of trucks will make it less likely to happen on Saturday--but the crosswinds will make it tricky for sure.

The winds have been howling--several Germans were blow off their bikes up by Hawi 2 days ago and one broke his collarbone. If it gets crazy I'll just sit up and go slower....I'm going up to Hawi tomorrow to take a look at the tiger--the big descent leaving the turnaround point....

Parade of nations tonight and then they opened the Ironman Village--lots of famous types there like Mark Allen....



sleep time!

Monday was another fun day!

Beginning to settle in nicely to this Kona Ironman life. I told Judy today that I decided that this was the only triathlon I wanted to do in the future (just a joke)...but it truly is a fun experience.

I slept in to 3:30 which is basically what I'll want to do come Saturday--it's much easier to adjust to time zones going east to west.

I hit the pier around 7:30 and swam for a little longer than 40 minutes. I broke out my TYR Torque Pro and I have to say that it passed the test--it will be my swim uniform on Saturday. The swell seemed less as well today. Also, I knew what to do this morning. In any event, I thought the swim was much easier today--I'm not worried about getting around the course come Saturday--I'll be relatively slow on the swim but it should be enjoyable. I'm swimming again tomorrow and I'll take some pics and post tomorrow.

I learned that my bike would not show up until tomorrow so i substituted another short run in place of my first ride here in Kona. i ran from transition up Palani hill and out onto the Queen K for a bit (and back)--all in-all about 4 miles. Very warm this morning but I felt fine--a little bit of a memory in my legs from yesterday's 5K but nothing much.

I probably won't run Palani hill on Saturday (thinking about a strategic walk) but I had no trouble this morning--as you can see from this pic (click to enlarge) it's really not that bad of a hill:


This is what I'll see at mile 24.5 of the run--well, it will probably be a lot darker but you get the point. This is the last climb to the top of Palani hill--from there it will be all down hill....



Here is what the end of Ali'i Drive looks like--in the day with traffic....I'm sure it will look very different on Saturday evening:


You've probably seen this before:


After my run I jumped in the ocean again to cool off and then headed over to Lava Java for breakfast. I bought a couple of presents and then repaired to my hotel room to chill out for a several hours. Then I geared up and headed for Mauna Kea....

Mauna Key is the largest mountain in Hawaii. It's summit stands 13,796 above seas level. It is also the "tallest" mountain in the world rising some 32,000 feet from the ocean floor. Mauna Key is unique for a couple of other reasons as well. First, one (as I did) can hop in a car at one's sea level hotel and drive almost all the way to the summit in about 2 hours. Second, Mauna Kea is the site of the greatest concentration of astronomical observatories in the world--due to the fact that the air is so clear at this lofty altitude. Here is a little blurb on the Observatories:

Mauna Kea astronomical observatory complex located on Mauna Kea peak, the “white mountain” on the island of Hawaii. Because of its height and excellent seeing, this site supports by far the largest astronomical facility in the world. It is operated by the Institute for Astronomy of the Univ. of Hawaii. The largest telescopes are the 33-ft (10-m) W. M. Keck telescopes (Keck I and II), each consisting of an array of 36 segmented mirrors; a computer adjusts each small mirror many times per second so that a single image is formed of the object under study. Keck I began observations in 1993, Keck II in 1996. The Subaru telescope, featuring a 327-in. (8.3-m) one-piece mirror, was formerly called the Japanese National Large Telescope. The 320-in. (8.1-m) Gemini telescope is one of an identical pair, the other being constructed atop Chile's Cerro Pachon. Together they will provide complete unobstructed optical and infrared coverage of both the northern and southern skies. Other instruments include the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope (142 in./3.6 m), the United Kingdom Infrared telescope (150 in./3.8 m), and the Infrared Telescope Facility (120 in./3 m), as well as two telescopes—the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope—used for observations in the submillimeter portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Also part of the complex is the Hawaii Antenna of the Very Long Baseline Array, which is used for observations in radio astronomy.

In any event, the drive out to the summit was awesome. Along the way I stopped and bought a couple of sheep--because they were cheap!:



Actually, I'm kidding. I like my sheep with shorter legs and I hate to pay extra bag fees on the plane so I figured I couldn't beat the price of sheep back in Delaware anyways.

The drive up to the summit was hairy--definitely bring your 4WD! I was blown away by the awesome Observatories. I talked to a couple of the astonomers as they checked in for a night of work--i almost asked if I could be a helper for one night (almost better than doing Kona) but I hate rejection so i didn't. I saw the true summit and hiked the 10 minutes or so up a small trail to bag it. This was radically easier than Shasta or Rainier but let me tell you that going from 0 to 13.7 in two hours does leave you a little dizzy--i had to stop a couple of times to stay checked into planet reality.

I met (and passed) a nice couple from Australia on the way up. On the summit, we took each others' pics and i regaled them with my exploits on Kosi last year--they admitted it was a peak they wanted to climb as well. It turned out he had qualified in China (2nd in the 35-39 AG) and was also racing Kona.

The telescopes opened up for business and the stars came out--amazing! The ride down was intense. On the way down I picked up a hiker (who flagged me down) from Columbia named Eduardo who had become very cold on his descent from the summit (it was 41 degrees at the top)--he had been hiking for 7 hours. I gave him a lift down--which he was very thankful for--hopefully some good karma for me on Saturday...

Here are some pics of my adventure on Mauna Kea:










Tomorrow I (hope to) get my bike--I'll rest easier after that. Judy also comes and I'm very excited to have her here--this is something best done with someone close to you....

good night!

How to track me live on race day

Several of you have asked how best to track my race progress at Kona on Saturday. There are two ways:

First, the "old-fashioned" way is to go to Ironman.com on race day and you will find links to live video, text updates (focused on the leaders of the race), and a search function that allows you to track individual athletes or different Age Group divisions. With the later link, you can see my splits at various points during the race. My bid # is 1941 so you can enter that or my name (if you forget the bid number) and see how I'm progressing throughout the day. For you east coasters the race starts at 1pm and given the challenging conditions in Kona you can be sure that I will finish well after midnight...2am?

The "new-fashioned" way to track me is something we tried out at IM Germany and it seemed to work great. I'll be wearing a GPS device during the bike and run segments and you can go to a website and you will get real-time telemetry data (my location and current speed) on a continuous basis. Those who followed me in Germany said this was a great way to go. There are a couple of ways you can display my progress--vs a map or satellite imagery including a bird's eye view from several hundred feet over my head.

You can track me on your computer or iPhone/iPad by entering:

http://www.trackmyathlete.com/vemap.aspx?name=050414

You can track me via PDA/Blackberry/Palm by entering:

www.TrackMyAthlete.com/pda.aspx?name=050414

If you enter the above now you will see where I'm staying--just a stone's throw from the Pacific!

Mahalo!

Race Strategy

Kona 2010 Race Strategy


Perspective, Patience and Perseverance

My race at Kona will be guided by these three overarching themes. I will judge my performance here more by how well I measure up against these three virtues than by my final time or how well I execute the tactics that I outline below.

Perspective. It is a really big deal for me to get to race the Ironman World Championship in Kona. My first exposure to Ironman Hawaii was the ABC TV broadcast of Julie Moss’ famous 1982 struggle to cross the finish line. As I watched the TV I vowed that I would do the Ironman before I turned 40. At that time I was a marathoner and the idea of ultimately competing at the Hawaiian Ironman seemed like a natural extension of my running. Ultimately, I would not complete my first Ironman until 2004, when I was 47, but it certainly did not feel like a failed vision when I did. I unsuccessfully tried to qualify for Kona ten times before I finally made it this year. I recognize that this opportunity is very likely a once in a lifetime event for me.

I want to make sure, as I compete in this race, that I constantly soak it all in and appreciate what a great opportunity this represents for me. I want to relish the pre-race time in the water, the feeling of strength in the early goings of the bike, and the struggle that will surely come in the run.

I want to proceed through the day with a feeling of gratitude. It is a great thing that I can share this with my family and friends! I want to thank the volunteers and my fellow competitors. No matter how much pain I experience I want to reflect on how lucky I am to get this chance.

I know that I am fortunate to be in such strong physical shape. Yes, I am a Ford Explorer among the Ferraris and Porsches (you know the typical 32 year old, 5’ 9”, 150-pounder with 3% body-fat that mostly populate this event). And yes, my run fitness (post hamstring-tear) is nowhere near ready for primetime. But, I am ridiculously healthy and fit by normal standards and I know this is something I should never take for granted. I am truly blessed to be here and I want to hold that thought every moment of the race—especially during the difficult times.

And finally, I want to reconnect with that little boy that used to love swimming in Ten Mile Lake, tearing around the neighborhood on my bike in Flint, and running away from everyone in the backyard keep-away games in Grosse Pointe. Par of me still is that boy and I need to remember how lucky I am to still be able to play like that guy.

Patience. I have crossed the finish line on Ali’i drive many times in my training runs and dreams. I know on October 9th that the drive to get there will be a primal force inside of me. Still, with my 7 Ironman finishes, I know that my day will be long and difficult. I need to stay in the moment and not look too far ahead.

In my Ironman races I have found that I frequently cycle through periods of feeling very strong and quite weak as well. I know that I have to restrain myself when I feel great and comfort myself when things are not going so well.

I have studied the course intensely. I already “rode” the course on my Computrainer. I know on race day I will constantly be aware of what is coming next but I still have to restrict my focus as much as possible to my very next swim stroke. To staying on that guys feet. To avoiding that obstacle on the bike. To not worrying about the wind. Or the heat. Or the humidity. Or how much I want the pain to be over with. I need to focus on putting one foot in front of the other and doing it again. And again. And again. Until they tell me I can stop. And then I can celebrate. Until then, I need to be patient and stay focused in the moment.

Perseverance. Anyone who thinks about Ironman knows this one. The definition of perseverance is: “steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” An Ironman is one of the ultimate tests of human perseverance—and the Hawaii Ironman even more so. But perseverance is something that is earned a hundred times in a race like this. It is the ultimate test of my virtue as a triathlete.

I know the bad times, the pain, and the worry will come during my race. I have enough experience to not be (at least at an intellectual level) surprised by this. But the challenges of an Ironman (and I can only imagine what it will be like in Kona) are truly “look into your heart and see what you are made of” challenges. I know there will be many times that my mind screams out to bail, to slow down, to sit down, to quit. I look forward to those moments because in the final analysis, they are the best part of an Ironman. I hope to be the best part of an Ironman, and step to the plate when they happen. Ultimately, my quest on this day is to persevere.

The Swim

No drama is what this swim is all about. While I’ve recently grown into the best wetsuit swimmer of my triathlon career, I still am (and probably always will be) a pretty poor non-wetsuit swimmer. My 85+ minute swim in Germany is but the latest example of my travails without a wetsuit.

I plan to start way out to the left—close to shore and furthest away from the Pier. This is sub-optimal from a sighting perspective as I predominately breathe on my left side but I feel being further away from the buoy line (and the mayhem there) is the right call for me.

I’m clearly in the bottom half (probably bottom quarter) of this field given the lack of a wetsuit. I’ll start well off the start line and take it easy for the first 400 yards. After that I hope to settle into a nice easy stroke. I want to enjoy the underwater scenery and focus on feeling comfortable and under control.

Once I reach the turnaround sailboat, if I feel OK, I’ll pick it up a bit. I’ll focus on finding some friendly feet to catch a draft. As I near the shore I’ll up my kick cadence to get my legs ready for the bike to come. As I exit the water I’ll be sure to congratulate myself on a nice open-water, non-wetsuit swim. And then, I’ll turn my attention to T1.

Transition One

Ironman transitions are relatively simple. Upon exiting the water, I’ll get my bearings and head for the fresh water shower. I’ll efficiently find my T1 bag (#1941) and head into the changing tent. There I want to make sure to change into my bike/run attire, slather on lots of suntan lotion, gather all of my swim/bike transition stuff and put it in it’s proper place on my body and in the pockets of my tri-suit.

After I make sure to do everything on my list, including a long drink of water and 200 calories of ShotBloks, I’ll easy over to the bike ready to fully engage in my Kona bike ride.

The Bike

I’m going to be very conservative on the bike—especially during the first 80 miles. I’ll ride relatively easy—probably 190-200 watts (or about 25-35 watts below what I’m capable of) all the way to Hawi and back to the 270 turn-off. If I feel good (I mean really good) I’ll begin to push it a bit (205-225 watts) as long as the winds are manageable. If (when?) the winds come-up then I’ll back off and ride comfortably all the way back to T2. If I need to, I’ll be happy to log a 6-hour bike. The key thing is for me to exit the bike in reasonable enough shape so that I can run a significant portion of the marathon.

Throughout the ride I’m going to try to suck down close to two bottles of fluid every hour. I’ll also eat one pack of ShotBloks and 6 Enduralytes each hour.

Transition Two

Pretty much the same plan as with T1. I want to be slow and deliberate and make sure that I do everything that I need to do to ready myself for my marathon. When I’m ready, I’ll thank the volunteers and head out of the changing tent with a smile on my face.

The Run

I think about the run in six segments: 1. The run south to the first turnaround (5 mile mark); 2. The turnaround back to the top of Palani hill (11 mile mark); 3. The run from Palani to the entrance to the Energy Lab (16); 4. The run through the Energy Lab (20); 5. The run from the exit of the Energy Lab to the top of Palani (25); and 6. The glorious run to the finish.

My plan is to try to run around 9:30-10:00 minute miles at the outset. I know that this is faster than I’ll probably end up averaging but I think a positive split profile is probably unavoidable.

I plan to walk through every aid station to make sure I take on adequate fluids and nutrition. When I get to the Palani hill, I plan to walk up it to save my legs for the latter stages of the run. I hope to predominantly run all the way out to the entrance to the Energy Lab. If I have to mix walking and running before then I’ll deal with it but it would be a great boost if I can get all the way out to the Energy Lab first.

In any event, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep putting one foot in front of the other no matter how slowly I’m doing it. I have no idea what I’ll do as I head back down Ali’i drive but I’m sure it will come to me when the moment arises.

OK--so it was hot today....

My first full day in Kona. I was awake at 2am. Watched a little of the Ryder Cup and left at 6 for the PATH 5k down on Ali'i drive. I had a positive race. I went out pretty easy and hit the turn at 11:20 and decided I felt pretty good so I picked it up a bit and did the return portion of the out-and-back in 10:55 for a 22:15 (7:11/mile). I'm quite pleased with that--it was very warm, even at 7:30 am--much warmer than yesterday. The course has a few rolling hills in it--nothing major, but definitely much tougher than the Delaware 5k I did in 22:32 last weekend. I'm getting faster by the week and beginning to recover some of my lost form from the injury.

Surprisingly, I finished 2nd in my AG--so I at least will go home with one Kona podium! I won a nice little carved wooden bowl for my efforts. The award ceremony was picture perfect (you can click on the pics to blow them up!):


There were a few pros in the race--Chris Leigh and Heather Fuhr won:





I then walked over to the pier and did an easy 30 minute swim. The water is quite pleasant--about 78 degrees and noticeably buoyant (yes!). There seemed to be a pretty significant swell and a noticeable current. I found this to be a bit challenging to swim in. There were several times when I took 2-3 strokes and kept looking at the same spot on the bottom. The water is clear by my standards but it was a bit stirred up from the swell--not is crystal clear as i imagine it gets. Lots of brighly colored fish. I felt pretty good and will breakout my swimskin and swim a bit longer tomorrow--and try to push a little bit harder.

After all of these activities I hit Lava Java for a Joe and a bran muffin--did a little gawking as well....



I did a quick return to the hotel and then did the 110 mile drive out to Volcanoes National Park. I went through about 50 weather zone changes (I'm not exaggerating here). It was 86 when I left Kailua and I found myself at times in driving rain and 62 degrees as I climbed around the southern end of the Island and up the flanks of Mauna Koa. As I emerged from the wind shadow of Mauna Koa i was blasted by 30-40 mph winds. The waves were huge on the southern side of the Island.

The weather was not great when i got to the Park and the Volcano was spewing deadly (literally) gas so a fair amount of the Park was off-limits for safety reasons. I did enjoy what turned out to be a 7 hour trip. The views of the active caldera and a walk through a lava tube were highlights:






On the way back I hit the Black Sand Beach turnoff--yes it truly is black sand. Saw a big Honu turtle taking a nap on the beach. They are supposed to be good luck--I hope so!



On the way back home the clouds parted over Mauna Lea and I could clearly see the observatories perched up at 13.7K feet. I plan to head up there tomorrow afternoon to catch the sunset and then do some star-gazing in what is considered the best place on Earth to do so.

My bike (hopefully) arrives tomorrow and I hope to pick it up and take it out for at least an hour or two to make sure all is well on the bike front.

Don't worry about all the activities--I feel like my taper is working well.

I'll update you with more tomorrow!

rc

Ironman 2010-Kona: Here we go!

So I'm finally (really!) here.

My two flights (through Phoenix) were uneventful but close to 12 hours up in the air. I checked into my hotel and headed a few miles south on the Queen K to the Natural Energy Lab--that fabled place where ABC always claims the Hawaii Ironman is won and lost. I had on my training plan to run the 4+ miles of the Ironman course in the Energy Lab to make sure that I knew what this "beast" was really like and of-course to start my acclimatization to the Kona conditions.







The run turned out to be very pleasant. Geography wise it's nothing to worry about. Weather-wise, it was overcast, post a rain shower and at 83-84 degrees, not really that uncomfortable. The winds were blowing so from a running perspective it felt pretty nice. My run was at 4:30 or so local time and if I'm blessed with these conditions next Saturday I'll be very, very thankful!


Later I went down to check out the swim start--here is what it looked like:




Tomorrow, I'm getting up early for the PATH 5k run--my guess is that i will not win my age group. then, I'm going to hop in the harbor and see what the swim is like. My bike arrives Monday so no biking until Monday afternoon.

I'm thinking I'm going to go see the lava flows that are currently going on in the Volcano National Park tomorrow afternoon....

I'm pretty psyched--it's truly great to be here!