Kona Race Report almost done

sorry for the delay...a long report for a long race! the Phillies have occupied a fair bit of our time recently but that distraction has now passed!

I must say I feel very strong post Kona. I have been very unstructured over the last week just doing what I wanted to. I've felt stronger in this past week on the run than at any point this year. I had my best run of the year on Wednesday slicing almost 5 minutes off one of my standard 5.5 mile courses....

I still haven't completely ruled out IMFL although I would say the odds are less than 5%. I think that what I'd like to do is run a bunch of running races between now and IMCA70.3 in april and see if I can't gin up my run enough to qualify for kona again--a long shot I know but I'd really like to get back there.

Mentally, I am very energized about triathlon and beginning to think about 2011. Alreay I have these thoughts:

1. I'd like to train very seriously for short races--especially Oly distance--I've never done this before (2009 I just raced short but did not train hard) and I'd like to do a lot of short races and always be ready to go at a "B+" level or better.

2. I'll take a couple of shots at Kona--IMCA70.3 in april and IMAZ in November are on the initial list...we'll see. I'll just train short for CA and see what happens and in about September of 2011 I'll go through an IM training build to give IMAZ a helathy shot.

3. I'm going to set a goal of 10 AG wins in 2011. My best so far is 8 (2009) but I'm 54 and at the upper end of the AG so could be tough--I'll race a lot to try to make it happen.

4. I want to run a lot of half marathons in 2011--I think it's a great training distance for me....

Anyways, just by showing up I did the following this week:

170 miles on the bike

22 miles running

14 hours training.

I feel great and will get back into the pool either this coming week or the next. I'm going to do some Yoga/Pilates but mostly I'm going to try to get faster running over the next two months....

I'm pumped!

Recovery Land

All is well back here in Delaware as my body recovers from Kona. I must say I've felt fantastic (though I did have a bit of a cold for a few days) and I've begun some light spinning on my bike and started some short easy runs again. I seem to have no lingering biomechanical issues and I don't even note any fatigue (though from experience I know its there).

Both sets of parents were visiting over the last few days but now that they have left I've started to compose my race report which I'll post in the next couple of days. Until then check out some more photos from October 9th:

back home!

what a wonderful surprise when we rolled up to our home (after 12 hours of travel) and saw a 20 ft Congratulation banner and assorted other recognitions on our front porch--it's great to have such nice friends!

I spent some time going through all the pics my team took and they are amazing! I'll post soon and also write a race report--it was a glorious experience....

Getting ready to head home

Judy and I took Anders and Jenny to the airport yesterday and sent them back to civilian life. Many a triathlete at the airport. Yesterday was a nice day of relaxation and reflection. The XC folks had a nice award ceremony. I finished 3rd of the over 50 executives and will be bringing back a little bling for the mantle back home. We lounged around our room and pool back at the hotel. There was a fantastic sunset and Judy and I sat by the water and enjoyed a bottle of champagne that our friends the Baums had sent us. The wind was really howling--even more so than race day. We had a nice dinner and sat out on our porch listening to the band and later music from my computer--very nice.

Today is a day totally dedicated to relaxing. I must say that I feel fantastic--very little residual soreness from Saturday--with the exception of a bad sunburn in a couple of spots where I missed applying sunscreen. My legs feel very good and as I reflect on how strong I felt over the last 10-12 miles I have become convinced that I probably have a nutritional riddle to solve to be able to fully race to my potential at the IM distance. i think i took too many salt tablets on the bike and this eventually caused my stomach to "shut-down" and I wasn't able to get much down my throat for an hour or two on the run. I was severely dehydrated as a result and I had to walk to let my stomach catch up. I did not take any salt tablets on the run and I think this finally allowed me to resume normal hydration and eating around the mid-point of the run. From there I felt really good and over the last 5-10 miles I ran stronger than anywhere else in the race. I talked to a couple of other folks and i think it's a good bet I need to take far less salt on the bike--we'll test that out at the next one!

Anyways, we leave tonight and will be back in Delaware tomorrow afternoon. I have about 1300 photos to go through and an hour 0f video. Plus a million memories and I'll tie it all together in a race report in the near future...

Celebration Time!

Quite the day. I had a wonderful and truly enjoyable swim. The bike was extraordinarily difficult--I've never seen wind even remotely similar to what I saw yesterday. The cross-winds climbing to Hawi were gusting north of 40 mph. Frankly, I wasn't stong enough to excel on the bike yesterday and I arrived in T2 pretty fried. I ran reasonably well for the first 6 miles and then from 7-14 fought to just stay upright--everytime i tried to run my HR would surge and I would get very dizzy--so I just walked and focused on moving forward. Finally, a bunch of chicken soup revived me and I was able to run pretty well, and I felt good over the back half of the run.

The finish was extraordinary--a peak experience for me. Jenny was waiting for me at the line to give me my finishers lei--a perfect finish to one of the great experiences of my life.....

Almost game time.....

Last night Judy and I went to the welcome banquet, which was fun. Lots of Hawaian dancing and people throwing things on fire at each other. We left early to pick up Jen and Anders and had a late dinner....




Today saw me up early for 30 minutes on the bike, 15 running, and another 30 or so with Judy down at the Pier. we both swam out to the expresso bar--good fun. Jenny came down with us and checked out the "hot triathletes" (which is a redundant phrase of-course). We all had a big breakfast buffet and then did a little snorkeling and chilling by the pool. Later, Anders and I went down to Race Central and dropped off my bike, helmet and T1/T2 stuff...quite the scene:






Having dinner tonight with the family and our good friends Bill and Eva (and their new baby Alana) who have flown in to cheer me on tomorrow....looking to get to bed pretty early and then up at 3 am tomorrow to face what tomorrow will bring. I have all the funky taper body feeling--both of my knees are especially sore--still I feel very calm--I slept like a log last night. While all of my physical limitations are still in place, mentally I'm in a good place for tomorrow.

Beam me energy tomorrow when you think about it--I'll soak it up!

rc

Undy Pants Run!

Judy and I donned our underwear snd headed down to Ali'i for the 13th Annual Underpants Run. Probably 500 or so other folks joined us. Lots of nutty attire. We ran around the pier area, did some jumping jacks and other exercises and then returned for a run up and down Ali'i again--a real blast although even at 8:00 am i could feel the heat--yikes!!!! Some pics:










Back at the hotel they had some problems getting our connecting room for Jen and Anders who arrive later today so we had Judy go have a talk with them--net result we were moved to an awesome suite!!!!

We are excited to see the kids tonight!

I spent a couple of hours getting everything ready for check-in tomorrow and I'm locked and loaded! Complete rest day so just hanging this afternoon....