Kona Kickoff Camp

My Kona training camp was just what the doctor ordered. I am motivated and feel I got a big bump in fitness as well.

I arrived in Kona on Saturday evening, the 7th of January. At 8:00 the next morning, I was on the pier ready to swim 2.4 miles with Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen . I met her during my last visit to Kona but at that time I was in much better shape. It turns out she is dating my friend Petro so it’s a small world indeed. Karlyn toed me and a few others for the distance. My armpits were on the verge of bleeding after that swim. I rented a nice bike from bike works then got out on the Queen K for my daily rides. This was a goal; ride every day. By the end of the week the folks at Bike Works knew me on a first name basis. Kona feels like home.

My longest ride was 56 miles and shortest was 20 miles. One morning I was out cruising the Queen K and some really fit dude in a K-swiss kit on a Trek cruises up behind me. It turned out to be Chris Lieto. Kevin Moats was out there too. Chris was taking an easy recovery ride and we were able just to shoot the bull and chat a little. Kevin flatted out so I ended up riding with Chris alone for a bit. It was just like I was riding with an old training buddy. It turns out his wife is from Tulsa. His thoughts about the weather there are the same as mine.. too cold. He has moved to Kona for the winter. Just one crazy windy race day on the Queen K like Norman had a few years back and he will be the world champion. Riding with Chris pumped me up a bit more and I started thinking..... Maybe I could race here again?

It was a great camp for my kick off to fitness and I was able to do much more than I thought I was capable of doing.

My totals are as follows:

Swim 8.4 miles 4:05

Bike 234 miles 12:50

Run 20 miles 2:50

Total training time was 19:45. That’s a pretty big week for a fat guy just coming off the couch. The good thing about it was that I felt that I was getting stronger as the week progressed. On my down time, I cruised the Kona village and ate some great food that consisted of fresh fish, vegetables and drank some awesome coffee.

This was the first vacation I have taken alone. During my downtime, I drove around and visited places on the island that I had not seen before. I really enjoyed myself. There is something on this island that really makes me feel happy. It’s a very special place for me. It was tough leaving this island paradise but before I left I had scheduled my next training adventure with Petro. Stay tuned as this fat and out of shape guy gets fitter and is back on top again.