The Kona Circus: Hawaii Ironman Day 3

This year for this little blog I would like to highlight some of the attractions in Kona during race week. I plan on mostly resting and relaxing in the condo conserving energy for the big day. So writing these gives me something to do while my wife Dana is out training.

I would like to start with my favorite place in Kona; The Kailua pier, other wise known as “Dig Me Beach” This is ground zero and there is a lot of athletic energy here. From the pier you see all the familiar sites you catch on the TV broadcast, the church steeple, Alii Drive and finish line, the banyan trees, The Royal Kona Hotel as it juts out in the distance and the waves as they crash into the sea wall. The atmosphere here is electric and it builds as race day gets closer.
So why do they call it “Dig Me Beach”? You quickly find out why when you show up for the morning swims. There is a multitude of athletes with physiques like Greek gods mingling in the swim area. There are photographers with cameras with telephoto lenses more expensive than my bike snapping photos everywhere. Speedos, foreign languages…. it is pretty intimidating, but this is the Ironman World Championships and these are the fittest and most talented triathletes in the world. You get the idea.

I have tried to capture the circus in a slide show which will be posted above. There are some shots of Dana and Lynne with Andy Baldwin, Normann Stadler, Natasha Badman, Fernanada Keller, Some Australian dude with a Speedo and a beam bike everyone was going gaga over.

I really enjoy swimming at the pier. The ocean is so clear. You are able to see 70 feet or so to the bottom and catch glimpses of all kinds of sea life. Every time I swim here I feel I am so lucky to be here and be racing in this great race. However, today, I was stung on the neck by a Portuguese Man O’War. Let me tell ya …it burns! Anyway, despite that, I have done a lot of triathlons and been to quite a few venues but nothing compares to Kona. It’s not surprising that it is so competitive to get here.

Another one of my favorite places is “Lava Java”. This is a coffee shop on Alii drive just up the road from the pier and a block or so down from the Royal Kona hotel. This is another favorite hang out spot for many athletes. You might be sitting next to Peter Reid or Sister Madonna while you sip on a cup of Kona Coffee at an outdoor table watching athletes ride by in their perfect aero positions. The sea wall and ocean view is the perfect backdrop. It is truly a nice environment. I captured a shot of my breakfast in the slide show. Mitch Thrower, from Triathlete Magazine, was there with his laptop as were many other athletes taking in the Kona experience.

So there are a few of my favorite places. Later in the day I went for a run in the humidity on Alii Drive. Last year I stashed a few of my CO2 cartridges in a stone wall just in case I might need them again; ) During my run went to the wall that I hid them and they were still there.

I got a massage by a guy from Boulder whose name is Jeff Jewel. He really worked out the kinks. Eddie Garrott gave me his contact number. It was a great massage. When I walked out I saw that pro Chris Lieto was up next.

Hawaii Ironman Week: Day 2

Rob and I got up early this morning, because our body clocks are still on Tulsa time, not Kona time, which is 5 hours later. We put our bikes together and went out for a ride on the Queen K highway with Dave Latourette, our coach. He lives in Santa Rosa, California, so it was fun to hang out with him a bit.

We rode for about two hours. It was a nice ride, and the weather seemed a bit cooler than it was last year. Rob did a few pick ups on the bike to keep his legs fresh, then tucked in behind me and drafted a bit to make sure the rest of the ride was easy.

The rest of the day was spent poolside -- I was working on my tan and Rob was surfing the web. For dinner, we ate at a great restaurant called Jameson’s By the Sea. It is right on the Disappearing Sands Beach, and we had a great table where we could watch the sunset over the water. Very nice and relaxing.

In Kona the week before Ironman, you have to make an effort to try to relax. It would be very easy to get caught up in the crazy vibe that is here right now. For example, this morning when we woke up, we walked outside to the lanai, which has a great view of the swim course, to see dozens of people swimming. The entire 2.4 mile course. On the bike course, dozens of small packs of very aero, lean, and tri-suit clad triathletes were hammering up and down the Queen K. There is also a constant stream of runners up and down Alii drive, where our condo is. I kid you not, even in the dark as we were coming home from dinner, we continued to see people up and down Alii Drive, running or riding with headlamps on.

It really makes me wonder -- why are they running or riding in the dark? Did they not have enough time today -- maybe they spent the day traveling. But if that is the case, would it not be OK to just take a rest day? We can be pretty intense at times, but I believe we are definitely amateurs in the intensity department compared to the people I see in Kona right now.

Second Annual Ironman World Championship Kona Blog Day One

That is quite an auspicious title, who knows how many annual Kona blogs there will be. Maybe this will be the last one, and they will fall away into the archives of wherever old blog entries go. Or maybe this will continue on, a tradition carried on for the entertainment of all the triathletes in Tulsa -- if not by us, then by someone else. But for 2007, the Chance blog continues on -- but by Dana this time.

Last year our first day started out uneventfully, but when we arrived in Hawaii we soon learned that while we were flying over the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii had experienced an earthquake. This year, the shake up started before we left for the airport. About a month ago, Rob and I had a little too much time on our hands (tapering for a race can sometimes have long reaching effects into other aspects of our lives). We found a house that we fell in love with, bought it, and put our house up on the market.

Thankfully we sold our house quickly, but with unfortunate timing. We have to be out of our house on the 15th of October. Yes, that is the Tuesday after the Ironman in Kona. So we have furiously been packing up as much as we could, and we will have a moving company pack everything else up Ironman weekend, while we are miles and miles away in Hawaii. Rob’s mother, who is always up for an adventure, has generously agreed to take care of the kids, animals, and oversee the move in Tulsa. I don’t know if she has any idea what she is getting into -- and we are thankful for that or she might have reconsidered!

Our flight to Kona was uneventful except we were delayed leaving Denver because the plane was too heavy. Instead of unloading all the cases of bicycles they unloaded some extra fuel and began asking for volunteers to get off and be placed on another flight. After an hour and a half just sitting there on the plane going nowhere we finally got away. The pilot, being a triathlete, made his predictions for the weather at Ironman this year. He apparently has been riding his bike on the Queen K and he was calling for a windy ride.

United airlines have a game called “Halfway to Hawaii”. The pilot gives the passenger’s information which includes, time we left, total distance, airspeed, and wind resistance in mph. The object of the game is to calculate the exact time (Kona or Denver time) to the second when we are at the midway point in the flight. Well, Rob put down the Su doku tablet and started the calculations. On our approach to Kona they announced the winner. Rob was the first place winner and was just 4 seconds off the actual time. What a geek!

On our arrival to Kona, we noticed the weather to be pretty nice. It never has really cooled down in Oklahoma yet so there really isn’t much difference in the climate. Diving from the airport to the condo the familiar packs of triathletes on the Queen K with aero gear was ever present. Welcome to Kona, home of the Ironman World Championship.

So here it is Day One, and hopefully we are leaving the chaos behind so Rob can have a nice week of rest and recovery before the Big Day.

The Hay Is In The Barn

The Hay is in the Barn” This is the expression used when the big training build is complete and all that remains is to taper and rest up for the big race.

This years Ironman build went very well. I decided not to race after Buffalo Springs 70.3 at the end of June and concentrated on my build to Ironman Hawaii. Racing frequently requires too much of an effort to travel to and recover from so I just chose to stay home and put in some big training weekends and solid 20 hour training weeks. I had 12 weeks of consistent training with some breakthrough sessions that really added a fitness boost. I am in the aerobic best shape of my life.

Each workout represented a bail of hay. Some workouts were like 10 bails of hay. Once they were complete I neatly stacked them away in the barn for safekeeping. I plan on slowly burning the stored energy in each bail out on the Queen K on October 13th. I know I have enough hay reserve to get through the race in a PR time. It all just depends on what kind of weather conditions or potential cycling catastrophes are thrown in my direction that will determine how fast I do it.

I did my last long simulation ride this weekend. I have been doing these on my own, but this time I wanted a little company. My fatigue level going into this one was pretty high and I needed a little external motivation. I called on my good friend Larry Krutka. Larry and I go way back. We raced against each other in the early days of triathlon, before USAT, and when you raced on 10 speed bikes with running shoes and toe clips. Larry went on to become a legend in the sport in this area, finishing top 100 in the Hawaiian Ironman, and has been on the age group podium twice in Kona.

Larry later went on to open his own fitness center, and I left the sport and went to medical school. Years later, I ended up moving to Tulsa after residency training and reunited with my old nemesis. We became training partners and good friends. Some of our training sessions became testosterone fests. One would push the other until someone mentioned “Lets slow down a little” That was rare….most of the time we silently shelled each other. Last year we rode 160 miles in 8 hrs and Larry did it on power cranks in the aero position. Oh, and did I fail to mention that this guy is now 58 years old. Larry has been sort of a mentor for me since I started doing Ironman. He knows what it takes to succeed.

So, getting back to my last long ride. Larry agreed to join me. He has only done one hundred mile ride this year and was only planning on going half way with me. We started the familiar hammering on the flats. My quads were screaming. Larry did his job and helped me make this ride do what it was designed to do. I wanted to simulate the fast start in Kona. We had good grade and headwind up to Bartlesville, which simulated the climb to Hawi.

Larry didn’t have the type of ride he usually does but he stayed glued to my rear wheel. Other folks would have cracked. That’s not Larry, he’s tough and tenacious. It was nice to have him along and I was glad he was able to make the entire 103 miles with me. I hope some of his mojo rubs off on me.

I am really looking forward to racing Kona this year. From the moment I crossed the finish line last year, I thought “I have to do this again, I know I can go faster” So this year, Kona has been my focus. Next year I think I will take a break from Ironman and concentrate on some shorter races, such as Olympic distance and 70.3.

The time it takes to train for Ironman is just too much for me. It takes time away from my kids and wife and it has become too consuming. I have started to coach other athletes which I think I will find rewarding. Hopefully, I will help them stack some hay in their own barns and become a mentor for them like Larry has been for me.

Ironman Canada

This past week Dana and I took the long trip to Ironman Canada. Dana was there to compete for the second time and I went to provide support and get a big training week leading up to Ironman Hawaii. We left on Tuesday the 21st and after three connecting flights, we arrived in Pentiction, Canada that evening 13 hrs after our departure. It was a long day.

If you have never been to Ironman Canada, it is unlike any other race you will experience. The Canadian Ironman has been in the same place, the same route, for 25 years. The race isn’t an inconvience, to the Canadians, as you may find at many other venues. The town really embraces the race and the athletes who come here. They go out of their way to make you feel welcome and the locals are very friendly. After noticing the spectacular scenery as you descend into the Penticton valley, when you first step off the plane the first thing you see are signs which say “Welcome to Ironman Country”. Everyone I came in contact with, from coffee shop worker to grocery store clerk, was volunteering or involved with Ironman in someway. It is really a big deal here. I can see why there is such a high demand to participate. Michael Yasko, a friend from California, whom I met in St. Croix, flew in just to sign up for next year’s race. We had an extra room in our condo so we let him stay with us. Hotel and camping options are completely full for miles in all directions.

Throughout the week I was able to do the entire course, including some portions several times, and I put in 21hrs of total training. The weather was much cooler and more comfortable than it has been back home, which allowed me to inject quite a bit more intensity in there too. While I was running out on Eastside road (the run course) the pace was sub 7 minutes per mile and some folks on easy spins on their bikes were giving me some strange looks “What is this idiot doing? He’s going to blow his race”. I rode and ran the entire course last year when we were here, so I feel I really know the terrain and one day I will be ready when I come here to race it.

While I was out having fun in the Canadian countryside, Dana was in the condo resting her legs and read several books. She got out daily to freshen her legs with the typical pre race taper workouts, but most of the time she was in an energy conservation mode.

Race morning came quickly and was pretty exciting. Dana was feeling good and ready to go. I spoke with Monica Byrn before the swim start. She reported that Gordo was fit and ready. I was pulling for him to win it this year. Dana found me and I gave her a quick “good bye and good luck” though the fence. It was entertaining to watch the competitors armed in neoprene and with latex helmets wave and smile to their family members as if they were headed off to war.
I managed to get down into the water once the swim had begun and had a front row seat of all the athletes exiting the swim. I got some great video shots too. Dana came out in 1:00 flat. She saw me, smiled and waved, and said “an hour! “. She looked so good. Now I know why my parents couldn’t hold the video camera still when I was swimming competitively as a kid. I was pretty excited and proud of her. The result was some pretty lousy shaky video footage. I tried to run to the bike corral and get some shots there but she was out of transition too fast.

After she got started on the 112 mile bike I went back to the condo and got some training in myself then checked out the results and video on Ironman live. This made the time fly by.
I made the quarter mile walk from our condo to the run turnaround to watch the pros come through. The wind was pretty strong. It was blowing boxes and the special needs bags all over the road. I worried about Dana, who chose to use a rear disc wheel.

When Dana came through at the half I gave her age group position. She looked good. She was in 8th at that point and said she really wanted to break 11 hrs. I saw the wind and her present time and thought “she is going to have to do something special to do that“. The conditions and headwind on the return would make that pretty tough. I thought if she did do it the Ironman Hawaii slot would take care of itself.

Michael and I drove back to the finish line to await her return. There was a traffic jam because of the cyclists coming in on the bike course, but we made it there in time. She had made up a good amount on her competitors and looked terrific. She did do something special. She ran a brilliant back half and breaking 11 hours was a good possibility. She managed to pass one competitor at the 25.5 mile mark and cruised to the finish in 11:01:02. She ended up 7th in the 35-39 age groups and 380 overall and 27th amateur women.

Unfortunately, there were only 4 Kona slots given in her age group and no one rolled them down. It is just so difficult for a woman to get into that race. Anyway, I am very proud of her. She ran a great race and it was executed perfectly. Overall, she was 8 minutes faster than last year, but her bike time was 15 minutes slower due to the windy conditions. She is satisfied with her race, and she signed up for Ironman Canada 2008 with no second thoughts.

You Think Ironman is Tough? Look at This!

In October 2004 I was overweight and out of shape. I was past my prime as and athlete. A friend of Dana and mine, Lynne Smith, had qualified and was doing the Hawaii Ironman and we logged on and followed her progress on Ironman Live. It was inspiring watching her lead the swim and bike in her age group and it was pretty darn emotional watching her cross the finish line on the live video feed. We knew how hard she had worked to get there.

I had never done an Ironman and she inspired Dana and me to sign up for Ironman Florida 2005. Then we experienced the same thrill ourselves in Kona she did in 2006.

Well, Monday she did something else inspiring. She swam across the English Channel. She just didn’t swim across it; she posted the fastest time man or woman this year, 9:50. Only 243 other women have made this journey. The fastest time ever for a woman is 8:48 by Alison Streeter who has the most crossings; 43. Alison was part of Lynne’s support crew and was there to greet her when she reached French soil.

The water temperature was 63 degrees and no wetsuits are allowed. Lynne has been prepping herself for this event for two years. She swam in lakes in the dead of winter, cooled her house to freezing, and laid in 40 degree ice baths to prep her for the cold. She swam over 60k a week, mostly in open water. I wasn’t surprised that she did as well as she did because her preparation was so meticulous.

I am very proud of Lynne. Swimming the English Channel is be quite an accomplishment, and is inspiring, but I don’t think I will be signing up for this one. I don’t think I could last an hour in that water. Brrrrrr

The photos above are of Lynne reaching France and finishing her journey.

See the link below to read more about Lynne.
Austin Statesman Blog: Lynne Smith

Here is Lynne’s report after event.

http://www.itisnicetohaveaninterest.com/2.html

“When I spoke to my pilot last night, the weather prediction sounded marginal. He told me it would not be a fast swim, but I could take the day if I wanted it. I don't really care about my time, so I accepted the day. Lesson learned: Things don't always go as planned, so let go of the outcome in your mind, and just ride the tide Baby!
I felt like Ashton Kucher in The Guardian when we started. Raining, dark, and very rough. But I didn't have on a wetsuit. I ended up with a sweet tailwind when it was all said and done. The English Channel is the most beautiful, majestic, and sacred place I've ever been.
Apparently I have the fastest swim of the season so far. 9:50. There is still some time in the season, and there is a big difference between having the fastest swim and being the fastest swimmer. A big difference. The English Channel and time pick you. I just got lucky.
A big thanks to the folks who were out there with me today and those of you sending me good vibes from home. I can not tell you how marvelous those guys were on the boat: Mike, Ali, Del, David, Seth, Chris, Davis, Michelle, and Brad.
Thanks for all of your emails- I look forward to reading them all, and will reply when I've a minute. I have over 200, so please be patient with me, Right now I am heading to take a hot shower, drink a large Guinness, and sign my name of the wall next to David's at the White Horse pub.
I left everything I had out there. I gave it what I'm made of, and that feels good! Thanks for all of the support, well wishes and good energy. What a day!
PLEASE keep the positive vibes headed over here as we aren't done yet. My friend Anne is in the tide and it isn't over until everyone is back in the barn. Saving the best for last. Go Anne!"