Kona Report - Day 2

Apologies for not getting this up sooner. The hotel Internet was on the fritz last night. I'll get two posted today to catch up.

Tuesday before IM is always a busy day for me. It's my last day of getting in a few longer sessions - long during a taper, yet short in relation to IM training.



The day began w/ a 45 minute swim at the pier. The water was calm today weather wise, yet turning w/ the energy of hundreds of triathletes. I'm standing here in the above picture looking serious post swim w/ my boy "hot shorts".



While making my way to Lavajava for breakfast, I ran into a bunch of CT friends randomly, including the twins John Wilson and Oakes Ames, Jason Weisberg, Mitch West, Scott Harrison, and Chuck Sperrazza. After shooting the shit briefly, I had to get jet in pursuit of some food before heading up to Hapuna to ride to Hawi w/ Mike Kane.

Kailua was overcast this morning, however, further up the Kona coast at Hapuna Beach, the sun was out in full force and it was hot! The plan was to ride out 1 hr 5 min then turn for a 2 hr total ride. I climbed easily towards Hawi at 19 to 20 mph thinking about the strangeness occurring. That strangeness was the fact that there was no wind! This is typically the windiest part of the course. Anyone that was there checking out Hawi got a false perception of what it's typically like. I for one know that the wind will be there race day and you know what, I kind of welcome it, because without the wind, it was sweltering. The humidity on the Kona coast is just brutal. You get used to walking around all swampy. I have to say that my biggest concern on race day is how I'll handle the heat and humidity this year. We had such a mild summer in CT and I do feel less acclimated than I typically would while out here. I felt strong on the ride however, and kept the pace comfortable with a few sections at IM pace. Towards the end of the 2 hr ride, I could feel the heat getting to me a bit. Staying on top of my hydration replacement on race day is going to be crucial.



I was riding with a local yesterday. Well, he was a young guy who moved to the Island from Montana three years ago after college because he fell in love with the island. He was racing and commented on how boring the course is. I told him that yes, it can be boring, however, i love looking off towards the ocean. I replied how he's jaded now and takes this for granted because he experiences it every single day. Many in life dream of moving to their favorite destination. It's interesting how quickly the image of their nirvana changes once they experience it regularly.



A short 20 minute transition run (my run legs felt great!) and I was done with my training for the day. I walked down to Hapuna Beach and floated around for awhile. I've never seen the water as clear as it was today at the beach, and it felt great just to relax for a bit.


As I rode today, I was thinking about "suffering" and how the key on any given race day is to work on mastering the art of suffering. More on this later.

The IM parade was last night and since they currently have me representing Uzbekistan in the official Hawaii IM information for this years race, I thought I'd march, however, promised Brennan I'd help out at the MyAthlete tent since the expo began right after the parade. I worked the expo for about three hours before joining Mitch West for dinner. It was a busy Tuesday. I hope that Wed, Thu and Fri are more relaxing, yet somehow, I doubt it.

Cheers,

EH