Kona 2014 - Day 6 Update

It's Monday of ironman week and things are starting to get noticeably busier in town.  Anyone who is in the business of selling triathlon-related products knows there is only one place to be this time of the year and they have started arriving in force.  Kona is being transformed with banners, pop up shops and various "walks of fame" celebrating previous winners or sponsored athletes.

This morning Tri Travel had their swim course orientation and so a group of around 40 of us met Shane and the rest of the crew at the pier.  Shane then jumped on a paddle board and headed out to a boat anchored around 900m from shore and we swam out to meet him.  Once there he showed everyone the best way of making some space at the start and the best land markers to sight off when coming back into shore.

Once that was finished I came back in and found St Pete and Coach Dave, with the plan being for D and I to do a light 20min run.  

Dave took me on an easy jog around to the old airport and where the free pool is - yes, free!  Great facility, although it is 25 yards so about 22m. A bit shorter than I'm used to!

That evening the ironman week kicked off properly with a cultural event welcome, Heroes of Hawaii.  It was billed as an opportunity for athletes and their families to experience the culture of Hawaii as well as see some of the legends of the sport.

It was a really relaxed evening with stalls set up for different activities that you could go around and try and/or view, such as lei making, genealogy, weaving, Hawaiian massage and tapa making.  There were also traditional dances on the stage and a finger food buffet kept everyone's hunger at bay.

One of the highlights, though, was Mike Reilly (the voice of ironman) introducing and interviewing three legends of the sport: Dave Scott, Mark Allen and Paula Newby-Fraser.

We then got to be groupies as the three of them stayed around and signed posters for us all, although my highlight of the evening was getting a fourth signature on my poster - from Mike Reilly.  As the most well known voice of ironman he has called thousands of athletes home with the famous yell "insert name here You Are An Ironman!". Mike called me in on my first ironman in New Zealand and every IMNZ finish since, and he was there to announce my Kona lottery slot and then try to get some sense out of me on stage.  So it was great to catch up with him and remind him of that night in Taupo when Leigh and I shrieked the hall down.  And he did remember!

All in all it was a great evening and a perfect way to begin ironman week.  

Kona 2014 - Day 5 Update

Whew - it's not getting any cooler here!  As we count down to Saturday, now less than a week to go, the temperature continues to be at the forefront of my mind during most activities.  As I write this at 9.00pm it is still sitting at just under 30 degrees - all fans are going but we haven't yet resorted to air conditioning and hopefully will be able to continue coping without it until I cross the finish line Saturday evening!

Today was a real cooker - a 57km bike ride into town on the bike course, organized by the Tri Travel crew.  Of course there had to be a mini-disaster along the way to keep me on my toes!

We met at 6.30am to have our bikes (carefully) loaded into trucks while we piled into a bus for a tour of the bike course.  We headed all the way out to the bike turnaround at Hawi ("ha-vee") before coming back and stopping at Kawaihae.

Enroute our tour director, Shane, regaled us with Kona history and traditions, including having us stop at Waikoloa to build stone cairns as an offering to Madame Pele for a safe journey on Saturday.

It was a great opportunity to reflect on the journey we had been on and to be thankful for the opportunity to be on the island competing in this iconic event.

Although TriTravel are an Australian-based company, Pete and I weren't the only Kiwis on tour, and I wasn't the only one sporting the Team Kiwi kit on the bus.  Richard Beamish was also with us and taking part in his first Kona race - as a winner of a spot in the general lottery. So it's been great to have a fellow Kiwi to help balance out the green and gold!

After making our peace offering we all piled back on the bus and headed up to Hawi, checked out the turnaround point of the course and then it was back down to Kawahai where we would start riding.  As we got to the carpark there was the impressive sight of around 40 TT bikes all lined up along the fence waiting for us.  Nice!

The only thing left to do, then, was ride.  And so we did.  We set off in different groups and different paces and the important thing was to get a feel for staying on top of our nutrition, adjusting to the winds and not smashing our legs.

I got into an easy pace early on - helped immensely by the fact that we started by having to climb a hill!  But throughout the ride I was able to stay on the aeros.  The section of the highway we were riding on, through the lava fields all the way back into Kona, is rolling rather than flat but nothing so steep that I had to get out of aero.

At around 25km in we reached Scenic Lookout and Tri Travel had an aid station set up here where we could refill our bottles with water and electrolyte and take a minute to enjoy the view.  It was a brilliant day and not too windy by all accounts, although there was a persistent wind all around me while riding - plenty to stop me getting bored!

The riding conditions were certainly like nothing I had ever experienced.  Apparently we had a tailwind, however I had hot air blowing in my face all the way back.  At times we'd also get blown around from crosswinds, especially after passing through a cut out. And then I also had the surreal experience of climbing at 38km/hr whereas at the next climb I was down to 19km/hr.  Again this must have been wind affected but there was no way of knowing where it was going to blow from next and so it really did just come down to putting your head down and just keep pedaling. 

Another stark contrast to deal with is the exposed nature of the course.  While courses like Taupo and Cairns have been really hot on occasion (when it's not bucketing down with rain!), the thing I've noticed with Kona is that there is absolutely no shade - no tree cover at all along the course.  So you are out there in full sun, exposed to the elements for 6 hours and then back out there in the same spot for virtually all of the run.

It's therefore going to be crucial to stay cool and make use of everything on offer at the aid stations.  Ice to go in water bottles, water over the head, ice in the cap.  If needs be I'll even stop at the bike aid stations to make sure I've picked up what I need to stay cool and hydrated.  The few seconds lost will be more important in the long run.

The last section into town went by uneventfully, until I got to the airport.  At that intersection I rode over an innocent looking manhole cover and seconds later heard the familiar sound of my Fuel Cell bouncing down the road.

What the?!

It was loaded up with spare tube, gas canister and tyre levers, so shouldn't have been bouncing around, but as I hauled on the brakes and looked back, sure enough there it was in its two pieces lying on the road with the contents nearby.  I parked the bike against a post to go back and retrieve it and looked up from the bike just in time to see a car run over the bottom (hard plastic) section of the Fuel Cell, smashing it into a thousand bits.

That's that then.

It then became a recovery mission of the contents which I was at least able to put into my back pocket to ride back to base with.  A trip to visit the Specialized boys at the expo on Tuesday will be required to sort out this problem as it's the 3rd time it's happened and I don't want to be thinking about it happening again on Saturday...

All in all, though, a great ride - 57km in 1hr 53min, and great to get a taste of the Queen K prior to race day.

On our return I was able to get the bike checked over to ensure everything had come through the flight OK and she was race ready.  Triathlon Australia and TriTravel had arranged for Anthony Moustakas of CBD Cycles in Melbourne to join the tour and be the bike mechanic for Team Australia and the TriTravel tour.  Fantastic service and much appreciated for the peace of mind it provides.

That afternoon we had our first look at the ironman merchandise, caught up with Coach Dave at Lava Java for a cold drink and then that evening we spent a couple of hours hanging out at John Newsom's condo where he was having a bit of a Q &A session for people on the IM Talk taper camp.

All in all another great day in paradise, with things definitely starting to ramp up in town.

Tomorrow a bit of a swim with the TriTravel crew.

Kona 2014 - Day 4 Update

Less than one week to go - hopefully a week from now I will be finished, or very close to finishing, my race of a lifetime at the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

Today we got another taste of the heat I will be dealing with next week with the first of Tri Travel's organized activities - the Energy Lab Run.

The Energy Lab is actually the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii, a research centre devoted to oceanic and environmental research (http://nelha.hawaii.gov/about/) and is notable for a couple of reasons.  Firstly the ironman marathon does an out and back leg into the Energy Lab and secondly the geological features of the landscape there mean it is hotter than being out on the Queen K.

Our run today was supposedly an out and back course into the Energy Lab of up to 12km. The bus took us to a car park about 3km south of the turnoff and we would run from there, into the energy lab, down to the turnaround and then retrace our steps back to the bus.  Being an out and back meant that we could turn around at any point and do a shorter run if we wanted.

On this trip I was joined by St Pete and the bus was full as we headed out of town to the starting point.  After a quick group photo we set off, the slower ones (including me!) first with the faster guys leaving last.

Tri Travel had everything well organized.  At around each 2.5km they had an aid station set up with water and electrolyte available plus at the end there were Power Bars to munch on.  First we had to get to the end though!

We set out at a nice easy pace and my plan was to take it easy and steady. The important thing was to just keep the legs ticking over and get a feel for running in the heat.  At the first aid station I was feeling pretty good and took a cup of electrolyte. I then grabbed a cup of water and tipped it over my head and carried on running.

Big mistake.

About 3 steps on I realized that 90% of the water had bounced straight off me and my head was now feeling pretty toasty.  However I didn't want to stop so toughed it out to the next aid station, at the turn off into the Energy Lab.  At this point I actually took my cap off and poured the water into the cap, completely drenching it and then taking a second cup of water and pouring that over me more deliberately, so that 90% of it actually hit me rather than missed.

This strategy was much better and lesson was learnt for the remaining aid stations.

The run to the turnaround took a bit longer than anticipated - instead of getting to the turnaround at 6km the Garmin claimed we were at 7.3km. Nothing like a 1300m discrepancy to induce a debate about the relative quality of GPS watches!  However St Pete's Nike watch agreed with the longer distance and one of the other guys also showed over 7km on his Garmin as well so we weren't buying Shane's story that we had only done 6km!

Debate over it was time to start heading back and this involved a bit of a climb back to the Queen K highway.  The climb itself wasn't so bad but the stifling heat was.  It was completely still and the heat really made for a challenging test - and it was only 9.30am!  I wasn't about to start speculating what it would be like later on in the day when I'm likely to be out there.

Turning onto the Queen K, though, was infinitely better - instantly we found a breeze again and even though it was a hot breeze it was still easier to deal with than the stillness.  Apparently the topography of the Energy Lab is such that the breeze we could feel on the Queen K skims about 10 feet off the ground in the Lab, missing us completely and turning the bottom 10 feet into a greenhouse, and it therefore is legendary as a particularly tough and epic part of the course.

We finally got to the bus, just under 15km and around 95 minutes later. I was really happy with the session - nice steady pace all the way, no walking (stops only at aid stations) and easily could have continued.  And those chocolate Power Bars at the end tasted really good!

Back to our accommodation and it was time for a quick shower and then out for another pick up for the group shopping trip.  There we got to pick up supplies at Bike Works and then a grocery run at Safeway.

We then had a couple of hours spare so caught up with Coach Dave at Lava Java (I think he's got a permanent table with his name on it!) before getting ready for the TriTravel dinner at Humpy's.  This was a great buffet meal with lots of fresh salad options, fish, chicken and meatballs as well as a pasta station.  After my experience at Cairns I stayed well away from the pasta!

At the dinner we sat with a fellow Team Kiwi member, Richard, who had also gained his slot via the (general) lottery and so was fulfilling the dream of a lifetime.  We also managed to rub shoulders with Pro, Tim van Berkel, who is racing Kona for the first time and came along to the dinner.

All in all a great day, albeit a very hot one!

Tomorrow we meet up early for a reconnaissance of the bike course and then a 50km ride back into town.  Looking forward to it!

Kona 2014 - Day 3 Update

Turtle power!

Today's update is brought to you by turtles.  Yes, I know we had the excitement of seeing them from the shoreline yesterday. But today was different, and infinitely better.

Today a turtle came and joined my swim, making it the best swim ever - I'm easily entertained.

It was another early start to the day, alarm off at 5.30 to have a leisurely breakfast of eggs, prepared by the one and only St Pete, and then an easy stroll down to the pier in time for a 7.00am swim.  The pier was noticeably busier today and for the first time an Ironman information gazebo was up with water and electrolyte on offer for anyone to have before or after their swim.

My instructions were to do an easy 30 minutes in the water and then a 60 minute ride out to the airport and back.  I jumped into the water and again had a nice cruisy swim out along the buoy line enjoying the fish life below. At around 700m I turned around and started heading back in, this time making sure I stayed REALLY wide of the buoys - wasn't keen on getting head butted two days in a row!

About halfway back I saw him.  An adult Hawksbill Sea Turtle came cruising the other way and stopped me in my tracks. I turned to watch him and at the same time noticed a guy on a paddle board slowly making his way toward me with a GoPro trained on a swimmer alongside him. I alerted them to the turtle and the chick swimming also stopped and we spent around 30 seconds checking out the turtle before he decided he had had enough of us and scooted away.

Swim over we headed back to the condo and I headed out on the bike for my first proper experience of the Queen K and the lava fields.  

As I was heading out of town, up Palani Rd I caught up to a group of guys and followed them onto the Queen K.  They were doing around the same speed as I wanted to do, fractionally slower, but we were humming along at around 34km/hr and so it wasn't worth trying to get past them - this was supposed to be an easy spin after all! So I sat on the back and stayed with them until a couple of kilometers past the airport when the time was showing 34 minutes and time for me to turn around.

At that point I stopped to take a couple of photos and take in the landscape. It was hot and very exposed but the road conditions were fantastic - super smooth bitumen, wide shoulders so plenty of room to ride without annoying cars and trucks and rolling terrain

The ride back, then, was solo and gave me a perfect preview of what to expect on race day. Although the grasses didn't seem to be moving there were plenty of side winds to stop me from getting bored and the heat made me so glad to be wearing my Specialized Evade helmet rather than the old Giro aero helmet I had. I don't know how anyone with a full aero helmet copes in these conditions - they must cook!

It was good to get back and I was happy with how it all went.

Training over for the day and it was time for a walk and an ocean paddle 

and then a yummy lunch of Oneo Salad and grilled fish at Lava on the Rocks before heading back to the pier where we spent a couple of hours on the front lawn of the King Kam hotel having a swim (watching more fish!) and having a generally relaxing time.

A coffee at Lava Java on our way back home finished off the day nicely and my final job to complete was to add a bit of bling to Black Beauty in honour of today's find.

Tomorrow the Tri Travel activities start - with a run at the Energy Lab.  Oh yeah baby!

Kona 2014 - Day 2 Update

Well Kona certainly is a great part of the world to be in right now. 

It was a pretty easy day - coach had instructed just a light swim to do and so we met Dave down at the Pier at 7.00am. I had been experiencing more mental issues with the swim than usual over the past couple of weeks and so this morning was the opportunity to put them to rest and get happy in the water again.  Swimming (/freezing) in an outdoor pool over winter probably didn't help and so this morning's swim was the perfect tonic.

A row of orange buoys had been set out along the course and so we headed out, enjoying the warm water and being entertained by the fish below us.  At around 750m there was a white marker post indicating the turnaround for a 1500m swim and so we turned there and started heading back for shore.

The return trip was potentially hazardous as it turns out, as we suddenly found ourselves swimming back towards athletes still swimming out.  

Think two-way traffic on a single lane road.  

Here we were in the middle of an ocean and everyone wants to swim (both ways) in a strip of water around 1m wide!  I realized the problem after about 50m of swimming back when the first person swam over the top of me in the opposite direction.  After that I swam wid(er) but still had to sight often to make sure no one was making a beeline for me and still ended up having to take evasive action a couple of times.

Anyway, we made it back to shore, stopping enroute to chat to one of the volunteers sitting on a kayak watching us.  Well actually Dave stopped to chat to one of the volunteers sitting on a kayak while he waited for Irongirl to catch up!  Turns out WTC arranges for volunteers to do a 3 hour stint in kayaks each morning from now until race day to ensure everyone's safety in the water. Evidently we'd be surprised how many people turn up to the world championships having never swum in the ocean before...

After our swim we headed to Lava Java for breakfast, devouring a plate of grilled fish, scrambled eggs and fresh fruit while watching the world go by.   Oh, and the coffee wasn't too bad either.

Breakfast done we headed back to our condo to get changed and then it was out the door again and a trek to the closest supermarket, about 30mins walk away.  There we stocked up on supplies for the next few days and I bemoaned the lack of decent yoghurt available. Everything was low fat, high sugar - no wonder America has an obesity problem. Yuk!

With fully laden packs we made our way back to the condo - think 30 degrees, 70% humidity by then, stopping briefly at a fresh fruit market not far from where we are.  Fresh pineapple, papaya, avocados were there to tempt us and I figured we should make the most of it!

By the time we got back it was time for lunch so a quick bite to eat then it was back down the road to meet Jody, a fellow athlete from Melbourne who I had met through Facebook. We sat down and had a cold drink with her and again watched the world go by, this time with the added attraction of dolphins playing in the ocean right beside us. 

The rest of the afternoon we took the opportunity to explore the downtown area of Kona, checking out the shops and generally trying to get adjusted to the temperature and humidity. A highlight of the wander was a small detour to the waterfront where we were entranced by several turtles in the shallow water having a good feed of something.  They were engrossed in their dinner, occasionally popping a head out of the water for a second to have a look around but generally it was just the top of their shells or a flipper that we saw poking above water level.  Didn't matter though, just seeing them potter around in the shallows was enchanting enough.

We finished off the day in the pool back at the condo - a cooling dip was in order and then a dinner of freshly cooked tuna and salad. St Pete is back in the kitchen!

Tomorrow - another swim and a bike in paradise.

Kona 2014 - Day 1 Update

We have arrived!  A pretty uneventful flight but glad to finally touchdown in Kona this afternoon.

First impression as we flew in - desolation!  The lava fields create a surreal landscape around the airport and the palm trees surrounding the terminal seemed almost artificially tropical against the backdrop of Madam Pele's outbursts.  Outstanding to see and to think we will be riding through this in 10 days' time - an exciting thought.  

Coach Dave was at the airport meeting others off the same flight so it was great to see him briefly before we headed to our accommodation with the TriTravel crowd. 

Then it was straight into unpacking the bike and heading out with Dave for a quick ride to shake out the legs and make sure all was in working order.

And it was!

Weather is great - depending on your definition of great... Balmy temperatures - but high humidity!  Very glad to have 10 days to get used to this :)

Tomorrow's plan, an early swim then stock up on supplies and then some relaxation.  More updates tomorrow.

Aloha.

KONA 2014: A time for reflection

I write this from the couch, laid low today with a cold - a sure sign that I have reached taper having done all I can to prepare for the big dance in 15 days' time.  My body is at it's lowest ebb and I will spend the next two weeks recovering, getting back to full health and getting mentally ready for the most amazing adventure of a lifetime.

Next week St Pete and I leave for Kona, Hawaii. Coach Dave will already be there and dad will arrive the following week.  Team Irongirl will be on the ground and I will be posting regular blog updates for the rest of Team Irongirl scattered around the world.

But before we get there I wanted to dedicate this post to a bit of reflection. The last 6 weeks have been tough. Moving house and training through winter have provided plenty of challenges and St Pete has had to weather more than his fair share of irongirl irrational meltdowns.  To get through I've done a lot of reflection and reminded myself of my many strengths.  So I wanted to share with you some thoughts I've saved via Pinterest and drawn upon when things got particularly tough.

Pull over to the side of your journey and look how far you've come.  18 years ago, at the ripe old age of 30, I tipped the scales at 108kg. For those of you who didn't know me back then it's probably hard to imagine but it does mean that I particularly empathise with those larger girls I see out there exercising and getting the job done any way they can. For me it's been an incredible journey of self discovery and I still have to remind myself that I am now 50kg lighter.  I could write a whole book about that journey!

Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life.  Keep the faith. It will all be worth it in the end.  During a big week, when I was tired and literally just focusing on getting through one day at a time I was also struggling to see any improvement or any indication that I was ready to do an ironman. During those times I just had to trust the process, trust Coach Dave and know that I would come out the other side in good shape.  I will also be channelling this on the day!  Without doubt it's going to be a tough day at the office but it will all be forgotten when I hit that finish chute.

Conquering the fear and just going for it.  The swim, the swim, oh how I love the swim.  Anyone who's spoken to me prior to an ironman will know that I'll be a happy camper as soon as I'm out of the water and riding.  Kona is no exception and, in many respects, will be my biggest fear to overcome.  Faster swimmers to try and hang onto, fewer swimmers around me with the men going off ahead of the women this year and no wetsuit. Yep, conquering the swim fear will be the major part of my mental prep once we get to the big island.

You are stronger than you realize. You are more capable than you can imagine. I had to remember this a few times during big weeks when I had a less than optimal run or struggled with a swim set. I'm sure St Pete rolled his eyes more than a few times when I walked in the door complaining about not nailing a session - "I couldn't even run 5km today, how am I going to run a marathon in 4 weeks's time?" was the type of thinking I had to be shook out of on more than one occasion.  In a fortnight, though, game face will be on and I know my mental strength will take over. That marathon is mine for the taking!

There are no shortcuts to endurance. You have to train yourself to make peace with the long route every day, and do it, and love where it is taking you.  I had to remember this every time I headed out for a 4 hour ride, or a 5km swim. Consistency was the key and over the past 4 years a training set an hour or less has become thought of as just a short session. And who wouldn't love the fact that this is taking me to Kona?!

I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I'm simply trying to be better than the person I was yesterday.  A podium finish holds no interest for me and I don't even have a time goal for Kona.  All I want to do is finish, soak up the experience and know that I have done the best that I can.  And while I started out my ironman career as a back of the pack athlete who has slowly worked my way up to mid-pack, I am content with the knowledge that Kona will likely see me well and truly at the back of the pack again.  Online followers, you'll be in for a long day - you have been warned :)

Strength. A river cuts through a rock not because of its power but it's persistence.  If there's something I'm good at it's being persistent!  But when I'm out in the middle of the lava fields, no doubt battling the famous winds on the bike, or running through the scorching heat of the Energy Lab I'll be remembering to just keep moving forward, no matter how hard it seems at the time.

And one final mantra, for which there is no picture: St Pete rocks.  

Enough said :)

So there you have it, some of my favorite inspiring quotes and mantras that I try to live by, and will be calling upon on 11 October.

Kia kaha Team Irongirl - let's do this!