![]() Swim
Comments: Once the pros took off I got in the water rather quickly. ![]() ![]() Transition 1
Comments: through the showers, grabbed my bag and hit the tent. Helmets and shoes could stay with the bike, so T1 was easy. Fill the pockets, put on the number and shades. Then the looong run to the end of the pier and back to your bike. Felt good. ![]() Bike
Comments: The ride from the pier up to the hot corner is fantastic. Just enormous crowds. Then there's the little 5 mile circuit through Kona that is mostly uphill. ![]() ![]() Transition 2
Comments: This was the slowest transition I have ever done. ever. And it was sort of on purpose. In Ironman Texas I was dehydrated and had to stop at mile 1 to rehydrate. So I sat down and took my time preparing. Took down a bunch of fluids. Even stretched my legs. It was almost 3 times slower than normal, but I was fine with it. I was here to have a good day, not to have a best time. ![]() Run
Comments: Came out of T2 and started running up Palani. After a few hundred yards and you turn right off Palani, I could feel the running legs showing up. I was able to settle into my pace pretty quick with the help of my heart rate monitor. Ran past my hotel and all my friends just before mile 1 and got a huge burst of energy. ![]() Out on the Queen K I again felt pretty good. And this actually put a smile on my face because this is where the wheels have come off before. Was I actually going to have a good day here? Nahhh. Something is bound to go wrong. This section is typically where the head can be the worst, but I'm telling you right now that I think God was looking out for me, because some clouds moved in for the next 6 miles to the energy lab. This is also a great section to be a fan, because you can see the pro's race playing out. Chrissie ran by with Rinny not far behind at all. Also got to see some of the pro men who didn't have a banner day like Lieto. Took the left into the energy lab and still felt surprising solid. Was even passing chunks of people. In previous trips the energy lab has been a spot where problems have cropped up, but this time not so much. The only issue I was starting to have was a little light-headedness if my heart rate climbed too high. This meant that I had to walk-run the hill out of the energy lab so as not to lose it. This persisted all the way back to town. Plenty of energy in the legs, well hydrated, yet light-headed on the uphill. Something I need to figure out and work on. Saw my good friend Kim Hager around mile 24 (she was on her way out) and then saw another old high school friend (Tiffany Hirtle Lindsey)shortly after. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Post race
Warm down: Got a volunteer to walk with me to the food and massage.I was very dizzy. Had some chicken broth and some pizza. ![]() Last updated: 2011-05-23 12:00 AM
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United States
World Triathlon Corporation
Overall Rank = 689/1918
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 149/240
This was my 3rd trip to Kona, and if you don't know my history of this race, I should tell you that I haven't had the greatest days here and was just looking for a solid experience a positive finish (long story). I equate my trip here to that of a Serbian swimmer or a Cuban marathon runner in the Olympics. It's awesome to be on the world's greatest stage, but I have absolutely no hope of really competing for a podium, so this is more of a participation day of sorts. This is a race full of studs, so when you swim once a week and bike once or twice a week, it's not realistic to think you're going to show up and kick butt. Anyway, onto race day...
got up at 4:30 am after being awake since 2am. Ate 2 hard boiled eggs and packed up my bags. Walked down to body marking, etc. with 2 of my friends/training partners (Rip Reynolds and Steven Rogers) who came to Hawaii to be my pit crew..