VanderTri.com

Rain, rain, rain and yes more rain.  That's been the story in Seattle this spring not to mention cold, cold and cold.  I had decided to go race at Honu several months ago but it was looking like even a better idea given our weather.  The plan was for a big final training week before starting my taper to Ironman Coeur d'Alene. 

Touching down in Kona and walking off the plane and down the stairs is like entering Heaven (very hot and humid but Heaven none the less).  My friend James and I were there to get some focused training in and race at the the end of the week.  We had a great townhouse in the Mauna Lani resort which was fantastic and a great deal. 

We spent the week hammering the bike on the Queen K, running hard through the lava fields and getting in lots of quality time at A-Bay and Hapuna Beach.  It was a good hard week with a half day taper to a very hard 70.3 race. 

Race morning came early at 4 am and as I woke up I could hear the wind ruffling the palm trees it was going to be a fun day (i.e. - rough swim and windy bike).   We caught the bus to the race start prepped our bikes and pumped the tires and headed down to get in our swim skins.  The wind was blowing off shore which meant that the outside of swim course would be rough. 

Treading water at the start line bumping other athletes waiting for the cannon I wondered how my body would feel today would I have power and energy or come out flat from the big week.  BOOM, time race. 

I swam hard right from the gun and found clean water all the way to the first buoy.  At the first buoy I found some feet and sat on them.  As we turned at the second buoy we were swimming directly into the current and had choppy water to deal with but I stayed with the feet. The swim in Hapuna is amazing it's completely clear water and you can see the bottom, fish, coral, turtles even in 80 feet of water.  I exited the water in 31:47 in 110th place overall and 16th in my age group.

The transition is tough across the sand, grass and then up a 200 meter steep hill to the bikes.  I had a good transition and then flubbed the mounting of my bike by kicking one of my shoes off the pedal having to stop, unclip my other food and go back for my other shoe.  Once that was taken care of I was on my way. 

Today I felt good on the bike right from the get go.  The first few miles are fast with a tailwind before turning back into the howling headwind.  I kept the effort high and started to make my way through the field.  Like most of my rides it takes me 45 minutes to an hour to really get warmed up and into my rhythm.  After an hour I was feeling good and then hit a little "dip" in my energy and focus.  Several riders went by me in this section but didn't fret it and just stayed with it knowing what was to come in few miles.  At the sign marking 7 miles to Hawi (5 miles to the turnaround) this course gets tough the wind is hitting you in the face and it's uphill.  When I hit the sign I upped the effort and was quickly reeling in and passing the riders ahead of me.    

After the turn at Hawi it was time to scream back to T2.  This can be a white knuckle ride but today it wasn't too bad just fast as I was holding 35-40 mph for the next few miles still catching and passing others.  Finally back on the Queen K I held the effort back to the Mauna Lani and T2.  I had ridden hard but I still felt like I had plenty in the tank for the run and I'd need it. 

Out of T2 I opened with a 6:20 mile across the grassy fairway which was already heating up and getting humid.  Mile 2 was a 6:30 and I backed it off a bit to 7:00 minute per mile pace knowing what was to come.  I was in a bit of no mans land not catching anyone and not getting caught.  I finally started to close the gap on a few as we headed towards "the road", it's a 3 mile out and back section on a paved road that runs right through the lava, I call it the "road to hell".  When I hit the road I hit the gas, I could now see my competition and started to make up some ground running 6:30-6:40 mile pace.  As we exited the "road" and back onto the golf course for the final two miles.

I was still running hard but feeling the effort from the road.  I caught 3 runners with about a mile to go and got passed by a seriously fast guy and tried to go with him but with no luck.  I continued t o run hard and had my eyes on one more athlete ahead of me.  With 800 meters to go there was a runner about 30 yds ahead of me and I was determined to catch him.  The guy kept looking back to see where I was and continued to close.  With 300 meters to go I caught him and sprinted by him to the finish. 

I crossed the line in 4:35:48 a new PR by 18 seconds.  I had finished in 24th place overall (out of 1391) and 3rd in my Age Group.  The big surprise was managing to get a slot for the Ironman World Championships (i.e. - Kona) in October as the second place finisher in my age group (by 12 seconds) already has qualified and passed on the slot.  So I'll get another shot at the big dance in October and it means it's go for broke at IMCdA.  See you in Idaho.