Life does not suck

Lunch at the Kona Canoe Club

Mood is improving

How beautiful is this

We had an eventful Tuesday in Kona (and beyond, more later). Started the day meeting the Endurance Sports Travel (Ken Glah's company which got us this fabulous condo) crew for a quick van ride to the Pier for swim. A lot more people here than on Monday for sure. Had to swim head up a bit so as to not run into others swimming. That is a bummer because can't watch the beautiful fishies! Anyhow, great swim and I feel pretty comfy in the water. We had a Chrissie Wellington (last years female champ) sighting as she was being interviewed just before her practice swim. The Dane still cannot get over the size of her tree trunks, I mean legs. Wow, is she put together. Anyhow, ran into Crowie (last years men's runner-up) before leaving and had a nice chat with him. We know him from Clearwater 70.3 '06 as we had dinner with him, Lisa Bentley and her hubby and amazingly, he always spots us in a crowd. He even said he'll yell for me if he see's me on the course........cool! We had a quick breaky at the buffet EST sets up daily then made a needed van ride to the grocery store. I guess $300 is the new $200. Next on the agenda was a van ride out to Hapuna Beach and ride the bikes back. We had a small crew, a nice girl from the UK and Adam, another American guy. She was a bit concerned about the wind as cycling is not her strong suit, according to her. Anyway, it was pretty windy out there and I had to spend a bit of time in the "oh shit" bars but not nearly as much as two years ago. The time spent riding in the hills is definitely going to pay off and I'm much more confident in this wind........unless it gets tons worse. So, 34 miles later, we end up back at the condo. It was a good ride and great practice for Saturday. We ran into Adam at the expo and he was wondering why we rode "so hard".......we didn't! It's all relative I suppose. He was nice enough to accompany the UK girl back as she was riding her own pace. We headed, as I said, over to the expo to try and meet Thunderbear (last year's men's third place, the other Dane), but he was occupied so we had a nice chat with the co-owner of Argon about their TT bike, very interesting design and got a cool t-shirt. Back to the condo to relax for the rest of the day and eat our wonderful clean food we picked up at the grocery store, Ahi tuna filets with rice and broccolini! Yummy. Slept better last night, didn't wake up at all until 5am, I'm finally getting on island time! I have a swim and 30 minute run today and am so looking forward to them both. I love training out here, you get free energy from the Gods - if you stop and feel it, it's there. Sounds strange to anyone who hasn't been here. Life does not suck....enjoy.
kia kaha

some photos

swimmers at the Pier

view from condo balcony

I am not as stressed as I appear!

Monday was a swim at the pier. The water was beautiful and clear and fish everywhere! Like swimming in an aquarium. Then, back to the condo for a 30 minute run. My legs are starting to not feel so tired. We have been walking around a lot but that's our mode of transportation. Tuesday, another swim then we'll get shuttled out to the Queen K and ride back in. Should be fun and I'll have my camera. We saw a ton of pros out training which is always cool. Later
kia kaha

Aloha from Kona

We made it in one piece and all our luggage arrived with us. Amazing. A very uneventful and pleasant trip. We arrived at the condo around 7pm (Hawaii time) and had to pick up some provisions. 70$ later at the convenience store, we had water, beer, coffee, etc. We sat on our wonderful balcony and listened to the Pacific ocean batter the lava for a while - that is therapeutic! I have a little video of it, mostly for the noise, too dark (won't download now). We haven't seen our view in daylight yet but feel certain it will be beautiful. Just put the bikes together but have no pump so will have to remedy that today. We'll head down to the pier to swim around 7am. I will try and snap some photos there.
Kia kaha

Big Thanks

Madam Pele.......on my quilt

The last masters swim practice prior to a big race is always fun. Most of the time, everyone knows you're racing and if they don't they act like they do or ask someone else. We have a pretty low key crew which keeps it light and fun. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of competition if that's what one is seeking. Just (just, sheesh) 4000 yards today so I was there for a little over an hours and pretty much saw most of the regulars. I so appreciate all the well wishes, it means so much to me. Like, Maude (best free stroke under water) wearing fins on part of the set (only cuz she's been out of the pool a few years having babies) to keep me company. Wayne, for bringing a book for me to read on my trip. May-li, always with a fun/crazy race story to share - this one about her adventures at the Duathlon World Championships......that's how she rolls. Cashel, aka Zookeeper, great coach and always just asks how many yards I need. Bill, had to ask my last name so he could keep track of my progress. I'm sure I'm leaving out some people, but those were just today. I take this energy with me and let it help me keep moving along - I'd be rich if I could only bottle it! Also, are the people at work who think I'm really nuts to be "working out" so much but many well-wishes from them also. Patients too, they seem to know all about my races sometimes........must the the girls up front telling them. It's all good and all appreciated in ways they will never know. I will do my best, you can be sure! Biggest to the Dane who is struggling to keep up at times when I'm in my taper because the pace heats a tad. Couldn't do any of this without support. I'm leaving out other friends and family but this was about people I came across today and I was overwhelmed. Big thanks!
Kia kaha

Go Rays!

I'm not much of a baseball fan but have jumped on the local bandwagon of the Tampa Bay Rays. They made the playoffs for the first time in their existance and it's nice see sports news that doesn't revolve around the Bucs (not a fan). A great story and one we'll continue to follow in Hawaii.
1051 is my bib number. It's exciting to have a number finally, makes the whole thing feel more real. I'm getting through taper well. Sleeping more due to fewer early morning swim sessions, feels kind of weird actually. The Dane is feeding me wonderful, clean dinners with plenty of protein. I'll push more carbs next week. The weather here is beautiful, nice little dry front has come through and tonight's long run (only 1:15) will be delightful. Looking forward to blogging from the Big Island...
kia kaha

5 days til.....

We leave for Kona. We are both, the Dane and I, in dire need of a vacation. So, lucky for us, we get to go to Hawaii. My trip is not "pure" vacation due to the little race I'll be doing October 11th, but to be gone and not have to work is a beautiful thing. Into taper mode now, not far enough into it apparently because I'm exhausted and still a little sore from Sunday's last "long" workout - ~80 mile ride followed by a brisk (for me, 7:1x/mile pace) 6 mile brick. I believe I'm as fit as I've been in a long time so we'll see how the race goes. I seem, however, to be getting bad news from/about people I love which makes it hard to feel that this is terribly important. I will be thinking of you Katie and Cathy (each for your own reasons) as my day gets difficult on the lava fields. Love you guys!
More as the week goes on....
Kia Kaha

friends

It is just over 2 weeks from Kona now as I sit. The Dane will be home tomorrow and my world will be better. I've spent the past few hours with a group of amazing women. One, Mary D, turns 50 tomorrow and you wouldn't be able to pick her out from a group of 30 year olds! We gave her a surprise B-day party and it was fun to socialize again. When you train for IM, you give up these nicities in life and wonder if any one will come back. In my experience, they always come back. And thank goodness for these grassroots type of friends. Life wouldn't be the same without them. I am thankful for them and the fact that they always support 'the cause' of Ironman. I couldn't do it without these folks. I've let them know that they will be thought of on the lonely strip of pavement as I go along the Queen K and persue my dreams on October 11th. They seem to understand, which is cool.
All I need now is the Dane to finish my dream....
Kia Kaha

funny

Now, this is funny: http://elizabethfedofsky.blogspot.com/2008/09/you-are-now-entering.html

I don't know Elizabeth Fedofsky (not personally, anyway)but she makes me laugh. Scary how true so much of this is!
TGIF and the Dane comes home tomorrow.
More later.....

Kona is coming!

Ok, so last "big week" for IM Hawaii is in the books and I'm still in one piece. I had a decent week. Great ride Sat with the "hills" group, luckily they wanted to get in 85 miles so I only had another 15 to do on my own. They are a great group and I am so glad I have been able to ride with this group of wonderful people. Of course, missing Linda M who is still healing from her injuries from the accident two weeks ago. The ride is definitely not the same without her and she is missed greatly! As is the Dane who is freezing his butt off in rainy Vienna. Anyhow, 100 miles in the hills in 5 hours isn't bad. Got my long run in Thursday night, last really long one. It's amazing how much harder the long run is after a full day of work in the heat than if you wake on Sunday morning fresh as a daisy. Another 'character building' experience. I can honestly say that I have more 'character' and, I think, solid fitness going into Kona this year. All I have to do now is get a good taper, pace the race, get my nutrition and I'm golden. No rock solid goals other than to finish, as always with any IM. I'd like to finish higher up than I did in '06 but I'll just do my thing out there and we'll see how it goes. I'm pretty confident in my fitness though, running my bricks off long rides in 7:20's will do that for you! I'll be happy to have the Dane back next weekend then venture off to Kona on 10/5! Thanks to everyone who has helped me and encouraged me along the way. Nobody could do this without support of friends and family. I think of everyone during the suffering for sure! I will try and do my best but having fun is also one of the goals!
Kia Kaha

Assault on Sugarloaf

Had a really good week of training this week. Other than getting rain and lightening'd out of my tempo run on Tuesday, the weather was hot and humid - great Kona prep! Decent long run on Thursday night, 2:20 but boy was it humid! I was soaked half way through. We planned to make the long ride on Sunday and do the Assault on Sugarloaf ride in Clermont. Nice, organized ride along the Great Floridian 112mi bike course - perfect. The weather was great but super hot, about 97degrees at the end of the ride which was also the beginning of my 6 mile brick, whew! I honestly don't remember Kona being this hot. Anyhow, we rode 4 hours on Sat, pretty easy overall. Drove over to O-town to stay at the Rennaisance at Sea World to cut the Sunday morning drive to 30 minutes. Very nice, empty resort hotel. We got to test out their cool sports bar and sushi restaurant, both good. Went to bed pretty early to get up early for Sunday ride. Tried to make this a race rehearsal type day so rode my race wheels and use same nutrition. Since I bonked on my brick last weekend, wanted to make sure I really loaded up this week. We had a nice ride but missed the good packs so ended up riding mostly by ourselves which is very race specific(what I wanted). The Dane had some troubles the last 20 miles or so and we had to cruise it in so he wouldn't be left out in the sticks. The course is pretty hard the first 35 miles or so then fairly flat (and windy) until the last 20 miles or so. I felt pretty good out there and didn't mind doing fair share of the pulling. Got the Dane back to the car ok then set out on my brick. I love running out there, nice paved path with no traffic and some gentle rolling hills. And, the heat! Had a great run, faster than race pace but went by feel not pace. Got done, packed up and drove back home to relax and watch some football and eat Thai take-out! A perfect weekend! The Dane leaves again for a couple weeks today and I'm sad. Having him along for my rides the past couple weeks has been so helpful and we had a lot of laughs yesterday especially. Only 3+ weeks left til Kona - I'm another hard/long week and great taper away from being ready. Can't wait!
Kia Kaha

The good and bad

I had overall a good training week - 20 hours in the log and some dead-ass tired legs. We are overwhelmed a bit with news of friend's bad bike accident when we rolled back into the parking lot on Sat afternoon upon finishing our ride. I was really upset about it and couldn't run so did the brick once we returned home (and bonked, again). Found that Linda was hit by a trailer when they were only a few miles from finishing. She is still in hospital today with four broken ribs and punctured lung. From what I've heard from those with her at the time, could have been a lot worse. Anyway, all the other stuff I would normally blab about seems pretty insignificant in comparison. She will be ok and recover but it is a scary thing to go through. We wish her speedy recovery!

kona winds........FL style

Ok, I know we cannot begin to replicate Kona winds but, when there's a significant hurricane floating around in the Gulf of Mexico, we get some good winds.....and waves. Did my 5 hour ride Sat in the hills with a small group, got smaller the longer we went then the group let me out on my own after 3 1/2 hours to finish up. No worries, I've never ridden out here in redneck heaven by my lonesome but my mental mojo for the weekend was.....no fear. I'm going to stop being afraid. Of riding alone here, of the weather, of the wind, etc. It may come as a surprise to some but I'm am quite the insecure chickenshit at times. But, like Linda M says, riding the last bit of long ride all alone "builds character". My mother always said I already have a lot of character... but, I here I am, building more. Can't hurt, right? So, off I go saying my goodbyes to my former group (thanks guys, seriously) now off to embark on character building. By the way, it's not like I haven't done long rides alone, never in the hills though. The weird thing is when there is a major storm brewing out in the drink, the weather can be very unpredictable. We got a little rain during the main ride and the pavement was wet the last bit. Then, the big black clouds were building in every direction.....challenging my "no fear" mojo. Had the opportunity to cut bait and run for the parking lot at less than 4 1/2 hours but decided Kona deserved more. It is not a course that welcomes those who cut long rides and runs short. The words "chewed up and spit out" come to mind. I digress. So then, the downdrafts of these building storms are blowing and I am struggling to keep myself and Lucille upright. Reminded me of riding the Queen K in '06 on my training ride. I tried to stay relaxed like the Dane taught me, hold the handlebars as if you are holding a small bird. Whatever that means - he's not out here with me. So, while screaming "oh shit" at the top of my lungs when the big gusts would come through, I held tough. Made it back to the parking lot unscathed. Decided the brick run would be done when I got home - way too much lightening out here for me. Got home, did my 40 minute "brick" in the rain and actually ran quite well, felt great. Sunday morning brought more winds, more steady, sustained variety. Rode the beach first to test the mojo one more time and was bouncing all over the road keeping the rubber side down. It was a hoot and appreciated this opportunity to train in the winds, I wasn't going to miss this. Got through that just fine. Picked up the Dane in the afternoon and shared my "Kona" moments with him and he wished he was there. Today, less than 6 weeks out, I feel pretty fit. Hopefully, the weather will hold up so I can get long rides and runs in. These are things I cannot control so I try not to worry about. Here I am with more character......hopefully, that helps!
Kia Kaha

TS Fay GO AWAY!!!! And new addition to family

No, it's not mine! New nephew. Congrats Mike and Allison.



Ok, I'm so over this weather! Yes, I'm happy that where I live in FL has been the least affected by TS Fay, which is a blessing since we were originally slated for a direct hit. But, the rain all week and again today is trying to sabotage my IM training. Went to bed last night not sure of where/how I would get in a long ride today. Heard some heavy rains on and off all night. Shut off the alarm at 5am and went back to sleep. Decided it was going to be a trainer day. Spent three hours in the position you see above, staring at crank arms with pain in my legs. Spent majority of that three hours just under my lactate threshold which is painful. Me, Troy Jacobson and the rest of the masochists on the "Tough Love" spinerval spent quality time together. As he says, three hours on the trainer is worth at least four hours on the road. Took one break to refill water bottles and get more Gu Roctane (thanks Gu for the freebie Kona pack). It actually went by pretty fast until about 2 1/2 hours and then I really had to dig deep and remember why I was doing this. I thought about standing on Dig Me beach in seven weeks with anticipation, fear and excitement to be competing in Kona again. The motivation was there for sure. Spent my cool down period watching the end of the women's basketball gold medal game and Lisa Lesley talking about not being afraid to set big goals because anything is possible, or something along those lines. Very appropriate at that point. Then onto the brick. Only 35 minutes. Of course, like every other run this week, it started raining as soon as I got out the door. No worries, I don't mind running in the rain as long as there's no lightening. All done now and proud that I survived the mind fuck of three hours on the trainer! Could have used some company but the Dane is back in Denmark for now. IM is a solo event after all....
Kia Kaha

possible new suit design for Kona.....

Click on the red X (I don't know how to get it to come up otherwise).
May amend but will sleep on it.
Love Splish suits!!

Beijing and Fay

Thanks sis for the poster - very neat, I thought. She leaves for Beijing today. Sis-in-law has new baby tomorrow. Exciting.
Had another good training week last week. Got rained out of long run last Thursday night so pushed it to Sunday, after two hour ride. On Sat before, did 90 miles with small group in the hills - my longest ride out there and I wasn't trashed. So Sunday, decided to do "long brick". We lucked out with overcast skies and had a good ride and great run, surprisingly.
We, then, awaited the arrival of TS Fay. Originally, we were supposed to get a direct hit so we took the appropriate steps in case this occurred. The Dane was supposed to leave for Europe but had to postpone this a few days in case of this storm. Turns out, we didn't get the storm, thank God. This storm has been quite strange, strengthened over land of all things, very unusual. Anyhow, cloudy skies and wind don't keep me inside. Hopefully won't have to move workouts around this week!
Kia Kaha

Remission and IM training...

I heard a wonderful word at my recent visit with my rheumatologist.........remission. He said that based on my steady progress, x-rays, lab work and overall assessment, my RA is considered to be in remission. Although, he didn't recommend (nor would I agree to) going off my medication due to the consistent inflammation in my left wrist. I've had this for almost 11 years and have been pretty stable for the past few years and am so grateful for that!
Our long ride scheduled for Saturday morning was not to be, the weather got the upper hand. Not the rain I mind but the lightening which, in Florida, is a regularity. I bonked on my brick run for reasons I'm not really sure of but still got most of it in. We salvaged much of Saturday boggie boarding in the rain which actually was a lot of fun. I was disappointed to not get my workout in in it's entirety but decided living to fight another day was going to have to do. We had clear skies today and made the most of it. Had a good long ride, just the Dane and me. Spent a couple hours on the sunny beach today and now watching the Olympics. Week one of IM training in the books, less than 9 to go 'til Kona. Yippeee!!
Kia Kaha

The OOOOOOOOlympic Games!

Yippee! Few people know just how much I love watching the Olympics. I will watch any sport at any hour but unfortunately, most of the action will take place live while I'm snoozing. Bummer. I will still love it anyway. The first Olympics (I'm mainly speaking of summer) I remember was '76 watching Bruce Jenner win the decathlon. I cried my eyes out when Mary Decker (my idol) fell to the ground in '84. I had the wonderful experience of seeing some of the '04 Games in Athens - dragged my sister and her husband to watch the women's triathlon, very cool! My sis will be heading to Beijing in a couple weeks to attend her 4th Olympic Games.
Pretty good training week. Swam my first real overdistance swim this morning, 5500Y. Ran long last night, 2 hours in real heat - 91* at start with heat index well over 100*. If that doesn't prepare one for Hawaii, I don't know what will. My hammy is being pretty bothersome but not much I can do for it now, 9 weeks out from IM. Couple of long rides this weekend should finish the week off right! Still playing with the bike fit but I feel dialed in much better now. Nothing like 8 hours of cycling over two days to really test that! That which doesn't kill me will only make me stronger! Besides, I want to earn my massage on Monday!
Kia Kaha

Pics from Top Gun...

enjoy..

Top Gun sprint tri RR

Ok, so the race was insignificant to the Dane coming home late Friday night! He was signed up for the race but the late arrival back home Friday night and the fact that his tri bike hasn't seen the outside of it's bike box since Rhode Island meant that he'd be volunteering! The weather all week was significant for morning thunderstorms and clouds and humidity all day long but we were in luck! No rain upon rising at 4AM. Yipee! Clouds, breeze and humidity were fine with me. I always forget that this race attracts more people than one would normally expect - over 800 were signed up. A major credit to the awesome race directors!! Anyhow, I was set to go off in wave number 5 with the 35-49 women which usually pits me against the strongest women overall....not today. This race was one for youth! The younger women (girls) went off a couple waves ahead of us so I knew if I had any chance at the overall, it was going to be a time trial effort, me against myself. I have no problems with that, I can push myself pretty hard and did. So, back at the beach, the water was a tad choppy but not bad by any stretch but the current meant keeeping the sighting in the right direction. I got a great start, off with two others in my wave but ahead of them after the last turn buoy. I figured I exited the water first in the wave and ran fast to T1 (long run to transition, I love) and got on Lucille (my bike). I was really motivated not to repeat the shit ride I had in Rhode Island (I know, it's totally different but I have issues) and rode my heart out. Nobody passed me (10 mile ride) and got off the bike ready to kill more people. I rode about 2 1/2 minutes faster than last year. Went out of T2 in a 6:16 first mile and knew I was going to pay! No worries, that's what sprint tri's are for.... pain!!! I loved it and wanted more. I was on a solo effort against the clock but died a bit at the end. Understandable since I haven't done much training in the past three weeks except easy, aerobic stuff and weight training. In the end, ended up first for masters, third overall female. I will say, when I looked at the results and splits at home later and saw #1 after each (for my wave) swim, bike and run - I was shocked. I don't think I've ever accomplished this in my triathlon life. Progress. This is my goal. Balance. This is also my goal. Slow to come, hard to get, but very worthwhile. Looking back over results, I had top 4 OA (female for all) swim, top 3 on bike, second fastest run. Who'd of thunk it! I am overall pleased with the effort, especially after looking at power numbers from the bike. I can say, the two girls who beat me (overall), should be followed for the future - they are fast! Alex Lechner and Alyssa Burkert are stars of the future, should they chose to pursue this sport! Go girls. I have no issues being beaten by girls this young, 21 and 16 - I applaud them and love to see this level of competition at our local sprint tri. Props to our great race directors!
The Dane and I rode 3 1/2 hours of fair tempo today and I wasn't trashed in the legs! Last time I'll feel that until Kona, I'm sure! Official training begins tomorrow and I'll try and get it all done but the last three weeks of winging it has been fun.
Kia Kaha

Ch ch ch ch changes......

So I just found out this morning at 5AM masters swim practice that our coach at this pool (I attend two different masters swim programs) is leaving and we may not have a new coach. WTF! I have IM Hawaii in 10 weeks and cannot deal with major changes to my training routine at this point. Bad enough that the coach at the other program changed a couple weeks ago but we do have an intermin coach who is really good and I hope she stays on. Holy crap! I don't like swimming on my own, making up workouts and challenging sets - I have no background in swimming and hence no creativity! Oh well, I'm sure something will work out.
Racing tomorrow, Top Gun sprint tri. Hopefully this crappy weather we've had all week will subside long enough for the race to go off. No goals just an hour of power and/or pain. Start training for Kona next week, officially. I've enjoyed just winging it with the training since RI 70.3.
The Dane got delayed in his travels back to the U.S. - was supposed to return home yesterday. He is scheduled to arrive tonight......hopefully
Kia Kaha