Diary of an Ironman one week to go

B-B-B-Bring it on, we’re ready!

I’ve had the most frustration week of trying to make contact with the rest of the world. I’ve spent too much time at the internet cafe. First it wouldn’t recognise my USB with all my addresses on it. Then Sandy forgot her password, we both have e-mail addresses on the same account. She kept trying every different possible password (her computer at home remembers it for her). Anyway the short story is, the e-mail provider got sick of all the attempts to log on and shut down my account.

Training has been going very well. Swimming in the ocean is the best way to start the day. Breakfast on the verandah (lanai in Hawaii) of fresh paypaya and tree ripened bananas from the farmers market.

Yesterday we rode from Waikola out along the Queen K highway to the end near Kawaii, turned and came back for a run through the resort grounds. Paradise in the middle of the lava desert. The winds were mild (by Hawaii standards). The day before we parked at Kawaii and rode up to Hawi and back. Again the winds were milder than I have felt here in the past.

It took us 1hr 50min to ride up and back. It felt the best ride I have ever done up to Hawi and back ever. My concentration was the best it’s ever been. A very underestimated skill in racing the Ironman is, the ability to maintain concentration over a long period of time.

Yesterday after our lava field workout we picked up Pete Jacobs from the airport. He’s staying with us for a couple of days until his parents arrive. He’s so relaxed. That’s the one thing our little group at the Kona Tiki has going for it. We’re all so relaxed. Lots of laughing and story telling. Susan Casey is staying downstairs, directley below us. It’s amazing how well she’s acclimatised, especially living in Launceston (last week the max temperature in Launceston was 16C)

So far the hire car thermometer has been telling us it’s been 86-90F, which has been no trouble to handle. After a run or bike workout you realise the heat build up in the body by the flow of sweat after you stop. Today after jogging back from the swim start, we all went in for another swim to lower the core temperature. What a way to do it? Swimming around looking at all the little fish in the clear water.

Today after our swim I ran into my old mate Lew Hollander, he’s 78yrs and lining up for his twentieth Hawaii Ironman. He invited me to the Iron Gents dinner tonight. It’s been a secret ambition of mine to one day get invited to the Iron Gents dinner. (you have to be over sixty to go) It’s like becomming one of the “tribal elders”.

I haven’t seen Darren or Marc yet, I thought I might see them at the swim start. We’ll run into each other no doubt, they know where I’m staying. They have their taper workouts on their programs which are the same as ours. We’ll possibly run into them this afternoon when we go out to the industrial estate at 2pm and run up the highway and down into the Energy Lab and back in the heat of the day. (sound like fun?) It’ll be about 90F and about 75% humidity, not all that different to the conditions on the “dirt track” at Qld Uni on a Sunday at midday.   

We  have been enjoying a glass of wine each night watching the sun setting into the ocean. Watching for the “Green Flash”. (the last moment that the sun spends in sight, the golden colour turns to green. Something to do with the light travelling through the atmosphere. I guess a bit like a rainbow.) The “green flash” is so small, many watchers say, is that it??? In twenty years I’ve only seen it about six times. The horizon needs to be completely cloud free for it to show.

It’s only a few days to go, we’re not going to get fitter, but we can get fresher. Some athletes here are not working on that plan. They’re still out there doing 4hr bikes and running 1hr runs off them???? We’re watching for the “green flash”, it’s more productive.