I forgot to mention one story from yesterday. While at B&L, I ran into two guys from Inside Tri magazine. While in Boulder, I trained with them and they both did IMC this year. Cam is covering the race for the magazine (now that is a dream job) and Gordon is racing this year. While hanging with the boys, Cam set me up with a very nice Inside Tri running cap - thanks Cam. That is another great thing about Kona - tons of free gear. Brad is a lot better at working the sponsors than I am. He has towels, shirts, key chains, sunscreen, lip balm, hats... there must be more. All we do is hang, and they set you up. Very generous sponsors. I guess this is their big event for advertisers, etc...

But that wasn't the story. So I am talking to Cam and I zone. Cam looks over his shoulder to see the cause

Have you ever met a person that looked so good that they should be considered art? I've been fortunate enough to meet a few. I can always tell when someone fits in that category because you feel this sense of calm when looking at them - everything is perfectly arranged on their face, and a strong inner energy comes from them. As for the fairness of it all, well you can read about that on my Philosphy Page.

So, Lokelani qualifies as a work of art in my opinion. The GQ cover makes her look good, but to fully appreciate the situation you have to see her in real life. One of the most beautiful women I have every seen. It was nearly enough to make me to reconsider my current stance on being single. Of course, it was likely that my adrenal gland was acting up.

So after my mission to the marina - during which I heard my first forecast for Saturday (h-h-h-h-h-hot and not too windy) - I headed to Nail Trixx (sorry, spelled it wrong yesterday).

There are two things that I like about getting my legs waxed. First, it always hurts less than the time before. Second, the ladies are always friendly and happy. Perhaps they are secretly enjoying it? Perhaps we both are. Maybe it is a bit novel to have a guy from out of town stroll into the shop.

Van was from Vietnam via LA. I couldn't place her accent until after she told me. We had a typical Asian conversation. The price of local real estate, what I do for a living, do I have a girlfriend, how old am I, why am I in town? Made me smile. She told me the value of her house, the state of the local rental market ($1,200 a month for a one bedroom apartment by the sea!) as well as her total monthly expenditures on all items, including the rent on her shop. There are certain things I love about Asian culture, and blunt financial honesty is one of them. Of course, telling an Asian businesswoman that you work for an investment company in Hong Kong is asking for trouble when you haven't agreed to the waxing prices. I knew the risks

Now, the funny thing about the above paragraph is, my friends in Asia are going to read that rental figure and think... right on, I'm going! My friends in Canada/Oz will convert and think... killer prices, eh! Just goes to show that it's all about perspective.

Van had a great waxing technique. She would smack your skin a few times to distract you and then RIP! Worked very well. She was impressed with how I took the waxing, but let it slip that I didn't really look like an Ironman athlete. I asked why and she said that I was too pale! Of course, she also said that I looked younger than 31 and I told her that the two were related to my fear of solar radiation. Of course, that comment got me thinking that maybe I have gone soft in my seven weeks of recovery. Four days until we find out.

Back to the waxing technique. The slapping method worked well until she came to my upper inner thigh. How can I say this delicately? Suffice it to say, I think she has more experience with women. If she was tapping any closer I would have sustained a direct hit. As it was, several near misses left "my boys" feeling jostled and mildly stunned. I should be OK for race day.

Back to the apartment, lunch, writing and now it is the hottest time of the day. Off for my last acclimatisation workout.

In the marshalling area, I caught up with a few of my pals from Hong Kong as well as some of the Canadian contingent (including Jason, the dude who ran sub-three off the bike and smoked me at mile seven of the run). I wished Jason a great race. I hope he does well. With his leg speed, I think he has what it takes to get up on stage.

So, the parade ended just as Joe arrived and we headed off to dinner. Joe is a great guy, and if you ever get the chance to attend one of his seminars then I would highly recommend it. He is extremely knowledgeable, yet understated - a quality that I admire, but have a tough time emulating.

We headed out to the marina for dinner and arrived as the sun was setting. We had a beer, watched the sun go down and talked about training. My idea of the perfect meal! I also had a chance to hear first hand about the Olympics and Ryan Bolton's race. That was neat. Look for a number of the shorter distance guys to make the jump to IM racing. My life isn't going to get easier!

I realised something about Kona today. The reason it is so cool is that EVERYBODY is here. You walk down the road and you are living the dream. You are living a copy of Inside Tri. That's a lot of fun. I saw Joanna Zeigler again and have to say that she is looking very fit. It will be interesting to see how she goes. Still do not have a confirmed "Big Hair" sighting. However, I saw Peter again. He was sitting at a Powerbar booth about two miles from the pier. He was handing out Powerbar chunks and signing posters. Back to Joe...

The Marina restaurant serves monster beers that have to be more than a pint. They arrive in massive frosty glasses that look like overgrown sundae dishes. Fun. I'll have to partake again on my return to race the Kona 1/2 in the spring.

End of season breaks - Joe is a big believer in a recovery month at the end of every season. He says that it is most important for people that have been in tri's for three seasons or more. The risk of burnout increases with the time you spend in the sport. This period should be Zone One only and totally unstructured. Just do what you want.

Chondroitin/Glucosamine supplementation - Very useful for athletes 50 and over. Sometimes good for people in their 40s. Normally not needed for 30s or younger. Joe has personal, positive experience with this supplement.

Creatine - Very cautious and has only recommended it twice. Once during the MS weights phase, and the other time during heavy power interval training. Has not heard any reports of benefits from an endurance point of view.

Very low HR, very long base training - Joe has a personal theory (not yet backed by hard science) that long Zone One training in the early base part of the season helps build a very deep fitness. His view is that this is most useful for IM distance racing. Music to my ears as this is the favourite part of my season.

How much can gordo improve? - Top secret, but I was smiling!

We talked about some other topics. I'll include these when I summarise the Science of Speed Seminar, happening on Friday. All part of the benefits of having a man on the Kona scene.

Finally, Joe asked me to come and talk at a session he is giving to a group of doctors on Thursday. Apparently, they are a little clueless about Ironman, so I am there to fill them in on training in gordoworld. Should be fun.

I just had a surprise e-mail from someone you all know. Tune in tomorrow for full details.

gordo