Part Five - Isn't Life Grand! |
| Good Morning! Well, 48 hours from now I will be swimming out in Kailua Bay. The clear water around me, coral and tropical fish below me. The weather is a bit different this morning. More cloud cover and the wind is going already. Of course, I don't think it makes much of a difference in Hawi whether it is windy or not in Kona. Once we head north, it's par-tee time. Oh yeah! So today is moving day. The lads are still asleep, but not for long as this must be a record for Brad to sleep. Living with two other guys in a one bedroom condo brings me back to my college days. Kind of like living in a mini-frat house. Wim is from Seattle, so he's almost Canadian | Last night I had dinner with three fellow Canucks. Bev is doing the race and we are real proud of her. Imagine coming from Calgary to Kona. Not the easiest acclimatisation challenge. Luckily for Bev she is naturally lean and that will help dissipate the heat. We ate dinner at a restaurant that is directly over the finish line. The balcony is open and a warm ocean breeze was blowing all night long. So nice. We looked out along the swim course and watched while darkness arrived in Kona. John and Bev are thinking about coming down to NZ when I will be there. They were also thinking of doing some cycling around the bottom of the south side of the island. I warned them about how cold it might be and then realised that they are going to be coming out of Calgary in the winter. Doh! Even if it is a few degrees above freezing and raining... they'll be loving it. Thanks for your messages. I am sure that you will understand if my replies are a little short. There is so much to pack into each day. |
| So what are YOUR goals when you race? If you are like me, then normally you are trying to go faster than last time. Why? Because that is what we are "supposed" to do. The heroic struggle for improvement. One of the issues with getting faster is that these PRs get progressively more difficult, and you need to keep a tight lid on your ego. I heard Peter talking about different races and how sometimes you are flat. He is a true champion and mentioned that his goal in each race is to extract all he can on the day. If he is 80% then he wants to get a full 80%, not 79%. What if your goal was to love every minute of every race? You might not win Hawaii (not a danger for most of us!!!), but you could have a long and happy racing career. This place is great, and I am having a blast. However, some folks manage to experience "Kona" in their everyday lives. Aren't they lucky! It's early in the morning and that is when I do all my creative writing. I guess what I am saying is that while these days are very special and I am honoured to be part of the event, it helps to step back and keep things in perspective. Some would say I gave up a lot to get to Kona, but if you know me you will understand that I really didn't have any choice. My race in Vineman was a gift - from God maybe, but certainly a gift. | Maybe it wasn't a gift. Gift has a free connotation to it. Maybe it was a reward. A reward for many hours of hard work. Is it work if you love what you are doing? Society tells us that we shouldn't like work, that leisure is more fulfilling. That's not what I have found. True leisure bites - it nearly killed my grandfather. Working towards a goal is far more fulfilling. That's probably why IM is such a great journey. A huge, intimidating goal that requires a major shift in life's priorities. Maybe not priorities, but certainly in time allocation. Personally, I shifted my priorities, and in doing so discovered what my true priorities were. Many think that IM athletes are selfish. They are probably right by the dictionary, but given a choice (and we all have a choice), the right direction for me is to be true to my calling. Right now the Underpants Run is calling, so I have to go!  The Underpants Run Takes Kona! |
| Back from the UPR. Totally stupid and pointless. A lot of fun. Huddle is in China so they brought a cardboard cutout of the guy! There was also a giant Perogie with pants. I hope the Perogie was getting scale because I was sweating and all I had on was a pair of Brad's micropants. The Perogie was wearing the equivalent of a double fur suit. He hung in for a couple of blocks, but we dropped him at the halfway point. We saw John Collins, Paula and Heather. John was pretty stoked. I guess the run brings back memories of his original intentions for the event. Fun, not too serious, you and the elements. The run was a lot of fun. I'm glad I did it. Man oh man - it was toasty. |  Meeting new friends |
| Back from my chat with the doctors (Joe's Conference). The highlight of my talk occurred before I even entered the hotel. When I arrived Joe was giving Karen Smyers the run-down on Ryan's Olympic race. He introduced me to Karen, and I had a chance to meet the lady who inspired me during my Half Vineman race earlier this year. It wasn't long before a guy from NBC grabbed her and they were off. I guess she's commentating with them this year. One tough lady. The conference was running a bit long, so Joe and I listened to a 30-minute description of how to inject a vein in the neck. That first talk left me with one over-riding impression, do your best never to get sick! The list of possible complications was not pleasant, and this was a simple procedure (I think). Joe gave a very kind introduction for me and was predicting a PR on race day. That was before lunch and I told him about my training after IMC! My talk was basically about my recent life history, the training I do for IM, my daily nutrition, periodisation (just a little), sodium needs, hydration needs, race day nutrition and what it feels like to actually do an Ironman. It was a lot of fun to do the talk and I think the people enjoyed listening to me. One lady even told me that I should speak for a living. I told her that is what I am heading towards with my new life. | After the talk, Joe and I had lunch. We ate Thai food and that reminded Joe about his time in Vietnam. It was a good opportunity for the two of us to talk about something other than coaching or training. Of course, we talked "just a little bit" about training towards the end of the meal. You can't have a tri-guru at your table and not ask a few questions. Joe had to dash to a book signing so I headed back to our new condo. Let me tell you that we have SCORED with our new place. No road noise, a nice view of some trees, three beds, plenty of shade. Heaven! We are also less than five minutes from the pier, and it is cheaper than our other place. Needless to say, I am booking for next year ASAP. Once back at the place. I sorted my race gear, pinned my numbers and we headed to bag hand-in. I've noticed that each race I do, I have less race gear. This time was no different. Walking over to the King Kam, we were in direct sunlight and it was very hot. Hope we have cloud cover on Saturday. Outside bag hand-off, I heard a rumour that Luc van Lierde has pulled out and gone back to Europe! This is big news and I am sure the Inside Tri boys will be able to confirm for me. Tonight is the carbo load dinner, but Joe invited me to the Inside Tri cruise and that sounded like more fun. So... I'm off for a cruise. |
| Yes, it looks like LVL is out. That will change the nature of the race. I hope Thomas Hellriegel wins! Something about his attitude appeals to me. |
| Oh Lord, life just keeps getting better! Back from the sunset cruise as well as the Carbo Load dinner. The cruise was sponsored by Inside Tri, and it was the best. I arrived on board and immediately had John and Judy Collins walk up to me and introduce themselves. Great people. John told me the story of IM first hand (by the way, his is very proud of his Top 10 finish in 1978!). John told me how he got into triathlon. He was overweight and started running for fitness. A little running led him into marathons, that led to ultramarathons and then ultimately led to Ironman. This story was sounding very familiar! Judy told me that the real reason John thought up Ironman was that he was tired of losing shorter races, so he wanted to devise a race where he could "win by surviving"! I told her my theory on IM... The beauty of Ironman is that it lets ordinary people achieve the impossible. John and I talked about Panama, "the early days", IMNZ (he's racing in 2001) and his recent trip through England. They mountain bike toured - self supported, tents, stoves, the whole thing. They are a great couple. | Following my chat with the Collins, I talked a bit more with Joe. We talked about life, divorces (he's been happily married for 30+ years) as well as reminiscing about our very modest high school and collegiate athletic careers. Joe was an offensive lineman and that made me smile. Who would have thought that he would end up as an endurance guru? The last bit of the boat ride was the highlight. The sun was setting and dolphins were playing in the waves around the boat. I had met an interesting lady at the underpants run this morning. Nothing like making a good first impression. She does tris and works with Zoot. We were talking about Asia and the choices we make to live our lives. She's traveled a fair amount with Zoot and had a wide view of things. Smart lady, does tris, international. So I was on a catamaran in Kailua Bay, John Collins had just given me a personal history of the Ironman, there were dolphins jumping in the waves around me, and I was having an interesting conversation with someone I met 12 hours ago while soaked in sweat and wearing a pair of y-fronts. Please don't pull me out of The Matrix. |
On to the Ironman Hawaii 2000 Race Report |
and that helps keep everything mellow (if you can call living with the Energizer Bunny mellow). Of course, I am talking about Brad - the human IM machine. Brad has a theory that we should all do something scary/exciting every day. Yesterday it was snorkeling on top of rocks and breaking waves. He banged his knee a little. This was after the bodyslamming of a few days earlier (his shoulder is feeling better - thanks for asking).