mrw42976 wrote:
We have been here since 5/23 staying in Mauna Lani. Today is nothing short of perfect...sunny and hot with 10-20 mph winds. Yesterday were some of the strongest winds I have ridden in on the Island (been coming 10 years in a row) mike post 10-Hawi was borderline dangerous. All that wind cleared out the Vog and hopefully it stays away.
The locals are calling for calm trades so let’s hope the Vog doesn’t come back and has no wind to push it out.
Kona...different story I am told.
I picked up my volunteer stuff yesterday at the Orchid. The race course was in pretty good shape vog wise. The whole area got a light rain last night as well, so I would anticipate that race day will be very close to normal if not completely normal.
For Ironman 70.3 Hawaii Normal means: A current on the swim, usually from north to south, possible choppy conditions on the long swim leg before heading back to the beach. Moderate winds at T1 through the Mauna Lani turn around (although yesterday morning the wind was howling straight down the Queen k towards the south). A warm ride to The Upolu Point airport sign (That's the bike turn around) along with cross winds and some gusts. If you're going to get rain on the bike it'll most likely be from Mahukona on the climb towards Hawi. It'll be toasty and windy on the return to T2 at the Orchid. From Kawaihae Junction to the turn into the Mauna Lani Resorts there should be about 8 hills. I haven't been riding that section in ages so I'm saying that based upon memory. I could be wrong. The run is a double loop these days. The good news is the Hell's Kitchen run is half what it used to be, the bad news is you do it twice. The golf course is humid if it rained the night before.
Oh and please be careful with your trash. They're serious about penalties for runners. Or so I'm told.
Good Luck to everyone. If you're an early arrival on the bike, I'll be out in Hell's Kitchen early making deliveries in a red Tacoma blaring whatever music I can find that has a good tempo to it.
As the 40th IMWC approaches in Mid October I'll be posting an all new Survival guide (instead of the updated version) and hopefully, the Queen K will be finished and the vog will be nothing more than a passing mention.
Aloha
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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -- A fake Albert Einstein "quote"