Hi all,
I was lucky enough to get one of the lottery slots for Kona and have a question. I watched the video from last year and noticed what looked like wetsuits. Are wetsuits legal for this race? Also, do I need to worry about jellyfish? I’ve only done one ocean race (galveston 70.3) and had a wetsuit and didn’t have a problem with jellyfish, however, I am allergic to jellyfish larvae, as I discovered in Cancun several years ago…
Wasn’t sure if having a wetsuit would help in terms of jellyfish, and wasn’t sure if they were even allowed for Kona, but on the video, it appears that people are wearing sleeveless wetsuits, so thought I’d ask… Thanks!
no jellyfish… you have to worry about sea turtles (honu), dolphins, and the Coffees of Hawaii espresso catamaran.
and no, no wetsuits. What you saw were speed suits, but I think even those are not allowed for 2010/2011.
Yes there are jellyfish. Gordo Byrn tangled with some during Ultraman one year (2004?) and ended up in the hospital and according to this article, he no longer races in Kona because of his jellyfish allergy: http://ironman.com/columns/barry-siff-offers-another-look-at-the-ironman-scene-in-boulder-colorado?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+ironman/topstories+(Ironman.com+Top+Stories)
2x on the jellyfish In 2004 on practice swim before race hit across
the forehead but cleared up in several hours.
Laurie - No wet suits at IM Hawaii. You would be well served to contact the WTC office and communicate your condition and concerns with the medical team. Jelly fish stings are quite common in Kailua Bay. I’ve been stung, but only lightly, a number of times. The docs who staff the medical tent are a bright, talented group and can help you with this issue. You would, of course, need to be prepared for a jelly fish encounter any time you’re training in the water there before the race as well. Given your knowledge of previous reactions, you might anticipate your particular needs if you got stung, say outbound in the first 5 minutes of the race and how that might be different were it at the turn around buoy. Bob Laird, MD is the Medical Director, lives in Kona, and will be able to best advise you. Call them today.
The speedsuits won’t be legal after Sept. 1st. So I guess speedo or jammers for the swim. Good luck and Congratulations, it will be my first trip to Kona as well.
i’ve spent a good deal of time in the IMH water and have been hit by something that had a tiny sting. both on bare skin and through my suit. it never bothered me, but it did register as a little sting. i’m assuming it was a jellyfish-type thing, but never saw anything, either at the time or in any of my swimming there.
i don’t want to downplay your own reactions to stings, but do want to differentiate between big jellyfish one easily sees, and the tiny ones i’ve encountered in kona.
peggy
Thanks everyone for the replys. Drat! I"m concerned now. I’ve never actually been stung by a jelly fish; however, I was stung by a ton of jellyfish larvae in Cancun several years ago. I went swimming in my bikini, and woke up the next morning with horrible spots and bumps everywhere that my bikini was covering. Found out from the locals that this is a condition called sea bathers eruption which results from the jellyfish larvae (black specs you can not see) getting under your suit, and the pressure from the suit causes the stings. I got pretty sick and it took about three weeks for me to fully recover. Not sure how I will react to a normal jellyfish sting, and I saw the article on Gordo, which is what prompted me to post this. Apparently, only some people get this reaction. I met a few others during that trip that this had happened to. I’ve been told that some people react and some don’t. What concerns me is that if I react to small little larvae, I’m scared how I might react to a real jellyfish sting.
http://www.cancuncare.com/sea-lice.htm
It usually happens to anyone if you get in sea lice.
Laurie -please let us know how this works out. It was interesting enough that I did this week’s blog on jellyfish stings. I’m particularly interested in the WTC response to your “little problem.” Thanks for sharing it with us.
Yes there are jellyfish there. I’ve been stung a couple times and had a nice red line across my cheek and forehead a couple years ago.
I don’t know if this stuff really works, but some say it does.
We saw two Portuguese ManOWars at Hapuna Beach last year(up the road from Kona ~20 miles). Much later little girl got stung and came out the water screaming “why’d this have to happen to me?!” Poor thing. The guards did post warning signs after the sting.
Didn’t see anything at DigMe Beach.
Congrats on getting picked! Enjoy!!!
Not sure if Kona is like Oahu but here we get a jelly fish influx 10 days after a full moon. Check out 808 jellyfish for info http://www.808jellyfish.com/ It looks like race weekend will be alright but the week before may have a few visitors.
Thanks for the blog post John. I’ll send a note to the ironman hawaii folks tomorrow to ask about this. I’ll let you know what response I get.
What you got in Cancun is also known as Sea Itch, small red dots/spots predominately in pubic areas, areas that rub. There is a sunscreen on the market that helps fight against catching it. Just remember to rinse off in salt water as fresh water reacts with the lavae. Do not scratch.
This does not mean that you will react more to the jellyfish, it all depends on the type of jellies.
In additions to the Jellyfish there is some type of sea lice that comes and goes. The best defense against this is a full fresh water shower right after swimming and immediate removal of any swim attire.
That sounds like sea lice… I think a bunch of people have already said that.
I swim in them almost every weekend and as long as you rinse off after your in the water, they really shouldn’t be a problem. Make sure you wash the areas where the suit is tight across your body. Legs and tummy area. Across the top make sure you rinse under your top and under your arms.
Do not apply sunscreen prior to the swim. Put it on after you have rinsed off. You won’t be able to rinse them off if they are stuck in the sticky sunscreen.
I would go so far to say that you should rinse and then change in t1. A loss of a minute or two, but unless your really going for the AG win, it won’t matter.
Good luck
CS
Laurie - this shower is 100 feet from water’s edge on the Kona pier and can rinse you clean moments after any training swim in Kailua-Kona. On race day, as you’d anticipate, there are a series of overhead hoses as you climb the stairs following your speedy 2.4 mile swim that would be even more convenient.
