Otherwise, known as the how many ways can you mess up, screw up, have things go wrong and still finish report.
Patti and I arrive at our condo on Wednesday afternoon. Too nice to build a bike. Let’s go for a swim. I can build the bike later, after supper. Well after supper it’s too dark to build a bike and there’s not enough lighting on the condo balcony to see what you’re doing. And, it’s not a good idea to build it in the condo, because I’ll get grease somewhere. I’ll do it tomorrow after a swim with my new homies (met this British guy who raced pro and finished 15th overall). Okay, after breakfast. Finally, the bike is getting put together. This goes here - no there, that goes here and that is leftover. No, wait it goes here. Ah, done. Fill tires and install. I said fill tires. Oh crap, this tubeless system prefers a pump, which I don’t have. Haul bike and wheels separately to car and head up to race HQ to get air and go for pre-ride. Get air, head to car to install wheels, no skewers. They’re somewhere in the condo. I think. I hope! Nope not here. Okay buy some. Got em. No time to ride today. I’ll ride to race HQ Friday listen to the pros yammer on about the swim, go for ride, listen to more pros yammer about the bike (I am interested in this) and call it a day. Drop bike with a mechanic too have a quick look-see, as my rear wheel seems to be out of true. Listen to yammer session #1. Get bike and find out one of my spokes is pulled thru the rim and the rim needs to be replaced. And, they don’t have any. Okay, find new rim (2 other shops on site). Okay got one, can you lace it and get swap over the cassette. I’m not sure I’ll call the shop and see. Shawn (shop mech.) says it will get done for Sunday one way or the other. Saturday at 6 PM I have a ride able bike. Recall, I left the bike around Friday noon with the shop. Lets just say I deserve a medal for staying calm and trying to look like I’m in Hawaii with no worries. Nothing would have helped the situation so I tried to act like nothing was wrong. It’ll all work out. All the pre-race issues meant I would have a good ride on Sunday. Get the bike and head to pre-race meeting. Arrive to hear yada yada yada black sand beach and finish. What I miss? Just the part about the bike being really rough and lots of exposed rocks due to all the rain last week.
Race day. Head to transition and I’ve got the sweetest T1/T2 spot, only the pros had better spots. I’m right at the swim entrance and run exit. The bike in/out is diagonal to where I am. So, it is prefect. Out for a pre-ride on the pavement. Note, I wanted to pre-ride on the practice course so I’d know what to expect come race day. Also note that you can’t ride the bike course because it is private land. So I have not spent a second riding on any thing but pavement. Bike is ready and now get into the water and warm up. We’re off and it is an easy comfy swim to the first buoy and then its mayhem and back to easy comfy. Second buoy, less mayhem. To shore and run back to swim start about 75M. Lap two is also pretty laid back. In the end I swim with several folks the whole swim and can’t complain, other than the 29 and change it took. Oh well, I’m happy and set to rip the bike. I get one sock on and bang I’ve got a cramp and a TV camera is getting all the action. I mean a close up of my feet and me cramping and I manage not to curse. Okay got socks and shoes on, helmet and glasses, race number, okay go. I get a minute into the bike and I’ve got a half a bottle of water as I forget my camel back in T1. Do I go back or push on. I push on, it is a race. There will be aid stations eventually. Pop quiz – What is the golden rule of race day triathlon? Many answers I’m sure, but I’m looking for don’t do anything on race day that you have not done in training. That’s why I start popping salt tabs. I’m going pay for this no doubt. It is a long bike about 19 miles or 30K and starting with no water and taking shit I have not used before. Not good.
The bike is a slog. Not technical in the tight turns, roots and steep sense but technical in the rocky short climbs in the middle of 3 miles of climbing sense. The lava rocks are everywhere, in the jeep tracks, on the ups, on the downs. There is no avoiding them. The come in every size and shape imaginable. They are sharp and crashing is not going to result in a good thing, well crashing never usually is associated with good. I changed to tubeless tires for this race and was worried about the system working. I deflated my tires in transit and noticed the sealant leaked. So when I inflated them I wasn’t sure they would seal, plus the rim issue I had and lack of water left no confidence that the bike would go issue free. It was fricking hot on the first uphill and after 30 or 40 minutes I came to the first aid station. No Gatorade left, just water. As I approached I downed what I had left and stopped to get 3 small water bottles and a 4th to pour over me. Took a gel and got back at it. The course became rolling on a jeep track with lots of lava rocks. There were countless sections where the jeep track was nothing but lava rocks, no noticeable trail. Just keep the speed up and don’t force a line was the best advice I heard pre-race. How true. You could not steer in the rocks; all you could do was hope to come out on the jeep track and not off it, as that is where the Keawe thorns are and the larger sized rocks. The Keawe thorns are sharp needles; anywhere from ¼ inch long to 1 ½ inches and sharp enough to puncture a car tire. (One day post race I got one in my sandal and came all the way thru the sandal and was jabbing one of my toes. It took about 4 sharp jabs in the toe to stop and check what was causing the issue. A thorn about an inch long.) This section was rough and the rolling hills got your speed up in places. I shook like martini for what seemed like hours. When I finally decided I needed more gel I was SOL. After the first gel, the shaking must have jarred the other 3 gels loose and off head tube. No more gels. Man this bike was not meant to go smooth.
During the bike I had to get off numerous times to walk the ups. They are not steep but the lava rocks don’t allow for a steady pressure to make it thru the climb – at least not for me. Even climbs of 20-30 seconds were difficult enough to cause me to get off. For the first hour and a half, I was lost on course. Not lost but just unaware of where I was. I missed Heartbreak Hill, not really but I did not know that was it. The number of people you’re around is incredible and this too causes you to get off your bike. As they do, you have too. After Heartbreak it is rolling again and then the long climb to the highest point on the bike. It twists and turns; there is pavement, gravel, jeep track and then “welcome to the top”. Okay know I know where I am. That was Ned’s peak. And now I am into the Plunge. It isn’t steep. But the lava rocks are numerous and there is lava flow to cross, rocks (fist sized to microwave size) to maneuver thru and other bikers. Once again there is no steering happening just general direction. And an extreme worry that going down will result in broken bones. Not helping me here was a slight streaking of my sunglasses that blurred things. Then again maybe not seeing everything clearly was a blessing. I passed a guy here that was using the mantra “don’t fall, don’t fall, stay upright” I think he did cause soon after he passed me back and I would see him several times over the remainder of the race.
The bike is a big loop and after the Plunge we head back toward the start of the loop. This has really, really, really rough jeep track sections (as opposed to the other really rough sections) and gravel downhill sections and the Silt Pits, which were not a factor this year. But in the past these pits are 10-20 seconds of hub deep sand/silt. On one of the gravel sections I clipped bars with a Japanese guy who goes down. I stop to make sure he is alright. I feel really bad but it was an accident as he drifted left as I drifted right and an unavoidable meeting happened. Did I mention that I had remained upright till now. Well, still am upright. I know that the bike karma god would get me back for this. Karma (as narrated by Earl) had worked to provide me with bike issues pre-race and an error free ride, but the clipping of that guy and causing him to go down, meant something was going to happen to even things up.
I make it down from the mountain without going down - I am free and clear (just for Lonnie Woo-Hoo!). Onto the pavement and the mile back to T2. Get some water and get ready for the run. As I put my water bottle back I look up to see a large pylon jump right into my path. I should have just run the sucker over, but no, I got to try and swerve around it. That was my mistake and the bike Karma god getting even. Boom, I’m down and I hear this scream (not me but someone on the run) and lots of “are you alright” – I heard it but I don’t recall answering anyone, I just tried to get up ASAP and get back on the bike – I think I was trying to get up as I was still skidding across the pavement, if only to avoid getting run over. Just my pride is wounded, well not really, as my shoulder, elbow, hip, shin and front wheel are telling me otherwise. I check the wheels and the front one is bent but ride able. I limp into and out of T2.
As I get to the same point I noticed I had no water for the bike I realize my quads are cramping. I have no water, but I do have salt tabs. I pop 2 in my mouth and a minute later I have enough spit to swallow those 2 tabs. Let me say that within 5 minutes I was cramp free and could run, but I was energy less, feeling the effects of that crash and starting to feel the effects of the salt tabs on my stomach. All was not well. I needed water and Gatorade but none was to be found for at least 15 minutes. I put one foot in front of the other until the first aid station. Get some fluids; take a gel, a salt tab and a pee. I manage to lose my salt tabs at about this point – as when I reach for them at the next aid station their not there. It’s uphill and I don’t feel like running. My feet have exploded in my shoes. My feet don’t like being constrained, but there is no option to take off the shoes. “Suck it up” I tell them and off we go. So I walk and run as I feel like it. I must have walked 40% of the first 3 miles. Once I hit the 3-mile mark it’s downhill for a mile and a half and I have a tough time running, as my tummy was not doing so well with the motion. I keep trying to run, but walk as needed. Finally around the 4-mile mark I start to run without walking. I hit Makena beach and it’s a ½ mile or so of sand, but I am running it, at least I call it running – it wasn’t pretty. I know it’s only another mile from here, but it’s thru spooky forest. The trees are knarely looking. Logs to hop over and low branches to duck under. Either one is not welcomed at this point, but I get thru and onto black sand beach. A short jaunt thru sand and onto some rocks and Lebrun Point (so named as Nico Lebrun crashed hard here last year and fractured an elbow – still went on to win) and then the home stretch. I hit the grass and knew that finishing was just minutes away.
I was hoping for much better, but this is what the day offered and I was happy to finish. As I scrubbed my road rash, the scars from going down on lava looked far worse. The number of IV’s being administered told the tale of a hard day. I got what I needed from the med guys and was thankful I needed far less than most there. During all this I was feeling great. I usually am cramping, feeling a little sick and have a wicked headache after racing in hot weather. But today I was having none of that. So something must have worked – maybe the salt tabs. What this really meant was I would be able to quaff as many $6.00 Budweisers as possible later at the costume party. Let’s just say you can’t miss the costume party as scanty, sleazy and slutty looks really, really, no really good on hard bodies.
In the end, 29:37 of swimming, 2:24:58 of biking and 1:22:22 of running (4:16:57) was good enough for 16/32 in my age group and 276/474 overall. With about 100 non-finishers, most said the conditions were really tough today. I left lots of room for improvement but was not too keen on doing this race again as I scrubbed my wounds, for the bike really scared me with the potential carnage. With time I have come around and see the challenge I have left for myself and the greatness of this race.
Well, the year is finally over. A special thanks to Patti for all her support and patience. Truly fantastic!
Lastly, it was sad to have 2 great people (Greg Sylvester and Brent Gibson) pass away this year. Patti and I ran into Brent in Kona, just a week before his passing and he went out of his way to graciously provide his room key so we could chill during the day as needed. Very generous. His passing was a complete shock and proof that anyone could be gone in a blink of an eye. So live life large and take it all in.
Mahalo for reading!
RV