Monday, October 3, 2016

Kona Diaries – Day #11 (7 days till the big day)

Have I really already been here this long? Feels like I just arrived yesterday! Today (Saturday), I did my last long ride on the Queen K, followed by a short transition run.


I love my bike! 

I woke up and had the same breakfast I will eat before the race in just 7 short days.

Get in my belly! 

The town is really starting to fill up, and the Queen K is getting more and more busy.

Even the "Athletes in Training" sign is out

For my ride today, I had a crew of two (Jorge and Levelen guru Livingston), which totally made me feel like a superstar. Having a car following you around for 2 hours, while snapping photo’s or even motor pacing at times is pretty cool! I wonder if this is what it feels like to be famous and have paparazzi follow your every move. 

I also did another Levelen sweat test to see how or if my sweat rate and sweat composition have actually changed since I have been here. I really am lucky to be able to work with these guys so closely.  They say leave no stone unturned, right? 

See that little sweat patch on my forearm is all it takes to find out the deeds

Knowing just exactly what my body needs to perform at its best all day is the least I can do. Nutrition/Hydration is a 4th or I like to say 1st discipline of triathlon and I can’t stress the importance of knowing your own needs.  Next Saturday – I know I’ll have the tools I need to have a great day, and it will all come down to execution.

I definitely enjoyed this tail wind 

It was busy, it was hot, it was calm, it was windy and I got rained on – just another typical day in paradise! Just like it’s been all week, the crosswinds have been picking up more and more the further away I would get from town. The jury is still out on whether or not I will keep my Aeolus 9 as my front wheel, but I hope I can. It will be a time decision since the weather here changes very quickly! With that said – don’t even bother checking the weather forecast until then or else you may be stressing yourself out for no reason!

The lava fields! The heat radiating of the lava rock makes the 85 degrees feel like 95 or more and why it sometimes can be so tough to stay aero with your head down! HOT, HOT, HOT! One must always cool, cool, cool! Use those aid stations that are positioned every 7 miles on the bike course to not only refill your fluids to drink, but also use a bottle to cool yourself of! 

 I had also happened to pick up a leech along the way or as my friend Stacy says “Ghost rider”! This guy scared the living crap out of me when I happened to turn around and he was literally right there! I had slowed down, I had sped up, but he just stayed right there only inches from my rear wheel for nearly 10 miles. I really wish I had to pee, because I would have totally broken the “no peeing in the bike in training” rule and let him have it. I really hope the draft marshals find him on race day!

Once back from the ride, I did a quick 20 min transition run, while again testing my sweat rate! Let’s just say I sweat more on the 20 min run than I did on a 2h ride … almost double more! You bet there will be some changes/tweaks I’ll be making to my hydration plan for race day!

Late lunch, some work, and chill time in the boots and before I knew it, it was time for dinner.


This time we headed out to a place called Umeke’s! And OMG! Da Poke Shack is good but this place was just as amazing if not better! 

Poke, Kalua pork (OMG), rice and edamame! Get in my belly - it was sooooo good! 

Till tomorrow! (Don't be dreaming about Poke bowls) 

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