Kona Diaries – Day #16 (2 days till the big day)

Today I started the day with running around in my underwear with hundreds of my closest friends. Well first I walked into a shut screen door trying to check out someone else walking around in theirs! Oops! Good thing it wasn’t glass – that’s all I have to say!

The UPR – Underpants run or rather jog/walk or "parade" takes place every Thursday morning before the race, and it’s a blast. It definitely lightens the mood a bit and anyone whether you are racing or not can participate.

Kids & adults 

The entry fee does go to a local charities, so it’s for a good cause! Fun AND for good cause = winning! 

The only shark I ever want to see here! 

Underwear run was followed by breakfast put on by one of our sponsors Castelli. The food was delicious and so was the company. With 48 hours to go, I usually start upping the carb intake a bit, so nice big(er) breakfast was just what I needed.

I cleaned up the eggs and first round of bacon too fast. With 2 days out, can't forget the beet juice! ;) 

The view didn’t suck either. 

Post breakfast it was back to the condo for bit of a down time, before heading back to the expo.

This time to get my 2^nd edition “Cupcakes with Cal” hat!

Got one! Cal said next time he will bring me a cupcake too 

Post expo, I squeezed in a nap followed by a short run in the late afternoon to avoid the hottest part of the day. There is no need to stress the body anymore, and now it’s just about staying sharp, and as rested as possible. I was also able to test out my new handheld waterbottle (Thank you Max and Nathan for sending me one) that I will be using on race day.

Time flies when you are having fun, and before I knew it was time to get ready for the opening banquet. I don’t usually go to these, but the one here in Kona is awesome, and although the food isn’t exactly the best, and it can get quite long, I highly recommend everyone to go at least once! It’s a great showcase of local culture, the Aloha spirit, and the 140.6 mile journey we are about to embark on. If you are in need of extra inspiration for race day, you will find it here.

The awesome stage I hope to stand on again in a couple days! 

The banquet was followed up by athletes briefing in which race director for each leg of the race gets up on stage and takes athletes through all the rules. This is the long part, and I actually didn’t stay the entire time as I already know the drill. No pass zone on the bike going down Palani, absolutely NO drafting (ya, right!), and chicken soup on the run course by certain time. I usually try to get mine from the med tent instead ;).

Post banquet, nothing left to do but rest, rest, and rest! Just 2 more sleeps! 

Kona Diaries – Day #15 (3 days till the big day)

This morning I slept in a little bit, had light breakfast and then headed out to my TV gig! Just like last year, the folks from Czech wanted a quick pre-race interview at the Ironman Championship wall, and this time they also wanted to film me doing my thing on the bike. I had a short 40ish min spin so they tagged a long for a little bit, and then we went our separate ways.  

I don’t get to speak Czech that often, so speaking on camera is a bit nerve wracking to me but it’s fun! In the end, they’ll pick what to use and what not to use as part of 1 hour or 90 min Ironman World Championships coverage on Czech TV (Think the NBC coverage here in the U.S. but just in my home country). I’ll probably get like 30 seconds of fame, but something is better than nothing, right? 

This photo is from last year, but we essentially did the same thing except I wore my E3 cycling kit as I was heading out for a ride afterwards with the camera guy in tow, and I probably had  helmet hair because I had to ride my bike to this spot. I am not quite THE celebrity that would warrant a whole make up team ;) (yet) 

The place was also quite a bit crowded as this was going on so I had quite the audience as I was blocking the wall for those who wanted to take a pic by their name. The whole interview was about my goals for the race, and what if anything have I done differently since last year. 

The rest of the day was spent chilling, and eating, and relaxing and of course another trip to Lava Java for a treat or two and the expo. I always think I can get everything done in one day, but it never works out like that.

Lava Java front lawn. You know it is packed when this is what it looks like in front of the café. Perhaps we all need to add a kickstand to our tri bikes?

Now meet just a couple of members of the awesome QR team that made the trip to Kona to take care of their athletes! Thank you guys for making me feel so special,and I do apologize for sweating right through my shirt (it is hot here in Kona!) 

 One of the QR mechanics who made sure my bike was race ready! 

Bryanna who keeps the show running all year long! Thank you for all you do! (Just keep sweating, just keep sweating) 

I had also spent some time visualizing my race day! I always do that from the very beginning to the end including my race strategy, fueling/nutrition and even transitions. It’s getting close now, and the excitement as well as the nerves are really starting to kick in.Setting a bit of time aside each day to visualize my race day routine helps me feel confident and ready to go! 

Quiet spot to visualize, reflect and focus! 

Without workout #2 on my schedule for the first time in a very long time (Yeah taper),we headed to the TrainingPeaks/Best Bike Split party which was a ton of fun! I got to meet a lot of people, and eat poke! Party catered by “Da Poke Shack”? Hell yes! It was a great time, followed by early bed time.

The excietement is building day by day and so is the craziness! Can we just race already?

Kona Diaries – Day #14 (4 days till the big day)

Let the madness begin! Today was first day of athletes registration as well as the official first day of the expo.

I got up bright and early and headed over for a quick open water swim to the coffee boat and back!

Hello Coffee Boat

At this point, the pier is so crowded and people are coming and going in and out of the water that in order to stay safe you almost have to sight every stroke, but the water is still beautiful and so are the fishes! I don’t know about you, but every time I focus in on the beauty down below me, I start to get motion sickness so I am sadly mostly about business and focusing on my stroke and where I am going rather than looking at the beauty that’s below me.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming 

 I did however stop a few times and messed around with the GoPro – you just have to! As I said at this point the work is done, and staying lose and relaxed is key. (This part is really beginning to get hard as race day is quickly approaching!)

The visibility sucks, right? ;) 

I have no idea what's happening here but my tan lines are on point and my stomach couldn't be more white! 

Post swim, I headed back to the house and had my usual breakfast, before heading right back out to register.

Officially Official

Actually a very cool backpack - too bad I didn't find sunglasses inside that case that is part of the bag. 

The swag inside the bag - nothing atypical at all! I refused the Red Bull so just missing a can of that. 

After that, I walked the expo, met up with cool kids at BlueSeventy who always take care of me, as well as Quintana Roo and met some new friends, potential sponsors. Before I knew it, I have been on my feet for way too long and was getting tired. The sun was out in full force and I needed to get of my feet, but I wanted to get all the expo stuff out of the way so the next 3 days could be spent mostly chilling with my feet up.

We had lunch at our favorite dinner spot – Umeke’s Bar and Grill! Their menu doesn’t change whether you come at lunch or dinner time and so I essentially had repeat of dinner from the other night for lunch. It’s THAT good!

I could (and almost have been) eating Poke every single day! Soooo fresh and so good!

After lunch, I headed back to the expo this time with “Flash”. Flash just needed one last look over by the Quintana Roo folks, and I am happy to report that all checked out with flying colors!

Most likely my final race day set up! I know I may be losing some aerodynamic advantage with 2 frame bottles but I am going with the ideal nutrition/fueling set up vs. aero frame as I feel that will pay of big later in the race

I had also dropped of my race shoes (Saucony Kinvara 7s) with BOA folks, who retrofitted them with this badass closure that I absolutely love as it is super adjustable on the fly and much more comfortable than any other speed lace out there.

I LOOOOOVE love my Kinvara 7s! 

Before I knew it was somehow almost 5pm and I still needed to run (I didn’t want to run in the middle of the day anymore and continue to stress the body that much more), and then I had one last massage with the only and only Mr. Byron Thomas! Run was short (30 min) and great and massage was glorious! Not exactly spa like relaxing but just exactly what my body needed. It was the perfect pre-race tune up, and I can’t believe I’ll probably have to wait another year before I get to see this guy again (Unless I get him to move to Boston from CO – I have now been trying for a year and still no luck). He is the shizzle! 

Post massage dinner was bison burgers with a side of rice and veggies. YUM! 

It was the perfect ending to a super busy day, and I am looking forward to staying off my feet tomorrow as much as I can! It’s almost GO time!

Kona Diaries – Day #13 (5 days till the big day)

A friend of mine asked me how I run in this and I honestly don’t know, I just do.  When I first stepped off the plane 4 years ago, I asked myself the same exact question, and here I am back for more. Today, the weather was actually relatively cool (for Kona that is), as the clouds rolled in and didn’t give the sun a chance to shine almost all day. It was definitely a bit refreshing.

Cloudy but still beautiful! 

I started the day with another ocean swim, and boy oh boy was the pier packed! The banners of champions are up, and the pier is THE place to be every morning between 7-9am.

 Just a few of many along the finish line that is to be built literally overnight from Friday to Saturday

Why between 7-9am? Because that’s when the Blueseventy coffee house is out there, and that’s enough of a reason. Plus the Blueseventy guys are awesome, and you should make sure to visit their booth if you are in Kona! They are right by Uncle Billies (not in the maine expo area), but it's worth the few extra steps! They have some yet to be seen stuff like the new sleeved swim skin on display! Did anyone say extra free speed? 

If you wish, you may also wiggle your way in front of a camera lens or two as the place is buzzing with photographers & reporters searching for just that right shot. You can then spend weeks searching for your photo on the interwebs ;) (I haven’t been bringing my phone to the pier to capture the madness but I’ll try tomorrow to give you a visual idea of what I am talking about.

So swimming - it was fun and it was short. No panic training for this girl. 

GoPro silliness 

As you can see, I even had company for a little while as coach Jorge joined me.

I told you I even swam a little ;) 

After swim, Jorge got some ART treatment – this coaching thing really isn’t as easy as it may seem. 

These folks come here from all over the world to work on us athletes - I say that is pretty darn cool and of course unbelievably awesome! 

The show is about to get started as all companies are just finishing setting up their booths while some are already open even though the expo doesn’t officially start until tomorrow (Tuesday). Alii drive has now been completely overtaken by triathletes and you can feel it! This once super quiet beachy laid back town, is now full of thousands and thousands of "ready to go", "tapering" triathletes! You fill in the blank ;) 

After breakfast and little R&R I headed out for a quick 45 min ride. The big training is done, and now it’s just about staying sharp and resting. I took it relatively easy with a few pick ups, and legs were stilll feeling pretty darn good.

Let's do this! 

Post ride, I spent some time here.

Picture perfect chill spot

And then Jorge and I headed out to the Lava fields for my annual talk with Madame Pele. Yes – she is real, and yes – you want her on your side come race day – believe me!

E3 Tri Coaching in da house! :) 

Sometimes they call me "mega legs" instead of czech chick 

For dinner, I had some awesome fish tacos that I ate before I took a photo courtesy of chef Jorge and the rest of the night was spent relaxing. We actually don’t even have a TV, but I have to say it’s kind of nice.

Tomorrow is  shaping up to be a busy day, and I am definitely starting to feel the butterflies. Only 5 more sleeps! 

Kona Diaries – Day #12 (6 days till the big day)

Time sure is flying when you are having fun. Today I watched a local 5K and 10K running race from our patio right on Alii drive and I got to cheer on some of our friends that were racing! 

 It was awesome to see the great turnout! It was already hot and sunny at 7:30am

Even dogs get race Tshirts here! 

I then headed down to Dig Me Beach for a 30 min swim. 

 Finding a quiet spot to get ready

The water actually felt a bit cooler than it has been in the past, which is a good sign. This is probably the first time anyone has ever heard me say “colder” or “cooler” is better since I am usually always the one complaining about being cold.

The pier is now full of tapering or almost tapering triathletes, and swimming open water feels almost like strolling through Times Square. You better be sighting every other stroke or else you will be swimming into someone! There are plenty of buoys set up, and this morning every single buoy actually had a kayaker right next to it in case anyone ran into trouble! I know these folks volunteer so THANK YOU and thank you for making me very comfortable! I saw tons of fish, but no luck with the dolphins. I wasn't breaking any time records but I know better than that to let that worry me. The currents here will positively or negatively impact your time. I felt good and that's what matters to me!

Once I was done with my swim, I rinsed of at the outdoor showers right at the pier, and made a pit stop at Lava Java.

Outdoor showers in the left corner of the photo, and a little house with lockerooms right by the pier

 No – not for coffee although apparently their coffee is really good, but for this time mango/coconut scone! YUM! (Side note: I am not a coffee lover, but if I was you bet I would be drinking coffee race or no race).

I ate my usual breakfast at home, chilled for a bit, and then I headed over to check out the merchandise tent back at the pier since it was already open. 

Smartly already opened for business even couple of days before the registration or the expo open

I was really just trying to beat the crowds, and as a result also limit the time I’ll spend on my feet in the next week. I am not going to lie, I wasn’t very impressed with the selection, but for now, I found my new favorite hat (Right after my Cupcakes with Cal hat of course)

Aloha! 

The World Championship Wall is also up, and so I took the opportunity to snap a photo or two before it will be near impossible. Seeing my name on THIS wall is always VERY special!

#1868

On the walk back from the pier to the car, we visited this little gem.

The name is fitting! 

If you like donuts – you want to visit this place right in the heart of Alii Drive just a few steps away from the actual road. 

How do you just pick one? 

Bacon/banana layered donut topped with peanut butter ... WHAT? 

I very sadly skipped on the donuts (I will be back post race), and got myself an Acai bowl instead. The sun was out in full force so that was a nice little refreshment. I also had to run, but because I have already been here for 12 days, I feel pretty acclimated, and hence there was no reason to continue to stress the body with training in middle of the day. I took a nap that turned from 30 to 90 min instead - oops!

I really wasn’t feeling it, but I got myself out the door for 6 mile sunset run, and I am so glad I did. It felt awesome to not run and feel like you are running on the surface of the sun! I was still sweating bullets, but I wasn’t getting warm and my HR was staying super low. I was on cruise control and felt great! I even got cheers from random by passers - this is race week Kona for ya!  (Of course now I am getting a bit worried that maybe I am feeling too good too soon but I guess during taper week you just never win). I did feel like I was floating at times and it felt glorious! I had also just barely beat the darkness – Alii’ drive barely has any street lights, so when I say darkness, I really do mean pitch black streets. When I first came to Kona 4 years ago, I was actually terrified because it was so dark everywhere that I felt like I was going to walk or drive into the ocean any second. Now the sound of waves crashing against the shore is just super peaceful, and I almost feel like a real local here. 

I refueled immediately after with real food (chicken spinach sausage x 2.5 – protein please with rice and broccoli, followed by papaya with yogurt and chocolate protein as a post dinner snack.(I am slacking on the food posts, because I am forgetting to take photo's before I devour it) 

As you can see, today was definitely a bit more eventful day, and it’s only going to get crazier from now on, but I plan to finding a good balance between enjoying the various activities that go on during race week and trying to limit the time on my feet.

Let the busiest and craziest, and most fun taper week begin! 

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 4^th or I like to say 1^st 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) 

Kona Diaries – Day #10 (8 days till the big day)

So I got up and swam (again). Isn’t that what most triathletes do? Today, I started the morning with a 4K swim. The pool was so crowded it had just about 5 people to a lane and I actually had to wait around a bit to be able to hop in. I am not going to lie, just about EVERYONE looked like they could go to the Olympics and throw it down with Katie Ledecky or Michael Phelps. Even though I try really hard to not let that get to me, I would lie if it didn’t frustrate me a bit.

Siri putting her athletes to work! 

Post run, I had a mega breakfast, chilled on the patio again while doing some work, and met a new friend!

Hello Mr. Geico ;) He even posed for me (I then gave him jelly)

I then did a 4.5 mile lunch time run, and I got to do a Levelen sweat test as well. It was definitely in the heat of the day, and although I have adapated quite well and my HR is back down to normal ranges I am used to seeing back in Boston, I am still quite the sweat machine!  

I drank 8oz of water in the 34 min I ran, and I lost 3.1lbs! WHAT? Thanks to Levelen I also know how salty of a sweater I am, and how much electrolytes I should be taking in throughout the race. If you are interested in learning more, I am AND they are here for ya! Comment or send me a message, this really is good stuff to know! 

I then re-fueled with another round of Poke from Da Poke shack! That place is just amazing! And I did follow that up with this goodness from Lava Java!

Chocolate, peanut butter, oat mango coconut cookie! To seriously die for! 

I watched another amazing sunset from the patio, and for dinner I had marinated steak tips with rice and asparagus! Gone before I thought about taking a picture! Oops!

Tomorrow is one last long(ish) ride before the big day! I packed it in early to get quality sleep while of course getting one last 30 min session in my Elevated Legs.

Squeeze me!