Starting To Get Real....Days No. 5 and 6 on the Big Island (and Final Post Until After)

Today started early…..like 4am early. I thought I’d be able to sleep a little later, but once I’m up, I’m up. Today’s workout was light. I was scheduled to do a quick 20 minute swim. I planned to walk down early for 2 reasons. One, I wanted to swim out to the BlueSeventy floating coffee bar so that I could get a coffee (they were out when I swam a couple days ago….and it’s just cool to say I did it) and, more importantly, today is the world famous Kona UnderPants Run….which my kids have been waiting to do!

So, the plan was for me to walk down around 6:30, and then Jenn would drive the kids down and meet me about 7:30 for the start of the run. The swim went well and I got my coffee! I feel decent in the water…but that hasn’t always translated to a good Ironman swim….so we shall see. Of course, I was cutting it close on time. So, I quickly “transitioned” into my “Run” attire and met up with the kids.

The UP Run isn’t a race, but rather a fun jog around town, in underwear or speedos. It was started years ago as a fun jab at the Europeans who would walk around Kona in their skimpy speedos. Anyway, the kids had a blast!

After, we grabbed breakfast at Daylight Mind Coffee while I waited for Kona Bike Works to open so that they could look at my deflated tyre/wheel, which Jenn drove down in the car. As we were sitting there, a memory popped up on Jenn’s phone from 6 years ago, when we were eating lunch at the same place….and Hannah was just 8 months old!

After breakfast, the guys at Bike Works quickly fixed my wheel. As much as it was a pain to have to bring my bike back, these guys are nothing short of great….and always have been on all my trips to the Big Island! However, I was going to monitor the wheel throughout the day to make sure it wasn’t leaking. Since it started to rain, Jenn decided to get a shopping trip out of the way with the kids, while I rode the bike back to the condo. However, before heading back, I took a quick detour to the Normatec recovery lounge.

The remainder of the day was left to chilling out….something I’ve done little of. I did have a quick race talk with my coach about the race day tactics. I won’t discuss them now….but will after! Let’s see how it goes! I definitely haven’t prepared like I have for previous races. I still need to organize all my things….get bags ready, etc.. I have to drop everything off, including bike, before 2:30. And, after much debating, I’ve decided to forego the Smith Podium Aero helmet for my POC aero road helmet. It just has more ventilation. On my two practice rides with the Smith Podium, I just had sweat pouring out. Better to be cool than hot and aero here.

We finished the night attending the Welcome Banquet, which has some Luau components….and is sorta fun for the kids. We met up with friends, Carolyn and Jason Soules and family. However, we did duck out early (around 8) as the kids were starting to melt down and we wanted to beat the crowds.

I woke up around 5am this morning….actually getting closer to 8 hours of sleep, which was a nice surprise! I did my quick 10 minute bike check/warmup, followed by a 10 minute run. Honestly, the legs didn’t feel nearly as good as they did going into IMMT. But, I can’t worry about that now. I’m just going to try my best and enjoy this last ride! After the warmup, we went into town for the last big carbo load….breakfast! Then I hit the Roka tent to buy some new cycling shades….to cover my eyes/face a little better since I’m not wearing my aero helmet. As soon as we got back I got all my gear organized. Jenn took the kids to the pool so that I could focus. Now it’s feet up until bike check in.

Lastly, I just wanted to thank everyone who has helped and supported me on this journey. Of course, Jenn and the kids, who have been there every step of the way! My law partners and employees at DSG Law, my family, friends and teammates, and also those who have helped support me this season: Mark Walter of Sun Multisports, Brian Hughes of Fastsplits, Mike Melander of Treatment Training Wellness, Grace and Chris Tkach of Idle Hands Craft Ales, Brett Johnston and Tyler Noyes of Kalahari Biltong, and Mike Hollywood of Michael Hollywood Marketing. We’re almost to the end of this journey. I set a goal of raising $20,000.00 to support Shriners Hospital for Children-Boston….and so far we’ve raised over $16,000.00. I would love to try to meet the goal. So, please consider making a donation….$10, $20….whatever you can afford. It all helps! The donation link is on the website. Thanks and see you on the other side!