Octopus and Urgent Care....Day No. 2 on the Big Island

Day number 2 began around 3am. Despite taking Ambien, I keep waking up super early. I finally was up for good around 4am. I guess the good thing is that I’m typically asleep around 8ish. Overnight, my arm swelled even more….and it was even itchier. I had already made plans to meet my friend, Carolyn, down at the swim venue at 7:30, and we had booked a tour of the Konalua Octopus Farm at 10am. So, if it wasn’t any better, I figured that I had better go to urgent care to have it looked at. Not ideal….but better to deal with it early in the week.

I had planned to walk down to the swim venue from our condo, which is about 1.5 miles. I stupidly wore a pair of flip flops that I normally reserve for short walks to the beach/pool. By the time I got down to the start, I was blistering between the toes. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!! As per usual, the walk down was pretty cool….people up and down Alii Drive, running and biking. As chance would have it, I was wearing my Base Performance tshirt and ran into Base Performance founder, Matt Miller, running with his kid in a running stroller! I think he was pretty stoked to see me in it. Later, I ran into New Hampshire local triathlete, coach and friend, Colin Cook, who was coming back from his swim. And, per usual, there were tri celebrity sightings….Craig “Crowie” Alexander, Michellie Jones, and Sara True. I met Carolyn, and gave her the swim primer, as it was her first time. Swimming in Kailua-Kona Bay is nothing short of epic with the views, both above and under water. I think Carolyn was impressed, as her 30 minute swim turned into 50 minutes! I opted not to swim with the swimskin….which I will use on Wednesday for practice….but I felt pretty good in the water.

I met up with Jenn and the kids after the swim. We did a quick walk through of the Ironman Store and got some schwag for me and the kids. After, we made a quick detour back to the condo, so I could change shoes….and also stopped by the local pharmacy for some Claritan to see if that would help my arm in the interim. Of course, getting in and out of Kona is not easy….as there are not many roads and traffic is pretty heavy (who knew?). We made it to the Octopus Farm about 10 minutes late, which meant that we missed the instructional lecture…and got the 2 minute condensed version (I didn’t mind). Then it was over the tanks to see and play with the octopus. This was a VERY cool experience….and only lasts about an hour, which is just about right! Although these are “small” octopus, they were much bigger than I was anticipating. Despite washing my hands (which is required), I must have had something on them, as they just didn’t want any part of me. Of course, Ben didn’t want any part of them, and refused to put his hands in! Hannah was a bit braver! All in all, it was fun.

After the farm, we headed over to Urgent Care, which opened right at 11:30 (I know, weird time). There were other options, but we figured we could get in right at 11:30 before the lines started. That’s exactly what we did. Despite this, it still took the better part of an hour. After being diagnosed with an allergic reaction to a bee sting, I was prescribed Prednisone…and it took a while for the pharmacy to fill it. Now, I just hope that the meds kick in quickly to get this swollen/itchy arm back to normal. I really want to get off the meds quickly (I only have to take them until it goes down or 5 days, whichever is sooner).

The rest of the day somewhat uneventful. I had a planned conference call with Dave Weinberg of the Atlantic City Press, who wants to do a write up for the paper. But we moved it to Tuesday, due to the unplanned Urgent Care visit. So, after lunch, I took a little downtime before joining Jenn and the kids at the pool for an hour. Later we headed into town for an early dinner, with some shop browsing before hand. As always, we stop in this little gift shop at the Kona Inn Shopping Plaza, where they adorn framed posters from all previous races, which athletes sign. I found my name from 2008, 2010 and 2013, but for the life of me, I couldn’t find my signature from 2009. Oh well. I may try looking again this week! Of course, I signed this years poster too! Later we ran into friends Carolyn and Jason Soules, with family, at the restaurant (Kona is not that big)! And, we treated the kids to shaved ice after dinner. I was wiped afterwards. I couldn’t keep my eyes open….so I hit the hay at 8pm.

The real activities begin tomorrow. Registration opens tomorrow morning, so I’ll try to get that done early. The kids get to run in the Ironkids race at 3pm, which they are beyond excited about…and can’t stop talking about. It’s pretty cute when they talk about their dad racing….and then they explain that they’re ALSO here for a race! After the race is the Ironman Parade of Nations. In my 4 previous visits here, I’ve never participated. And, in the past, while most of the other represented countries were very organized and color coordinated….many in the same shirts, the US contingent was always small and sort of ragtag. USA Triathlon appears to be trying to change that. I’m not sure if they’ve done this in the past 5-6 years, but this year they are giving the athletes a “USA” shirt and hosting an after party. So, I’m going to march this year with Hannah and Ben. Pictures to come!