Per standard, we were up at dark o'clock. Being that I had been getting up at 5:30am all week to get my runs in (had to be done before the sun was up or I'd melt), it didn't really hit too hard.
I really hadn't planned my day out at all. All I knew for sure was that I was getting a ride to the start area. When we got there we dropped the girls off and I was going to stay in the car, but suddenly I saw Beth! We hadn't run into eachother all week, go figure I'd see her when it was still dark out. I bolted out of the car and ran up to say hi & good luck. It took her about 10 minutes to figure out who the hell I was, but I forgive her ;)
The news swirling all morning was that Chrissie wasn't racing. Most all of us thought it was some kind of bad joke until Lisa Bentley's voice was broadcast reading out the press release. Kona has never been that quiet. It was pretty unreal.
Tawnee & I waiting for the swim start
6:30 the pros went off. Tawnee and I looked at eachother like, "now what?" Instead of watching the AG start we started to make our way toward Triathlete’s HQ.
On our way we came across an older gentleman running around looking for a swimsuit – he was wearing an illegal swimskin and didn’t know about the rule change. My heart sunk and I felt sick for him, but I had no idea how to help at that point. To make matters worse, he didn’t speak any English. Fortunately just minutes later, we all ran into a guy who had a couple of suits on him and happily handed one over. What a way to start your day!
Next thing I knew we ran into Laura just as she was heading to the water. I guess she had been holding out on getting into the water so that she could give me her running shoes, but being just minutes from the start she had stashed them on the beach. Thanks again, Laura! Those shoes, despite having over 500 miles on them, saved my legs that day so thanks also to Brooks for making AWESOME running shoes!
Grabbing THE shoes!
After stopping in at Triathlete, Tawnee & I headed back down just in time to see the pros getting out of the water and heading out on the bike. After the first few females went by, we made our way up to Palani to see everyone head out on the Queen K. I didn’t get any pics or video of anyone on Palani this year… I was too busy cheering!
After everyone we knew had made their way to the Queen K, we had a few hours til the pros would be back in town so we made our way back to the condo to rehydrate, refuel & pick-up the beach cruisers. On our way back into town, we ended up behind a couple locals.
Bree’s sister & husband were on their way back into town too and definitely showing their support for her! As soon as her sister looked at me I knew who she was. They look SO much alike! Then we started chatting… WOW! It was like talking to Bree.
Once back in town, we planted ourselves at the Hot Corner for a few hours.
We got to see everyone come in off the bike, head out on to the run and then come by again as they headed up Palani (10mile mark). Finally our chance to make eye contact with our peeps and let them know we were there for them! The pictures we got pale in comparison to Kerry’s so you should check out his Kona album. Maggs, Beth, Beth and Kerrie are all in there, plus more!
Matt doing awesome live work for IronmanLive
After everyone had headed out on the Queen K and the top pros were finished, it was a waiting game. And boy did I wait! I could go into detail about the hours I spent alone (because someone had dinner plans with someone) frantically wondering where Maggs was (thanks to Kerrie for coming back to get her bike post-several margaritas and keeping me company), but let’s just skip forward to her finally showing up at about 10:30pm and me breathing a sigh of relief. You can read her RR for the shitty details… if she ever writes it.
Maggs looking good… at one mile
I knew race day was going to be a longer day than in 2008, but I hadn’t anticipated just how long it would be so I was VERY under fueled & hydrated. A stop at Safeway on the way home helped – cinnamon buns, chocolate chip cookies and Diet Pepsi probably weren’t the best options, but I was on vacation!
Next up, the K-Swiss Afterparty. Good times… good times…
5 comments:
Nice work. I need to get my blog written now. And oh yea, I think I've put on at least 6 lbs since that pic at the hot corner, I'm not kidding.... all my indulgences as of late are finally showing.
PS - way to be discreet ;)
Sounds like an awesome day. And btw, you're not lookin so bad yourself these days D!!
I'll write my race report after tawnee writes her Kona report. Don't worry, it will be written before my next triathlon :-)
It was dark! I was nervous! Hehehehe...next time it won't take me so long to figure out who is yelling my name... :)
We seriously need to work on a fueling strategy for you next time. That race is no joke; standing outside in that heat all day!! :) Thanks again for all your cheers!!!
Post-race cinnamon buns are awesome.
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