Spontaneous Combustion

Sunday morning we headed down the street to the pier for an early swim ... yes, THAT pier. As we walked up amidst several Pros just hobnobbing with the mortals (again, they're not hard to pick out - number one, they have better clothes than the rest of us, number two they're NEVER alone, and number three their builds are out of this world) my heart starts racing. As if the jillions of INCREDIBLE triathletes (none of whom had any sort of air of superiority about them, mind you, I've seen faaaar cockier athletes at my puny local races) weren't enough to overwhelm this slightly pudgy midwesterner ... there were also SPECTATORS!? Lots and lots of spectators - lining the walls, feet dangling over, taking pictures with really big cameras. Just like you see on race day. And news reporters. With even BIGGER cameras.

So I do what all of us do. I try to play it cool. My heart is racing, but we mosey down to the little sandy patch (it is little, just like it looks on TV, btw, and it gets deep fast - I was treading water about 20m out) and get in the water. Ironically, I'm not one bit nervous about the swim - it's just the whole environment, all the people, the energy buzzing around the place even now - a week before the race - it's just unreal! Obviously I fail at playing it cool ... so I surrender. I look at Pat (remember I'm supposed to be here to help her, be her support crew, not vice versa) and say 'My heart is about to beat out of my chest!' and she, who has stood in that same spot twice on race morning, an experience which I suspect would simply make me spontaneously combust, grins really big and says 'Yeah? Me too!'.

With that we pick a buoy 1/4 mile out, say 'See you there?', and take off with the masses. By my second stroke I realize I'm swimming in a gigantic aquarium. Crystal clear water (you can actually see muscle tone and read the words on the suits of other swimmers around you: 'Oh yeah, did you see that guy in the TYR speedsuit fly by? I think that was a Brazilian flag on his right hip, wasn't it?'), yellow fish, blue, black, silver, spiky black things that I really am glad are pretty far below me (sea urchin's - maybe?), incredibly cool rocks (and a few tires? I don't ever remember seeing those on the Kona TV scuba footage), a school of what must've been THOUSANDS of small fish swirling around in their gigantic fish-tornado (it's a little startling when you first swim over it - until you realize you're really NOT swimming right through the middle of it - it's probably a good 20 feet below you). After what had to be just a couple minutes I see Pat stop abruptly. Surprised, I stop too and give her the classic 'What's wrong?' face. There's nothing wrong .... we're just already at the buoy. I shake my head, amazed at the timewarp that just occurred, and with a laugh, we go on. Several buoys later, just over half way out, we tread water for a bit, watch some of the other swimmers fly by and then turn around and head back (quickly!) with the current. It was, quite possibly, the best swim of my life. Oh - Sorry, in my swim euphoria I almost forgot to mention ... Macca was hanging out near the entrance to the water, just chitty-chatting with a group of folks - he's actually a big guy ... and a little hard to miss.

Still grinning from the swim, we head to Lava Java for breakfast. Not only is this place apparently the triathlete mecca, the food is actually phenomenal (mostly organic, and tons of freak-food including multiple variations of quinoa and amazing fish tacos), and you can actually get into the place (we've eaten there twice already, no wait). And, as all the hubbub says, it's just a great place to people ... er ... triathlete watch. Across Ali'i Dr and just a bit out into the water you can see the midway point buoy on the swim course.

Pat and Tom sitting at Lava Java. I didn't wait for this guy to walk by - they're just everywhere. Lava Java has incredible breakfasts and fresh OJ ... and serving-bowl-sized cinnamon rolls.

View while eating at Lava Java. The orange buoy is on the swim course.

After breakfast we went out for a ride. This is my first experience on a tri bike so I was a little nervous as we headed out. Didn't take too long to figure out the shifting and how to get in and out of aero bars without weaving around like I've been out on an all-nite bender. Tri bikes are apparently just fast ... I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I didn't gain any fitness or cycling skills overnight so it couldn't have been my doing (it's a brand new Specialized Transition, they cut the seat post when I got there ... the bike shop was already making me a 'great' deal to take it home - they'll even box it up for me for free!). Big fun ... although I just heard today that on Saturday two guys out training crashed, one was run over by a car and died, and the other is still in critical condition. Unfortunately it's not hard to believe. They have signs everywhere warning that athletes are on the road, but we all know how quickly things can happen out there. Good thoughts to those two guys and their families.  

These signs are everywhere on the Queen K. Still, you just never know what can happen out there in the blink of an eye.

Monday morning I had a 5mi run so headed down Ali'i drive at sunrise, around 615am (it gets ridiculously hot and muggy by about 730am - it's a little nuts). As luck would have it, the pier is just over 2.5miles from the condo. I got down there and enjoyed a little spectating myself, chatted with a guy, Jim, who was in an incredible bike crash 1.5yrs ago (doctors told him he shouldn't be alive - broke nine bones, punctured a lung, was life flighted - I asked what happened and he said he has no idea - can't remember a thing about the actual crash - he's a masters swimmer now, and actually competed in the nationals - took 8th in the 100m free! Nice job Jim! Way to be alive!). His 29yr old daughter (Libby Brigman) is racing and is apparently very good: she qualified at St George ... by winning her age group. A TYR guy showed up with a bunch of boxes and started handing out free prototype goggles (very cool, although a bit of a pain to tote home on the run). The run back home was far more miserable than the trip there (even after stopping at a random Muscle Milk station - these guys all just set their products out up and down Ali'i since there's sooo many people training - and grabbing some ice to stick down my shirt). Ali'i drive is actually very HILLY (how I didn't notice on the way out is beyond me). It's part of the last 10miles of the race and I can see why it's brutal.

Just to see the training swims is pretty awesome ... being down there in the mob and actually swimming is simply off the charts.

This one is for my single girlfriends - wish you guys were here! This guy is actually atypically meaty, but we should all still admire and appreciate his hard work and training!

For some aptly-named friends back home.