Kona unwound...

I ran today in 41 C heat and loved every minute of it. It was my first run since IMLP. I can't remember the last time I haven't run in ten days.

Almost immediately, I noticed some muscle knots on the side of my thigh above the knee. Eventually it worked most of it's way out.

The next discomfort was some tightness around my lower Achilles, nothing too major. And finally, my front quads started feeling like they had lactate acid build up during the final ten minutes of the run.

I wouldn't be surprised if most of the issues were caused from dehydration from all the Partying. Since finishing IMLP, I also feel and look thinner. Again, I'm not sure if it was from NOT eating KFC (or alike) since finishing the race, or dehydration.

I'll know for certain soon. I'm back on the straight and narrow and plan on drinking lots of water. I had to run some errands today and even passed on an impulse buy of soft ice cream and Life Savours. The biggest win was when I dropped off a "real man's" half litre beer glass off at Jamie's as a gift and couldn't be convinced to have a beer.

The best part of the run was the relief of pressure in knowing I accomplished my goal and I'm going to Kona. For some reason that made the run feel more enjoyable and relaxing. No more do I have that overriding goal in the back of my head. I feel free.

Reid's getting back into semi-training for Sunday's kids triathlon. He went for a 15 minute bike ride and hit a maximum speed of 40.6 kph on a slight downhill. His average was 20.6 kph. I was major league impressed and told him so. He still plans on wearing a cowboy outfit on the run and is attaching Texas Longhorns to the front of the bike for his ride. He's already bought them. The horns look cool and are harmless. I hope the organizers allow him to do it.

Reid has absolutely, unequivocally, NO desire to do this race and is not concerned about it. He just wants a cell phone and this is one of the "necessary evils" that he has to do to get it. It was part of the bet and he plans on going slow and walking most of the run. He's pulling a "John Barclay".

Being money driven, Reid's also offered to help volunteer at the House of Payne Beer 5 km Beer run, providing I give him the empty Keg so he can collect the $50 refundable deposit. I turned down that deal.

I emailed out a reminder about the Beer Run today. I can't believe it's only 24 days away. This year we decided to have it a little earlier. If it's warm out, Jamie offered to have everyone walk over to his place afterwards to swim in his pool and enjoy some frozen cocktails. I loved when he said, "I just don't want them staying too long!!!" Classic Jamie. I said, "Don't worry, Payne-a-poolza starts at 4 pm". I'll just get Reid to put on his cowboy outfit and corral all the drunks back. He has experience.

As many of you know, my plan was to help Epic Bill Bradley swim the English Channel on September 28th. Unfortunately I can't, I now need to be in Kona. Bill (and I) was disappointed. I promised to pee on Bill from the boat to keep him warm. Now I'm trying to help Bill find another A-hole as a replacement, we'll probably have to settle for a good guy.

I know there is a number of "mates or blokes" that follow my blog from the U.K and if you, or someone you know is able to help Billy, that would be great.

As per Bill's email he sent me, the requirements are as follows, "Bryan, my swim window starts Sept 28. It is a 9 day window and I am 2nd swimmer. My pilot told me if I get bad weather he will work with me a few days after 9 days is over to get swim in. He'd prefer someone who doesn't get sea sick. I will be arriving 4 to 5 days before my window and I am going to book accommodations in Dover. Crew doesn't need to be early".

If interested please email him at wjb71460@comcast.net It is really an opportunity of a lifetime to say, "I helped The Legendary Epic Bill Bradley swim the English Channel".

I also got a couple of interesting emails today. The first was from from my twitter buddy @denisoakley telling me they put my You Tube Video called Triathlon Song on the home page of Go Triathete at http://www.gotriathlete.com/ . The video is about my Journey from "Fat to Fit". Denis is part of the Malaysian triathlon community, be sure to check out the site he's involved in, it looks like they put a lot of hard work into it.

Next, I got an email was from the "Physical Therapy Assistant School". They wanted to let me know that my blog was selected and listed on their site under the header "50 Inspiring and Informative Blogs for Triathletes" . I've already had some of my blog and twitter buddy's "bust my chops". I too, am not sure if they read my blog closely.

They described the blog as follows: "Training Payne : After taking a break from triathlons for 15 years, this man overcame his weight gain, beating Olympic distance times he set in his 20’s. Read this man’s inspiring entries as he works toward world championships.

The surprising thing was the list looked well thought out. Lots of good informational, motivational and popular blogs, well, maybe except for one. Unless as a reader your trying to train hard and not pass up the fun parts of our very short life.

Lastly, a couple of small items. I found this article link How Triathlon Became the New Status Symbol ...I thought it was an interesting read. I also included the picture of a converted Ironman construction street light I picked up in Lake Placid. The picture doesn't do it justice, the red looks much cooler that the camera could pick up. When you see it in person, you'll definitely want one. It sits proudly on a very unstable shelf I built above my kegerator.

Recovery Run - 35:49 / 6.70 km / 5:19 pace