Kona - Day One...

Last night we got to bed early, due to the effects of the 6-hour time change. Reid fell asleep the minute his head hit the pillow.

I ended up having a fabulous 9-hours of sleep. I would have slept even longer if my back wasn't getting sore from lying down so long.

The room we got is SMALL. They were to give us a room with two beds, but when I arrived, there was no record of that change being made. It didn't take long to realize this is Hawaii and it's a "very" relaxed atmosphere.

There's no use getting upset and I didn't, it doesn't work here. They just asked me to check back everyday. I still can't believe we got everything to fit in that small room they gave us. It just barely did. Reid actually enjoyed sleeping on the cot, he said it was comfortable.

We were up by 6 am. It's beautiful here. Our hotel is within a 2 minute walk from the pier and finish line. After eating some breakfast we went down to the pier and visited the host hotel. I can "honestly" say, I was "wrong", the athletes here are not "uber athletes", they are "super-human" uber athletes.

I have NEVER seen so many "unbelievably" fit people in my life. Regardless of their ages, most of the people are "ripped" with no "tummy fat" whatsoever. I saw 60 year old that "blew me away".

I'd love to have a "tight body and flat tummy", unless it required not being able to drink beer. If I couldn't drink beer, I'd have to call a "hard no" on wanting to achieve that goal.

This morning I was still on edge and irritable, I felt sorry for Alice and Reid. and staying in a "claustrophobic" sized room doesn't help. I barely had enough room to put my bike together.

It took longer than normal to re-assemble and looked like "customs" went through the box and did something "wonky" with my derailleur. My fingers were BLACK with grease when I was finished, there was no finessing it on this time.

We spent the morning walking All'i drive and getting a feel for what's around us. Our hotel is located in the heart of the action and there is lots of shops and restaurants all around us.

The Ironman and sponsors advertisements are EVERYWHERE!!! It looks much different than when I was here 22 years ago. In addition to the hotel race expo, all the little shops also carry different style Ironman shirts and souvenirs, which I think are much nicer than the limited selection at the expo.

This event is HUGE and the energy is amazing. It is "unlike" ANY Ironman I've ever done, even the last one I did here. Along All'i drive it is just one sponsors shop or tent after another and there is nothing you can't find.

I decided I was going to do a ride in the afternoon, I wanted to do it in the worst possible heat of the day. Beforehand I stood in line for 40 minutes to register while Reid and Alice went swimming and snorkeling at the pier.

The registration process was a well oiled machine and they didn't go through the regular explanation of what all the bags were for, they just assumed you knew what to do. The volunteers were really great, they all seemed like they were "veterans".

Even though I've been eating well, they weighed me in at 192 lbs. I haven't been that high in over 3 years. For an Ironman I typically weight in at 189 lbs. I don't get it, I've been "off" beer and eating relatively well. I'm not sure if it was the salty nuts I was eating yesterday or the gallons of water I drank. Last night I had to get up three times just to pee.

After registering, we ate lunch. Alice seems to remember a lot of the surroundings from the last time we were here. I remember NONE of it, other than the pier, and it's smaller than I remember. My only vivid memory was feeling like I was swimming in an aquarium with salt water fish. Tomorrow I'll find out if that memory "rings true".

I went for a 3 hour ride this afternoon and didn't recognize the course, other than the lava on the side of the roads that looked like black "Manitoba Gumbo Mud". The roads were also "much" hillier than I remembered.

It is definitely "hotter" and "windier" than I thought it would be. I didn't think I needed sun tan lotion because I had rode in the sun all summer. Doh!!! I put on my new Tri-Toons Top and came back "lobster red" in spots. It doesn't hurt, yet. It just looks really, really bad.

The ride "taught" me something. Number one, is "hydrate" and "eat", oh, and use sunscreen. I didn't drink for the first 70 minutes and by the end of the ride all I wanted was water and needed food for energy. The winds are pretty bad and often they seem to switch directions.

On the way back to town, I met Chad Garrett, a Mark Allen athlete who's not competing this year. He was returning from a training ride to Hawi and said the winds were "wicked strong" the closer he got to Hawi. For seven miles he couldn't take his hands off his handlebars even to get a drink without the fear of being blown over. One guy was blown off the road and crashed yesterday and was injured so bad, he dropped out of the race.

I really enjoyed the ride. It was tough, but there's something about training and being on the road that makes me feel like an "Ironman". Walking through town and seeing all the hard bodies and acknowledging that everyone is "very good" is one thing, but I find the best is getting on the road and training. Being able to do it is all that matters.

On the road, there's no watching the "Aryan race" parading around with no shirts on and you being envious. Your just doing what got you here in the first place. It was also really cool to know I was riding the Queen K and training on the same Highway that Lance prepared for this years Tour du France.

When I got back to the hotel, I saw Reid's new haircut. He was complaining he was over-heating and Alice took him in to get his "mop-top" thinned out. It actually looks pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Tonight was the "Parade of Nations" or "Athletes Parade" and it was bigger than I thought it would be. The parade leads in alphabetical order by Country. For Canada, we had a old military Jeep that was leading us and I got to ride on it along another woman named Mary from Dundas, Ontario, which is about a 20 minute drive from my place.

Before we got started, I was handed a letter. It was a congratulatory letter from the Canadian Federal Minister of Sport wishing each of us Canadian athletes well. It's definitely going to get framed and hung up on the wall in the man cave.

The parade ended at a "second Ironman outdoor expo", which officially opened when the parade arrived. As I walked through, I saw this smiling face looking at me from their booth, it was "Mark Allen". He recognized the "Captains Hat". I've been wearing the hat since I woke up this morning and plan on wearing it until the last day of Ironman festivities.

Mark was really gracious and we spoke briefly. He seemed to get a kick out of my approach to triathlons. He mentioned that he loved the "beer is a great recovery drink" comment from my video.

Afterwards, I met up with Alice and Reid and we went out for dinner. When we got back to the hotel our phone message light was flashing and the hotel operator said they found a larger room for us. We checked it out and it was close to double in size and worth the "hassle" of packing everything up and moving it.

I spoke to Alyssa today, she's doing great, she just scored a 90% on her first ever University mid-term. Today was also "officially" her real birthday and my parents are in Toronto and took her out for dinner. It sounds like she's enjoying not having us around and distracting her from studying.

One of my "pictures of the day" is a "Matty-O" crossing sign. I know he's been to Hawaii and likes it here. They must have "remembered" him from his last visit and are playing it save for his next visit.

Mod Bike - 3:10:33 / 101.33 km / 31.8 kph / 136 avg hr.