Sorry for the delay in posting, but the internet connection here is terrible. It take like 20 minutes to upload pictures! Anyway, it's currently Thursday morning at 5:30am, and I've been up for an hour. This week has gone by in a blur....and it has a much different feel that last year. My approach to the week has also been very different, and not necessarily in a good way. After this morning's short swim, I'll be shutting down and starting to get into race mode....something I haven't done at all yet. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming!
(The "Coffees of Hawaii" floating espresso bar; this is about 700 meters off of "Dig Me" beach).
(This shot is a couple of miles from Waikaloa, which can be seen in the background along with the Queen K).
(Me and Craig Alexander...aka Crowie)
(Brian Hughes and Chris Ramsey at the Slowtwitch Party)
One observation I've had while I've been here is that the race seems to be bigger this year. The expo is bigger, it seems like more restaurants are open, there's more hoopla (if you know what I mean). I find this interesting, since last year was the 30th Anniversary...so you'd expect it to be a big hoopla year. Hopefully it's a sign that the economy is turning for the better here.
On Tuesday, Chris Ramsey and I did a very short swim out to the floating expresso bar for, well....expressos! It's always fun and interesting hanging onto the boat, drinking coffee! Although we didn't see them, apparently there were about 100 dolphins swimming around the area. We were going to register after the swim, but we skipped it because the line was too long. After, Jenn and I made our trek out to Hawi so that I could do a ride down and then up the "Hawi climb". There were lots of riders out on the course (all 50+ miles of it). The drive out there is over an hour long. However, the views make the drive worth it. Finally into Hawi, I unloaded the bike and quickly departed. This was my third time to Hawi (1 training; 1 racing)....but the first time without any noticeable winds. Although it was nice to not have any wind, I was kind of hoping to experience some wind...just to get acclimated to it. Oh well....not today. The bike felt pretty good. I was also trying out some DeSoto arm coolers (that extend behind the back...and protect it from the sun). Although they weren't bad, I quickly realized that they weren't for me. I scrapped them about half way through. After the ride, Jenn and I ate lunch at Bamboo...a great little restaurant in Hawi. This was our second time there...and we really like it. We got some great shots on the drive back into town (our new camera is great). After some short downtime, we went into town to grab dinner, watch the "Parade of Nations" and check out the expo, where I bumped into last year's champ, Craig Alexander.
(Bamboo in Hawi)
(This shot is a couple of miles from Waikaloa, which can be seen in the background along with the Queen K).(Me and Craig Alexander...aka Crowie)
Yesterday, I began my day with a short run, then a swim. I haven't felt all that great (health-wise) since I've been here. I'm not sure if I'm just tired....it's the taper...or if I'm on the brink of getting sick. Hopefully not the later. On the swim, I bumped into past champ, Peter Reid, out at one of the buoys. You just never know who you're going to bump into out there! After the swim, I registered, then made it back to the condo to watch the remainder of the Phillies game and a little downtime. We had an afternoon Tsunami watch...which made things interesting....especially when we heard sirens going off (you don't hear them much here). But, all is well on the Big Island....so far:) Later in the afternoon, Chris, Brian Hughes and I all attended the Slowtwitch Party at the Blue Seventy House. We all won some product. Brian won some cheesy training cds, I won a 2XU visor and hat and Chris.....we'll, he won the Blue Seventy .03 2009 suit! Lucky S.O.B.!!!! Chris had also been deep sea fishing with some friends earlier in the day and caught some skipjack tuna...which we grilled up in the evening. It was pretty damn good. Jenn also made an advocado/papaya relish to go with it (all fresh of course). Seriously...dinner was as good or better than what we could have ordered in a nice restaurant.
(Brian Hughes and Chris Ramsey at the Slowtwitch Party)One observation I've had while I've been here is that the race seems to be bigger this year. The expo is bigger, it seems like more restaurants are open, there's more hoopla (if you know what I mean). I find this interesting, since last year was the 30th Anniversary...so you'd expect it to be a big hoopla year. Hopefully it's a sign that the economy is turning for the better here.
-p
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