DIARY OF A KONA BOUND TRIWIFE – RACE WEEK

We have now been on The Big Island since late last Thursday night and time has flown by.  I can’t believe THE race is almost here.  I keep hearing, “I have nothing to prove” interspersed with “I’m a little wound up right now.”  I’ll just let him have his period of schizophrenia…..

Was very happy to run into one of our fellow racers at breakfast soon after we got here.  As he was by himself for a few days until his wife and family joined him, we invited him to have dinner with us.  So glad we found Maury, as he told me to take a hike along the beach to Kua Bay.  What a great beach find!  Well, it wasn’t an easy journey – read the tip and you’ll see…but loved the local flavor…

Started off on a bad note last Friday when he got an email from Tribike Transport that his bike was stuck in Honolulu – along with all people who shipped from the midwest and east coast, but should be in Kona Sunday night or Monday.  Made him a bit nervous, but reworked his training schedule and jumped on a spin bike in the gym at the hotel. It was great – they had one outside, so he was able to at least stick with the heat training rather than riding in AC.  Was pleasantly surprised at how calm he took the news.  I was expecting a different reaction…

Was in heaven on Saturday when realized the current female Ironman World Champion, Mirinda Carfrae, was sitting by us at lunch.  Made him go over and get a picture and also meet Tim O’Donnell, Mark Allen, and Siri Lindley.  Not too shabby.  This followed him running next to Craig Alexander in the Energy Lab.  One of his better Ironman days…

Bike arrived Sunday late afternoon and while he was happy, it did screw up my dinner plans as the restaurant was a bit away, making it tough to do both in same night.  Managed to switch it to the next night.  Then, we got invited to a fellow triathlete’s rental house for dinner, so cancelled again.  Was going to review the restaurant for work, but then thought – Isn’t part of the adventure of coming to Kona spending time with the friends you rarely see and getting to chat with fellow trisupporters?  Took me about a second to decide…Sorry, Merriman’s, maybe next year????

Had such a great time.  Knew most of the people there, met new friends, witnessed another awesome sunset,

and saw my husband play bocce ball for the first time.  What was supposedly a “friendly” game was exactly what you would think it would be with a group of triathletes – A COMPETITION!

Being in paradise has certainly come with a bit of a cost and that being – the duties of a triwife!  These have included:

• Sag wagon duty
• Laundry – I just can’t escape it.  And, let me tell you – with the heat and humidity here, the clothes are particularly wet!!!!
• Putting his initials in white rock for good luck
• Realizing AND accepting that I do take a back seat
• Following coach Matt Dixon’s advice, who I interviewed for this blog during a poolside chat, on how tripartners can support their triathletes race week – “Take a step back and don’t respond to them.”  Man has this been hard…My trihubby does not always make this easy nor is that in my personality…

Big positive was the sag wagon duty gave me a chance to explore. I dropped him and his bike off at the Mauna Lani, had 2 1/2 hours before I had to pick him up, and so I headed for Hawi and Pololu Valley Lookout as I recommended to you guys.  Wow, was I glad I did.  A bit of a windy road once you get past Kapaau, but nothing I couldn’t easily handle driving slowly.  When you reach the end of the road, you are well rewarded.  I took a bit of a hike, but didn’t have time to go to the bottom.  Also, got to enjoy Gillian’s Lanai and their awesome tacos and meet the owner, Jim Gilmore…

Attended the Parade of Nations Tuesday night and Carl participated in the Underpants Run on Thursday am, while I played photographer!  All he wanted was the t-shirt and I’m no fool.  I really want to go up to some of these female triathletes and say ENOUGH already.  We all know you have phenomenal bodies.  Stop making the rest of us feel like crap!

The town of Kona is now booming and construction is going on everywhere, readying the town for Saturday.  Carl’s sister and brother-in-law have arrived, so I now have company and it’s time to just soak everything in, enjoy for a while, and stop working!  How nice they came over from LA to show their support.  Seriously, they were just here this summer, so this is truly an act of generosity on their part.

Went to the Welcome Banquet.  The entertainment is always good, but pretty much the same.  It’s the spirit, inspiring stories of fellow athletes, emotions, and camaraderie that keep you coming back…Thanks Teri for this video.

Will be letting Carl do his own thing on Friday and pretty much staying out of the way.  Plan to spend the day with family and friends at the beach and then have a VERY early dinner and bedtime…

One final note – Heard a great talk from one of the original Ironman, Dave Orlowski.  He told the triathletes to “Take energy from the spectators who are there to cheer you on.  You are here to have fun.  Take time at the finish line and smile at the camera and the crowd.  Don’t look at your watch.  Who cares what time you finished.  You finished!!”  Don’t you wish they would all heed his words of advice??  Our triwives’ lives would be so much easier…

Until after the race….Aloha and Mahalo…

 – SHERRY