This was Ali’s first time qualifying and racing in Kona and she had a smile on her face all day!
After almost a year of anticipation, I was both excited and nervous to be in Kona getting ready to race.
Even though there were a few hiccups this training season, some physical but most mental, I arrived feeling healthy, rested and ready to have a good day.
On top of having Marvin there, our friends Jacquie and Charmian from Toronto, and Joris and Dorien from the Hague had flown to Hawaii for the race and vacation.
I had made a decision long before getting on the plane that no matter how I was feeling out on the course, I would be nothing but smiles whenever I saw them through out the day.
I had also learned a valuable lesson in Boston years ago. The first time I ran Boston I was so excited to be there that I didn’t care about my run time at all. I didn’t wear a watch. I watched the crowds, volunteers, runners and scenery. I have a perfect memory of that experience. The second time I went to Boston I was focused on getting a personal best. The only thing I thought about in the early kilometers was the pace time. I wasn’t having my fastest run and seeing the pace times drop ruined my entire marathon. I was sour, frustrated and swearing off running, Ironman and exercise by the time I reached the 35 km mark. The irony is that my run times at both Boston marathons were exactly the same: 3:42. In the first race I couldn’t have had more fun. In the second I couldn’t have been more miserable. The difference between the experiences was my headspace going in.
I wanted to be damn sure I left Kona with a memory like my first trip to Boston not my second!
I was nervous on Friday. I worried about the swim being rough with aggressive swimmers; crosswinds blowing me over on the bike; and searing heat forcing me to walk in the marathon.
Waking up Saturday morning, I had slept well and ticked off everything on my pre-race checklist. Marv and I were at the transition area and body marked with plenty of time to relax before the start. I chatted with Hines Ward and had my picture taken with Gordon Ramsay in T1.
After leaving Marvin to go find our friends, I saw Fiona and Nigel who kept me calm. Shannon and Ken were also nearby and since they had done the race before, seeing them was reassuring.
Swim
I started left relatively near the front as Fiona recommended. I think I started well. I was aggressive and held faster feet or moved to more open water all the way out to the first turn buoy. I wasn’t wearing a watch but felt like I was strong and possibly going fast, for me. Of course I have absolutely nothing to base that on – so there is a very good chance I was tortoise slow from the very beginning! I prefer to believe I started well – lightning fast – so let’s go with that.
On the way back to the pier, I wasn’t feeling as well…
I had put my goggles on way too tight and they were giving me a splitting headache. But, they weren’t leaking or fogging up, so I didn’t want to make any adjustments. With my head pounding, I began taking in a lot of seawater and getting queasy. As time ticked by, I was convinced my choices were:
a) feed the fishes
or
b) start the day with nasty-pants.
Thankfully, I made it to the swim exit without chucking or soiling myself!
I knew it would be a slower swim but 1:23? That is slow for me. Apparently that is slow for everybody!! By the time I sauntered out of T1 and meandered over to the bike racks, it was just me and my P2 … a little sad and a lot lonely!
Bike
Heading out of T1 I was smiling. It was so cool to be in Kona. My bike felt great and my stomach had settled partially because I took my time in the change tent.
Even though Fiona had given me target watts for the ride, we both knew there was a strong possibility that my Power Tap wouldn’t work. It had been giving me trouble for most of the training season. 5 kilometers into the ride, the screen was showing zero watts. So I turned it off.
How liberating! From that point forward I had no idea how fast I was riding, how long I was taking or how much power I was putting out. No distractions: my bike and perceived exertion for the next 6+ hours. It was fantastic.
I was bracing myself for the cross winds all the way up to Hawi … but they never came. I was riding in my aerobars for the most part, waving at, whistling to, and thanking the volunteers at every aid station. I must have looked a bit silly with such a huge smile but I couldn’t help it. I rode alongside Hines Ward for a kilometer and told him that I saw Paula Newby Fraser (his coach) crying as he headed into the water. She was worried for him and saying she wanted him to have a great day. He laughed, shook his head and said ‘Oh god, Paula!’
Coming back from Hawi I was still being conservative having been warned by Fiona and Nigel to hold back on the downhill and to expect a headwind for the last 50km of the ride. I felt great and found a few others with the same race-day mindset. Slightly overwhelmed by being in Kona, we weren’t driven to push that hard – rather we were more concerned about coming home with a perfect memory than a personal best.
My chain dropped once but I was quick to hop off and on continuing my conversation with a guy who had been off himself fixing a flat early on.
As we came to the end of our ride on Alii Drive, we watched the pros running for the finish. That was really cool, and a welcome distraction. We had front row seats to Faris Al-Sultan’s sprinting Speedo! Quite a sight!
I had the feeling my ride would be around 6 – 6 ½ hours depending on the winds. We had a headwind for the last 50km, but no cross winds, so finishing the bike in 6:12 was fine by me.
Bike-to-run was another pokey transition. After the world’s longest pee stop – did I really drink 3 gallons of water??? – I sat down in the change tent and enjoyed the attention of multiple volunteers willing to coat me in suntan lotion, tie my shoes and feed me nasty gels with Dixie cups of water. Frankly, I think they were excited to have someone in the tent that was clearly not in a hurry!
I thanked them profusely and headed out, fingers crossed that I had my running legs.
Run
A few steps in I knew, fast or not, I had legs and wouldn’t need to walk any part of the marathon. What a relief. Holy dental, I was all-teeth from the first kilometer until the last!
Seeing Marvin and our friends running out of T2, I waved my hands and tossed my Garmin. It hadn’t found the satellites and I didn’t want to stop and wait for the watch to synch, so I left it behind and carried on.
I haven’t been to Hawaii before, but I suspect we had as close to perfect race conditions as one could hope for. Virtually no cross winds on the bike, and overcast skies for a good chunk of the run. It doesn’t get much better than that. Sure it was hot, it was Hawaii. But it wasn’t Louisville hot!! (IMKY 2010 is my benchmark for torture by heat and humidity).
Running with a smile brought out the best of the spectators and volunteers. It was a blast. I had no idea whether I was running 5 min kilometers or 7 min kilometers, but I was running and that was all that mattered to me.
I saw Fiona, Nigel, Shannon, Ken, Marv, Charmian, Jacquie, Joris and Dorien all over the course and I was cheering as loud for them as they were for me.
Admittedly, by the 11 mile marker the thought of taking any more gel was turning my stomach. I knew better than to abandon nutrition altogether, but I opted out of downing liquid sludge for the rest of the marathon. I switched to water and Power Bar Perform taking in just enough to keep me from bonking. I wouldn’t get the calories necessary to be as fast as I am capable of but as long as I could run and smile – good enough.
The Energy Lab, where no spectators were allowed, was the toughest part of the day. I knew it would be. Special Needs was set up at the turn around. It was tempting to stop for my bag and walk where no one would notice … NO! Walking was not an option.
I ran past and told myself to get back to the Queen K highway as fast as possible. I knew that seeing volunteers and spectators would recharge my energy.
And it did. Hallelujah!
As I exited the Queen K and turned towards Alii Drive it felt like I was running on air. Instead of picking up the pace and charging toward the finish, I relaxed and soaked up every last moment. I saw Fiona, Shannon and Nigel in the last kilometer and Marvin, Jacquie, Charmian, Joris and Dorien as I crossed the finish line.
All considered I was happy with my 3:46 run and 11:34 overall time. With the day’s conditions I could have been faster, and maybe as a competitor should have been, but even if I shaved 30 minutes, I still would have been middle of the pack. So what difference would it make anyway? I may not have felt as great during the day or recovered as quickly afterwards.
If I ever qualify for Kona again, maybe then I will race the race. For now, Kona will remain a perfect memory, just like Boston 2009.