Kona 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 02:14PM For the 2nd year in a row, I made a long trip to Hawaii's Big Island to compete in the Ironman World Championships. While I was not able to bring my wife and kids this time, I was fortunate to be going with several buddies from Connecticut and New York. Fellow TT'er, Peter Mullen, also qualified for Kona at IMLP after a winter full of Eneas' Saturday morning beatings. Peter and I enjoyed an entire week in Kona prior to the race in an attempt to acclimate and just plain have a blast. It's really hard to describe just how amazing the "vibe" is out there. The 7a.m. swims at "Dig Me Beach" out to the coffee boat every day set the tone for the whole day. Twenty yards off shore, one is treated to a swimmer's view of coral reef and the most amazing colors and variety of fish that you've ever seen.
As for the actual race... I was fortunate enough to have everything go pretty darn well for me. The start of the swim was as violent a start as I've ever been in, probably due to putting myself in a bad spot to start. However, once I was able to get moving, I enjoyed every bit of my one hour and two minute swim, knowing it would be the easiest part of my long day. Two point four miles always ends up feeling exceedingly long to me, but fortunately I would not need to use my upper body the rest of the day!
Out of transition and onto the bike I had a definite plan I was hoping to execute. Rewind to last year where I was taught a harsh lesson about just how damn hot this race is. I knew that my success (or failure) would completely depend on my ability to handle the heat and humidity. To this end, I did a few things differently this year. One, I wore a pair of DeSoto Cool Wings (like I saw Jordan Rapp do at IMAZ!). These go on your arms and over your shoulders and upper back (Yeah, kinda like a woman's shawl!) Didn't see many people (nobody) wearing them, but boy did they help. My second "strategy," was to keep my head, body, and "wings" wet for the entire bike ride. Kona's bike course is incredible in that they have aid stations really close together. This gave me plenty opportunity to keep my body soaking wet for five plus hours. Finally, I really paced myself. That meant letting literally hundreds of people pass me on the way out to the turnaround in Hawi. I watched my HR pretty closely and did not overcook it. This was extremely hard to do. Pride and ego need to be set aside as what feels like the entire race passes you. However, it clearly paid off as I was able to catch hundreds on my way back on the Queen K. I felt like I was building and getting stronger while I saw lots of people suffering and falling off the pace. I was thrilled to finally make the right onto Palani and back into transition with a 5:10:08 (21.7mph) -- 8 minutes faster than last year!
My plan was basically the same for the run-- be patient! During the first 10 miles along Alii Drive I took it nice and easy and averaged just under 8 minute miles. This was a very easy pace and I made sure to keep my body as cool and hydrated as possible filling up my hat with ice at EVERY aid station. My thought was that if I somehow felt great at mile 18-20, then I could lift my pace and possibly run under 3:30. However, by the time I reached this point, it was all I could do to try and maintain the pace and keep the wheels from coming off. Everyone is suffering at this point of the race, and a lot of negative thoughts run through your mind! I managed to hang on and finished with a 3:31:09 (8:03/mile) marathon, eleven minutes faster than last year. My overall time was 9:51:07-- 21 minutes faster than last year's effort.
Was it an easier day you ask? Yeah, okay, it probably was because it was not as hot as last year I don't think. But I'd also like to think I was a bit stronger on the bike and I was one hundred percent smarter!
Thanks for reading-- Mitch
