As I walk around I should carry a little notepad. Actually my cell phone has a notepad in it. I should use that. What happens is that as my day develops there is always things that occur that are hilarious or interesting or something. So my first thought is “put it on the blog”. But of course I forget by the time I get to the office.

But in this post I will mention a few interesting, fun facts that I have not written about from my Kona trip.

One day Mark and I decided to go to Longs (it’s a store) to buy some tape and supplies for packing and the booth. As we get out of the car this huge truck drives by and parks in the next row. A very tall, very Hawaii cowboy looking (is there such a thing?) dude steps out and takes slow huge steps by us. I also noticed this huge sticker on the back of the truck. It may have been a magnetic sign for all I know. But what was interesting is what it said. I read “Ironman Sucks – Go Home”. Wow, I got to get a picture of that. “Just make sure he does not see you” Mark replied. Well the dude sure shops fast. I could not get a photo and he was gone.

I always heard locals do not like Ironman as all we do is disrupt traffic and get in the way. Of course that is a myopic view as the Ironman owners donate a lot of money to local causes. Also the local economy get a good injection of money as we buy quite a bit which helps. But this dude just wants to get to work and back.

If you read my blog you will remember I had a scooter and rode it to the energy lab during the race. When competitors enter the energy during the marathon lab they actually have to cross the Highway. So there are police and volunteers there to help. I spent a good hour or more chatting with these volunteers. It must have been about 7 PM and a lady competitor on the way into the energy lab stopped by and asked the volunteers for a favor. “Can you guys deliver a message to a guy that is waiting for me at the finish line” she asked. “Not sure if we can do that but we can try, what is going on?” answered a volunteer. “We have to catch a plane at 11 PM tonight. Can you tell him to go pack my stuff and meet me at the top of Palani Road so we can make the flight; I am running a little late”. No one knew what to do until a volunteer asked. “Does he have a cell phone?” “He does but I do not know it. His name is Joe and he is from New Zealand. I have to be on that flight. “ The volunteers said they will try and let her know the status when she comes back out of the energy lab 3 miles later on her marathon. One volunteer called the finish line and they said they could not do that as the finish line is about calling finisher names and not personal messages. When the competitor lady came out she got the bad news and someone suggested she dropped out of the race if she really wanted to make that flight. She then picked up the pace and said “I have to make that flight” and continued her marathon. I wish I knew what ended up happening. There is no way she can finish, pack and get to the airport for an 11 PM flight. Confident lady is all I can say.


Another interesting Kona note which is more an observation than anything is to meet old timers and see how they are doing. By that I mean how they are doing physically. What has this sport done to their bodies? I started triathlon in 85 but been running and swimming since 73. So I have old muscles if we can call them that. The reason I say this is because if you look today (for the most part) many of the competitors that do really well in older age groups did not run in their youth. So they have young muscles. Yes chronologically they are a little older than most but they have low miles. All this begs the questions. What is triathlon and more so Ironman training and racing doing to their bodies. Sure all these Kona participants look like models now. But what is going to happen 10 years from now or 20 years from now. So observing is one of the things I do.

On my way to Kona I talk to one old timer. He can no longer even work out because of some health conditions. I meet another and he needs a hip replacement. Then another has blood clots. Another walks in and he just had hip resurfacing and is able to finally run a little. Another participates in the race and walks almost the entire marathon. Not that that is bad but he used to fly. Then I get home and go to the gym to see another on the elliptical hammering away 10 beats from his absolute max heart rate (he managed to tell me as he was gasping). He can not longer run but the elliptical works well. I think he had fused vertebrae. This was all in one week but the list of former triathletes with bad backs, bad knees or heart and organ conditions that prevent their training is a long one and that is the ones I know. Of course who is to say that perhaps these guys would be in worse shape without triathlon. Good question eh?

Mark as many of you know can still work out, but chooses to go very easy and very short. He feels that the years prior to his adopting the low hear rate training approach just about fried him. He does not want to contribute one more heart beat to that.

So how does all this makes me feel. Ok I am fat but I can run swim and bike or whatever. Granted I have only raced one or two years since 96. But I still train with masters swimming and unlike Mark I have done many very hard sessions. Me thinks I should thank my lucky stars. Mark swears that despite my fatness I must be doing something right. I can see well and need no glasses, my eyes are clear. Ok I do forget things but I did that when I was young too. Now if I can get rid of my belly I can probably kick some butt. Ok I am joking on the last one.

Who knows is just an observation. Where is the scientist for this one?