Maui Prep

Made it to Maui on Wednesday. Travels went smoothly as did my system on travel day. I think this may be my most successful traveling to date. Some residual fatigue, but the body felt good upon arrival and seems to be feeling better everyday. Once Kathy and I got into town, we got settled a bit and then headed down to the Makena race site for a light jog and swim. It seems to be warmer here this year, we both felt. I though for sure spending a week in 100+ degree weather in Phoenix would make Hawaii feel cool, but that was not the case. Even though it’s 15-20 degrees cooler here, it feels way hotter and certainly more sweaty due to the humidity. Getting acclimatized over the week will take some time. After our quick workout to get the blood flowing we hit Pita Paradise for some killer fresh fish pitas and cold beer. I am not a big beer drinker, but on certain occasions the mood can hit me. The hot, steamy weather and Pipeline Porter made with Kona Coffee struck my interest and hot the spot after a long day. Welcome to Hawaii!

Thursday was my one and only “training” day on the island and last one before race day. The plan called for a 90 minute bike ride on the practice course (the race course is not open for pre-riding before race day), a 30 minute run on the second half of the run course and a 30 minute swim on the ocean. After coffee and breakfast we set off for our day. I got in 30 minutes on the road to loosen up riding down to the race site. I got checked in and said my hellos to many of my fellow competitors. It is always fun to see all of the international athletes that come to this event. Big draw from around the world. After the check in, I hit the practice course for four loops (about an hour total). Getting a feel for the dry, loose, lava conditions is key. Also important to check tire pressures and gain confidence in tire selection and capabilities. The heat and humidity proved to be tough. Lots of sweating. Legs however felt surprisingly good. After the bike, my run went well. I hit the beach for some sand running, hit the forest for tree dodging and made my way through the lava field to find my footing. By now I was ready for a swim and it felt great to get some relief. Swam for about 20 minutes and played around for another 10 or so and called it a day. Came back to the condo, cleaned up and took a nice nap to round out the day.

Today, being two days out from race day, is traditionally my recovery day. We took it pretty light all day. Got up, coffee, breakfast, drove to the race site. Swam in the ocean for 30 minutes, saw some friends, got a smoothie with some other friends, headed back to condo, cleaned up, stretched and rested for the remainder of the day. Not too exciting, but much needed come race day. Kathy is racing the 10k trail race tomorrow morning which she is a little nervous about. Its the same run course I will be racing on Sunday, so she will get a feel for the whole experience out there. I know she will do great despite her apprehension. For me tomorrow, I will watch her race before I do a couple more laps on the practice course and one last light jog and swim to prime the engine before race day. Body is feeling good, mind is feeling positive, looking forward to a great race!