Kona bound...

It may sound glamorous. Hawaii for work. But it is the Big Island... not quite the tropical tranquility that most people think of. Think... black lava fields and black top. It's beautiful in it's own way... and I can't complain about the athletes that show up ripped and rearing to race. It's not a surprise why they call the beach where everyone swims the first leg of the Ironman World Championships, "Digme" beach. The people who don swimwear the week leading up to the big race... are specimens...

The downfall is of course the packing. For me, packing is like pulling teeth. Not just because I don't have anything "new" to pack this year, but because I just hate packing. I don't know what it is. Why is it so painful for me to pick out clothes. It's a daily grind for me...

Well, the good news is that last year we found and fell in love with a little "hut" in Kona that sells the most amazing acai bowls we've ever had (it's called Basik Acai).  And... conveniently enough we also scored rooms at the hotel next door which is also next door to where we shoot TriCenter all week!

                              And we all know the deal with food this year... it's totally legal.

I mean really... if you HAD to... wouldn't you eat one of these everyday??

Now we won't be feeling our shoes melt on the blacktop during the marathon, or fighting the winds on the bike... but we need good nourishment too... :)

And don't forget Ponchoman! He's our Hawaiian native Ukelele player. Here's a preview... things get kinda crazy around ponchoman...

and i suppose it won't totally suck to wake up to this everyday...

But just so we're all clear, no new bathing suits, no new dresses, no souvenirs... just good food, great company and a race that I guarantee won't disappoint. 

I guess packing for this trip means... I get to go on a trip... not so bad :)

And dad... don't worry I'm packing a bunch of your shampoo/conditioner packets. I use half the shampoo on my hair, the other half as body wash, and all the conditioner! You done good :)

"Destruction therapy"

Remember this....

         
 Well that only got me so far... and times they are a changing.

 I've found myself having to utilize a lot of self control these days. For example... we have one of our friends staying with us. In the bathroom stands a very full and new flavor of toothpaste that promises everything under the sun.

It's his. Not mine. But do you know how badly I want to squeeze a pea size amount onto my toothbrush?

Not only because I yearn for a new flavor (that's the other trouble with buying in bulk all the time... there's no variety!) But also because a few peas out of his toothpaste would buy me a few more days from my own stash! ha. It's this almost humorous, "instinctual" notion. I mean seriously...
(don't worry I'm laughing at myself right now just thinking about how ridiculous it would be to "steal" someones toothpaste... right?)

Ok. So the point is that maybe I'm reaching a point... not so much of despair... or desperation... but frustration.

Some people take part in what they call "retail therapy".
I take part in something more like "destruction therapy". Albeit on a very small and necessary scale.

Look how much more was in there!! And to think I had to take a HAMMER and bust this thing apart... doesn't it seem a little overkill... On THEIR end?? 

Does a product I paid for... really need to be on this much lockdown?

I really do like you Bare Minerals... but for this one... you just might go on the "list"....

Confession #1

I've numbered this... because I anticipate having to do it again. We are human.

So two days before I was supposed to fly out to Washington to do my ironman distance race, I was concerned. I've had some running injuries over the last few years. First it was shin splints, then compartment syndrome... the worst. I had to take a year off - as in 12 full months of no running. Zero. Not that it was a huge stretch... there were days I could barely walk to class... Luckily, taking the time off and some rehab and I was back on the right track. Not only did I find compression tubes and socks (helps alleviate a little of the pain), but I was also outfitted with orthotics - not cheap. It took a few weeks wearing them a little every day to get used to them, but it seemed to do the trick. But it's never that easy is it...

This May I was 2/3 of the way through the 70.3 at Wildflower and it was time for the run... the damn run. A quarter mile in, shins are feeling good, even at half a mile I wasn't feeling any tinge of pain but about a quarter mile later... my knee hurt. My knee???? What the ...?

Where was this coming from? The outside of my right knee had this shooting pain when I ran... but not when I walked. You gotta be kidding me... right? But what are you going to do... I've been told I'm a fast walker, but trust me... if you CAN run 13 miles... you'd rather. It's over so much faster that way! Ugggh.
Luckily I found a young man who apparently really isn't all that interested in triathlons, but his friends are, and he doesn't feel like sitting at the campground. We walked together for a good 6 or 7 miles before he was antsy to get moving again... lucky. Long story short my half marathon time was a very drawn out 2 hours and 55 minutes...

Well... my new "knee" pain was diagnosed as an IT band issue. The way to fix it is to roll the muscle on the outside of your leg on this big foam roller. It's not a particularly enjoyable exercise... Let me rephrase that, it's not enjoyable in the least... at least when you're IT band is really tight, like mine was. Well I suffered through a lot of rolling and knew I could go about 6 miles before the pain would kick in.

That wouldn't get me very far in the 26.2 miles I was looking at 2 days from then... after the 112 mile bike... which is most likely the reason I have an IT band issue... cycling.

OK so...2 days before I was leaving for the 140.6... I was worried because I had switched shoes recently, and although I loved how everything was feeling in terms of mileage... they seemed tight! Obviously I hadn't been able to do a lot of running in preparation for this so I was concerned they were ok for the 6-7 mile runs I had been doing, but might not work for the long haul. I broke down. I admit it!

I went into RoadRunner sports... I looked at the guy and said, "these shoes are great, but they feel a little tight... could I just try a bigger size?" He obliged and when I took the shoes off, he saw I had my orthotics in and pulled one of them out for me to put in the new shoe....

He looked at me, looked at Peter, Peter looked at him and they both rolled their eyes....

They were too tight because I had the original insole PLUS my orthotics... I'm an idiot :)

Good news though... when we took the other insole out... they fit great! ha.

I think the saying goes "God watches out for fools and children" - good thing I'm both!

Needless to say, I was feeling very guilty about buying a pair of shoes, but I was desperate. I walked out of there without buying anything new. whew.