If you are ever struggling with motivation to train (or exercise) in late September/early October, head over to Kona, Hawaii as you will find yourself with endless motivation and energy.
For ten days, I get to be a "spectator athlete." This means I get the fun part of training on the course without the pressure or the stress. As I write this, it's officially race week and the island is getting busier and busier with athletes. Even as I write this at 6:30pm (and the sun has set), I see so many people out walking (and running) on Ali'i drive. By 7am, athletes are swimming the ocean. The Queen K gets busy with athletes riding and running by 8am. There are cyclists and runners everywhere. Although it's "only" 78-80 degrees here (everyday) it feels incredibly hot and humid. It's the perfect weather for training as there's never a bad day to be outside.
I purposely did not take an off-season in September as I wanted to maintain a good level of fitness through Kona. Even though I'm not racing, I wanted to make sure I could take advantage of this opportunity to train on the course, while also supporting Karel and our athletes.
It's been 7 years since I raced here which means I am seven years old. I wasn't sure what to expect when I came here but I've surprised myself with every workout and training session here on the island. I feel stronger and faster than ever before. I contribute this to focusing so much on extreme triathlons over the past few years as my focus has been on getting stronger and more resilient to be able to tolerate the demands of extreme triathlons. Interestingly, the training that I've done over the past few years has not slowed me down. If anything, I've gotten faster with age. It's been a good reminder that the Ironman is not a speed based sport but rather you have to be good at not slowing down. This means good fueling/hydration, good economy, good heat management and being strong and durable.
Here are some of the workouts I've done since arriving on Thursday evening.
Friday:
AM: ~34 min, 2100 open water swim at the pier
Mid day: 1:17 bike (26.8 miles) starting from the energy lab parking area by the gas station
