SWIM: 1 mile Kealakekua Bay Napoopoo Beach across Kealakekua Bay towards Captain Cook Monument exiting the SWIM at the Monument
and T1
TRAIL RUN: 2.5 miles STARTING at Cook Monument with a 1,500 ft. elevation gain ending at the TOP of Coffee Mill Rd.
BIKE: 28 miles - 1 & 1/2 x Laps on a hilly circut course. Start at T2 - TOP of COFEE MILL Rd. heading up the road to the STOP sign- Turn Right climb up towards and past Captain Cook Village heading SOUTH till intersection at the Honaunau Post Office- Turn RIGHT down towards Puuhonua o Honaunau, Pass the Natl. Park heading towards Kealakekua Bay on Old Government Rd. back at the Bay turn up COFFEE MILL Rd. for another Lap ending the Bike back at Kealakekau Bay and T3
2nd RUN: Starts T3 (Kealakekua Bay) Heading SOUTH through Napoopoo Village then out on Old GovernmentRd. till the TURN-AROUND at 2 miles out, returning back to Kealakekua Bay, and the FINISH LINE of the Captain Cook Tri Challenge
From the Team Mango website http://teammangoraces.com/Captain_Cook_Course_Map.html
TimesHonestly, I was not prepared for this. I've been slacking on the tri training, and this was a great example to show it.
SWIM - 1 mile - 34:45.93. The swim started around 8:15am. The sun was at our backs, just coming over the mountains. There's something about Kona water that I just love, and yesterday was evidence of that. High tide was at 4am, low tide at 10am, so the water was fairly calm. I could see reef for a few seconds, then it was all blue till the finish. It was a dark eerie blue. With the sun at our backs, it's rays penetrated the water in front of us, leading the way to the monument. I haven't swam a mile in a year, so past halfway was 'survival mode'. Sink or swim. I tried to draft the swimmers with fins. This helped me maintain course as well. My eyes played tricks on me about 2/3 way through. You think you see something in the water, but glance longer on the next rotation and there's nothing there. The monument would NOT get larger. It seemed to tease me. It only got larger when I reached the opposite reef, which was only about 20ft to the concrete platform. It was fun getting up. The reef got about 2ft shallow for the last 5ft. There was only 1 rock to get up on. I took a few seconds ensuring my legs were capable of carrying my weight again.
T1 (swim to trail) - 5:59.57 - 40:45. I took my time here and recovered. Items I should've added to my T1: salt tabs, sunblock, cytomax, energy gels, water, sunglasses, visor. Items I had in my bag: bike shorts, towel, iPhone, trail shoes/socks, short sleeve shirt, tank top. Items I didn't need: iPhone didn't catch GPS, bike shorts. I wore racing briefs on the swim, so I slipped the touring bike shorts over them. The sand/gravel dried on my feet so I rinsed them off in the water then toweled them off before getting my shoes on. I need to put the quick laces on all my shoes.
Trail - 2.5 miles, 1,500ft elevation ascent - 37:56.71 - 1:18.42. I hiked majority of it, keeping my heart rate down. I reminded myself to enjoy the race. This calmed me and gave me more energy to increase the pace at less effort.
T2 (trail to bike) - 6:59.13 - 1:25.41. Sat down and gathered myself. The cytomax was delish. I stayed a few minutes to await course directions. Items in my T2 bag: bike shoes/socks, 2 bottles cytomax, 2 gels, towel, Helmet, gloves, sunglasses. Items I need to add to my bag: sunblock, more gels, salt tab dispenser (in the handlebars, thanks for the advice Kris!).
Bike Lap1 - 17.5 miles - 1:31.04 - 2:56.45. I followed my new friend Dard, a local to Napoopoo, and veteran course challenger, whom I met on the trail. About 10 minutes in, before the downhill section began, I checked my brakes, and noticed the rear was loose. I forgot to enable the brake switch. Contemplating losing site of Dard for safety. Unaware of the course slope, I decide not to chance it. I got off, adjusted my tire and set off. Dard was nowhere in site. 15 minutes of riding later, I passed a mtb'r and asked if he was doing the challenge. Amazingly, he acknowledged and I laughed "whew, I'm going the right way then!" I made another stop 5 minutes later and asked him if an older guy in purple (Dard) had passed him. "He was going fast!". Good, still on the right track. Finally, the post office! Sped down the awesomely paved decline, past Puuhonua o Honaunau. The old Gov't Road was less maintained, not as smooth and quite hilly. Where did the wind go? Oh yeah, I THOUGHT there was no wind... until I got to the Coffee Mill Road uphill battle. NOW the wind was GONE. Moving at a verrry slow pace, I lost my own wind. The 11-12 miles uphill took about 45 mins (diff between the 2 splits). I thought it would never end. By the time I got back to T2, they took our bags to the finish. Oh noes! My extra cytomax and gels!
Bike Lap1.5 - ~13.5 mile, 1,500ft elevation descent - 48:23.79 - 3:45.09. Thought I could upshift when I got on the main highway. "Hah!", the road scoffs at me. It was a 1,000ft ascent, and I had to stay in the lowest gears for the first 10 mins! Knowing the course a little now, I picked up the pace. Rarely used the brakes this round. I showed less fear of the narrow shoulders. If I get hit, I get hit. Best bet is to make an attempt to keep up with traffic. Town traffic was the toughest, always on the lookout for someone reversing onto the highway.
T3 (bike to run) - 1:06.30 - 3:46.15. My racing flats lost a heel a few days ago, so I wore my Saucony's from the Volcano run, next best thing. Items in my T3 bag: cytomax, running shoes/socks, visor. I left my bike gloves on cause they had terry cloth on the back hand area so I could wipe sweat from my eyes. I poured the cytomax into my squeeze bottle from the bike and ran off. I joked with the awesome race director (forgot his name.. Carl, Chris?) "gotta finish quick so I can join the party!". "That's the spirit we love to hear!" Tim shouted out "Go Mike Brown!" My mind was shot and I couldn't remember his name so I yelled something like "Yeah!"
Run - 4 miles - 59:42.33 - 4:45.57. Legs feel great. Posture is automatic. Light on my feet, tight core. Doing about a 9min mile pace. 1 mile in both of my quadriceps cramped. I could barely walk. Downed some cytomax hoping it goes quickly through my body. I was walking like a pregnant woman. It was around noon, and the sun was beaming down hard. The skies were absolutely clear. No clouds, no vog. Another mile till the checkpoint, and water. Dard advised to walk it out, staying still will make it worse. I at least knew not to stretch, as this would tear muscle tissue. Cold water! Ahh... From then on I ran until the cramping came back and walked until it subsided. I passed by Rosario, who was also a first timer. I gave her half of my water. Poor thing. Saw Ted and Mai cheering me on to the finish, so I ran the last 1/4 mile or so.
The volunteer staff was soo helpful, friendly and informative. I learned a lot from them about the race, nutrition, etc. at the finish. I thanked them for their motivation and spirit. We followed Tim to his house and I picked up the stationary bike trainer. We laughed and shared the same thoughts about the race. Maybe we can train with each other on the weekends.
I've got some reading to do on recovery. I'm taking the day off from P90X, but want to get in the water. I won't push myself, but just want to... you understand, right? My joints are all good, muscles good, just some minor discomfort on the backside of my left knee (probably from the bike). I have a stretchy brace on it for supplemental support.
Need to invest in a tri-suit (to be more aerodynamic on the bike), racing sunglasses (my contacts dried up on the bike), aero bars (not needed so much for this particular race), salt tab dispenser, and a bike computer.
I'm glad this race chose itself for my first tri. After only a few days of riding a road bike, inadequate multisport training, poor course nutrition, chaotic gear preparation, sleep deprivation (5hours?)... I made it through. This was a strenuous course that demanded strength in addition to endurance. I know where I'm lacking, and know how to prepare for the next race. I just need to practice them. Honu here I come!
Posts
