Ironman World Championships in Kona equal one word….AWESOME. To be in the epicentre of the sport of triathlon is like something I’ve never experienced before, I was like a kid who goes to the big city for the first time and stares at how tall all the buildings are. I was in awe, walking around with my mouth wide open trying to take it all in. After we arrived I couldn’t wait to put my bike together so I could get on on the famous Queen K highway and test my mettle in the morning. I was up at the crack of dawn and was heading out for a 3 hr ride, I got out on the Queen K and was loving every minute of it, I might not be racing in Kona but I was in Kona…finally. I got out about 40km and decided it was time to turn around when I did I felt the winds you hear so much about punch me in the gut. It felt like someone had flipped a switch and the Hawaiian god Pele had started to blow. It took me almost 2 hrs to make it back to the condo but I did and I still had a smile on my face. I won’t bore you with all the details of how awesome the expo was, or how coffee at Lava Java was a who’s who of triathlon every morning but I do want to share with you my race day experience from the other side of the fence for once.

We got to the swim start at around 5:45 and had a great spot to watch the race, the pro’s start at 6:30 and I couldn’t wait for the cannon to go off. All of a sudden a chopper flies overhead so you know it’s close to time, then without warning BOOM the cannon fires and the pro’s are off. We stuck around to watch the Age Groupers start at seven and then headed down to the swim exit to watch the first pro’s head out on the loop around town. We had a great spot to watch all the action and all the top guys were in the pack and headed out for a long bike. After all the leaders were on the highway we jumped in our jeep to try and beat them to the 60km mark, we didn’t, but we did get there in time to see the women’s leaders. It takes about an hour and a half for the leaders to get to Hawi (1/2 way point) and back so we waited and saw the leaders go by and then jumped in the Jeep to get back to town…FAST!

We dropped of the jeep and jumped on our scooters so we could get out on the course and see the race, the run was going to be epic…it didn’t disappoint. Craig Alexander chased down Lieto early but Raelert was catching him, it was amazing to see the whole race unfold in front of you. We were in the action, we saw Chrisse Wellington over take Steffen for the lead and never relinquish it, we saw the pain on the faces of top pro’s who could not continue due to the torrid pace. We got down to the end in time to see the women finish and then stayed and watched the age groupers come in for hours. It was a great day.

I got so motivated on race day that I am determined to get to that race, the next day I had a 4.5 hr bike followed by a 1.5hr run and the whole thing just flowed for once. What will it take to get there? Guts? Fitness? Luck? sure all of those things but more than that belief. I BELIEVE I WILL DO THAT RACE ONE DAY. Am I smelling the ether? Yes. But how else to attain your goals than see them in front of you and go for it. Some one asked me what I would do if I never qualified for Kona? I’ll never know because I’m gonna die trying.

See you at the finish line,

MB