2016 Ironman Eagleman 70.3

Kirsten / June 12, 2016

I knew about triathlons especially since my best friend competed in them. But it was never on my radar as something I wanted to do, largely due to my limitations in the past with biking and running.

That all changed when we moved to Kona and got to watch the Ironman World Championships in 2011 and 2012. I was so inspired by the event and watching people with far more physical restrictions than I, complete that race. I have never been so inspired in my entire life yet I still didn’t know how it could ever happen for me. Chuck was equally inspired – so much so that he completed the Ironman Honu 70.3 in Hawaii in 2013. It was incredible to cheer him on, yet it still left me on the sidelines.

That is until we realized that you can compete in some Ironman races as a relay team. This changed everything! I now had the chance to participate in a triathlon. But not just any triathlon, an Ironman! Team Trifecta was born: I would be the swimmer, Chuck would bike (his favorite of the 3 sports), and a friend of his, Dean, would run.

The first step? Learning to swim distances. I started swimming laps while living in Kona and even took some masters swim classes by a world class coach there. But I still had never swam very far or had my technique correct.

My first session I made it about 400 yards (with many breaks). My race distance was 1.2 miles or 2100 yards so I had quite a ways to go. I found a swim plan to follow and loosely followed it to keep me on track. However, there were some glitches along the way that kept me out of the water sometimes for weeks at a time, the worst being my left shoulder seizing up and preventing me from swimming. Because of that, I put in the bare minimum amount of training. To say I was undertrained and nervous come race day would be an understatement.

To add to that, I got a nasty cold leading up to the race and was so sick the day before I wasn’t sure if I could even compete. Chuck called Dean to see if he could swim in my place, but Dean wasn’t ready to swim 1.2 miles and neither was Chuck. So with our fingers crossed, we headed to the race and hoped I would feel good enough the next day.

If I couldn’t swim, Chuck and Dean wouldn’t get to compete at all. I would be taking all their training, and hard work away without letting them even participate. The pressure on me felt enormous.

The night before the race I was still quite sick, but at this point, the race hinged on me just doing it regardless of how I felt. My shoulder was still quite bad so that was a huge wildcard as well.

Race Day

The Swim – 1.2 miles – by Kirsten

Race morning we were up around 4am. We headed the 45 minutes to Dean’s rental house where he made us breakfast. The house was about 5-6 blocks from the race start, so we walked there around 6am. After getting body marked, I ventured out into the water for a warm up swim. The water was cold enough to make the race wetsuit legal (yay!), yet it wasn’t as cold as I feared.

The swim course – see the yellow buoys way out there?!?

Then it was time to wait. The pros started then the amateur competitors started in waves. I was in the last wave so I had to wait around for about an hour.

At last it was time. We walked down the boat ramp, lined up behind the start buoys, and waited for the starting horn. Then we were off!

I stayed towards the back, which still didn’t help me from being run over by one of the swimmers and getting caught under the boat he was tugging. After the initial flurry, I found myself alone in the back. I knew I had 1 swimmer behind me, but I think that was it. And given that we were the last wave, I think I was the 2nd to last person out there on the course.

My biggest concern was making the cut off time of 1:10. I was pretty sure I could do the distance as long as my shoulder held up, but I wasn’t sure how fast I could swim given the conditions and how sick I was. And I didn’t have a lot of buffer time as I’m not a very fast swimmer.

I got maybe 200 yards (out of 2100) and realized I was exhausted. I was just completely spent. If I didn’t have Chuck and Dean’s race hinging on my swim, I would’ve quit then. And anyone that knows me, knows that I never quit anything unless I have no choice. But frankly, I felt I had no choice but to keep on swimming. Dory’s “keep on swimming” line kept going thru my head over and over.

To make matters worse, my goggles fogged up instantly so I couldn’t see. I also pretty quickly realized how bad I was at spotting the buoys so I was swimming pretty blind. I even started closing my eyes because it didn’t make any difference. Of course this caused me to go completely off course the entire way – I kept getting near the water patrol and they’d send me back towards the course over and over again.

There were buoys every 100 yards so I would take a few second break at every buoy to clear my goggles, check my time, and take a break. Of course, every time I did, the current would push me backwards and off course so I’d have to re-swim the distance back.

The good news was when I realized a few hundred yards in that I was on record pace (for me!). I was swimming faster than usual so I as long as I could keep it up, I was in no danger from getting picked up or missing the cut off. This took a HUGE load off my mind so then I could just focus on swimming.

Once I hit the first turn, everything got worse: the current picked up and pushed me even further out into the river and I was exhausted beyond all belief. Luckily since I was the 2nd to last swimmer, the water patrol and boaters were all cheering me on, telling me how much time I had, and helping me stay on course. A woman in a kayak came up and offered to let me hold on to take a break – at first I declined, but finally gave in and held on for about a minute to catch my breath. In the Ironman, you’re allowed to hold on to the water patrol, you just can’t use them to make forward progress.

I owe the rest of my race to this lady. She stuck with me the rest of the race and became my eyes, time keeper, and cheerleader all in one.

Once I got to the turn for home – with about 700 yards left – I had plenty of time, but I was cooked. Plus, the wind picked up and kept blowing me off course. But with this kayaker beside me, I was able to spot off of her and she kept me from going all over the place. She also kept me abreast of the time and distance I had left and I knew I would make it if I just kept going even though every part of me wanted to quit.

Eventually I made it to the end of the course and, after thanking my kayak angel, I ran up the ramp and across the timing mat! 1:03:25! I DID IT!

I heard the kids ringing their cowbells and cheering for me, but I still had to run thru the chute to the relay tent to tag Chuck for the bike. He gave me the best hug and said he knew I could do it, grabbed the timing chip from my ankle, and took off for the bike.

I then found the kids who gave me big hugs. And Mara took my victory picture above.

The Bike – 56 miles – by Chuck

The bike started off well, as I was reasonably trained and the course was very flat, allowing me to get into the groove. Heading out on the bike loop, the wind was in my face and I raced a bit hard, trying to set a good pace. That worked for a while, but I bonked about 20 miles in, causing me to get faint and spend a few minutes alongside the road recharging and hydrating.

Down the road a few minutes, my energy recovered, but then I started with cramps in my right foot, causing me to get off the bike for a bit every few miles. All else was good, but it added up to a slow race when I had hoped to be sub-3:30.

Nice course and day, but I was just happy to be done! Time: 3:44:46

The Run

Once Chuck racked his bike, he tagged Dean who went off on his 13.1 mile run. It was about 1pm at this point and brutally hot. Many of the competitors coming in looked so haggard from the sun and heat, so we really felt for Dean.

While he was out there running, Chuck, the kids, and I found some shade to relax in and took advantage of the free food for the athletes. Chuck and I finally were able to relax at this point as our part was done and we’d both finished.

As it got to Dean’s estimated finish time, we headed over to the finish so we could cheer him home. It was so great hearing our team name announced as he crossed the finishing mat! Team Trifecta Finish Time: 7:45:25. And 23rd out of 26 teams!

We met him at the end of the finish chute where he had each of our medals and a hat.

Wrap Up

Once the race was over, we all left pretty quickly so we could get home at a decent hour as the kids had school the next day and Chuck had to go into work.

I was elated the entire day and evening from the experience. Unfortunately, I got even more sick on the way home and was even worse the days that followed. But that didn’t damper my excitement over having competed in an Ironman and finishing! I’m still so proud of my (our) accomplishment and know that I’m even tougher than I thought.

Now maybe it’s time for a full Ironman relay??!?

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Blue Angels and More at the Miramar Air Show

Kirsten / October 3, 2014

When we moved to San Diego, we rented a house for a couple of weeks in Mira Mesa. The backyard opened onto a canyon that turned out to be one of the main flight paths of the Marine’s F/A-18 Hornets so we’d hear them and see them flying every day, and every time we’d go up to Mira Mesa after we moved.

I was thrilled to find out that they do an air show every year at the base. Not only is this the base where they filmed “Top Gun” (how cool!) but it’s also the largest military show in the country. The fact that it was about 20 minutes from home made it a no-brainer to go see.

The show opened with an Osprey and some helicopters.

Then we saw the Marine’s hornets, US Army Golden Knights parachute team, and much more.

Then we got to see Sean D. Tucker perform in a biplane. He was extraordinary! I couldn’t believe the tricks he was able to do and he left us all mesmerized.

Next up was seeing a Harrier! We got to see it make a vertical lift off, hover in place, and fly around as well. What an incredible machine! After that , there were other aircraft that performed.

Finally, the Blue Angels were up and they did not disappoint. They flew right in front of the crowd with their wings almost touching and performed so many aerial tricks. Definitely a privilege to see them fly right before our eyes.

In addition to the performers, they had military planes and trucks that we could explore. The kids had a great time seeing the jets up close, going inside an carrier, and checking out the cockpits.

Once the sun set, there was a performance by the Shockwave Jet Truck which runs over 300mph and races the airplanes.

The show finished with a wall of fire which we ended up mostly missing as we left a few minutes early. It was brutally hot that day and we were all wilting after the long day standing in the sun. Unfortunately, we saw part of the wall of fire once we were outside and it looked INCREDIBLE so we were all bummed we missed it.

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Europe Favorite Moments Spain Sporting Events

Going to a FC Barcelona Fútbol Game

Chuck Ullan / February 15, 2014

For a few years now, Kirsten had a bucket list item of attending a big-time European soccer match. So once we made plans to come to Spain, we started working out how to knock this off.

Barcelona was already on our list to visit while in Spain, and FC Barcelona is one of the top teams in the world and regarded by many as one of the great teams of all time, so we decided to schedule our trip there to coincide with a game.

Camp Nou is the stadium for FCB and it’s big, holding about 99,000, the vast majority of which are season tickets. Lucky for us, they were playing a terrible team the week we were going, so were able to find 4 seats together after some searching. 4 seats together in the 3rd of 4 levels ran us 43 Euros each.

First impression as we walked in – WOW. What an incredibly beautiful pitch (field)!! Seems weird to fawn over some grass, but it was immaculate and spectacular!

Beckett and I are wearing the FCB jerseys we bought in Chiang Mai before leaving. They’ve got to be authentic, right?!

There were about 75,000 in attendance for the game, making it about 75% full. People sang team cheers and songs at times, but it was fairly quiet most of the time.

It was also much different than a US sporting event in that it was all about the game. No music during dead balls, no halftime entertainment, no contests, no smoke and pyros during the player introductions. The food was very basic – just a few sandwiches, hot dogs, and popcorn, but no “culinary experience”. What a concept, eh?

The game itself was great – Barca scored in the 2nd minute and went on to win 6-0. Messi had a couple goals and Neymar had a rocket for the 6th goal. While it wasn’t the intense and rowdy experience one often associates with European soccer, it was still a fantastic experience and definitely gave us a better appreciation of the game.

Surprisingly, this was about as crazy or rowdy as it got, with flag waving and cheering.

Goalkeeper is in trouble here but the pass across didn’t connect

The goalkeeper came way out and Messi chipped the shot over his head and into the net

Barca Score — 6-0 is about as good as it gets!

Lots of fun merchandise outside the gates.

Chiang Mai Sporting Events Thailand

Chiangmai F.C. Games

Chuck Ullan / August 18, 2013

We’d seen signs for Chiangmai F.C. (FC = football club / soccer in U.S) around town and figured it would be cool to get out to a sporting event with the kids while we’re here. We enjoyed it so much, we’ve gone back 2 more times!

They play in a stadium about 20 minutes from town and it would probably hold 8,000-10,000 fans if full. We weren’t really sure what to expect, whether the crowd would be rowdy, what the food situation was, etc.

For our first game, we decided to spring for the expensive tickets. And by expensive, I mean 80 baht ($2.60). That gets you a general admission ticket in a good location with a roof overhead. Note: Roof is useful during rainy season!

All food and drink is sold outside the stadium at an outdoor market, with a mini outdoor market set up that has all the foods you see at the night markets. (you can just carry it in.) There’s usually some music, promotional events, and merchandise sales near the main gate as well.

Image of food and drink stands outside Chiangmai F.C. game — Food and drink stands outside Chiangmai F.C. game

The stadium isn’t optimal for viewing, as it’s multipurpose and there’s a track running around the outside of the field, causing a gap between the field and the seats.

The game environment was pretty positive. People cheered the team, but not in a rabid way. I didn’t see any violence, drunk-ass idiots, or anyone yelling inappropriate things. For the most part, it felt like a big party. It probably helps that the team is pretty good this year and they didn’t lose any of the games we’ve attended.

Beckett got a jersey (just $14!) at the first game and he has a good time, though occasionally his attention wanders. Mara seems to like the whole process of attending the game and eating snacks, but doesn’t seem to give a crap about the game.

After two of the games, we’ve been able to go down to the field and get Beckett’s picture with a few players. He was very excited to meet the goalie since he was a goalie in hockey and seems to have a fascination with them.

I’ve loved attending the games. It just feels more laid back than major US sporting events. It almost has the feel of a minor league baseball game. There are lots of advertising signs, but game experience isn’t dominated by them. Basically, it just feels much less structured than a U.S. sporting experience.

Did I say less structured? That leads to the fun part – after the game.

The players walk around and pause at each section of the stadium so the fans can cheer them. Several of the sections have people lighting what look like road flares as the players approach. Can’t fathom seeing this at home, but it is AWESOME.

There are 2 more home games while we’re here and we’re hoping to make it out to them. It’s really a great time!

: Mara and Beckett with 2013 regular season championship trophy

Logistics: The official CMFC website is: http://www.chiangmaifc.com/ But seeing as its in Thai, it wasn’t the most helpful site to us. There is an English website built by CMFC fans which is where I got the schedule: http://chiangmaifootballclub.com/ . The CMFC Facebook group is quite active and you can find information out about games so its worth checking them out: https://www.facebook.com/cmfcenglish

Hawaii North America USA

Ironman 70.3 Hawai’i Race Report

Chuck Ullan / June 11, 2013

Had an awesome time doing the Ironman 70.3 Hawai’i race a little over a week ago and wanted to share some of the experience with you.

Event: Ironman Hawai’i 70.3 (nicknamed “Honu”)
Date: June 1, 2013
Swim Start: Hapuna Beach, Kohala coast of the Big Island

First off, for those who don’t know, this is a “half-Ironman”, or a 70.3 meaning 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.2 mile run. Full IM races are double that distance. We had about 1,700 athletes start the race.

5:00 AM – wake up! We stayed at a hotel at the north end of the swim course so I would have an easy time getting to the race start, and not have to worry about parking or shuttles. Starting to get light already and I can see a couple of the swim buoys out my window.

I start eating Bonk Breakers (overpriced energy bars) and drinking Gatorade to get energy stored up for the long day. A little bit of coffee to go with that as well.

5:20 AM – Double check my equipment bags (one for my swim, the other for my bike to swim transition) and force down more food and drink.

5:45 AM – Get some sunscreen from Kirsten, hugs and kisses from everyone and head over to my bike to prepare it for the day.

6:00 AM – Inflate my tires fully, stick water bottles on the bike, final bike inspection, check that gears are correct for the hill I start on.

6:25 AM – Say hi to the kids and Kir (they came over to the transition area), and hand over a bag of things I don’t need. Eat a final energy gel and drink then head down to the beach.

6:35 AM – Beautiful day at the beach. Calm water – a wonderful day to race! Work on body position and float in the water for a couple minutes, but decided not to do warmup swim.

6:45 AM – Hawaiian state song and national anthem. About 1,500 of us competing all crowded into one little part of the beach. It was really emotional for me, as I pondered the gift of my time on the island and this opportunity to do an IM-series race on Hawaii.

6:50 AM – The pros are off, and all the age-group men file into the water for the start

6:53 AM – The cannon fires and we’re off. I waited about 45 seconds or a minute just to let the faster swimmers clear out. The far right of the course actually goes into pretty shallow water and I see about 50 people actually walking the swim. Cheaters! 🙂 I fill in around the middle and head out on the course, which is roughly an elongated rectangle.

Swim: 15 min: Everything going well – a slight bit of bumping here and there, but I’m relaxed and happy. Then I get a water patrol person hollering at me. Turns out I was headed to the wrong buoy at the far end, so I have to veer right to go around the first buoy before heading to the second. Probably added 4 to 5 min of extra swim

Swim: 20 min – all bunched up around the turn buoys. You essentially have to dog paddle for about 100 feet due to the bunching up. The women started 7 min after the men and many of them are hitting the buoy at the same time as me. Getting back on track

Swim: 30 min – look like I’m a little wide on the backstretch, which is actually kind of nice because there are only a few swimmers around me. Just passed one guy – take that!

Swim: 40 min – wind chop picks up and I occasionally get to suck down a slug of seawater. Nothing to throw me off in a big way, though, but the burn of the water isn’t fun.

Swim: 50 min – Headed into the home stretch. Seems to take quite a while, but there’s some nice coral on the bottom and I know I have plenty of time. (If you don’t finish in 1:15 or less, you get “swept” and don’t get to continue on in the race).

Swim Exit: 1:03 – woohoo, I did it and feel great! Grab a quick shower at the beach and head up the hill to bike transition.

Transition 1 (T1): This worked out to be really slow for me. Took me 14 minutes from exiting the beach to exiting the bike. The pros do it in about 2 min while age groupers like me are typically 6 to 10 minutes. I had practiced sport to sport transitions in training, but never with the full gear and considerations of a race. Double and triple checked against my checklist and finally got out of there. On the plus side, my HR had come down nicely and I didn’t overlook anything.

Bike Course: South about 4 miles to Mauna Lani turnoff, then back north, weaving up to Hawi, before returning to Mauna Lani.

Bike Strategy: Follow my heart rate monitor (HRM) and go right at my aerobic zone max for the whole race, which for me is about 142. Also, eat and drink regularly to make sure my hydration and nutrition are banked for the run. Even the back end of the bike can be rough if you’re depleted, and it’s almost impossible to catch up.

Out on the Queen K highway, I got the Kohala winds that are part of the Ironman legend. Crosswinds of about 20-30 mph regularly and a couple gusts near 40. Early on in the bike I was passing a number of people, then settled into a pack of 8-10 that I would hang with the entire race. You can’t draft in Ironman, so it was really a collection of familiar faces spread out over half a mile or so and we’d take turns passing each other depending on uphills, downhills, aid stations, etc.

About 8 miles in, I noticed that my speed was a little off from what I expected. Wasn’t sure if that was due simply to the swim preceding it, the winds, or a mechanical issue. I’d had a new derailleur put on that week and it was a little noisy on my big cog. Don’t think that was the issue, but who knows.

After another 20 minutes, I hit the turn at Kawaihae and headed up to Hawi. This is probably my favorite stretch of the ride because you’re not going fast while starting the ascent and can admire the ocean a bit.

Again, I had to ride lower gears than expected, but otherwise felt good out there. At the 20 mile aid station I added a bit of air to my tires, which seemed to perk up my bike a bit, but I’m starting to realize that it’s just me that’s slow.

Mile 23-30: 7 mile climb of about 800 feet to Hawi. Frankly, the hill isn’t that bad, but what was hard was the stiff headwind the last 3 to 4 miles. Instead of a normal 17-18 mph, I’m down to about 8. So is everyone else, though. In theory, the tailwind benefits you coming back, but because it’s downhill, your gears max out and can only move you so fast.

At the Hawi turnaround, I restocked my food, took a little potty break and got excited to fly back down the mountain. Even with the breaks from the aid station and the descent, I could tell my legs were a little short of their normal energy.

Fairly uneventful descent until I got to within about 10 min of Kawaihae and my feet started to get really sore. That’s pretty typical for me – about every 45 min to an hour my feet swell up and it helps to get off the bike for a minute. This time they just get getting sore. By the time I was 30 min out from transition, I was already at the time I’d expected for the full race, my feet hurt, and my hamstrings were both starting to bark pretty good.

Going up the 2 mile hill from Kawaihae to Queen K I saw about 5 people walking their bikes. I was getting tired and sore, but it’s always nice to see that going on and think “well, at least I’m not doing that bad!”

Once on Queen K’s rolling hills, I backed off to about 135 bpm mostly because it was painful to push full bore, not because of energy levels. Felt good otherwise, just sore. I rarely look forward to ending a session, but I was REALLY looking forward to T2.

T2: 4 hours later, here I am! Again, I’m one of the last so it was easy to spot Kirsten and the kids. Kir was worried about me since I’d been so slow and there’s a long stretch in the middle of the race where you don’t get splits on the racers. I was a little concerned about my feet and hamstrings affecting the run, but both were ok once I got out of my bike shoes. Again, my transition was kind of leisurely, but I knew I had about 3 hrs to complete the run, which was plenty if I ran my race, but not if I messed something up.

Run Course: It’s half on roads, half going through a golf course near the resort, mixed back and forth between them throughout. Miles 10-13 go out on this service road that is supposed to be quite hot. At mid-day, the sun can be brutal no matter where you are.

Run Strategy: First off, pray for clouds (no luck there!). Again, my plan was to run to my HR (150 for the run), avoid any spikes/overheating, and stay hydrated and fed. There are aid stations every mile and I was to drink Gatorade and water at each, eat at every other station, and add ice to my hat at every station. Eating at this point pretty much means the gels. Solid food wouldn’t be fun. I planned to run the entire time, except for the aid stations and any of the hills on the golf course that could spike my HR

Right out of T2, I felt great and saw that 90% of people were walking. I passed several people the first mile and that never stopped throughout. Clocked my first mile around 11:00 and that turned out to be my same pace throughout. Aid stations usually added about 1 minute per mile.

The further I got into the race, the more people I saw as I caught up to the rest of the field. About 3 miles in, I was feeling pretty good and was curious about whether I could hold it for the whole race or if something would eventually give. On parts of the golf course, I could see the ocean and really got emotional both about what a gift it is to do this race, but also about saying farewell to my beloved island. Then I got a big smile on my face and trucked on.

Around mile 5, people were looking pretty rough. On the golf course sections, the long line of haggard people stretched out into the distance looked like refugees fleeing oppression. Still feeling strong and passing something like 10 people per mile is really motivating for continuing.

At mile 7 it was nice to be over halfway. This is were some temptation also hit. Had a moment of fatigue, but realized that if I walked, I’d probably never run again. Also, they hadn’t announced that Coke would be on the course. It really looked tempting, but I was doing well and hadn’t trained with it, so I laid off. Did take a bite of a peanut butter sandwich at an aid station – it was really nice to get a tiny bit of substance. Ooh, I’m such a glutton!

At mile 9, I reached my longest run I’d trained, so beyond this was uncharted territory. Still, feeling good and staying to the plan. Drinking the sport drink has gotten REALLY old, but I’m sticking to what’s working. Also, my shoes were super-soggy due to meltwater, plus at one aid station, I held my hat over my foot and when the ice got dumped in, the water went thru the cap and deluged my shoe. Still, no significant pain or blisters – just had to hope that would continue.

People were really beaten on the service road. It’s long, hot, and is extends out of sight in one stretch, so you feel like you could be walking forever. I knew it couldn’t be too far, but it did seem kind of eternal at one point. Once you hit the turnaround out there, it’s slightly uphill coming back and you’re just looking forward to hitting the golf course for the last mile in.

Once I hit mile 12, a few of the zombies reanimated and started to run again. I hadn’t been passed since mile 3, but all of the sudden got passed 2 or 3 times in the final mile.

As you get close to the finish you can hear the race announcer calling the finisher names and it gets very exciting. Still, I was really conservative in keeping my pace and even getting ice at the last aid station, only 1/4 mile from the finish. People can collapse just short and I was taking no chances.

Finally came down the finish chute and saw Kirsten and the kids. Success!! Felt great crossing the finish and went to the side to give some love to the fam. They were all so excited for me and gave me hugs, even though I was quite disgusting.

After the race, I mostly hung out in the shade and took in water, and just enjoyed the energy of the experience. There were food and shade tents over the lawn and finishers were still coming in. Finally went to get my finisher t-shirt and also found I got a medal. Not just a medal, but the coolest medal I’ve ever seen, apart from the Olympics. Gorgeous Honu design and really heavy. Hey, maybe it was worth doing this after all!

Finally, it was time to go and it was pretty sad. Been looking forward to this race for months and now it was over and that meant it was time to face leaving Hawaii as well. Still, I can’t imagine a better way to cap off my 2 years here. The chance to do an Ironman branded race in Hawaii was just incredible and it was really fantastic doing in partnership with Kirsten. She accommodated all my training, gave me massages when needed along the way, and was the catalyst for signing up in the first place.

Recovery went pretty well. Took about a day and a half to feel like my hydration and electrolytes were back to normal and I had sore, tight quads that made stairs tough for a few days. Other than that, I felt great and as I write this one week later, I feel normal. I’m so grateful for all that’s gone right.

Had a lot of questions about doing it again or doing a full Ironman. Short answer is that I’d love to, but the training is an awfully big commitment. With the move to Thailand upcoming, I’ll probably have to take a break for a while. Still, I’m already rehashing the race and thinking about how to do better the next time around. I’ve got the bug and just need to find the right circumstances to go at it again.

Thanks to everyone who made it possible.

Kirsten and the kids for dealing with my training schedule and preoccupied brain
Family and friends for all their cheering and support
The community of athletes here who shared their experience
Coach Bruno, who gave valuable tips and assured me I would be prepared
The thousands of race volunteers who created an incredible experience
Hawaii Island, whose beauty and challenges touched my soul

Mara’s Medal for me. Hard to read on the scan, but it says “You Are an Irondad 2013”

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Favorite Moments Hawaii Sporting Events USA

Ironman World Championship 2011

Kirsten / October 8, 2011

I had been looking forward to watching the Ironman World Championships since we moved here. I thought it’d be so neat to see some of the top triathletes in the entire world come here to train and compete. I wanted to see their fitness levels, their determination and their athleticism.

I also wanted to go down and cheer the every-day folks on. I wanted to be out on the course and give them some support (or shaka-love as I’ve been calling it).

Thing is, it was far better, emotional, and life-changing than I ever could’ve imagined.

The day started simply enough watching the professionals start the swim portion at 6:30am. And then the non-professionals started at 7am. It was neat to watch them swim the same places we swim and to be part of it.

And then we went over and saw the professionals transition to the bike portion and start on their 112 miles journey.

And then the magic started to happen. We heard about the lady doing the race that has stage 4 colon cancer. We saw the amputees and paraplegics starting their “bike” rides. We saw the ordinary citizens getting on their bikes.

Then later in the day we went along the running portion. We saw bikers coming in and starting the run, people about to finish the race and those mid-way through the marathon. It was beyond inspiring and humbling standing there cheering them on.

The bike cut-off was 5:30pm, meaning if you aren’t done biking by then, your race is over and you stop racing wherever you are. Well I saw a number of people come in right before 5:30. These people had been racing for 10 1/2 hours already and were just NOW starting a marathon! The champions had been done with the entire thing for 2-3 hours already. And these folks were just STARTING a MARATHON!

I stood there with my cowbell cheering as loud as I could for them hoping to give them some support and inspiration for the task ahead. I saw some 70s and probably 80 year olds walking by. I saw the double amputee start his run. It was all I could do to not cry at the determination and amazing feat they were performing and I found myself getting choked up a number of times as these athletes went by.

Chuck went down from 8pm – midnight to cheer on these folks coming in. Midnight was the official cut off for the race and we didn’t want these late finishers to finish the race with no one there.

Well neither of us expected the crowd to grow and grow and grow as the evening went on. At 9pm the woman’s champion came out to give each finisher a lei. Some of the other professionals came out to cheer. And the crowds at 10pm were far bigger and louder than any crowds earlier in the day, even for the world champion.

It didn’t matter when people finished. Everyone was a winner. Everyone was an Ironman. And everyone was celebrated.

Chuck watched the woman battling stage 4 colon cancer finish the race to an emotional crowd. He watched, Scott Rigsby, a double amputee, finish and be celebrated. He saw the person come in with literally seconds left before the race was over. He was part of the crowd that was trying to be so loud so the competitors 4 miles away could hear them and could help inspire them to the finish.

Finishing after 16 hours, 58 minutes and 59 seconds of racing!

She's 71. Finished after 16 hours, 58 minutes and 38 seconds! — She’s 71. Finished after 16 hours, 58 minutes and 38 seconds!

I wish I’d been able to go down at night too but after being around it all day, my heart was so full and I had a complete new outlook on what is possible. These ordinary people changed my perspective and what a person can achieve and erased walls I didn’t think were erasable. And seeing the community of people from all over the world come together to cheer, love, and celebrate together was such an amazing testament to the human spirit and to peace and love. In a day when everyone tears each other apart, it was beyond words to see people come together to share joy and lift each other up.

I am changed because of watching this. I can tell something has shifted. I now believe what is possible for anyone is far greater than I ever thought. I realized that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

I saw the good in people. The determination, the drive, the ability to overcome any obstacle. And I felt the power of the human spirit in a way I’ve never felt.

Chuck and I are both a bit sad now that its over. It was far beyond any experience we’ve both had and now its over for another year.

But I hope I can keep this spirit alive in me for a long time.

To all those that competed, I salute you. And I thank you.

The overall men's winner finishing - Craig Alexander — The overall men’s winner finishing – Craig Alexander

Me high fiving one of the top finishers as he finishes the race

Top female finisher - Chrissie Wellington — Top female finisher – Chrissie Wellington

Hawaii Sporting Events USA

Let the (Ironman) Games Begin

Kirsten / October 6, 2011

Ironman has been heating up here the last couple of weeks. Athletes arrived early to start training and there has been a buzz in the air.

There have been signs all over town and lots of amazing looking athletes biking and running the roads.

The first main event was last night in town. They held a biathlon for the kids which both kids wanted to do. However, neither was ready for the swim portion so we had to watch instead. After the dip n’ dash, there was a parade of the participants and volunteers. It was like the opening ceremony’s parade of the Olympics – the athletes walked by alphabetically by country while carrying their country’s flag. Some of the countries hammed it up and it was cool to give them cheers and Aloha-love.

After that, we walked over to the little Ironman “village” set up with vendors and SWAG. They were debuting a new bike at one place and had a Hawaiian blessing, hula and fire dancing performance to bless the new bike. I don’t know who the athletes were there but do know they were famous as everyone seemed to go up and get their picture taken with the one guy.

It was so inspiring being around this athleticism. Made me want to go home and run 4 miles so I can look and be like them next year 🙂

Tomorrow is the underwear run. And Saturday is the main event. I’m sure there will be plenty of pictures coming your way in the next few days.

Hawaii North America USA

Queen Lili’uokalani Canoe Race

Kirsten / September 3, 2011

Saturday was the start of the 40th annual Queen Lili’uokalani canoe races which is the world’s largest long distance outrigger canoe race. People fly in from all over the world to compete in what I heard called the “Ironman of canoe racing”. I think there were something like 150 women’s teams and 180 men’s teams.

In the one race we went to, a team of 6 women raced from Kona to a bay 18 miles away. Then a team of 6 men raced the canoes the 18 miles back. We went down to see the men’s teams finish.

On Sunday the kids (teens) compete and there is also a stand up paddle-board race and then Monday there was another race.

Hawaii North America USA

LavaKids – Summer 2011

Kirsten / August 27, 2011

On Saturday, the kids did a race that was part of the Lavaman Triathlon, called LavaKids. The 7 and up age groups did a aquathlon of swimming then running. But for the 6 and under, they did an event called the Keiki Dash which is a 100 yard dash.

On your mark... set... — On your mark… set…

Afterwards there was a pool party for all the kids. Unfortunately Mara hit her nose on the pool steps and was sidelined with napkins and a huge bag of ice for the rest of the pool party.

The next day I headed down to the Lavaman Triathlon which is an Olympic distance: 1.5K swim, 40K bike, & 10K run. Man these athletes are inspiring. Maybe Chuck and I will do it next year as a relay team!