Author Archives: Al

So, tomorrow I’ll find out how far I’ve come in the last eight years, what I’ve become capable of. But first, there’s the little matter of today to get through. Continue reading →

The thing that freaks me out most about an Ironman is its inevitability. You wake up on Wednesday, and you’re one day closer to Saturday morning. It’s not like a training ride, which can always be deferred, or avoided, or delayed, or rescheduled. Nope, they mean to start at 7 AM on Saturday, whether any of us are ready or not. By the looks of things, people are ready TODAY. Continue reading →

I think I’ve come to a conclusion about what to wear, but, seeing as how it’s only Tuesday, there’s no reason to commit to it yet. Continue reading →

The sun pops over the crest of Hualalai east of town at 6:45. It starts getting light at a little before six. Continue reading →

Starting tomorrow, I suspect the building buzz in this town, as we all come down from our training induced stupors into the white heat of our rested race ready peak, will be enough to light the moonless night one week from now. Continue reading →

Saturday, October 14, 2006 FRIDAY the THIRTEENTH Today the coaches prescribe a full rest day, but I get the urge to bike down to the pier first thing in the morning, and try out my new Speedo Fastskin. These babies … Continue reading →

Wednesday, October 11, 2006 TUESDAY: BIKING TO KAWAIHAE (That’s easy for no one to say) I have a colleague at work who, when confronted with someone having an unreconstructed eastern European name, says, “There’s someone who needs to buy a … Continue reading →

Yesterday was a morning swim, followed by an entire day devoted to sloth. The official triathlon-training word for this is “recovery”. Apparently, exercise does not make you fitter; rest makes you fitter. Or, more precisely, resting so your body can replenish itself after you’ve mangled and drained it in the searing lava heat will make you fitter. Continue reading →

But on Ironman Saturday, the traffic is gone, and you’re all alone out there save for the plop, plop of your fellow runners, the Kokua Crew every mile at the aid stations, and the sun or cloud or haze or whatever weather is happening on that day. Continue reading →

For the next two weeks, they’ll see a procession of us parading back and forth in front of their condos, as we try to wring the last little bit of fitness into our already well prepped bodies. Why can’t we just trust our training? Continue reading →