So even that I knew that I was going to get myself into the Hurtbox, It was just impossible I didn't do this one. I thought "I will just enjoy racing a good race in my town" Gee Like I didn't knew myself.The swim was in the Keauhou bay where Alii Drive ends to the south.
It was so cool to be there with all of our friends, people who we see everyday, everywhere, the atmosphere at this race was definitely the most friendly ever, to the point that when we were just about to start, I had to repeat to myself that this was not a friendly training session, so I placed where I knew the fast swimmers where, and after the gun I tried to keep up the pace, but I wasn't successful in getting some fast feet, and after 300 yards I found myself swimming alone. I came out of the water in 23 minutes, about 90 seconds behind the leaders.
The Bike start was Uphill right away, up in the K3 road where I do my Hill Workouts, so I knew perfectly what to spect, the problem was when I arrived to the top and saw that I was a whole MINUTE slower than in my training sessions, it was a bad surprise at the beginning, but then I remembered that "I was in bed 5 days before, and that I was there to enjoy the race" ha ha! That idea lasted like 20 seconds, I was replaced for "Just Go HARD and don't mind the numbers" After the climb of the K3 road it was Kuakini Hwy that after 2 miles turns into The Queen K, the turnaround was right in-front of the Energy Lab or NELHA, and there I was able to see that I was well placed, and that gave me back some of the lost confidence in the uphill, in the way back to town I felt like flying, but when I got to Alii Drive where I thought I was going to have a power boost just for being racing in that street which I go up and down many many times every day, where I eat, have some coffees, and see the sunsets ha ha!! Was that too much? =)Well..... in Alii Drive my legs started to fail keeping up the pace, I thought I was going to ride in less then 1 hour, I was off by a couple of minutes, I had hopes to get my legs back when I started the Run, there's always a relief when you start to run because you are changing your body position, and I usually start the run feeling great, but that feeling usually goes away once you leave the craziness of Transition #2, and this time was no exception.
The run started with a very steep hill, that made me remember once again that I was sick 5 days before, so the cycle of thoughts repeated again. I got some miles under 6:40 and some in 7 minutes and I was quiet happy with this.... (Obviously) But with 2 miles to go the Heavy Truth of my Reality went down on me, and it came really bad, I felt like walking for a second, but I knew that it will be harder to start running again than just keep going, and I did....... My run time was nothing I could be proud of, but it was enough for taking the win in my Age Group and 7th Overall.
At the end, the result couldn't have been better, doing this race and obtaining this result was perfect to shake off the DNS of Louisville.
But the best part of Lavaman was definitely our friends, the awards ceremony and the swag! Maybe the live music was a little loud, but also maybe it was just because we wanted to just hang around and chat with our friends!
