Tuesday - Parade of Nations - D-4

And yet another day comes to a close in beautiful Kailua-Kona and with each passing day the race atmosphere continues to build in Kona. The swim becomes more attended each morning and the number of athletes out training increases.

Today on the books was a swim, athlete check-in, a bike, and the Parade of Nations. The swim went off this morning without a hitch. I hit the water at about 0645hrs and did an hour of swimming focusing on a little drafting, some sighting, and some bilateral breathing. Of course no swim in Kona would be complete without hitting up the Coffees of Hawaii Catamaran for an espresso. It's a nice break during the swim workout and it's amazing how great the coffee tastes after you get salt in your mouth.

After the morning swim I hung around downtown until athlete check-in was open. The swag from this year's race - another backpack (at least this one is unique), a Specialized Purist Waterbottle, a pair of TYR Spec Ops Goggles, and a bunch of product samples. I then hit-up the Ironman merchandise tent where I was hoping to snag my usual souvenir, a race mug. Unfortunately, they were already sold out so I had to settle for a towel and a glass. I bumped into a few of the Pros this morning including Dirk Bockel and Faris Al-Sultan.

Faris was kind enough to spare a few minutes of his time for a picture!

Following the downtown adventures, I headed back to Kona Coast Resort to pick-up the rest of the gang and we then headed out to Hapuna Beach so I could do an out and back bike ride to Hawi. On the way out we ran into a friend, Ivan O'Gorman (he works for RETUL) who was running on the Queen K. It's always great catching up with friends from past races.

Getting ready to head out to Hawi from Hapuna Beach.

The family enjoyed Hapuna Beach while I proceeded out to Hawi. The wind really picked up the closer I got to Hawi and then it poured rain. The rain made the ride a lot cooler but the wind was a bit of a beast. However, my efforts were rewarded and on the way back down from Hawi I had a wicked tail wind and a bit of a gusting crosswind...the reward - spinning out my 54-11 for a good portion of the descent. I managed to score a quick dip in the ocean at the beach and then it was back to the resort to change and then off to the Parade of Nations.

Klara was amused with Ruthie being buried up to her waist.

The Parade of Nations is a nice touch during race week. Essentially each nation's athletes and family members (if they want) get to march down Ali'i drive representing their country. It's an oppertunity to meet your fellow countrymen/countrywomen who will be competing while showcasing your country pride. This year we came prepared and the kids, nana, grandpa and Claudia joined in for the walk.

The Maley Clan getting ready to walk down Ali'i Drive.