A light day, family time, and dinner with Team Mel (D-2)

So in an effort to keep today's blog short I'll resort to pictures.

Today was an off day from training so I only did a light swim this morning...of course the swim meant another trip to visit the Coffee's of Hawaii Swim up Coffee Bar.

After my morning swim I headed back to the Condo, had breakfast and then I headed out with the family.

First item on the agenda was to visit Carl the Carmeleon at Greenwell Farms. The kids were super excited to visit an old friend. And as an added bonus I got to pick-up some of the best coffee in Kona.

Carl!

A baby carmeleon (~2weeks old)

 

A great selection of home roasted beans!

After the visit to the coffee plantation we spent some time at the Kamakana Playground. The kids loved it.

Attention to detail at Kamakana Playground is unreal.

After the playground the ladies took the kids to the pool while dad rested and I prepared my bike for Saturday.

Stealth Steed ready to roll!

The ladies went shopping after lunch, while dad and I watched the kids and watched hockey.

I made a quick trip to the Training Peaks Kona Party and finally Claudia and I attended the Kona Athletes Welcome Banquet and had the pleasure of sitting with Team Mel. Melonie MacDonald, from St Albert, is doing her first Kona and brought along a great support crew of Kevin, Noni, Quinn, and Rob.

Rob, Quinn, me, and Claudia

Kevin, Mel, and Noni.

The Gatherings (D-3)

So today was a mixed bag of activities.

A light morning swim with a pitstop at the Coffees of Hawaii floating coffee bar.

Then I attended the AWA Gold Breakfast. I had the opportunity to meet Chris Thomas. Chris is a very accomplished amateur triathlete, is racing Kona for the 8th time, is a member of Team Timex, and coaches for LifeSport. Later during the breakfast we were joined by up and coming Australian Pro Kira Flanagan and her coach Andrew. Kira will be racing Kona for the first time and then taking her Pro Card.

After breakfast I met up with Claudia and together we toured the Ironman Expo. The expo was great as always. During our tour we ran into Jordan Bryden from Tri It Multisport in Calgary. Jordan is the new race director for the Chinook Triathlon Festival in Calgary, a Professional Athlete, and sides as a photographer. He is in Kona working for Lava Magazine.

Jordan and I at the expo.

Of course no trip to the expo is complete without stopping by the Compressport Booth.

Compressport Booth at Uncle Billy's

After our tour we headed back to the Condo and then attended a Wyndham Resort Time Share meeting. Least to say that was two hours of my life I won't get back. At least we got a $100 AMEX card for attending.Thankfully I had other pressing committments (aka training) which allowed us to get out of there early.

I had just enough time to fit in my scheduled ride out on the Queen K and then followed that up with a quick transition run of 6km.

Finally to close out the door I attended the Slowtwitch Kona gathering. It's always a well attended event, an oppertunity to catch up with friends, and an oppertunity to win some pretty nice swag. Hebert and his crew did a fantastic job with the event.

Athlete check-in & the Parade of Nations! (D-4 )

So today's activities consisted of a morning swim (with a scheduled stop at the Coffees of Hawaii Catamaran), athlete check-in, a bike ride, a run, and the Parade of Nations.

I hit the water at 0645 and managed to get a solid hour of steady swimming in. By the time I got back to shore the pier was a bussle of activity.

Coffees of Hawaii - Coffee Bar (picture compliments of Coffees of Hawaii)

After the swim, I did a light walk around town and then proceeded to athlete registration. I was a little early so had to wait in line for almost half an hour. I didn't mind though as it meant the check-in process was quick and in a matter of minutes I was done. A quick pitstop at the Ironman Merchandise tent for some race swag (aka my coffee mug).

This year's backpack is pretty flashy! Nice to see WTC do something different!

After that it was back to the Condo and out for a good hour of riding on the Queen K. After the ride I had lunch, let it settle and then headed out for a light 30min run in the heat of the day.

Last up for the day was the Parade of Nations. We were early (as per normal) and so we had both the Canada name sign and the flag. Seeing as I had the privilege of carrying the flag my first year here I was happy to hand it off.

James

Ruth

The Maley Clan

 

The Cdn Athletes (there was supposed to be ~130) a few more joined in as we marched!

A quick picture with the CAF CISM Coach, Dave Harju

 

The Cdn Contingent

An easy day (D-5)

So today was an easier day of training and lots of lounging around at the Condo.

I started the day with an early morning 45min run. While out running the Training Peaks House had Skratch Labs refreshments out so I was thankful to grab some electrolytes and score a few individual packs for later in the week.

After the run I headed into town for a light 30min swim. Of course, no race week swim would be complete without a pitstop at the Coffees of Hawaii Swim up Catamaran. Downtown was a bussle of activity and it will only get busier as the week progresses. After my swim I checked out the Endless Pool. This was the first time I have tried one and was quite impressed. My quick session earned me a free Kona Coffee at the corner coffee shop...hey, I will not complain.

After the swim I headed back to the Condo and took it easy for the remainder of the morning and most of the afternoon. Just before dinner I headed out for a light 30min ride.

That was my day...easy, calm, and relaxed.

Dinner and Family time on the Lanai!

Tomorrow should be a little busier - athlete check-in and the parade of nations.

Reality is settling in (D-6)!

So the reality of racing the Ironman World Championships is starting to settle in. Another day closer to the big dance and now starts the mental prep to race my best.

5 Oct 14 - Sunset from our Lanai at Outrigger Royal Sea Cliff

Today the focus was a steady swim of 1hr in the morning. I like to practice the swim at the approximate start time to get a good feel for where the sun will be and how it might affect my sighting. The water was near perfect this morning with great visibility and a few small swells. I swam just over 3km while focusing on a long stroke and good sighting.

After the swim, it was back to Kona Coast Resort for breakfast, pack-up, check-out, and then we headed to Kona Baptist Church. As this was the third year in a row that we have attended there were quite a few people who remembered us. As always the preaching by Pastor Dean Stanley was superb and the hospitality was awesome.

After church, we had lunch at the park and then headed to Wyndham Outrigger Royal Sea Cliff to check-in. Claudia was able to book us into this resort through RCI so we figured we would give it a try this year.

After we were all settled in I headed out for a light 90min ride and followed that up with a steady 8km run at slightly faster than race pace. While out on the run, I saw Chrissie Wellington out riding. As always she had a big smile on her face. She is always a class act and an amazing ambassador for the sport. Despite no longer racing she always shows up in Kona to do her part.

The countdown begins - D-7 to the Big Show!

And it begins...

4 Oct 14 Sunset as seen from our Lanai at Kona Coast Resort

We are now on the Big Island and the countdown to to Ironman World Championships is at D-7.

Dad & James

Me & Klara

Mom & Ruth

Claudia, the kids, and I flew out to Kona last night and we met my parents in Vancouver (YVR). We are staying at the Kona Coast Resort for a couple days and then will move to the Wyndham Royal Sea Cliff for Race week.

Today was quite uneventful. We had breakfast at Bongo Ben's which was once again fantastic. The service is second to none and the food is great.

Breakfast at Bongo Bens

 After that it was bike setup time, a trip to Bike Works Kona (for CO2 cartridges), and then a ride out on the Queen K.

Heading out for a ride!

This afternoon was lazyness as we all tried to get caught up on sleep.

A light run before dinner closed out my routine for today.

Army Run - 2014 Edition

So seeing as I was already in the province of Ontario for a course I decided that I would spend an extra day, travel to Ottawa, and enjoy racing with 12,000 others. I travelled up from Borden on Friday after our course was over and had dinner at Mom and Dad's and then went down to race registration at City Hall. The athlete check-in process was quick and then I spent a few minutes touring the expo before heading home. I of course made a point of stopping by A-1 Imports to check-in and say hi.

I took it easy for the remainder of Friday and got a good nights rest. Saturday morning I did a light 5km run with a few race intensity excels. Seeing as my course in Borden had wrecked havoc on my bike training in the last couple weeks I figured I should try and get a solid ride in at IM race intensity. I headed out for a plan 100km of riding but shortly after 75km I hit a pothole which effectively shreaded my rear tire. Thankfully I was only a couple kms from a restaurant and a phone....Dad to the rescue.

I had a good nights sleep Saturday night and woke at 0530hrs for beakfast and then went back to bed for an hour. We headed downtown at 0745 and picked up my oldest sister, Kelly enroute. We arrived at the race start shortly after 0815.

Prerace with Mom and Dad.

The 1/2 marathon started at 0930 and I was fortunate to be able to line up at the front and right next to Alex Boule, a great CAF runner. Alex told me he was planning to run 1:15 so I figured I'd try and run with him for most of the race. My goal going into the race was just a solid "training" run but I was optimistic that I could 1:15 and was hoping top ten. The howitzer went off at precisely 0930 and we were off. I settled in behind Alex for the first few kms and there was a group of about 8-10 of us running together. They were running a little faster then I wanted, but knew running with a group was mentally easier then running alone. The group slowly broke up and by the time we hit the 10km marker I was struggling to hang on.

Awaiting the start!

I decided to let the gap open and start running my own race. Alex was still just ahead of me and I figured I'd just try my best to keep him in my sights. He was running very strong, which was no surprise. The last 5kms were a real struggle and the rain in the last couple kms caused the road to be quite slippery. I finished in 1:16:18 which was good enough for 8th OA, and 4th in M30-34. Totally happy with the result given that the current focus is Kona.

And we are off!

The Army Run is a fantastic race and the support from the crowd is always top notch. Running through the Governor General's residence, Rideau Hall, was always a cool addition this year.