Well today I have successfully completed the first 5 days of training here in Kona and I have certainly learned heaps! The biggest challenge has been getting my fluids right for the longer sessions and picking the best times of the day to train depending on the nature of the session - I definitely won't be running intervals in the heat of the day anytime soon again!
Today I managed to get it right on my longest session yet which was a 6 hour cycle out on the course. As Hannah (and my support vehicle!!!) doesn't arrive until Tuesday I had to break the cycle into 3 hour loops that started and finished at my condo so that I could replace my drink bottles and replenish my food stash! It was really windy today so I got a taste of the Island winds in full force which I would safely say were some of the strongest I have encountered! I fully enjoyed every second of it though and finished feeling well hydrated and in good condition! I am now itching to get to the top of the course - I saw plenty of cyclists with their support vehicles making there way up to the top and I have to admit to a few pangs of jealousy as I had to turn around at mile 25 to get back to the condo to stock up my fluids! I know that Tuesday isn't long to wait for Hannah to arrive and I have a big cycling week ahead which will provide lots of oppertunity to get up there......hopefully that is if Hannah is willing :-)
My heart rate is starting to come down to the upper end of normal during my training sessions so that is a sign that I am adapting to heat. The black lava fields on both the run and cycle course make the heat quite intense (I have attached a piccie of said lava fields!) and the wind hot! It's a bit like when you open the oven and get that blast of warm air in your face - someone likened it to cycling in a furnace although I'm not sure that must be a hypothetical comparison!!
It has been really nice to do some open water swimming - on my first swim out on the course I came across a large pod of dolphins and I really couldn't resist the urge to suspend my training session (like everyone else out there) for 20 minutes and have a play! Amazing experience and so far I haven't come across another pod so I think I really struck gold that day! Also on the swim front I received my blue seventy swim skin in the post (yay yay yay) which as many of you know has been a bit of a mission for me to find in New Zealand because they had all been sent overseas for the Northern Hemispheres summer season! Blue seventy in New Zealand arranged to have one couriered from a store in the US to my conodo in Kona and timed it to arrive the day after I arrived - now that's what I call amazing service! So I now have my swim skin of choice (blue seventy pointzero3) which came in a box that said on the front 'you are now holding the fastest swim skin ever made' - I feel there may be some key words for the swim on race day in there somewhere!
Still not yet able to communicate with the outside world by cell phone yet! I need a tri band phone to pick up a signal so the lovely Hannah is bringing out a spare tri band phone for me this week which will mean I will be back up and running on the cell phone super highway...I hope!
I am making good progress at eating my way through the stack of nutrition I brought out with me! I have had to limit my porridge consumption to just two bowls a day as my Uncle Toby's oats are running a bit low as are my low carb protein bars. I will try to resist the urge to go crazy on the bars and porridge when the rest of the supply arrive on Tuesday!
OK - I thought that I would finish up with 10 "interesting" things I have learned thus far in Kona.......
1. You will never need to bring something warm to wear in the evenings - it really doesn't cool down.
2. There are 73 TV channels here and I still can't find anything to watch
3. Boys on flashy bikes with deep dish wheels have a lot to say for themselves when powering past you on the downhills but are strangely quiet when you pass them on the uphills
4. All downhills are an optical illusion - you still need to pedal like crazy to move forward
5. Never wear anything black - you will melt
6. Suncream is not conducive to 90% humidity- just when you think you have rubbed it in it resurfaces quietly and makes you look like a streaky white zebra
7. The more sun tanned you are the faster you go
8. If you want the experience of swimming in a washing machine - hit the swim course after 11am - that's when the swell 'gets up'
9. Salt tablets melt in extreme heat
10. Dolphins are very big up close
Right - time to cook some dinner and make a plan for tomorrow!
Wow! It all sounds so amazing! That lava field is amazing to see, although I can't say I have any desire to run or cycle through it thank you! Your training sounds like it's going really well, I cannot believe how your body has seemingly adapted so well already....and from your pics you look relaxed, tanned and happy!! Hopefully now Hannah has arrived you will be able to complete your circuits without doing a loopdaloop!! Looking forward to seeing more pics!! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing experience, you are so deserving of doing so well as you have really worked incrediably hard and your mind and body are very ready for this. Your settling in time seems to be going well and I am sure that Hannah has arrived it will go even better.
Thinking of you and really enjoying following your program and training, who knows where you get the time to blog. Keep going!!
Take Care
Gillian
Oh yeh, you tell us you are training. I am sure you are drinking cocktails in the bar coz you are not really dedicated . .. hmmm. You are. Do you need a mail up of protein bars or uncle tobys???
ReplyDeleteHave to check out Hannah's blog too. Catch up on the non-techno side of things. lol. Well since your last update Hannah will be there. We know what an amazing support she is.
Thinking of you Laura and will keep checking in coz you are amazing.
Go Girl
Cherie & Co