The Post Kona

Now this is the right way to do an off season. I woke up this morning to find that someone had taken up residence in my bike wheel. See, Brian? (my therapist), I am taking my rest seriously and definitely not training on an injury.Watching the Hawaii IM yesterday was a new experience for me, and it was cool to be out there on the course watching and learning. Chrissie and Crowie were awesome and truly earned their world titles. But, I was most impressed with Rebekah Keat. Keat is an amazing athlete in her own right, but she showed the world some serious sportsmanship when she handed Chrissie a cartridge after the race leader flatted at Hawi. Now that was impressive.

Once again Kona didn't disappoint. The were the egos and tempers, the victories and the disappointments. But, between Crowie's humble finish-line speech and Rebekah's generous act, this year's race was all about class.

Kona!!!!

Well it's tough being here in Kona and not racing but I am making the best of it :)

I have been swimming in the ocean every day here--taking full advantage of the warm water (actually any water, really, since we have just moved to the middle of the desert). Kona race week is really crazy--totally different to last year when I hid out and rested up for the big dance. Pre-race week is a lot more fun when you are able to attend all the sponsor events and parties! Of course tomorrow is race day, and that will be the toughest part - hearing the gun go off and still being on the sidelines. I am heading out on the course to be a spotter for the race, so I'll get to follow the leaders and watch the race up close. I figured if I was coming to Kona then I wanted to learn something in the process. I'll also be doing some commentating for Ironmanlive.com, so I'll be seeing a very different side of the event this year. It should be an awesome race : Macca and Chrissie look fit and ready to defend, but there are plenty of challengers that should make it pretty exciting. All I can say is that I can't wait to get back out there next year.

Sam