MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS

I am on my way to Rhode Island for Christmas with my family. Wishing you all that is best this Holiday Season and an awesome New Year.

TWITTING OR TWEETTING

I have finally overcome my resistance and joined the "Twitter Nation" @irontomasz

ITS THANKSGIVING TIME!

It has been an exciting year, this year. I have been working on the list of things that I am thankful for, so I may recite it at the dinner table, tonight. Right at this moment, I am thankful for spending this holiday weekend with my family.

Wishing you and yours a fabulous and safe THANKSGIVING!!!

DHMC HAS BEEN WITH ME ALL ALONG THE WAY

My first photo-op

http://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/news/newsdetail/64901/

KONA REFLECTIONS

Mohala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua

First of all, thanks so much for your well-wishes. It has been four weeks since returning home and time to finally reflect upon the Ironman World Championship race. Needless to say, we had a great time on the Big Island, which was in a stark contrast to my last year experience that ended with a crashed dream of racing due to the bicycle accident. This year, things were indeed different. Arriving in Hawaii eight days before the race allowed me to better acclimate to the challenging weather conditions. Daily commutes between Waimea and Kona offered the necessary exposure to all weather elements ranging from humid and hot days to cold and windy evenings and nights. In addition, staying away from Kona with our Hawaiian Ohana provided the needed decompression and relaxation.

With Alison and Kukui

Finally, the race morning has arrived.  Surprisingly, waking up at 2 o’clock in the morning was not as tough as I thought it would be considering a short night. My morning routine was similar to most races, except for eating my breakfast in the car on our 40-minute drive to Kona. It was dark, warm, and windless as we left the house around 3:30. The trade winds must have been blowing in a different direction, so the chances were that they may not be as punishing as expected. The darkness was magnified by the endless lava fields until we arrived in Kona after 4 o’clock. The famous Alii Drive was already alive and filled with athletes and their entourages heading for the transition. Most coffee shops and restaurants were also open for business. I remember walking and feeling complete calm and not knowing what to make of it.

The town was already pulsating with life at 4 o'clock.

A grainy picture of the busy body-marking tent. Hello first body contact of the day.

Two Ohio State Buckeyes. The start is near.

The morning was beginning to break in the distance as the BIB number “511” was “tattooed” on my arms in the body marking tent. From there a five-minute walk to the bike transition area for the final bike checkup. My Kuota was racked in a prime location just a few meters away from the “Bike-Out” gate. Standing in the transition area, in the "sea" of bicycles and athletes, felt just surreal. Here I was standing on the Kailua-Kona Pier, in the place I have only known from the NBC Hawaii Ironman broadcasts. And yet, I still felt this unexplained calm about 60 minutes before the start – as if it was just another race. I spent the last 30 minutes lying down by my bike with my eyes closed trying to visualize the next 140.6 miles. Miraculously, no one had stepped on me in those tight quarters.

This is what I mean by tight quarters? The transition area was jam-packed with over $10M worth of bikes. I can see my Kuota from this vantage point. Its the nearest to the gate.

Through a wide-angle camera lens. The last 20 minutes before the start.

And to the drum beat..........

..........the professionals are off and on their way.

As soon as the professionals were off to the race, the amateurs started filling out the Kailua Bay. It was a little chilly so I delayed my water entrance for as long as I could while thinking about where to line up on the starting line. The spectators lined up the shore for as far as the eye could see. I have decided to go wide to the left and swim at a tangent to the buoys. In any event, I anticipated a tough swim with a relentless body contact.

And we are off. What a view - from above and below.

The cannon went off at 7 o’clock releasing over 2,100 triathletes on their way to a 140.6-mile journey. The swim felt great from the beginning. The water, while tasting nasty salty, kept my hips and legs buoyant. Soon, I was able to settle into a comfortable pace. Except for a few instances of a body contact I found more open water than I knew what to do with it. Things were going very well, indeed. The pristine water and an amazing visibility offered an unobstructed gateway into the marine life for the initial 1,000 meters. After that came darkness and all points of reference have disappeared, except for the buoys and the “Body Glove” catamaran, which kept getting larger and coming closer with every stroke. When I finally got to it at the turnaround, I had only 1.2 miles left to swim. I had no trouble navigating and continued to swim very relaxed until reaching the pier in 1 hour and 17 minutes. Not bad, I thought, for a non-wetsuit swim.

Coming back home. I am sure, I am not in this group.

Next, a quick run through the fresh-water shower tent to rinse off the salt. By then, I have already noticed skin burning sensations from chafing. The transition tent was already busy with athletes. I stepped outside the tent for more room and dumped all bag contents on the ground. Everything seemed to have been there. Then, a lengthy run to the bike and I was off to the next leg in about 5-minute total transition time.

First meters on the bike course. Leaving the transition area. The crowds were spectacular.

All was going well. The cheering crowds were amazing. About 2 miles into the ride I reached down under my right trunk leg to get my salt tablets, and to my consternation, they were not there. This was not good. My entire electrolyte supply was gone.  I did a quick math and realized I will not get enough electrolytes on the bike as my only supply would have come from the Powerbar Perform drink. If I only drank Perform and nothing else, at the most, I would get about 1,700 to 2,000 mg of sodium. Far too short of the 4,000 to 4,500 mg I would need. So, there was one think I knew for certain, I will be in trouble. I just did not know when.

Cruising along the Queen K Highway.

Imagine riding all 112 miles using your arms........

...... or puling a wheelchair ............

.......... or just wearing one of those helmets.

The ride felt good. Once out on the Queen K Highway the crowds have disappeared and all the excitement had to come from the heat and the wind. I made sure to stay hydrated and take in enough calories at each aid station. Once on the Akoni Pule Highway en route to Hawi, I past the site of my last year’s crash. Then came a 7-mile steady ascent to the turn-around in Hawi and then a long and gradual descend back to Queen K. The “real fun” started in the last 35 miles to Kona where demoralizing head and cross winds dropped the speed to single digits in some places. For at least 30 miles there was no respite from the wind. The sparse vegetation lining the side of the road stayed horizontal pushed by the southwest wind. The almost 23 mph average speed by mile 80 slowly started to dissipate to about 20 mph by the time I reached T2 after 5 hrs. 38 min of riding. Nevertheless, I felt surprisingly well and strong despite the sodium deficit in my system.

About 25 miles left to go. The head and cross winds were oppressive on this stretch of the highway. The speed dropped to single digits in some places.

The second transition went well. Fortunately, I had additional supply of salt tablets in the second bag. I took the first 750 mg right away, but did not have to wait too long for the initial effects of the deficit. Within the first mile I experienced cramping in my right hamstrings and shortly after that in my left adductors. It was not looking good, but to my surprise, once the initial cramping subsided I was able to get into a steady pace for the next 17 miles. At that time, I entered the famous “Energy Lab.” There was nothing about energy for me there. I started going into dark places, feeling flat, and hurting. I felt the lactic acid building up in my legs which each step. This lasted for about 5 miles, at which time, I started running at a steady pace, again. With three miles to go I started increasing the pace.

On Alii Drive with with about 25 miles left to go

Frozen in motion.

For the first 11 miles we had plenty of company. They looked less tired than some of us.

Running in the "Energy Lab." This is where I dag deep.

But maybe not as deep as this athlete. They call it "running." Imagine doing 138 miles of it with nothing but your arms.

The gas was long gone from the tank but the remaining fumes were enough to run the last 2 miles at a 6 min 40 sec pace to finish the marathon in 4 hrs 20 min, about 40 minutes slower than my typical Ironman marathons. To put things in perspective, I ran the last three miles with a young athlete from Canada who qualified for Ironman Hawaii in 9 hrs 15 min. He finished a couple of minutes behind me – a testimony to the incredibly tough nature of the course.

In the finishing chute. Living in the moment..........................

Elated at last, I crossed the finish line in 11 hrs 28 min. Kasia was waiting just beyond the finish line to place the lei on my neck. It was a special race, indeed. Racing with the best age groupers in the world made this race very different from any other qualifying event. Needless to say, I will train and race hard to earn the right to return to Kona in 2014.

..........worth every ounce of effort.

And so is this.

And this.

The post-race celebration did not last long. Soon after the race I dropped off my bike at the Tri Bike Transport for the return home. I have been transporting my bike with TBT for a couple of years, now, and I continue to be impressed with its staff and the high quality of service. Last year, when I was prematurely returning my bike to TBT for the return shipment, Marc, the company’s president said he will transport my Kuota to Kona, free of charge, if I return to the race in 2013. And this is exactly what he did.

With Marc, TBT's president, on the final training ride before the race. Behind us is the "Energy Lab."

Hundreds of spectators stayed until midnight waiting for the final athletes to cross the finish line. The atmosphere was electric until final moments, fueled by performances, such as these.

Final moments of the Ironman.

Early Sunday morning, after a quick breakfast with Alison and Kukui, we were on our way to the airport for the return flight home. The 2013 racing chapter has effectively ended providing time to rest and heal my overworked body including the aching lower back. I have already started planning the 2014 racing season, which will be upon me in not so distant future. Again, thank you for your ongoing support and well-wishes. Your words of support made all the difference.

NBC will broadcast this year's Ironman Championship race on Saturday, November 16th at 16:30.

THE PRE-RACE REPORT IS NOW COMPLETE

My pre-race Kona report would not have been complete without the two missing days. So, here they are, Wednesday and Thursday, leading up to the race day.

The registration day. Volunteers from all over the world descended upon Kona, as they do every year, to make this race a fabulous event.

The formality. Picking up another backpack. I am not sure how many I got, but this one is special, for sure.

On Wednesday, a "party ship" arrived in Kona and added another 4,000 people to the mix. Ironically, during my layover in Dallas, TX, on my way to Hawaii I met a gentleman who was flying to Honolulu for a Hawaiian cruise that was to arrive in Kona on Wednesday. So, there he was. The world can be small, indeed.

The UFO has also arrived. Paragliding is in my to do "bucket list." Another reason to return to Kona. If anything were to go wrong, at least, there would be a soft landing.

I am still not sure what that lava wonder is. Located by the Queen K Highway, it looks like a mini volcano crater, but on a closer inspection it appears to be a cave.

Back in Kona for another worthy event - "The Underpants Run." Waiting for the runners on Thursday morning with my Czech and Canadian Friends. Some may be ready to run.

And here they come. Several thousand runners takes part in this fundraising event which is a part of the Ironman extravaganza.

I suppose, some place, they must make them that size.

It has to be a rhetorical question.

Multitasking at its best

Somewhere on the Kona Pier. Well, need I say more?

With TJ Tollakson at the Diamond Bike team breakfast meeting. TJ is a multiple pro Ironman champion and the developer of the Diamond Bike technology.

With the team and the bike.

Until Thursday I only knew him from the Tour de France race. Ryder Hasjedal is one of the best road cyclists in the world. Right T2? And why did I think that cyclists are short?

An icing on the cake. The trip to Kona would not have been complete without meeting Mark Alen, the 6-time Ironman World Champion and an icon in the triathlon world.

Overlooking the bay, a relaxing lunch with Kasia and Alison. Yes, the socks seem to make a difference.

The final look at the Ironman Village ......

...... and the palms.

I promise, the next blog will be from the race.