Lavaman – Day 1

I can’t believe we’re actually flying to Kona to do a triathlon.  It’s totally surreal that this weekend has finally arrived.  Back in November when we went to the informational meeting and signed up, it seemed like such a great idea.  But it did not seem like a good idea December through March when they expected me at outdoor training sessions while it was 35 degrees and rainy.  Will my random gym sessions be enough to pull me through?

Kevin and Kelli picked me at at 6:30am Thursday morning to head to Sea-Tac.  I was ironically on the “team flight” with people I had never met, while Kel & Dean had booked their own flights since they were also headed to Lanai.  Slowly I made the rounds introducing myself to all these strangers who I’m sure were even more perplexed by who I was.  Oh well – everyone seems nice and don’t seem to mind that my first appearance at a team event is for the flight to the race.

We flew Northwest over to Honolulu to start, where I was stuck with a middle middle seat.  They did however have personal on-demand video systems at every spot, so I watched PS I Love You and National Treasure. In Honolulu we had three hours to kill since we were now on Go! airlines after Aloha folded three days earlier.  I did some work on my computer while Kel & Dean tried to get on an earlier flight, and then we grabbed some lunch in the bar.  Unsuccessful in obtaining an earlier flight, Kel & Dean hung in Honolulu for a couple more hours while I winged my over to Kona with a chunk of the team.  Once landed, we got our bags and boarded the bus to head up to the hotel.

We are staying at the Hilton Waikoloa, where most of the race takes place.  This is a HUGE Vegas style resort, with both a tram and boat option to get to your room.  You can check it out here:  http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/resort/index.asp

I checked in and finally met my roomie, Stephanie, who seems nice.  This is her second time doing the race so hopefully she’ll have some good pointers to share.  I just kicked it in the room until Kel & Dean arrived, then we headed out to catch the sunset and walk around the grounds.  As usual in Kona, the sunset did not disappoint and it is so nice to be warm.  To walk around outside without being all bundled up – ahhhh, I love Hawaii.

Next we caught a trolley over to the Kings shops to visit the grocery store.  None of us were starving for dinner, so we just bought snacks and ice-creams, as well as whatever drinks we needed for the next couple days.

Back at the hotel, we parted ways and I zonked out around 9:30pm while reading my book, which was good since we had to be up early for a team practice.