It's been over two months since our trip to Hawaii this fall and I wanted to share some of our experiences while we were there...first up- Hawaii Ironman Championships. We'd never been to Kona before, muchless the race...first time for everything. Having completed IMWI a month prior, I had full respect for what it takes to get to Kona and how hard all these athletes worked to be a part of it. A truly exciting experience. Our hotel overlooked the finishline area and the streets were a buzz in the days leading up to it. I was nervous for the athletes! I swam part of the course (and stopped to watch tropical fish along the way) as well as a trip to the "coffee boat" that parks itself out there and provides shots of coffee to the athletes...top notch treatment! Freebies were everywhere, swim caps, fuel belts, hats, t-shirts, you name it! So fun!
The day before the race is what's called the Kona Bike Count- we didn't know what was going on, but knew folks would be dropping off their bikes in transition so we wondered over and thought "why are all these people here with clipboards and pens?" well, turnouts the product companies count their stuff to see how many of their bikes, saddles, wheels, etc make it to Kona. It's mayhem at best! Greg saw an opening where no one was up toward the front so we wondered over and began to watch for people. Well, turns out we were right next to the Triathlete Magazine photoshoot area. SO cool to see all the athletes up close and personal....here are some shots worthy of sharing:
Macca
Macca posing with his (soon to be busted) ride
The ever smiling Chrissie
Umm..the girl is JACKED, huh?
the finish area from our balcony!
The Navy SEALS who jumped pre-race
the Normanator
Chrissie climbing
Hilary Biscay
This Army dude rode in full gear...sorry the picture sucks, Runner's World did a blurb on him, he finished under 14hours...so cool (or boiling hot, however you choose to see it!)
Natasha..I don't think she finished :(
Patrick takin' it easy out of T2
Chrissie snuck up on us, where are all the cameras and crew??
A shot of the finish shoot
The jumbo-tron they had at the finish shoot
the conch blowers/fire throwers!
G &D volunteering at the finish area- guess who we found coming in just over 10 hours!
What great photos, huh? Patricks friends were like "you sure were happy to see those volunteers!!" they didn't know we KNEW him!! The guy in the background didn't get this sort of greeting...he looks bummed out.
Aloha...we had a BLAST watching and volunteering at this race, what a fun experience!
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