I have to admit that today’s swim felt a ‘wee bit tricky’ (in the words of Tara and her wee munchkin, Maya). I am not entirely sure what made it feel like a slug-fest for me. But, when I got out of the water I said, “There was not one moment of that, that felt enjoyable”. It may have been the waves, the current, the fact that it is Day 7 etc. Upon reflection, I am so grateful for the time in the ocean and being surrounded by strong swimmers who are so comfortable in the water. Ironically, today I couldn’t wait to get out of the water, but I know that when I am back at work on Monday, I would give anything to hop back in the ocean in Kona! How could I not love swimming over coral, seeing the fish, and even the giant bait balls of thousands of fish?!?
I loved our ride up Mauna Loa today. The road up to the observatory was one of the coolest roads I have ever ridden on. It was 1 lane, well paved, and we saw only 6 cars (approx) over the 25km journey up Mauna Loa. The vast expanses of black lava rock on both sides of the road made me feel like we were biking on the moon.
I was happy with my 10km run today. During the first 4km, I had no intention of pushing it as I wasn’t feeling great. Ironically, even at a slower pace, I got to the turn-around only a few seconds later than usual. On the way home, I was feeling stronger and set myself a goal to get my PB of the trip. I nailed it, and it felt great. The entire run felt more relaxed and more fun. This was a great reminder to me, that sometimes we can have our best performance when we put less pressure on ourselves.
The evening wrapped up with many laughs and giggles, massages from Gary, and a great conversation with Etienne. He gave me some tips to add to my mental ‘tool-kit’. Lately, I have been feeling that my mental training techniques are not quite as dialed as they have been. So, I look forward to putting some of Etienne’s ideas into practice. And, a very opportune time to use these techniques will be on our 20km run tomorrow!