The first line of my first blog is often “Well that was EPIC” and today is no different: Day 1 was EPIC! We rolled out a little late on Day 1 (camp management error) so the 10K run was not to be. Our Day 1 consisted of a 3K ocean swim followed by the Hawaii Ironman course with a 7 mile TT to Kawaihae.
The ocean swim was great. Kings buoy-Coast Guard buoy-Kings buoy-Coast Guard buoy-Kings buoy and home. This is our way of getting in the mileage for the minimum swim. This is my favourite swim in the whole world and despite getting a little cold (always), I just love it!
It was a beautiful day and we set out on the Hawaii Ironman course. This was the least windy a ride to Hawi I have EVER experienced. It was sweet. If only I could have raced in those conditions! The TT from the helicopter pad to the turn to Kawaihae was fun – some intensity actually felt good. Then on to lunch in Hawi. We had some fun pace lining action today which was fun.
Because we had 4 flats today, and with the slow start, we were running out of time. Anja had 3 flats and when #3 happened I decided to stay with her but we ended up running out of air (oops we had a CO2 issue). Eventually we borrowed air from a very kind cyclist riding by (we were also waiting for our SAG but they were helping the others to refuel for the way home).
With Anja on my wheel, we basically did a time trial from Kawaihae to the marina where we were picked up in the van. We missed getting home before dark by 10K. It sure was fun trying to make it (I have not downloaded my data yet but the average speed was FAST), and in the process saw the most beautiful sunset. As we got in the van, my watch announced I had my ‘best power’ 
Perfect!
No one made it home before dark but everyone was safe. Yummy dinner was prepared by our kick-butt support crew David and Etienne and after a wee talk about open water swim technique and hill climbing technique it was time to hit the sack.
Play of the day goes to Alicia who did her first open water swim, did her longest ride ever, helped Anja with her flat during the TT, went off course by a couple miles and kept smiling, all while being pretty tired after arriving at 9pm the night before from Toronto which is a very long trip!
Bring on day 2!