Friday, October 7, 2011

Kona Day 3

aka The Big Ride Day!

Wheels hit the road at 6am in pouring rain.  After about 40 minutes it tapered off and by about the 1 hour mark we weren't being rained on anymore.  But we got SOAKED.  Which was good for the next hour or two as things got warm.  The climb to Hawi was definitely not tough from a climbing perspective but the wind made it harder.  The descent in the crosswind only had me moderately terrified so that's an improvement over what I expected.  The return trip was hilly and windy but nowhere near as hot as I thought it would be (now someone will tell me it was unusually cold this year).  Overall it was a great long ride with Jeff and Nigel!  Once we were back I had a run off the bike to do - this was right during athlete bike check-in for the race so I saw everyone out there - my coach (who got the photo of me running), Michelle, Chrissie Wellington, Faris Al-Sultan and more!

Wet roads but at least it's not pouring anymore

You can't tell but I'm completely drenched

The sky is getting lighter

Rainbow!

Still stormy skies behind us








Refilling bottles








Turnaround at Hawi

I'm not a fan of crosswind but I'll fake a smile anyway





All in a day's work

Trotting down Ali'i Drive soaking in the atmosphere!

I finally got some poke!

Feeling a little tired but happy with a 7.5 hour training day

Not a bad view from dinner at all



2 comments:

Teresa said...

How'd I miss you out there today? Glad you had a blast!

Barb said...

I love the pictures!! What a cool experience to ride the whole course. You are going to be totally ready for Zona!