Time is of the essence. You emerge from your swim and have till 6.30pm to complete riding 180K. By the way, the swim is worth doing as my trial swim this morning showed me more marine wildlife than swimming in a national aquarium. I swam in a tank with sharks in Shanghai in 2003, and it had its moments worth recalling fondly. This morning swim compared well with Ironman Western Australia and New Zealand. Fish in almost every denomination and depth met my sleep-deprived eyes. The flight took us about 24 hours, which was shy of six hours that it took me to Clearwater, Florida in 2008 & 2009 for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships.
Fish tales aside, I connected with John Cooke (Singaporean based in Western Australia), who arrived two days before. He is in splendid shape, looking lean, fit and excited about Saturday's quest for his seventh Ironman finisher title. I know he will earn it for sure, and be richer in the depth of perspectives that he will learn from the island. We joke a lot about our dream to participate in Kona, Hawaii one day in our mature lives (however long it takes) yet we are serious about getting there one day. Even if one of us bags the lottery ticket, we know that we would have to work our posteriors off for the Big Island is to be respected. There are no easy Ironmans! Beware, Ironman has a way of nipping you on your behind, so that we can learn from hindsight.
We skipped the Big Feast known as Pasta Party, and a renowned way of stuffing your face full of gluttony, so we skipped it. Carbo-loading works only if you are a finalist on Survivor, left in a caloric-deficient, mind-starving state. All you can benefit from is wisdom of a tummy ache. Some quick updates, and off to bed for one night of restful sleep.
Later...by the way, we had a nice evening run. Get the legs going. Nightfall is about 9.00pm. So, enough buffer time to finish in daylight this time. Should be a PB. Fingers crossed...
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