2008 Honlulu Triathlon Weekend

This past weekend was the 2008 Honolulu Triathlon at Ala Moana Beach Park. There was an Olympic Distance (1,500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run) and a Sprint (half of the olympic). I spent the whole weekend there helping sell my friends product The T-Roller. It's a self massage roller for active people. There was suppose to be an expo with tons of vendors, but it ended up being just myself and two other vendors. What a let down.

This is my side job. Not too schabby, eh?

I have been trying to train for this race since March. With teaching and coaching, I only end up training about 4 hours a week, when everyone else is doing about 10-20 hours easily. I feel like I reverted back to my former college self. The guy who would train half-ass and still beat my teammates. It took until my final two years and being hassled by teammates (Hicks, Hopkins, Decker) for years about how good I could be if I actually trained. Well, in my last two years I set school records and ran times that everyone knew I could run. So, it becomes frustrating when I cannot train the way that I know that I need to do.

I'm the one with the orange cap. Starting line!

Given my lack of training, I still was hoping to place in the top 3 in my age group. The mile swim was calm, but I felt the anxious feeling and it resulted in not being able to go very hard. I have never done this distance and I was very unsure how I'd feel later in the race. I got out of the water and hoped on the bike. Right away I got blown away by an athlete in my age group. He was just ahead of me, then he was out of sight.

Coming out of the swim.

The bike was long, but to my surprised I did not get passed by that many people. I was trying to pedal a bigger gear, but I just couldn't. It's simply from not getting to ride that much.

Finishing the bike. Kristine said I was moving to fast. I only wish!

After the bike comes the fun part. I knew I'd catch some people, but on the double loop course you get to see everyone dying and running so slow. I just started going as fast as I could. It was very hot so I had to dump a lot of water over my head to keep cool. I ended up passing a few guys in my age group and almost everyone who passed me on the bike, except two, I think.

Not sure what lap this is but I'm just dreaming about the finish line.

I placed 25th overall and 2nd in my age group. The big run I had was 3rd overall, beating most of the pros. My bike and swim were 83rd and 86th respectively out of I think 1,000 people.

So hot! Dumping two bottles of ice cold water on my head.

The biggest help of the weekend award goes to Kristine. She took these excellent pictures, but most importantly, supported my efforts for the past couple of months. She also helped me out at the sales booth and cheered for me! She made this weekend manageable so that I could focus on doing well in the race.The Pro Men's Podium. Winner Luke Mackenzie with the T-Roller!

After the race we gave away free T-Rollers to the winners of each category for those that did the Olympic Distance. Everyone was very excited to get a massage roller.

The Co-Ed Team Winners. Modeling their prizes with pride!

I had to take a lot of days off for this weekend, but it was a much needed break. I had to take Monday off so Tramp could get spayed. She took it like a champ, but by just looking into her eyes, you could tell she was not happy with my decision. As of last night we have an extra 5 people in our house visiting from home. We have the three stooges Bammbie, Sacco, and Scotty La. They arrived on Friday and have been enjoying themselves and their beer very much. And last night Heidi and Bernice (my roommate)'s sister Ashleigh have arrived. It's a mad house, but there is never a dull moment now.

Only a few weeks until we are all back in NY. See you soon.

Aloha