So my big adventure to do "the double" is over. I got it in my head this past year to do Ironman world championships and the Maui
Xterra , which is the World Championships for off road triathlon. This year was probably the only chance I would have to do both in my life so I made it a priority. The races are held two weeks apart. One on the Big island and the other on Maui.
With little to no mountain biking under my belt for the last few years I pulled out my old Specialized S Works one more time and took it on a couple rides before Xterra. I was less than impressed with it's performance, the thing is old and I always disliked the Manitou shock since the day I installed it way back in the mists of time. At the last minute, I went on a tour of the island bike shops looking to spend some $$ on a new machine but the selection was poor and I couldn't bring myself to spend 5 grand on something I wasn't thrilled with. So once again I ordered a bunch of new parts including a new suspension fork and gave the old girl a makeover.
Friday afternoon Marianne and I left work early and drove onto the
Hawaiian Superferry for the trip to Maui. What a great way to visit the other islands. So nice to avoid the TSA, long lines, rental car hassle , etc of that comes with flying. There was and still is a big controversy over the ferry here in Hawaii. The opponents give all sorts of reasons why they are against it but it's partly the warrior mentality that pervades Hawaii. "If it's something new, we're against it", and "I've got mine, everyone else stay home" Morons.
Anyway the trip went fine and we rolled into Kihei on the South Coast around 8 pm.
Sunday morning the race started at 9am. The swim went well for me and I posted a good time for once. The bike starts at the Maui Prince resort on the coast, all green and beautifully landscaped. But as soon as you begin climbing up the side of Haliakala it becomes desert terrain. Rocks, dust and more rocks. Makes me homesick for Tucson. It's about 1.5 hours of climbing followed by 30 minutes of insane downhill. I flatted once and lost a bunch of time fixing i,t but felt great all morning despite the oppressive heat. Some of my old MTB ski ls from New Mexico and Tucson showed themselves and I was really enjoyed the bike section. The run is about 7 miles through the worst terrain they can come up with including about a mile of beach before the finish which is tough. I didn't place as high as last year with the time I lost on fixing my tire but my age group place was higher (9th) since I'm older, ha!
So now it's time for a break from racing and training. It's been a great year but I feel like a weight is off my shoulders.
