Kona Day: 3 Days before race start
Well the flight was long. Backed up airplanes in San Fran ment that there were delays, and somehow my bags made it to Kona before I did.
It’s cooler here than Vegas, I used blankets last night, which I haven’t used in weeks (check that’s taken care of).
- The salt water is super buoyant… like having my 2XU wetsuit on (check that)
- Specialized went out of their way to tune up (and pirate parts off a new bike) to get Dream Crusher working poifektly.
- Jonathan Toker customized some Salt Sticks to fit on my rig. We also got a chance to swim out off the rocks together. I probably would have been too scared to dive into the ocean by myself. Also having an experienced guide along ‘I cannot stress enough, how important it is to not tuouch the enenomies and coral.
The BIG news was that I can officially announce that K Swiss is my official Shoe Sponsor.
They’ve got some Tri-specific shoes, which are supportive, drain water, and simply are better than anything else on the market. Except that they aren’t on the market yet. They are called the K-Ona’s and are available here, and will soon be available everywhere. You won’t believe them, I’ll get pic’s up as soon as I have a free second.
What are the specific features of this shoe that will make it great as a triathlon racer?
The boilerplate answer is that this shoe is very light, extremely well cushioned and supportive, has incredible drainage, and taped seams for sockless wear during shorter races. But that is only half the story. One of the big challenges in tri shoes is not how light it is, but how light it is after you pour water and Gatorade all over it. There are lots of shoes out there that start at 9 ozs, but cross the finish line at 10.5. this one will start at less than 9, and you can pour a cup of water on it and it will be less than 9 five steps later. We also introduce Flow Cool which is an airflow system that allows airflow throughout the shoe to keep your feet cool and help evaporate moisture as you run. It has great midfoot support which comes into play late in an Ironman when you start collapsing a bit more during your footstrike. I encourage people to just try the shoe on in Kona.
- my Infamy on slow twitch is growing.
- VOG is the flashword here. People were talking about it in the airport, on the land, etc. etc. A new vent has opened in a volcano, and Kona is under a ‘haze’ of the crap. We’ll be swimming in Kona, and running the entire marathon under the vog. It’s entirely out of my control, and kinda like training in Bakersfield with the Haze.
- Off for a swim and TV interview, and full preview of the bike and run courses today.
Nat
Rumor has it that the “Dream Crusher” is going to win the key battleground state of Ohio on November 4th!
