Hillary Biscay

9 June 10: Ali’i in June!

Posted on 10. Jun, 2010 by hillarybiscay in Blog | 4 Comments

There’s something about the smell of Ali’i Drive. I’m not  sure what exactly it’s comprised of–saltwater, tropical flowers, and I don’t know what else . . . To me it smells like the Hawaii Ironman. The minute I breathe it in, I immediately start to get into the nearly-overwhelming super-excited and anxious race-week mode. I love this smell and this feeling–taking it all in is one of the most fun rewards of a year’s work.

Only this time it isn’t race week. This is strange. The GCM and I keep pinching ourselves to make sure this is real: we actually are lucky enough to spend a month and a half living here on Ali’i Drive and training  in Kona on the  World Championship race course. We are two very happy training camp-ers.

And, for extra fun, guess who is upstairs?! I will give you one hint: I had this very yummy surprise waiting for me when I came home from my second ride this afternoon . . .

Yes, of all of the condos in Kona, the one Maiki found for us online happens to be right below the most popular Kona triathlete stud and super-blogger herself. Turns out that one of the many perks of this location is not just home-made spirulina recovery balls (see link above for recipe), but three different flavors of them–all of which I sampled in quick succession immediately upon dismounting my bike.  No dinner was necessary after this, but it was worth it. They were awesome.

I, however, will be a much happier training camp-er come next week. Here’s why: Ali’i Drive is begging for a run. I love running on Ali’i, breathing in that inspiration, and taking in the ocean views. Coach does not care about this, or about the fact that there’s a little race on my schedule in 2.5 weeks. He has other ideas–like a running ban. Yes, you heard that right. Running is not allowed until next week. I was allowed two tiny jogs while in Rio in order to preserve my sanity and that was it for a two-week period.

Coach says we need to start over with my running. For some strange reason, despite the fact that over the past year I have managed to change my body into what I thought would make me into something closer to a “runner,” my running has gone in the other direction. Way too far in this wrong direction as far as I am concerned–so much so that I hardly even protested Coach’s plan. I agree that drastic measures must be in order. In the meantime, I am enjoying swimming and riding a lot this week while trying to avoid looking in the mirror (not recommended without the influence of running).

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