The Three Coconuts

We were early... well we were awake. So we walked and took pictures around the pier and Dig Me beach. Got a great one of Tyler on the rocks. Race organizers were very nice, this was the 15th anniversary of the swim which is held in honor of King Kamehameha. It had been moved from the traditional celebratory weekend due to conflicts with all the canoe racing. It always finishes on the left side of the pier to be closer to the home of the King. The 'Ahu'ena Heiau was his personal temple that he restored in 1812 and where he lived until his death in 1819. This is where the race end was located and a very well managed and attended post race celebration occurred.

Blain started in the front of the bunch of around 200 swimmers, the pack was filled with some pretty intense (for Hawai'ians) looking teenagers in Kona Aquatics caps. Tyler and I were in the back with the plan to just enjoy the sites, this was her first attempt at an open water swim at anything other than sprint distance.... and of course she has not trained. I was more worried about her capability than she was. I'm still not a friend of the ocean, I've gotten better, but I still worry about currents, rip tides, animals, drowning... and now I was not in "my" ocean and also had coral, sea urchins and lots of other things I wasn't familiar with but I'm sure they were out there. Anyway, as usual I consoled myself with the thought that by the time Tyler and I got there any monsters would already be full because they would have eaten the faster swimmers. I shouldn't have worried... Tyler was completely unconcerned. Race start very Hawai'ian, it went kinda like "everybody ready? OK. 3,2,1 Go." This was carried out in a pretty much conversational tone but had a big response in the front group, the area where Tyler and I were just ambled on forward in the water.

Blain swam comfortably and chose a different (he says straighter) line than most of the leaders. He got behind a paddle boarder and had a personal escort to the big Body Glove boat which was our turn around. By the way, all swim markers should be giant boats.... I actually found something to sight on that I could see. Water was so perfect, clear and comofortable. You could see the bottom the entire way, I had heard this but never could really grasp it until I experienced it. Blain made the turn and picked up the pace, the last 100 yards was a sprint with another swimmer. His arms were toast but CV system recovered quickly....good for the training program. Tyler and I hung out with a pack, my job was to try to set the pace and make sure I had her. It was fun, we had a few more creative swimmers in our group. One with mask and snorkel breast stroking, many on the Galloway swim plan where they would seem to swim a set amount of time then just shut it down to tread water and sight... then go again. Don't even get me started on what I think about trying to run a marathon around groups of these people. Tyler had a little personal contact with one or two people, and a few (probably justifiable) ugly comments about my ability to swim a straight line (and I thought I was doing better because most races I can't ever find buoys) but she seemed most upset because the faster group had scared away some of the fish she wanted to look at. She tapped my feet regularly to let me know she was there, I stopped once at the boat to make sure she was OK (she said I was going too fast, but she wasn't breathing very hard, and she complained about my serpentine swim style....so I decided not to slow down). There was some chop once you got out, but the current was mild and the water so salty and bouyant that I felt like I was even floating a little. The trip in was faster, we picked up a few people and got a nice line going, so I pulled my little pack in.

Now for the important stuff. SWAG. Check out the cool hats. Blain got second in his age group with a 25:50 and won a leaf bowl and fantastic memories. Tyler and I had a wonderful race for all 37 minutes (I think she beat my last half ironman swim time), it's always more fun when I race with her. Destiny, karma, the island they all must have played a part. This race is not publicized, they like to keep it small and a local event. We just happened to hear of it through Bree Wee and were able to include it in the scheduling. Possibly a once in a lifetime chance at this experience, I'm so glad we grabbed it. Mahalo Bree!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful though... Had a great brunch at Lava Java and saw the prettiest cinnamon rolls... YUMMM! Then we went for a short drive around the area, and then back to the condo for a nice little siesta (the swim left us pooped out). Tyler and I drove Blain up to Bike Works to pick up his rental bike, then he went for a ride while me and Ty drove back to one of the beaches where there was a surf shop that rented out snorkeling gear and made plans for tomorrow. Went to dinner late and we all were too tired to really enjoy it. Tried going back to Lava Java to get that cinnamon roll, but they were sold out :(

Until later...

~JBT