Fun, fun, fun

Even though this blog is centered around my triathlon training and racing, from time to time I’ll post on the subject of my primary motivation for doing all this: It’s FUN!!!

Triathlon (and Team in Training in particular) is filled with fantastic people that are – as you might expect – out-going, interesting and just plain cool. Also, many of the races are held in wonderful locations and/or have social aspects to them that make an event much more than just the time you are out on the course.

Now that I have several races under my belt I’ve been able to worry less and celebrate more. At first, you are so focused on the complexities of the sport (Do I have everything in my bag? I’ve got to keep my mind straight in transition! Boy, I hope I don’t bonk on the run...) it’s hard to take much else in. But the last couple of races I’ve relaxed much more, chatted with people on the course, thanked the volunteers, smiled a lot and generally enjoyed myself.

All events are fun but Lavaman is one of the truly special experiences. It’s set on the big island of Hawaii in and around the awesome Hilton Waikoloa Resort and about half the 700 racers are from Team in Training. All this conspires to make a very relaxed, friendly and fun time.

Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of resort hotels, as their manufactured trappings usually come across as a pale imitation of natural settings. But I have to say, this particular resort is pretty great and the many pools, gardens, vantage points, natural bodies of water in addition to the buildings are pretty breath-taking.

I arrived late Wednesday night even though the race wasn’t until Sunday. Most the TNT people were coming in late Thursday and Friday, so I took the better part of the first day to myself. I went and ran most of the race run course, swam a few laps in the salt water lagoon (where I ran smack into 3 big sea turtles) and laid by the pool. Then, I met up with a friend that night for dinner and by Friday almost everyone else was there.

That day, several of us went over to the swim site (about a mile from the hotel) and had a fantastic open-water swim.

I also went to Costco and bought a bunch of beer and booze and two huge rolling coolers because I knew the TNT Victory Party ended at 9PM the day of the race and also knew there was no where else to go, as the resort is very self-contained. My friend Setal and I spent the afternoon kicking around the little village of Kona and had a nice lunch. That night, about 10 of us went to dinner together.

On Saturday morning, the team met as a group, retrieved our bikes (they had been shipped all together) and took a swim at the race site. Things were pretty rushed for a number of reasons but we also took our bikes out onto the main highway just to make sure they were all ready to go and to get a bit of a feel for the course.

That night we had the traditional pasta party. I stood in the ‘clap line’ as the TNT staff applauded all the participants that had raised money to participate in this event. I know the close to 300 TNTers raised well more than a million dollars just through Lavaman.

The pasta party was beautiful, set outside on a huge patio overlooking the lagoon and waterfall. The inspirational speaker was our own Kyle Garlett, who was has not only survived multiple bouts with lymphoma and leukemia, he’s had one shoulder and hip replaced due to the cumulative effect of the chemotherapy drugs. And just last year, he had a full heart transplant that was needed for the same reason.


The really special thing was that Kyle was also speaking as a participant!! He had actually completed the Malibu triathlon as a member of my team last fall, but this was to be his first Olympic-length race. As always, he gave a clever and moving speech.

The day of the race, we met as a Team at 5:30AM to get organized then ride over to the transition area together. Then, we helped each other setup, when for a little jog, then it was down to the beach for a warm-up swim.

Several people on this team were really fearful swimmers and standing there on that beach looking out at those pylons waaaaay out there, plus the hundreds of other racers massing in the water… Well, even as a strong swimmer you are going to get serious butterflies. I made sure to get myself up near the front of the start but was really worried (yet hopeful!) for about half a dozen of my teammates. I wished them luck and then got ready to take off.

During the race, I didn’t see many of my teammates. I made sure to shout encouragement to those I did see and also had a few little chats with people on the run.

When I approached the finish chute, Emily Chung from my team saw me right away and jumped out to take a couple of photos and was screaming “You killed it!”. Emily is a strong triathlete in her own right (will be doing the Ironman with me) but was there just to vacation – and she was awesome about taking photos, cheering everyone on and helping with errands and the like.

Then, I got to watch ever single one of my teammates finish and that was a blast. There were a few that got really emotional, as the that finish line represented overcoming significant fears and/or physical obstacles. I think I was as happy for them as I was for myself.

Afterwards, it was time to take in the event party, complete with unlimited beer and a fantastic spread of food for the athletes. We hung out for hours until it was finally time to head back to the hotel and get out of the sun.

I barely had time to get cleaned up and changed for the Victory Party, as I needed to get all the booze organized in the two big coolers – get it iced down and ready to roll for later.

The TNT party was fun but pretty laid-back. There was a nice buffet but only one bartender for hundreds of people and that with the absurd price of drinks, kept the lid on a bit. There was a pretty lame DJ but that didn’t stop the more out-going (including me) to get out on the dance floor and have a good time.

Then, it was time to move on and we picked a smaller pool that was somewhat removed from any rooms and right on the ocean. With some help, I wheeled down those two monster coolers and the majority of the Team plus a handful of guests slowly but surely started devouring the drinks.

Of course, people were thrown in the pool, a couple went down the water slide in their clothes and it was general mayhem. But I have to say it was really satisfying to see everyone cut loose because last year we all went home and to bed by 9PM. When I left somewhere around 1AM (that’s 4AM California time) it was still raging.

The next morning, hangovers and stories abounded. I won’t repeat them here but most of it was just good, clean fun and nobody was hurt or lost at sea.

That following Monday, a group of 9 of us headed north up the coast to explore more of the island and specifically to seek out a good hike that led you down to what was described as an incredible black sand beach. We stopped at a little place for lunch and then found the trailhead, which was pretty high above the rugged and beautiful beach below.

That turned out to be a wonderful afternoon and I was really glad to see more of the island, as the area around the resort – while amazing – is pretty barren due to all the lava flows.

Monday night about half the team left for home but the remainder (about a dozen or so) were invited to Kyle & Carrie Garlett’s suite at the Marriot next door. I rolled over what was left of the alcohol and we ordered pizza and salad. Later in the night, we all went around the room and told our stories about the race and where we drew our inspiration. It was really, really cool.

I was leaving for home on the red-eye Tuesday night but still had a full day to enjoy. In the morning I ran the race course again apart from the last mile on the lava trail. I felt fantastic and topped it off with a nice, easy swim in the saltwater lagoon. Really helped to flush what soreness remained.

Then I had to be packed up and on the road, as two of my teammates were hosting a BBQ at their timeshare condo further south on the island. I went back to Costco to get supplies and then met everyone there.

There were about 10 of us and we drank margaritas and beer, played some beach volleyball and cooked out. The time flew by and I hated to get up and leave about 8PM for my flight home.

What a fantastic week! Truly, one of the best times I’ve ever had and that means something, because I’ve been fortunate to do lots of great things in my life.

And THAT is why I love triathlon and TNT so much! I’m already looking forward to seeing everyone again at Desert Tri and the reunion party.