Lavaman, the second time around

On Sunday April 6th, I celebrated my one year anniversary as a triathlete by repeating my first ever tri: Lavaman on the big island of Hawaii.

Last year, I performed respectably but was somewhat disappointed in what turned out to be a slow bike time (even for me) and a strangely slow run. I chalked it up to being a newbie, being well under the weather and underestimating the heat and humidity.

I really wanted to return and do it again not only for the race but for the experience. It's held at a magnificent resort and on my first go-round things were so hectic I barely had a chance to relax. So, I booked a full week this year and planned to do it right.

After arriving a few days early and hanging out with friends, the race went very much according to plan which was an absolute first for me. I'm still learning about myself as an athlete, specifically where I should push hard or be more conservative.


My plan was to be more aggressive at the mass swim start (all guys go at once, then the women 5 minutes later) and try and get my time down by a couple of minutes, even though last year I had a pretty strong swim. BUT they changed the course to one loop instead of two and added many more turns and the bottom line was that it was actually harder to find space to swim just about the whole way. I did almost the same as 2007 but that put me in the 80-percentile as opposed to 75-percentile the previous year. It was just slower for everyone due to the course.

I did much, much better in the first transition. I swam right up onto the beach and hit the ground running. Even though it's a considerable jog from the swim out to transition, I was out on the bike in less than two minutes, which was twice as fast as 2007.

I also had my triathlon bike with me this time around and although I was a little concerned about the strong breeze, when I got out to the Queen K highway I just got down in aero position and hammered. The course isn't hilly but it's far from flat, with lots of long, gradual slopes. I didn't come out of my big chain ring the entire race and felt like I was making good time. As opposed to last year, I passed as many as passed me which was nice. Still, there are plenty of people that are just monsters on the bike and I've learned to just let them go and ride my own race. Bike split was 1:19, a 10-minute improvement from last year.

T-2 went smoothly although I always take time to put on socks before going out on the run. I run without them in sprints but over a 10K I don't want to risk the blisters. All went well and I was soon out running across the first lava field.


I purposely kept it nice and easy for the first two miles. Last year I was so frustrated with my bike time I tried to make it up at the beginning of the run and I basically crashed and burned about half-way through. In my inexperience, I had drastically underestimated the heat and the cumulative effect of the first two legs.

About midway, you head along a long, barren stretch of asphalt, down a decent hill then back up again -- twice. This was the area that did me in last year and I resolved to stay steady and in doing so I passed dozens of people that were in the process of making the same mistake I did a year ago. I also passed the only person on my team that was ahead of me and he was really hurting.

After that section, I picked it up as we ran along the golf course and then wound through the resort. They direct you down to this very treacherous section right along the lagoon which is mainly jagged rock and barely wide enough for one person. Fortunately, the only slower runner in front of me found a place to step aside and I continued on without too much trouble.

Then you hit the last mile which is all loose lava rock followed by the sandy beach. I felt really good and realized I could have easily gone harder up to that point, but the footing is really tough and I had to take it easy. The last quarter mile or so was on the loose sand but by that time I was feeling really good about the race and knew my finish was going to be close my goal, so I just relaxed and took in the sights and sounds.

I crossed right at 2:46, just slightly above my stretch goal of 2:45. I wasn't even breathing hard at the end. That was a 19-minute improvement from last year.

I was the first of about 40 from my team, so it was great to be see every single one of them come across the finish line. Four of the guys broke 3 hours which is excellent for a first Olympic-length tri. And everyone else generally surprised themselves with their times, although all admitted it was a tough race.

Afterwards, the event organizers throw a great post-party with all the free beer and food you want. There is also live music and most people hung out on the beach for hours.

All in all, a very good way to start my 2008 racing season. Hope it's a good omen for the longer races to come!