127 mile ride recap

Well folks, that's a wrap. I've officially finished my last hard week before Ironman Florida. From here on out it's just focus on nutrition, short(er) sessions to keep my muscles fresh, and rest, rest, rest. This past week consisted of 11k of swimming, 187 miles of biking, and 40 miles of running. On top all that nonsense this was also the most stressful professional week for me as my "mega-monster-determines-the-next-three-years-of-my-life-and-beyond" grant was due. And my usual second job of tutoring. And teaching a workshop Thursday night. And organizing a work barbecue for the weekend.  So, surprise, surprise that come Sunday night, after a 3 hour massage was needed to deal with my battered body, I started to feel sick. Sore throat, felt feverish (but wasn't), zero appetite even though I just ran 18 miles. I was supposed to go out on a date, but I cried "Ironmonk" and went to bed at 8pm instead. Smart decision, since right now I'm clearly on razor's edge.

But the good news is that I'm feeling much better this morning and have a very, very relaxing week ahead of me. (Hence why I find time to blog with my morning coffee---what an indulgence!) On Friday, while I was doing my epic 127-mile ride on Friday, I promised mid-ride twitter photos. But one of the downsides to traveling to the prettiest parts of the island is that you can't get access to twitter. So--better late than never, right? The ride itself was awesome. I got hit with some really insane squalls that pummeled me with painful rain and blew winds harder than anything you'd find coming down from Hawi. I was a little nervous when the visibility dropped to zero, but the cars were really considerate and I never felt unsafe. Riding through the squalls gave me a lot of confidence and made the sunny parts of the ride that much more enjoyable! For those of you familiar with Oahu, I started in Kaneohe and headed towards the North Shore on the Kahekili highway. Usually I go up Pineapple hill, but decided to simulate the IMFL course as much as possible and kept flat out to Dillingham Airfield.  I did laps from Waialua to Kaena point and back until it was time to turn around. Brutal crosswinds, but again, really good training. Here's some highlights from the ride:

Kualoa Ranch

Backside of Kualoa

Beachpark view

Beachpark break to refill fluids

Somewhere near Kahuku

View of Kaena Point