Pre race thoughts
Everyone is asking me wat my goals are. I have been at this World Championship twice. I never had a good race here. The first time in 2006, I had severe stomach problems early during the ride, the second time in 2007 I was affarid to go hard on the bike and even though I took it eaier on the bike I had not much left for the run. So hopefully the third time I will have a better race.
My swim times here in Hawaii were 1:20:45 and 1:20:52 in 2007 and 2006. My bike times 5:25 and 5:20. My marathons have been 4:01 in 2006 and 4:25 in 2007. Last year I really fell apart on the way out to the Energy labs. I hope that will not happen this year. This year I am more confident going into the race.
In 2007 I did Ironman Kentucky (Louisville) a few weeks before Hawaii and in extremely hot conditions I ended up in the medical tent with a very tight chest. I got ill the days after and my breathing problems persisted till the summer this year. I seem to have less problems now.
So all in all I think my preparation is better than last year and I am feeling a bit better. What are my goals? Well my first goal of course is to finish. Being here in Kona and finishig in Kona is so special and whatever the time is I will be really really happy. But of course there is always a bit more to wish for and my second goal is to go faster than I have done before. In 2006 I did 10:49 so that is my main target.
I also have some seperate smaller goals: I want to run the marathon under 4 hours. I know that I can easily do this if I get of the bike ok, but the fact is that last year I struggled to do this and I only ran under 4 hours at Ironman Switzerland.
I feel that this race will depend very much on the bike. I have invested more time on the bike and feel better on the bike. I have enjoyed cycling more this year and I hope I can go a little faster than 5:20.
All these predictions and guesses, however, are of course highly dependent on the conditions. If the wond picks up and the temperature rises a bit more, the times will automatically be slower. All sorts of things can happen out there. The weather forecast is that the temperatures will be quite a bit higher than the previous days (well over 30 degrees). There may be some cloud cover for some of the race, but this generally goes with increased humidity. There is a 40% chance of rain, especially in the morning. The winds in the North of the island especially will be pretty strong (as they always are).
So we will see and find out tomorrow. I know that I have done what I could do to prepare for this event with the time that I had available. I had some incredible, in fact unbelievable support from many people but especially from Jo and now it is up to me and Madame Pele.... There will be more support here as well than I have ever seen before.
First I will go to bed and have a good sleep. The alarm is set for 4AM tomorrow morning.
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