Thar she blows.....

Yes, I can see the whales from the hotel shore but that is not what I'm referring to. We arrived on Wednesday and spent a few days enjoying the 70+ degree whether. Late on Thursday the wind started blowing and it hasn't stopped.

After we picked up our bikes we took them out on a short practice ride. We rode to the transition lot and then took the route out to HWY 19. The wind was blowing so hard it was a tough short ride. Once we got to the highway we headed South toward the Kona airport. The wind was to our backs so it was pretty easy, but watching other riders heading North, it looked like another story. After a few miles we decided to turn around.

The ride out I was doing 25-26mph. When I turned around pedaling with the same effort I dropped to 8mph. The people who had just arrived stated, "don't worry there is no wind in the mornings', but this was not the case that morning.

On Saturday we met at the start of the race to do a practice swim. It wasn't a big deal, just get in the water, kick off together, go out and then come back in. I walked down with Jeff and the kids. When I hit the beach I realized I forgot my stuff. I was wearing my suit but I didn't have my cap and more importantly my goggles. I went out anyways just to get a feel for it and it sucked to not have my goggles.

We went out a couple of yards and everyone was really excited because there was a sea turtle at the turn around spot. It was even more of a bummer that I didn't get to the see the turtle. Oh well I decided to head back.

The wind was still blowing. The normally calm water in the lagoon was choppy. Swimming back to shore was tough because the waves would splash you in the face. Shore felt really far away and I couldn't see in order to gauge how true that was. I had to stop a few times just to make sure I was headed in the right direction. This wind is making me very nervous.

The good news is that my friend Cindy came to the big island to watch me race. She met me on the swim beach wearing a blue shirt that said "LAVAMAN, GO SABRINA!!" It was awesome and she also had one made for Jeff and the kids. The kids had shirts that said "Go Mommy!" I hope I can see them at some point during the race.