The Dirt on Kona

I thought that it is about time that I shared some of my experiences at the race in Kona–so here you are–the official Kona recap!

I really have to say thanks to Gary T. For helping us out the last week before the race- we stayed at his place and had a very quiet and ideal race prep.

On the day of the race, I felt like I could give it all, but the nervousness was overwhelming. I wasn’t sure where to position myself for the start but I figured I should be fast enough to make it to the front right away, so I just took it out from the middle. Swimming out I was in the first pack but didn’t follow the first 4 guys- and looking back it was smart not to follow them. I stayed with Faris and Luke McKenzie, exiting first out of the big pack.

T1 was a long run and I stuffed all kind of things in my custom made race top. The group was big and so there was no real rush, but I transitioned pretty quick just to be sure to be in the game. The first hour was pretty fast, (have a look at my SRM files) and after the little loop through town I kept falling back and kept more like 20m then the necessary 10m needed to avoid a draft penalty. I was worried about that rule and the speed was higher than expected. The group seemed to get smaller as the distance unfolded and going up Hawi the number of athletes dropped from 30 to 25, and later down to 20 guys. Going up was ok, luckily the winds weren’t too bad. I was pretty scared since the wind threw me off my bike going down Hawi a week before the race. Once we reached our special needs station I was happy to get my own fuel and continued to stick to my conservative race plan. Just 60k out of T2, the group started to break apart and the pace was not really fast, I decided to stick with the main group. I am pretty sure that this was the right thing to do, at least for the first time out there! Well, we lost 10 minutes on several guys, but I felt ok for the run and so I didn’t worry too much. My goal was to make a safe top 10.

Coming into T2 I had a very quick transition and ran out with half a minute over most of the other guys. The hardest part was to run slow the first 15k. Several guys passed me and probably ran out a bit too fast- I was tempted to follow but ran according to my heart rate and my game plan. After 20k I started to reel in some guys and run back into top 10. Once I was out on the Queen K Highway, I started to feel the heat and the fatigue. Now the mental game was on and we all suffered like dogs out there.

Every aid station became an oasis in the desert and I made sure I got enough intake. After an hour of racing, I lost my salt tablets and I started to worry. I had a back up in my special needs bag but that was at kilometer 29, so if I was to run low that would have been too late. Well, my question is why was the special needs bag not at kilometer 20 like the race book said???

Anyway, I switched from Coke to Coke/Gatorade mix to assure my body got some electrolytes beside all the sugars. Looking back, I really did a great job eating and drinking properly- so I never bonked. I raced hard til the last 2km and faded only a bit, that’s where I lost my 6th spot to turbo passer Timo Bracht. Before that I was running on Henning’s heels with just a minute down.

Once I came back into town I was happy to enjoy the last kilometer on Alii drive. My buddy Gary was out there handing me the Luxembourgish flag and was proudly waving it running down the last 200 meters!

My first race in Hawaii turned out to be a really solid race and my 7th place fullfilled our expectations. Alicia took good care of me after the race and the little 14 year old girl had a good time to push me around in a wheel chair.
Big thanks to the organization and all the volunteers out there- what a great experience for us!

It took about two hours before I was able to walk around on my own. Later on, I even rode back home and chilled out on my bed for the rest of the night. Again: I didn’t make it to the finish line at midnight- one day I will.

Special congrats go out to Andreas Raelert and the King of Kona-Sir Craig Alexander. I can only say chapeaux! Also to Chris Lieto who did very well and I see myself battling on the bike out in front with him sometime soon!

I know I can win this race at some point. Some small errors and a slight different approach next time will make a podium very realistic- so watch out next time!

Apart from the race I was very happy to connect with many great people on and off the race scene. Triathlon is just the greatest sport and has some of the nicest characters out there.

I am open for suggestions for my next trip to Kona- drop me a comment and share your thoughts!

Yours, Dirk