Three times a charm. Deep breath. Pleasantly surprised that among the hits to the blog were a handful of people looking to read about the Duke Kahanamoku Ocean Mile. They probably hit on the last two years’ entries. Here is the entry for 2013.
Beach starts are my husband’s favorite to photograph. The bodies, the swimsuits, the waves, the sand, the sky, the clouds, Hawaii. It is truly beautiful. Swimmers in all shapes and sizes and ages come out for these open-ocean swims to test their mettle against each other and against themselves. I’d like to report that I improved on last year’s time, but I didn’t by nearly two minutes, which I think I lost when I had to dodge here and there to get around the thrashing arms and legs in the bottlenecks at the start and around the buoys. My time was 00:38:03, and I’m actually quite pleased with that. I came in 26th in my age group of 50-59, of 35 women. This should tell you how kick-ass women over 50 are. OMG. Competitive much?
I am certainly in better shape than last year for having trained in the spring for the Ironman 70.3 that occurred in early June. I continued my training with TryFitness for the Hawaii Tinman, I now train with my masters team at The Oahu Club, and I’m also getting coached by Rachel Ross through Runspo. I’m now back on an aquajog regimen to get that plantar fasciitis healed once and for all. That’s on the left foot. My right knee is a pain in the ass and it keeps me from having a good night’s sleep. Cortisone and SynVisc-One injections alternate throughout the year. Might be time to see Dr. Chun at the Kaiser sports clinic pretty soon. I was going to do the Marathon Readiness Series, but it’s time to respect the healing process. Next up? Waikiki Roughwater Swim and the Na Wahine Festival. I’m doing the Swim and Spin event because those are the things I love the most. Swim, bike, SUP, fun.
Did I say SUP? Last week when the winds were scarce and Maunalua Bay was glassy, I took out my million-pound SUP three times and got back into the groove. Wobbled a bit at first, but it wasn’t a disaster. Enjoyed it even. Maybe I will dust off the surfboard one of these days.
Gaining traction with my freelance writing assignments. My life is changing. You’ll probably want a garden update soon. And we have Comet’s ashes in a beautiful koa box. There’s a lot to appreciate.
Photos by John Bender.
Lavagal 