HAWAII STATE 40K TIME TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
KONA, HAWAII
Kawaihae to Hawi (Ironman Course)
"You got great days, sometimes you don't"
Just got back from the 2009 Hawaii State 40k Championships on the Big Island of Hawaii. This year only a handful of cyclists from Honolulu made the trip. Mike Zagorski, Tony Lang, Dev Andrews, Ray Brust, myself and a few others. The course started 2 miles north of Kawaihae Harbor and headed north to Hawi. This is part of the Ironman course and a stair step climb into Hawi. Last time I rode this course was when I competed at Ironman in 1996. The race started at 0730 and only 4 riders had a disc. I kind of doubted myself about the setup I had but it was already race day. I had purchased a new adjustable stem and slammed it as far down as possible. My back was past flat and was aero as can be. I even preached in the past that comfort is more important then being aero.
I headed out on the course passing about 4 riders in the first 10 miles or so. At this point I was feeling okay but power felt low. If you never been on route 270, it's not flat as most people think. I hit the turn around and my back starts to tighten up from being way low. I head back to Kawaihae and at this point screaming at 40+mph! But as we hit the hills again, I feel that the disc loses quite a bit of momentum. Now at this point by back isn't cooperating, auuugh! Right lower section starts to cramp every time I get in aerobars.
Only 3 miles from the finish and race starts to go south for me. Luis Dela Torres (former pro triathlete, 4 mins back passes me). Then about a minute later, my buddy Dev passes me but offers some sort of encouragement. I smiled and watched him disappear over the hill. At this point I had lost so much time that I just wanted this race to end. I see the finish line and cross over with a time of 1 hour 6 mins. which is the slowest 40k time I have done in 15 years! I was bit disappointed but after I settled down I realized that I should be thankful and grateful to be healthy enough to compete. I started thinking about less fortunate ones like my buddy Lance Abernethy who is recovering from Cancer. Or the the tough times I faced during some of my Ironman races, and boy did I suffer! So now it's time to re-configure my set up and maybe go back to early season configuration. Dust of the knees and get ready for the next one. When you have bad days... Watch this video
Only a few went under an hour, Tony lang rode a 57:00 and Ray Brust rode a 59:00. Mike Zagorski rolled with a 56:00 for second overall and Penn Henderson had won the event. Thanks to Dev for coming over to race with me. He did really well finishing 4th in our category just missing a Hawaii State Bronze by thousandths of a second! Way to go bud! Also thanks to the Soot's Family for babysitting Maya! The kids sure looked like they had a great time! Now its time to start training for the Big Island Stage Race in June. Mike Z passed info that the Maui Stage Race is CX'd at the end of this month.
KONA, HAWAII
Kawaihae to Hawi (Ironman Course)
"You got great days, sometimes you don't"Just got back from the 2009 Hawaii State 40k Championships on the Big Island of Hawaii. This year only a handful of cyclists from Honolulu made the trip. Mike Zagorski, Tony Lang, Dev Andrews, Ray Brust, myself and a few others. The course started 2 miles north of Kawaihae Harbor and headed north to Hawi. This is part of the Ironman course and a stair step climb into Hawi. Last time I rode this course was when I competed at Ironman in 1996. The race started at 0730 and only 4 riders had a disc. I kind of doubted myself about the setup I had but it was already race day. I had purchased a new adjustable stem and slammed it as far down as possible. My back was past flat and was aero as can be. I even preached in the past that comfort is more important then being aero.
I headed out on the course passing about 4 riders in the first 10 miles or so. At this point I was feeling okay but power felt low. If you never been on route 270, it's not flat as most people think. I hit the turn around and my back starts to tighten up from being way low. I head back to Kawaihae and at this point screaming at 40+mph! But as we hit the hills again, I feel that the disc loses quite a bit of momentum. Now at this point by back isn't cooperating, auuugh! Right lower section starts to cramp every time I get in aerobars.
Only 3 miles from the finish and race starts to go south for me. Luis Dela Torres (former pro triathlete, 4 mins back passes me). Then about a minute later, my buddy Dev passes me but offers some sort of encouragement. I smiled and watched him disappear over the hill. At this point I had lost so much time that I just wanted this race to end. I see the finish line and cross over with a time of 1 hour 6 mins. which is the slowest 40k time I have done in 15 years! I was bit disappointed but after I settled down I realized that I should be thankful and grateful to be healthy enough to compete. I started thinking about less fortunate ones like my buddy Lance Abernethy who is recovering from Cancer. Or the the tough times I faced during some of my Ironman races, and boy did I suffer! So now it's time to re-configure my set up and maybe go back to early season configuration. Dust of the knees and get ready for the next one. When you have bad days... Watch this video
Only a few went under an hour, Tony lang rode a 57:00 and Ray Brust rode a 59:00. Mike Zagorski rolled with a 56:00 for second overall and Penn Henderson had won the event. Thanks to Dev for coming over to race with me. He did really well finishing 4th in our category just missing a Hawaii State Bronze by thousandths of a second! Way to go bud! Also thanks to the Soot's Family for babysitting Maya! The kids sure looked like they had a great time! Now its time to start training for the Big Island Stage Race in June. Mike Z passed info that the Maui Stage Race is CX'd at the end of this month.
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