IM Kona '16: Day 9

Starting a Kona blog with little to no clothes on can only mean one thing.....

It's Thursday of race week!

Which means it's time for the 2016 Ironman Underpants Run!!

While this Kona spectacle has turned into a looked-forward-to event among, well, everyone on the island, there is actually a story behind the Kona Underpants Run. 

My day started early as I biked to the Clif Bar base house at 5:50 to arrive by 6:10am to lead the Clif Bar media group (and my contact Lisa from Clif Bar) for a 4 mile from to town. The miles went by fast and before we knew it, we were in town just in time for me to take off some clothes to join my Trimarni teammies. 

The walk to the official start of the undie run (behind the King K hotel) is filled with laughs as the streets are filled with lots of well designed (and some, not so much) underwear "costumes". 

Even the doggies came out to participate. 

The UPR (underpants run) is a mix of enjoying running around with little clothes on, taking pictures and checking out what other athletes are (not) wearing. 

The actual "run" is about 1.5 miles (if that) and is a mix of jogging, walking and running. 

And a lot of picture taking. 

Trimarni athlete Justine designed our Splish Trimarni suits (which I absolutely love) and Karel ordered his jean-inspired speedo from Shinesty. 

Ali'i drive has never looked so good. 

Thank you Justine's hubby Eric for these great pics!

After the run, it was time to cool off in the ocean for a swim to the coffee boat. The media girls (and a few others) from Clif Bar wanted to experience the fun of swimming to the Clif Bar coffee boat so I lead the group out to the boat (about 500 yards out). I was really proud of a few of the girls who had never swam in open water before!

While I just love swimming, this swim was extra special as we not only saw dolphins but the dolphins put on a show for us with lots of twists and flips. It was totally unreal and so hard to describe but it will go down as one of my top moments in life that I never want to forget. Thank you dolphins!

And if swimming with dolphins wasn't enough, I received some puppy kisses in the ocean. 

I love swimming but it's even better when you can get a little love from a furry friend. Thanks A.J. for making my day!

After the run/swim, it was finally time to head back to the Clif Bar base camp house for breakfast. 

Talk about a delish breakfast!

But then again, I'm not surprised at the goodness of our breakfast meal as Clif Bar takes pride in real, locally sourced, food.


These Acai bowls were amazing!

After breakfast, we were introduced to a few new Clif Bar products (coming out in 2017 - stay tuned!) and then I gave a nutrition talk at the Base Camp house regarding the diets of Ironman athletes, how Ironman athletes fuel before, during and after the race (and training) and a few tricks/tips of Ironman athletes. The media girls asked some great questions. 

Around 12:30pm, it was time for me to bike back to my condo to get a few things done before heading off at 3:30pm (on our bikes) to the PPF house for a pre-race talk by Matt Dixon. 

Matt gives the best pre-race talks, always filled with great advice. 

After the meeting, Karel and I biked down the hill to the Clif Bar base camp house for a lovely dinner with the Clif Bar family (including Gary Erickson and his wife Kit - the creator of Clif Bar)

Karel only stayed for a short time before heading back to our condo (on his bike) to attend the athlete banquet with Trimarni athlete Leigh Ann. Karel also stayed for the 8pm mandatory athlete briefing. 

When I finally returned home from a full day of activities around 8:30pm, I had a chance to unload my box and bag of goodies from Clif Bar, including a lot of items from ROKA, Under Armour, Hoka, Zoot and Garmin.

Thank you Clif Bar for being more than a company that makes "products".

You make great tasting food, made with organic ingredients, to fuel active lifestyles.

You care about the planet.
You care about people.
You care about farmers.
You care about food.
You care about athletes.

My 5th IM Kona, as a first time non-participating athlete, has been a special one thanks to being here with my Clif Bar family. 

IM Kona '15: Day 9

Thursday morning in Kona - that only means one thing.

Put on your best "undie" outfit (aka as little clothes as possible) and run 1.5 miles on Ali'i drive for charity).

The Underpants run (UPR Kona) serves as a great ice breaker for athletes who are racing but also for friends, family, kids and locals to have some fun before the race. 

I shared a few videos on my Trimarni facebook page if you want to see all the fun (and almost naked bodies of all beautiful shapes and sizes)

There were so many people that we filled up the parking lot behind the King K hotel!

I told ya - all shapes and sizes.
Be proud of your body and don't be afraid to show it off!

Love Jesse Thomas! One amazing athlete who writes awesome/funny/oh-so-true articles for Triathlete magazine. 

Bumped into Instagram friend Carolyn who is a plant-strong dietitian and athlete. She liked my custom-made triathlon "Fueled by Plants" shorts from Funnyshirts.org.

Oh Karel :) A little too comfortable walking around in his underwear. 

The undie run isn't just for humans. 

After the undie run (which started at 7:30am), Karel and I went back to our condo to quickly change before our 2-hour private session with Paul Buick (Purple Patch Fitness cycling expert).

Paul offers so much experience with cycling but also with a great understanding of how to ride on the IM Kona bike course with the rolling hills and strong winds. 

Now you may think "why doesn't she just listen to her husband Karel who is a bike expert?"...

Well, we can all learn something new and it's not always about how much experience someone has but also how someone explains the information. 

This was a valuable lesson for both Karel and I as I took away so many new skills and tips to help me on Saturday but also for the future. 

I've constantly been telling myself that the IM Kona course is not "my type of course" because of the gusty winds that make me feel uncomfortable and tense as well as the layout of the course. But Paul gave me the confidence (and skills) that I need to feel as if I can ride smart and strong for 112 miles in Kona.

The great thing about the IM bike course is not knowing what the weather will be like which makes for a day of not chasing power or time goals but instead, being smart with execution, tactics and being patient (aka not racing with an ego). 

Thank you Paul for the great session!
I'm finally looking forward to race day - especially the bike!

Because we were attending the athlete opening ceremony in the evening, I had my ritual pizza dinner (two nights before an Ironman) for lunch - it was a late lunch around 2:30pm since my breakfast was around 11am (pre-workout snack before the undie run/session with Paul) but it was still delicious and totally hit the spot. Pizza is my comfort food and I always feel good when I eat it and after.
This was a frozen Digiorno pizza with spinach and mushrooms. 

This week seems like it is rushing by but we are still making sure to stay inside and off our feet as much as possible and resting as much as we can.

After running an errand to the grocery store for more food/water, we drove a few miles up the road to the Purple Patch Fitness house for a team pre-race course talk.

Matt gave an exceptional pre-race talk which not only calmed our pre-race nerves/anxieties/jitters but also talked about how to race a great race. 

I took a few notes:
-Be task oriented, not outcome driven. The moment you start to do mathmatics on the course (figuring out what you need to hold to finish in x-time or that you won't meet your time goal), you are done. Focus on what you can control and erase time goals. Time goals get you out of bed when you are training but on race day, you want to get to point A to point B as quick as possible. 

-You will get into very dark places on this course, on race day. Only you can get yourself to the finish line. Don't give up. Break down the course so your only goals are to get to the next destination.
-You love to train and you love to race. This is nothing more than a long training day. Manage your resources - never miss a feeding or hydration station.
-Never give in. Maximize YOUR day.
-Focus only on what you can control and look only after yourself. 

After our 4:30-5:30pm meeting with Matt, it was time to head to the welcome ceremony behind the King K hotel. 

The finish line area is now closed to traffic as the transition area and finish line chute is beginning to come together. 

It's truly amazing how this town transforms from a touristy island to the home of the Ironman World Championship. 

The finish line chute minus the carpet, barricades and cheering fans!

The finish line doesn't look too fancy but it will be amazing on Saturday!!

Time to eat! Lots of Vegetarian Marni-friendly options. 

You can check out my Trimarni Facebook page  for some videos from the evening. 

It is quite the performance/show at the Ironman World Championship - certainly not the "normal" Ironman opening ceremony. 

So many people!

So happy to share the evening with Trimarni nutrition athlete turned coaching athlete Kristin (qualified at Boulder) who is racing her first Ironman World Championship on Saturday. 

And finally....the waiting is over.
Just one more full day until race day.

It's such an honor to have this number on my bike and be one of the 20% of females who will be racing in the 2015 Ironman World Championship.