News
Hawaii 2006
Posted October 28, 2006 11:28 AM
We're back from a very eventful 3.5 weeks in Hawaii. Many of the memories are priceless and will be with us forever, others are best forgotten as soon as possible...!
The trip began with a major glitch. Arriving at the airport on Oct 2nd, we were told that our 9am flight to Vancouver had been cancelled. The flight originated in Kelowna and apparently the flight crew was a no-show that morning. We managed to secure the last two seats on the 10am flight to Vancouver but were told that it was highly unlikely that we would be able to make our connecting flight to Hawaii at 11:15am. Having made our flight reservations through a travel agent, rather than over the impersonal internet, we were thankfully able to pass off our problems to her to rectify. The travel agent was able to change our flight from Vancouver (which should have gone directly to Kailua-Kona) to one leaving at 7:30 that evening and to obtain authorization for us to stay at the airport hotel in Honolulu overnight as our flight would arrive at 10:30pm. Rather than flying direct from Vancouver and arriving on the big island of Hawaii on Oct 2 in the evening, we would lose a day after flying to Honolulu on the 2nd and then taking another flight to Kailua-Kona the next day, arriving in the early afternoon. A 17 hour delay.
Finally we were there, on familiar turf. It was great to know our way around the town (pop of 9800 - this figure probably doubles during Ironman week!) We were both so tired from the weeks leading up to the trip and the extended travelling to get there, that the next couple of days were really lazy ones. Sleeping in late (such a rare occurrence in our busy lives to wake up without the alarm clock blaring) and lounging on the shaded lanai for the rest of the day, watching the surf pounding against the lava rocks in front of the condo.
We managed to run, every 2nd or 3rd day. The heat, and especially the humidity, was very draining. I don't know how some of the Ironman athletes arrive only a couple of days before the race and are not totally affected by the heat on race day. It took at least three 10k runs before I felt that I was even starting to acclimatize.
We swam and snorkelled at some different beaches this year and even did a little boogie boarding (very little by me!) Unfortunately Bob had a battle with a wave while boogie boarding and the wave won...He was slammed under the surf and ended up with a sore shoulder for the rest of the trip so that curtailed his swimming activities.
We rented kayaks one afternoon and paddled across a bay to Captain Cook's monument - where he landed in the Hawaiian Islands in the late 1800's and was killed a couple of years later. The snorkelling in the waters by the monument was out of this world. The best we've ever seen - so many different varieties of corral and tropical fish, incredible. We talked with some people who had snorkelled at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and they told us that the snorkelling by the monument was by far superior.
I took part in a 1.2 mile ocean swim race one weekend. The participants had to wait for a lull in the pounding surf before we could enter the water to start the race. 8' waves were crashing onto the shore - it was very scary. Once past the waves though everything was fine except that my goggles were leaking the entire race and the salt water splashing into my eyes was stinging like crazy. Near the end of the race, not being familiar with the course, I ended up "sighting" off what I thought were the two exit buoys on the beach. I ended up swimming quite off course, and being guided back onto it by two separate kayakers. What I thought were the yellow exit buoys were actually two yellow kayaks up on the beach to the far left of the swim exit. Once I got back on course the rest of the swim went fine. I'll know better for next year though!
The next morning was the 6.7 earthquake that hit the Big Island. I have a separate report on the website on that event - an occurrence I hope to never experience again in my lifetime...
The second week we decided to make an overnight trip to the town of Volcano, about 100 miles from Kailua. We found a great bed & breakfast and had our own little cottage in the rain forest. There was even a separate hottub building down a little pathway in the garden. We went to see the Volcano National Park in the early afternoon, came back to the cottage to get changed, and then at 4:30pm headed off to the lava fields to see the active lava flowing into the ocean. This was quite the experience as there were no "paths" to follow. One just headed towards the plumes of steam in the distance. Very uneven footing across the lava rocks and over huge fissures. It took about an hour to get close enough to the active lava properly - we were still about a mile away but it was getting dark and we both agreed that we'd gone far enough. We ventured into a roped off area (one of the unstable "benches" that we had been pre-warned might sheer off at any time and drop into the ocean below!) However, there were 3 other couples there and so we figured that we'd all take the risk. We sat on the edge of the cliff as the final rays of the sunset disappeared. When it was completely dark the crimson lava and steam plumes were so impressive to see. Finally it was time to retrace our steps - in the total dark...Thankfully the B & B owners had provided us with flashlights. It was an extremely challenging hike back as we were alone most of the time with only the occasional flashing beacon on top of the taller lava rocks to aid in navigating back to the parking lot. Most of the time it was pitch black. It took an hour and a half to make it back to the car. We were amazed to see some people preparing to head out to start their hike at that time of the night - it was 8:30pm by that time! We arrived back at the cottage at 9:15pm to find our pre-ordered Thai food waiting for us on the kitchen table. It was the best food imaginable as we were famished. A soak in the hottub before bed rounded out an amazing day.
While staying in Volcano we received an upsetting phone call from our house/dog sitter to tell us that Sacha, our almost 14 year old sheltie, was very ill and that the vet thought she was in renal failure and that the end could be near. After talking to the vet, and agreeing to a course of action, we so relieved to hear two days later that the treatment was working and that Sacha would survive. So hard to deal with something like that long distance, but we were very thankful to have such good care taken of the dogs while we were away.
The next morning we were back at the Volcano National Park ready to hike across the Kilauea Crater which was created in the late 1950's by a huge explosion. It felt like walking on the surface of the moon - totally surreal and different from anything we'd ever experienced before. The crater is absolutely desolate yet is surrounded by lush rain forest. One minute you're walking on ash laden lava and the next you're climbing up towards 8' tall tree ferns... After the 3 hour hike it was time to drive back home to Kona.
After 11 days by ourselves in the condo we were joined by a young couple from New Zealand - Nick and Jess, who we had met in August while in Penticton. We had arranged to have them stay with us, as Jess was competing in the race the following week having qualified at IMCanada by winning her age group (18-24) at her very first IM ever - what an athlete! They were a great pair to have around and we all got along very well.
The next week (race week) was devoted to volunteering - 6 of the next 7 days in fact. The Sunday before the race we attended the volunteer meeting for the registration group. We were shown what was in the athlete registration packages and given instructions on how to present same to the athletes during their "registration interview". We then formed a human "bucket brigade" around the room and prepared 1786 athlete goodie bags - what a huge endeavour! Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Bob and I spent from 8am to 3pm in the registration room. We saw approximately 15 - 20 athletes each, each day. Our side of the registration room was dealing with athletes over the age of 40. A lot of them had done the race multiple times (one fellow I registered had done it 20 times), but there were many who were participating for the first time. They were the most fun to deal with as they hung on every word we had to say, and had lots of interesting and challenging questions. Generally we would spend 10 - 15 minutes with each athlete. My most favourite fellow was a 71 year old German named Walter who was quite a character! His first requirement was that a notation be made on his athlete card that if he died during the race he wanted to be cremated and sent back to his son in Germany. No expensive coffin and final flight on a plane home for him...! He had funny comments to make throughout the entire interview process, and after 45 minutes we were finally finished!
We took Thursday off and had a lazy day, attending a lecture by Paula Newby-Fraser (8 time IMH winner) in the late afternoon. Friday was back to volunteering - this time on the pier helping athletes rack their bikes, drop off their swim to bike and bike to run bags, and giving them an orientation of the race day setup on the pier. The highlight of that experience was being the volunteer who helped Lori Bowden (2 time IMH winner and fellow Victorian) through the process. She was so sweet and funny.
Finally it was race morning. Having volunteered so extensively throughout the week, we had earned the right to be pre-race body markers on the pier around which the entire race revolves. This entailed being down at the pier at 3:45 - that's 3:45 AM....! We set up our station (one of about 50), checked out the equipment (ink pad and number stamps) and prepared for the first athletes coming through at 5am. By 6:30am we were finished and we made our way out onto the pier to sit on the side with our feet dangling 10' above the water. At 6:45am the pro race was underway. 15 minutes later the age group race began. Helicopters hovering overhead filmed the action. The rest of the spectating crowds lined Ali'i Drive on the waterfront - we were incredibly lucky to be behind the scenes on the pier. The first pros swam back in to shore approx 50 minutes later - they swam by mere feet below us in the water.
We then moved over to the swim exit to watch the athletes coming out, running through the fresh water showers and taking their bike to run bags into the change tents. We knew an athlete from Victoria, Val Gonzales, who was competing in the 60-64 age group. The swim was apparently quite difficult for the athletes - quite a strong current to fight against on the return leg. Val exited the water at 2:12 into the swim. The cut-off is 2:20 so we were very concerned that she was not going to make it. Luckily she did and we saw her off onto the bike portion of the race after a brief chat and a hug. The final few swimmers in the water, including Dick & Ricky Hoyt, unfortunately did not make the swim cut-off time. It was a real heartbreak to watch people who had swum for such a long time (in Dick Hoyt's case towing an inflatable boat with his son in it for 2:43) being told that they could not continue and that their race day was over....
By the time we left the pier at 10am it was time to make our way back to the condo for breakfast and a nap! At just after noon we took our lawn chairs outside onto Ali'i Drive to watch the first pros come running by. They were headed onto the first portion of the run which is an out and back, so we were able to see everyone two times. It was drizzling rain at that point in the day which was probably quite cooling for the lead athletes. Out on the bike course the athletes still cycling were being drenched by a heavy rain...
After watching runners for 3 hours we headed back indoors for lunch and another nap (volunteering and spectating is verrry tiring!) At around 6:30pm we went outside again to cheer on the final athletes heading out onto the run course. At that point the skies opened and there was a torrential downpour - we felt so sorry for those athletes in soaking wet runners with almost a full marathon still to complete. We ended up sitting in the covered parking lot of the condo building and running out to the street when we would see someone walking or running by to clap and cheer them on. At about 7:30 or 8pm I saw 76 year old Sister Madonna Buder walking by heading back in towards town. Once in town she would then still have to complete the long highway section of the race out to the Natural Energy Lab and then back into Kailua. Having met Sister Madonna on a number of occasions over the past 3 years, I ran out to her and walked with her for about 10 minutes. She is such a wonderful, positive person but was definitely struggling in the rain. She started running again and I wished her all the best and said that we'd see her at the finish line. I really didn't hold out much hope of her being able to make the cut-off time of midnight as she had 18 or 19 miles of the marathon still to complete.
At around 10:30pm we headed down to the finish line and watched the last few finishers round off their day. We arrived after the rain had stopped and the road was drying out somewhat. Apparently, when the heavy rain came down the finish line area was completely flooded. Children were literally swimming across Ali'i Drive...!
At the finish line the race announcer gave updates on Sister Madonna's location - it seemed impossible that she could cover the final few miles in time. The clock continued its relentless countdown. Finally it was mere minutes before midnight and the latest update had Sister Madonna only blocks from the finish line. At 16:59:03 (less than one minute before the official finish time of midnight) Sister Madonna crossed the line to absolute bedlam from the crowd! A magical moment that will never be forgotten by anyone who was there...
The next night we were fortunate enough to be able to attend the Athlete Awards Banquet and see Sister Madonna rewarded for her efforts - she was the winner of the third annual Determination Award (presented in 2004 to Chris Sadowsky who was hit by a motorcycle 6 miles from the finish of the bike course and carried his bike over his shoulder the rest of the way before heading out to do his marathon, and in 2005 to Sarah Reinertsen who was the first female amputee to complete IMHawaii).
The balance of our time in Hawaii was spent relaxing. We attended the Mahalo (thank you) party for all the volunteers on the Monday evening after the race. We went to it with some new friends, Shell and Keith, a lovely couple from California who were also registration volunteers during race week.
The final day was spent at the beach prior to catching a late afternoon flight to Honolulu. There was the most glorious sunset during the entire 40 minute flight. Then it was a 2 hour wait at the airport until the 8:50pm flight to Vancouver. Amazingly this flight was only about 1/3 full so we were able to grab two centre rows of seats, put the armrests down and after dinner lie out fully and snooze for the balance of the flight. Before we knew it we were arriving in Vancouver at 5:30 in the morning. After a quick connecting flight to Victoria we were home before breakfast!
It was wonderful trip - lots of R & R mixed with sightseeing and race related activities. We'll definitely be heading back again in 2007. In fact, we're contemplating downsizing and buying a smaller house in Victoria and purchasing a rental condo in Kailua-Kona so that we can spend 2 months a year there and 10 months home in Victoria with a view to eventually living 6 months a year in each location. Is it possible? Will it ever happen?? Who knows, but we can definitely dream.....
