Kona Day 3 - A Little Bit of Everything

Alright kids, I'm going to be upfront with this and let you know I am writing this while my BAC is above  0.8, because of this you will need to check my Facebook as I don't not have the motor skills to upload pictures onto this blog right now, and some pictures of above the PG rating. Day 3....

This morning started with the traditional running of the "Underpants Run". For those that do not know the story behind this tradition it is very simple. Many years ago as triathletes started to flock to the island the American athletes noticed the Euros were wearing their speedos everywhere. The joking started and 3 Americans decided to give a tribute, or something of the sort and do an underpants run to make light of the europeans that wore their speedos everywhere. Funny how the Euro's embrace this traditional run these days. The run has grown from 3 to well over 1,000+ today. Even better it is now a charity run that many people get behind. Everyone runs in their underpants which has evolved into clever use of underpants and the triathletes version of "halloween". You can see pictures from this years addition here to get an idea of what it is all about.

Soon after the run we needed to cool off and JB and myself headed out to the pier for a swim. Holy freakin' awesome marine life! Despite the crazy high salt content of the ocean the marine life was absolutely fantastic. I have no clue as to how everyone swims this race so competitively when you have fish and turtles below you just straight chillin' in the water. We made it about 1k out before we decided to turn around. Unfortunately we swam too late for the espresso boat which means another swim in the bay tomorrow morning bright and early, rough I know!

Our morning turned into an afternoon with a well timed breakfast/lunch followed up with an impromptu podcast session with a fellow podcaster and well seasoned veteran who showed Lindsey and I how to appropriately podcast. Maybe someday "In the BIG Ring" will reach the levels of a true podcast. I'll post the link when we get it.

We ended up spending about 2 hours in the expo after a planned quick stop. Of course we picked up some good swag, along with tickets to the Zoot VIP post-race party, and various other various awesome stuff. We had a visit from an friend while at the Zoot tent (see Facebook) that was a great moment to have. We also had our first Thomas Gerlach sighting of the week and he is looking quite excited for Saturday. Quickly all of our energy levels dropped and it was time to get out of the sun.

For the most part of the rest of the day it was kept low key. With out long travel day, furious day of activity Wednesday, and with 2 athletes in the house racing Saturday, rest was on the agenda. Most of us spent some times getting our bikes ready for Saturday. Yes, I had to tame my beast and set that bad boy up to get ready to rip up the Queen K for the marathon, i.e. I made some aerodynamic changes with some "engineered speed". Ben got his Shiv dialed in and Carrie's Cervelo was given some final artistic touches. It's really great to be around some athlete's who are laying real low and relaxed before the big day.

Dinner for the most part we split off. Ben, JB, Tyler, and myself did an evening swim at the KAC and then took home pizza from the Kona Brewery (if you ever come to Kona, they have great pizza). And of course our conversation was shifted to all things Saturday, WTC, and Kona. Alex came back from dinner with the ladies drinking out of a grapefruit and I knew exactly where the night was going.

Evening was concluded with a trip to the WattieInk party down on Ali'i Drive. Quick summary as I am about to pass out here. Another successful "dance party" for our friends back home (Porn, Brady) with Wattie himself and Heather Jackson, Jesse Thomas is all around awesome, smart, funny guy. I still have no idea how to dance, zero Kona athlete sightings, and a round of prairie fire shots were taken with none other then Bryan Rhodes and Macca. I heard all the stories of Rhosey's legendary post Ironman parties, and he seems to be in fine form for Kona, while Macca as he put it bluntly "....the benefits of not racing this year, cheers!" as he gave me a shot and told me to drink up. Then Macca schooled Alex on how to do a tequila shot and that was our signal to go home.

Night all.