May 19, 2006 (Final Honolulu Triathlon update!)

It is over! I made it!

Well, guys, I'm back in the OC, not yet fully recovered physically, but no pneumonia in sight, (knock on wood).

Hawaii was beautiful. Wish I were still there. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. God was really smiling down on us last weekend. Clear skies, temps in the 80s, slight winds...wonderful!

Got there on Thursday, had a chance to get in the water and run the course a couple of times.... The rest of the team came on Friday and that afternoon we built the bikes and prepped them for the race. I almost felt like I had more time for this event in Honolulu, to prepare physically and mentally...and I felt like I didn't have as many time constraints as last year's event in Maui. But, we had only 6 of us in the Honolulu race this year, and last year there were probably 30 or 40 of us. Less people to coordinate, easy to get workouts in together...

Race day started at 3am when my alarm went off...got to the race site at 4:45 am and the first wave of athletes went at 5:45am. My wave went at 6:20am. This was especially exciting for me to be a part of the Honolulu Triathlon, because this event was an ITU (International Triathlon Union...the governing body of the sport of triathlon) event, meaning this is one of those events that the elite athletes race in for points and those with the most points at the end of the season after all these ITU events are over, win some kind of award and if I'm not mistaken there's some kind of link between point totals from ITU events, and the Olympics. Very prestigious...very very cool. The elite wave of athletes is announced at the start of the race, and they were out there fully dressed in that Olympic outfit you see, with their last name written on the back. They even had a complete medals ceremony, similar to what you'd see at the Olympics, (complete with national anthem....seriously) at the end, for the elite athletes. Me, I got a medal for finishing. I'm happy. It feels heavy. And it's pretty. I'm proud. =0)

The course was fantastic. I started out pretty strong. The swim was an out and back course, one 1500m loop in Ala Moana Beach Park. The race director said the swim course was one of the best he'd ever seen as far as conditions and style. The run to transition was mostly carpeted, and some pavement, so not bad...got on the bike and found the bike course to be fairly flat. A few gradual inclines, but nothing like Maui, with those "you-can't-be-serious-I'm-so-not-going-up-that" hills. Thought I was doing pretty well until it came to the run, and I found right at mile 1 that my energy was just ZAPPED. Then I come to find there's NO GATORADE at any of the aid stations except for one, right at the END OF THE RUN! If you've ever done something like this you know that water just doesn't cut it...and it's definitely no substitute for Gatorade. I should have brought mine along with me, but they promised to have it at every aid station so I thought, why bring it? Just extra things to carry, right? Nope, wrong. I seriously contemplated begging a spectator to go buy me a Gatorade at the convenience store. Plus, right as I started the run, the sun came out. It was a bit overcast and slightly sprinkling when I started the bike, so I thought, great, cool weather, this should be OK for me...nope, the sun started beating down on that run and by about mile 3, I was ready to keel over. But somehow, my mental self took over and I found myself across that finish line in 2 hours and 46 minutes, which is a full 45 minutes faster than Maui's time last year. OK, so I did trade in my mountain bike for a road bike, rode a bike course without as many hills as last year, and swam a course that wasn't mismarked longer than it should have been (which happened last year in Maui) and it was about 10 degrees cooler this year, but why think about all of that? =0). At least I made it!

In fact, all 6 of us made it in 4 hours or less. Three of us did the Maui event together last year, so we were really excited to be doing this event together again. After the race, I had the chance to sit and enjoy time with family and friends who had been positioned along the course to cheer me on. I tell you, there's nothing like seeing a friendly, loving face along the course, especially when you feel like you are ready to give up. I was SO happy that Landon was right at the finish line. I could see him as I was approaching...I'm thinking to myself, why can't he get out here and push me towards that finish line? Ha!

Overall, it's been a really fun, exciting season, and it has given me just as many memories to take with me as Maui did last year. Thought about taking a break again from triathlon, but I somehow got talked into doing a half-Ironman next season...don't know how that happened...One day I hope to complete an Ironman triathlon, so why not try the half-Ironman, right? That's what my coaches said. Yeah sure. Right. I could barely make that run in the Olympic Distance. A half Ironman = 1.3 mile swim / 56 mile bike / 13.1 mile run....think I can do it? Stay tuned....

On behalf of all of us in Team in Training's Spring 2006 Orange County Inland Empire triathlon crew, and all of our honored heroes and their families, MAHALO for helping save lives....and for helping me get across that finish line!

-Miko Yoshida

May 13, 2006 (otherwise known as the day before race day!!!)

We are here! Made it safely to Honolulu and now just counting down the hours until the race starts. Got here Thursday, 5/11, and settled in with the in-laws, and have already had the chance to swim the course twice and do a portion of the run course. I didn't realize what a huge event this is, until we were out at the race site yesterday and saw what an elaborate set-up there will be. Yesterday, 5/12, the rest of the team arrived and we went to our race check-in and race briefing. During the race briefing, which was half in Japanese and half in English, we learned that this is an international event for the ITU (International Triathlon Union) which means the elite athletes are competing not only for the prize money (a couple thousand I think) but for points towards an overall score. And I believe the person with the highest points total is the annual ITU winner....apparently a very big deal. They're even going to have a complete medals ceremony, similar to what you'd see in the Olympics, with banners from the winners' countries being raised and respective national anthems to be played....for both men and women. Now, talk about exciting!

I must say also, that compared to last year's race in Maui, the weather is quite nice. It was stifling hot last June, such that I didn't even want to go outside at all, but here it's nice. Probably low to mid 80s with some winds and some occasional sprinkles. It's so weird how in Hawaii it totally sprinkles when the sky is clear blue. Then it only lasts for a few seconds....then back to normal.

The bike made it to Hawaii in one piece, thank goodness. I put it back together yesterday and made a few tweaks, and I think we're good to go. Tested it out this morning on some local neighborhood roads and it was riding pretty well. The bike course for this race appears to be flatter than Maui last year which is great...hills are always tough, especially when you have to run after you finish the hills on the bike. The bike is my weakest event and the one I'm always a little hesitant about (having crashed a couple of times during training...never fun) but I will stay positive and hope for good outcomes.

They start the athletes off in "waves" according to your age. My "wave" goes off at 6:09 am! Yikes! But, that means that if I calculated my time right, I should be finished before 9:30am, meaning it won't be as hot at that time, meaning I might not want to die at the finish line like I did last year. I can't get sick, though, because many of my family and friends have sacrificed their early morning hours to come cheer me on. =0). Overall I'm definitely not as nervous as last year, but there's still some butterflies in the stomach. I admit it. Mostly, I just don't want myself or anyone else hurt out on the course, and I don't want to end up with pneumonia like last year. But, God has brought me here safely, we did this to save lives, and I know it will be such a blast, and I know I can't wait to cross that finish line!

So, keep us all in your prayers...and GO TEAM!

-e.m.y
OCIE TEAM IN TRAINING TRI TEAM 2006

May 1, 2006

It is May already!!!!!!!

Yikes! Where did the time go? My race is in 13 days and I am definitely not as nervous as I was last year. At least I know what to expect this time around, and at the very least, I will be in Hawaii!!!

Life has been crazy lately, as we count down to race day, but I'm still going strong. We're in the taper portion of training, meaning we finally get to back down from all the tough workouts we've been doing. YAY! It feels weird to not be working out as much, but for sure, it's a real important part of training. We had our BBQ party last weekend to wish our Wildflower athletes well as they compete this weekend in their event. About 1/3 of our team is heading to that event. Only 6 of us are going to Honolulu with our 3 coaches, and the rest of the team is going to the event I did last year. Wish I could do Maui again, but I think it will be great to try a new event and have family/friends there at the finish line to cheer for me.

After I get back from Honolulu, I get a few more days to rest at home, and I do plan to indulge before hitting the trails again to get ready for my first half-marathon. Memorial Day, 5/28/06, is the event, and I'm really excited. I've worked hard to get my long run up to 12 miles, and I just hope I can cross the finish line. It was tough because I was doing a separate training schedule on my own in addition to the triathlon training, so race day will be the test to see how well I did. And, I'm pretty sure I will be joining Team in Training next season to compete in my first half-Ironman event, of which the run portion is a half-marathon, so I guess this is good preparation for me. I'm a little intimidated about doing that long an event, (1.5 mile swim / 56 mile bike / 13.1 mile run) but it's all to save lives. It's about them, not about me. =0).

So, wish me luck and keep all of us in your prayers on Sunday 5/14/06 as we race to save lives!!!!

Adios!
-e.m.y