Day 0: 10/11/03 Renate's Travel Day and Reminiscing

On Wednesday morning at 7am I dropped Steve off at the airport for his
flight to Kona. This is the first time we traveled separately to an
Ironman. It felt like I was sending him off to camp. Wearing his
Hawaiian shirt, he and Rita (his bike) went on their way. He called me
when he arrived in Kona (10:30 pm my time - a nice short trip). Most
importantly, Rita arrived safe and sound. Lesley, his Ironman mentor,
met him at the airport. She and her husband Rich are letting Steve stay
with them for a few days until I get there.

When we made our first trip to Hawaii in 1997, we had no idea what to
expect. Certainly the tropical island was wonderful; but as his first
full Ironman, it was amazing. I still remember Steve saying that the
run down Alii Drive for the finish was the most amazing experience.
Since that day the goal has been to get back to Hawaii, this time as a
qualifier. Every Ironman has been special; each has had its challenges.
We've planned our vacations around the Ironman schedule ever since. In
the last couple of years, Steve was getting closer to qualifying, but
always there was some glitch - falling off his bike in Lake Placid
('01), so close in New Zealand, getting sick and walking the marathon
in Lake Placid ('02), his wetsuit zipper coming undone at the Wisconsin
swim, the horrendous swimming conditions in Brazil this May. Finally,
this summer, his 3rd Lake Placid Ironman was the charm. In his last
Ironman of his age group, Steve got a slot in the rolldown. So we're
going to the show!

	“	There's something great about Ironman races. I can't believe how many people we've met and then seen again at later races.”
		— Renate Noone

My race day shirt is all set. The "Downingtown Dragon" surrounded by the logos from Steve's first 11 Ironman races: Hawaii '97, Europe '98, Great Floridian '98, Canada '99, Switzerland '00, Lake Placid '01, New Zealand '02, Lake Placid '02, Wisconsin '02, Brazil '03, and the race that qualified us to go to the show, Lake Placid '03. And of course, this race's logo, the 25th Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.

When the alarm went off this morning at 4 a.m., I had trouble
convincing Laramie and Jackson that it was really time to get up. I said aloha to the pups, packed up the car, drove to the airport and was ready to go.
As I got in line at the United counter, I saw 4 bike cases. I'm clearly
not the only one heading to Hawaii. I see Patti Shott in line - she's
going through Denver to Kona. We first met Patty at a tri-geek get
together at Vincent's. She's followed a similar path to Kona. We saw
her again in Germany '98 and Brazil '03, where she qualified for Hawaii. I
don't know if I've ever seen anyone so excited as Patty in Brazil when
she got the slot. (Except maybe Klaus in Brazil or Cathy Taylor in New
Zealand.) We say aloha and I head to my flight for San Francisco.

There's something great about Ironman races. I can't believe how many
people we've met and then seen again at later races. We watched in New
Zealand as one of the Hawaii slots went through an entire age group to
Cathy Taylor from upstate New York. We then got to know Cathy and her
husband Bill when the both of them did Brazil this year. Brazil was
amazing. I already knew I would be doing sherpa duty for Fern and
Craig.

I think by race day I was tracking and photographing 12 athletes. Mike
Malloy, with his special bike ride; Martine, who we saw again with her
husband Bertrand in Lake Placid (she did both races, Bertrand did Lake
Placid). I spent Brazil race day with Sherry (watching Nat in his first
Ironman) and Melanie Fink (who was sherpa for the day for husband Don;
Melanie already qualified for Hawaii). I probably had more pictures of
Don than Steve, who was easy to spot with his beard, ponytail and black
clothes. Don's 3-hour marathon was awesome to watch. When Don told
Steve that he had "untapped Ironman potential", Steve was psyched.
Steve decided to wear black at Lake Placid, since that seemed to work well
for Don. Whatever works. It did. We're in Hawaii!

Day 1
Last night we went out for an early pizza, shopped to stock the
refrigerator (saw Patty at the food store), then I crashed. The condo
we're staying at is really nice. The lanai looks out over the ocean,
with the Ironman orange turnaround buoy a short swim away. It's a shame
Steve will have to start the race 1.2 miles away, instead of straight
out from our shore.

I woke up this morning at 2:48 a.m. Oh well, time zone changes have
this effect on me. Steve got up about 6 a.m. and we headed in to town
for a swim. As soon as we got out of the car, we met up with Patti
Shott, Bill Hauser and other housemates. It is now clear that I will
see Patti everywhere I go. Since there weren't too many athletes in the
water, I decided to go for a swim. As race day gets closer and it gets
more hectic, I won't want to get into the frenzy, but I always wanted
to swim part of the course. What salty water! It reminds me of the warm
salt water my parents made us gargle with when we had sore throats. I
try not to swallow too much. The water was a little cloudy, but I could
still see various yellow and blue fishies swimming around. Yes, I'm in
Hawaii. I swam out a few buoys, then headed back in.

After the swim, we went for coffee, where of course Patti and friends
showed up as well. Karma. Then we headed back to the condo, where
after watching the Cubs lose, I hung out at the pool for a bit. We had a nice
dinner at the Kona Brewery with Lesley and Rich, then back home and to
bed. It generally takes me a few days to catch up with jet lag.

Day 2
I'm glad I got my swim in yesterday. The beach was packed this morning
and I wouldn't want to get trampled. Steve drove in to town; I walked
in the 1.5 miles as this would count as my exercise for the day. Steve and
Lesley went swimming for about an hour. I took some pictures, then
started checking out souvenir shops. Then breakfast, registration, ad
Ironman shopping. We tell each other it's a special year; Steve's first
time in Hawaii as a qualifier as well as being the 25th Ironman. Yes,
shopping, we need one of everything, and two of some things. We saw
Klaus from Germany, who qualified in Brazil. He and his wife appear to
have the same shopping mantra that we do. And of course, we saw Patti a
few times today as well.

Day 3
I did something unusual for me at Ironman today. I left Steve on his
own and played tourist. I signed up for a "Circle the Island" tour, which I
knew Steve would have no interest in. First stop: Royal Kona Coffee.
Taste test, shop, back on the bus. Second stop "Pu' uhanue a Honaunau"
-
Place of Refuge. Right along the shore, it is the only remaining refuge
and temple. According to Dean, our tour guide, if people committed a
"kapu" or crime punishable by death, they could try to swim to the
place of refuge and be spared. Kapu crimes included men and women eating
together, women eating bananas (yes, this is true!) and other nasty
crimes.

We then drove around the south of Hawaii and up to Volcano National
Park. The lava fields and legends of Pele (the fire /volcano goddess)
were interesting. We see the pile of lava rocks that tourists have
returned to the goddess after incurring bad luck for taking them away.
Onward to the Black Sands beach, where we see sea turtles in the water
and hanging out on the beach. Next stops orchid gardens, chocolate
factory, Rainbow falls, a drive through the rain forest. Then we head
north, turn left (west), cross through ranch country (where the largest
ranch is about 200,000 acres) and arrive back on the west coast in time
for the sunset.

Steve and I met up with Lesley & Rich, Vincent & Jody for a nice dinner
at the Beachcomber on the ocean, then call it a night. I've gotten the
"tourist" bug out of my system and can focus on the Ironman again.