Maui - Wowee

On the first morning of my return, I awoke to words drifting away from me. "I married her, and now I can't see her face." Ahhhhhh Maui, you crept so quickly into my dreams. We arrived on Friday but I couldn't enjoy myself until I got the tri out of the way. This was officially my worst race ever - but because it was in Maui, I didn't mind a bit. I'm going to guess it had something to do with over-intake of electrolytes in the week leading up to the race. Overcompensating for the expected heat. By race morning I felt nauseous and couldn't eat, which created a series of problems I had to fight hard to overcome throughout the race. My bike was OK, but the swim & run were so so. Thanks to Todd and Craig for running with me and keeping my spirits up when I felt like yak.

Race photos are here.



By the end of our vacation, it seemed that a month had passed since the race. I left my heart in Pa'ia, a surfer beach town on the North Shore, although Makena has it's charms, as does Makawao. I dream of opening a "raw bar" in Pa'ia - raw food, sashimi, and coconut porter. mmmmmm. I had always wanted to visit Hawai'i and it did not disappoint. I remember warm ocean, palm trees in the breeze, wondering what evolutionary value neon pink and lime green play in the fish world, laughing (always), fresh caught opah, ahi and fruit ceviche, reef shark, outasite ukulele, plate lunch, haupia, African tulips, jade tree leis, and I could go on, but you really ought to visit.


I should share this one bit with you. On our trip through Haiku, we ran across the locally famous surfboard fence. We stopped to take a photo and ended up meeting the artist's mom. She told us about the history of the fence and revealed to us that it will soon appear in the Guiness World Records. They also will launch soon a website for the project, aptly named: surfboardfence.com. I was able to shoot a video clip of this dear woman speaking glowingly of her inspired son. Enjoy - Aloha - and Mahalo to everyone who donated to support my race. I raised nearly $5,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and that's worth feeling like yak for a morning.