History
Crazy Cove swim is a funky Dolphin Club tradition in honor of long time member, Dick Beeler. He was an adorable member of Nooners gang, a group of tough guys and a pretty lady, that swam the cove at noon for decades. Dick once got out of a routine cove swim at Dolphin beach, sat down on a wooden deck chair, said "uh oh!" and dropped dead. Heart attack, they presumed.
Course
The course is kept top secret until 15 minutes before swim. Today's course turned out to be a tribute to tax season. We were split up into teams of 3 and given fake bills. We had to swim a relay course around aquatic park and pass all our money to team leader. Team leader would then swim out to the beach, exchange the bills for pennies from a tax collector ("because that is what IRS does"), and swim back to the club. The team that finished last was declared winner for their smartness in delaying rendevouz with Taxman.
Bubbles' Performance
i successfully located my relay teammate, handed him my hard earned moolah, fought a strong ebb and swam back to the club. Our team placed somewhere in the middle. Nobody noted anyone's individual finish times, people got busy eating donuts.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Lavaman in Kona
Aloha!
Neither Jon nor I have been to Kona, so we didn't know what to expect. We landed a day before the race, with a heat wave of over 90 degrees welcoming us, we rushed to the shop to get our bikes set up, barely made it to the expo to collect our registration packet and attend the race meeting. We had planned to go to the race site to check out the transition and swim area, but it was dark outside by the time the meeting ended. We figured we'll get there early the next day to sort it all out.
Jon had been very nervous all week leading up to the race, as this would be his first open water swim - ever. He had been practicing in the pool by himself, from learning how to put his head in the water to religiously swimming 1500 yards 4x/week for the last 3 months. This would be a key milestone for him.
Race Day
Started pretty uneventful - we ate, rode our bikes to the transition area, set up our areas, bodymarked and saw the beach where the open water start was going to be.
Swim
The water temperature was in the high 70s, very comfortable, so wetsuits were not allowed. Jon wore his and was told he would not be eligible for any awards. The swim course was kinda funky - 2 out and backs loops. The wave starts were as follows: Pros/Relays, Men, Women - 5 min apart. At 7am, the water was calm. However, it was a different story after the swim had started. Because of the funky loops, I had a couple times knocked my head/got punched by swimmers coming from the other direction. Other than that, the ocean was beautiful. I saw coral, fish and even a giant turtle from under me. Beats swimming in the pool anytime.
** See the swimmer with the "216" pinned on her back? That's me. And Jon was next to me with the wetsuit.
Bike
Getting out of the swim, I saw Jon in transition. YAY, he finished! He finished the mile swim in 40 min and myself in approx 35-38 min (the race folks lost my chip so I don't have an official time). Hopping on my bike and out to the Queen K highway, I was excited to be ridding on the famous Ironman course. By then, the wind had already kicked up, facing constant headwinds made riding all the more challenging. Throughout the course there was heat, lava rocks and more heat. Jon and I finished the 25 mile bike 3 min apart - he in 1:17hr and I 1:20hr.
Run
Now comes the hard part - the heat got up to over 90s and it was unbearable. There were hardly any shade and the sun mercilessly beats down on us. Yeah, it was that bad. Part of the course past through the Hilton resort so we ran by tourists on their beach chairs sipping Mai Tais. It was brutal. We also had to run on lava rocks and lime rocks. Very interesting. The finish, in all Hawaii style, was on the beach. Jon finished the run in a blazing 46 min and myself in 60 min.
Total Time: Jon - 3:06hr, Star - 3:10hr.
All in all, we had a awesome time! The people, the volunteers put on an excellent and well organized event. What more can we ask for?
For more information, go to: http://www.lavamantriathlon.com/
Neither Jon nor I have been to Kona, so we didn't know what to expect. We landed a day before the race, with a heat wave of over 90 degrees welcoming us, we rushed to the shop to get our bikes set up, barely made it to the expo to collect our registration packet and attend the race meeting. We had planned to go to the race site to check out the transition and swim area, but it was dark outside by the time the meeting ended. We figured we'll get there early the next day to sort it all out.
Jon had been very nervous all week leading up to the race, as this would be his first open water swim - ever. He had been practicing in the pool by himself, from learning how to put his head in the water to religiously swimming 1500 yards 4x/week for the last 3 months. This would be a key milestone for him.
Race Day
Started pretty uneventful - we ate, rode our bikes to the transition area, set up our areas, bodymarked and saw the beach where the open water start was going to be.
Swim
The water temperature was in the high 70s, very comfortable, so wetsuits were not allowed. Jon wore his and was told he would not be eligible for any awards. The swim course was kinda funky - 2 out and backs loops. The wave starts were as follows: Pros/Relays, Men, Women - 5 min apart. At 7am, the water was calm. However, it was a different story after the swim had started. Because of the funky loops, I had a couple times knocked my head/got punched by swimmers coming from the other direction. Other than that, the ocean was beautiful. I saw coral, fish and even a giant turtle from under me. Beats swimming in the pool anytime.
** See the swimmer with the "216" pinned on her back? That's me. And Jon was next to me with the wetsuit.
Bike
Getting out of the swim, I saw Jon in transition. YAY, he finished! He finished the mile swim in 40 min and myself in approx 35-38 min (the race folks lost my chip so I don't have an official time). Hopping on my bike and out to the Queen K highway, I was excited to be ridding on the famous Ironman course. By then, the wind had already kicked up, facing constant headwinds made riding all the more challenging. Throughout the course there was heat, lava rocks and more heat. Jon and I finished the 25 mile bike 3 min apart - he in 1:17hr and I 1:20hr.
Run
Now comes the hard part - the heat got up to over 90s and it was unbearable. There were hardly any shade and the sun mercilessly beats down on us. Yeah, it was that bad. Part of the course past through the Hilton resort so we ran by tourists on their beach chairs sipping Mai Tais. It was brutal. We also had to run on lava rocks and lime rocks. Very interesting. The finish, in all Hawaii style, was on the beach. Jon finished the run in a blazing 46 min and myself in 60 min.
Total Time: Jon - 3:06hr, Star - 3:10hr.
All in all, we had a awesome time! The people, the volunteers put on an excellent and well organized event. What more can we ask for?
For more information, go to: http://www.lavamantriathlon.com/
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Ariel's Birthday Bash
Calling all Lane 6 Swimmers!! It was a sterling night to celebrate the birthday of our very own Ariel! Indeed thanks to the gracious hosting and culinary talents of the ever amazing Rockfish in celebration of the birthday of that rocking swimmer and number one mermaid, Ariel it was an enormously memorable evening of fun for everyone and delightful merriment. An excellent time was had by all---lots of joyful chatting and incredible amounts of exceptional food and drink. The evening began with the noshing of Indian delicacies prepared by Bubbles and assorted finger foods, each savored by the hungry Lane 6 fishies.
We sampled the South Indian fare with great pleasure and could easily have made a meal of the noshing!! But then the real fun began with one of a kind dishes created and prepared by the Rockfish-- from vegetarian, chicken, home grown and magnificent veggies, the very necessary brown rice and of course unique sauces to homemade chocolate cake. What an evening for food!! Was Rockfish really a chef??? My reaction was pure text...OMG!And finishing things off in addition to that sinful Rockfish chocolate cake were delightful South Indian desserts from Bubbles. So different from what our western tastes expected and so delicious!
And lest I forget the drink--magnificent wines from our very own Napa valley and the heart of the California wine centers graced the table thanks to our triathleting and swimming friends!! Delicious varietals were sampled and enjoyed by this happy dolphin!! Many thanks to those who swim, bike and run!
But what makes every fine evening unique is the company. And for this birthday bash we had swimmers from all parts of the pool from near to far, from slow to fast. It was a truly eclectic mix and not a finer one to be found.
What's that you say?? Were there non Lane 6 types splashing about at the birthday shindig? Hmmm. Indeed!! It was a famous combination of triathletes, fleet of feet runners and those fast and talented in and on the water. A finer group we could not imagine! Lots of fine conversation and stories were traded and enjoyed until the late hours!!
Of course needless to say the heart of the occasion was the birthday of the talented Ariel who incidentally is set to advance to the State Senior Games and go for the gold there. Nice going Ariel!! And lots of good luck at your next competition!! We look forward to another excellent year of swimming from you!
So Lane 6 Babes (and Boys!), there you have it. And for those of you who missed it, you really missed a great evening. Enjoy the pix and the memories and stay tuned for our next grand adventure right here at the Lane 6 blog!!
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