The Lew Crew

The Lew Crew
You got a long way to go Fat Stuff! Get out there and run!

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Lavaman 2019 in Kona Hawaii

One week to race day for Lavaman 2019, the olympic distance Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii that is so popular at the end of every March that is sells out the July before. I am still fairly chubby, but I am strong in my lungs and my legs. This Friday I crushed 40 miles of the Hong course from Hapuna Beach https://www.hawaii.com/big-island/beaches/hapuna/, all the way up to Hawi and Back. A hard 40 mile ride with 2,000 + feet of elevation gain, and not a cramp or whisper from my legs. In fact, I was ready to go run when my wife called and asked when I was coming home because I obviously had forgotten about being back in time for a sleep over her and my daughter were doing at a friends house.

     On this training ride, I took a friend Easten, who has a crazy incredible life transformation story, which I won't tell, because he video blogs and all that stuff, but I will tell you my part. After Easten's life and death experience, while lying limply in a hospital bed for days, his brother told him he had to start setting goals or he would never get out of the bed. One of his goals was to do a triathlon, a Ironman. I bumped into him at the Big Island International Marathon, where he was running the first annual 10k and I just happened to be leading it on my mountain bike. He told me He wanted to do "Honu" the Ironman 70.3 June 2nd that I am training to do, and He was going to do it on his hybrid bike. The Bike course is crazy hard, and that would make it so much harder. I had met him years ago at a group open ocean swim at Richardsons Beach Park https://www.lovebigisland.com/big-island-beaches/richardsons/ . After hearing he didn't have a race bike, without knowing him, I loaned him my road bike and shoes, that is what I have been taught is the kind of Aloha you should Malama other with living on the Big Island, and it is definitely the kind of hospitality I would have given you growing up in Wyoming. So, when Easten said he wanted to do Honu, and he was goin to try to raise money, I decided to be his first helper. I took him to Kona, and while getting new headset bearings put into my race bike at Bike Works in Kona http://www.bikeworkskona.com, I bought new, on sale, tri shoes for me, so he could use my old ones with my road bike, got him a water bottle, co2 cartridge, spare tire, the rest of the kit to be dug out of my closet, and we got the bike tuned up in the park lot while waiting for my bike. And, then he joined me on the punishing ride. It is almost as exciting to see and help someone do Honu for the first time, as it is to prepare to kill it myself. I am adding in this part of my story so if someone actually reads my blog, maybe they will look up Easten, hear his story, and give him a little sponsorship! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQvyglQowFg

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