Getting my goat

Every morning Ali’i Drive, which runs along the ocean from Kailua (where the Ironman swim starts in Kailua Bay) to Keauhou, about five miles to the south, is packed with athletes running and riding, getting in their last few workouts, spinning out a bit of pre-race nervous energy.

Each morning I’ve been on the island I’ve tried to get in a bit of a run – with mixed success. You see, working out here is hard, unlike anywhere else I’ve been (except for maybe St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands – home of the St. Croix 70.3 race). It’s not just the heat (which can be oppressive at times, but I lived in Colorado for a time, and summer temps there can top an, albeit bone-dry, 100 degrees on a regular basis), it’s the wicked humidity, which can be suffocating.

Kona deconstructed

Every year I come to Kona for the Ironman (this is year seven for me – still but a paltry number compared to many of the tri journalists and athletes who have been coming to the Big Island since the early ’80s), I experience two visceral reactions: 1. It’s hot and 2. Where did all this traffic come from?

Yes, Kona has grown big time since the race first was held here in 1981, but add several thousand athletes and their friends and families to the mix and it’s gridlock city. And don’t even think about trying to drive along Ali’i if you want to travel at anything quicker than a slow walking pace.

Those of you who have been to Kona know what I’m talking about. But for those of you who don’t, let me try to create a mental picture of the town for you.

Reporter's notebook

You may or may not remember (or care, for that matter), when CNN's Anderson Cooper was reporting from the Lebanon-Israel border last summer during the fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. One of the more insightful segments of the coverage was Cooper's 'Reporter's Notebook', which provided some insight into the story behind the story -- what day-to-day life was like on the front line of the conflict.

No, I'm not going to cash in my Ironman press credentials for the role of  war correspondent this week--despite the fact that covering an Ironman may, at times, feel like a death march; thanks to the often-oppressive heat and humidity. (Every year in Kona I feel more decrepit and increasingly feeble while stuggling to shuffle through nine-minute miles during an easy three-mile jog down Ali'i Dr.) However, I will do my best to provide a more robust picture of what's happening on the ground.