My Perfect Saturday

I'm not really sure I could have dreamed up a better Saturday? It went something like this:

5:20 Get up and come downstairs to check IMFL swim times. All 3 of my athletes did great (2-3' PRs for the experienced guys and a very solid one for my first-timer) so phew I can breathe and brew some coffee.

5:45 Brew 2 extra french presses of coffee and put them in an airpot so it'll stay hot and be ready for us post swim.

6:10 Go pick up Nalani for our run/swim in town. Girl talk in the car. Could have ended my day right there with that and would have been happy. But it gets better!

6:45 Plan to start the run with Elizabeth and Nalani but hang on I need to check my phone one more time for IMFL updates. Steady steady they are pacing well and doing awesome on the bike. Perfect. Ok let's run! 30' venting session with the girls was just what I needed... then let it go and let's chat about more pleasant things!

8:00 Plan to start swim but delay again b/c hang on I gotta check IMFL updates again. They are all still on the bike. From the splits it looks like it was windy. I rest assured that was not an issue for them based on what they trained in here. Let's swim!

8:30 I start to think that I was quite ambitious in planning an ocean swim that included 3 x 10' tempo sections when I am the weak link of our little trio. Um, I do not want to be swimming out here alone! Kill myself to hang on to Nalani's feet (and she was generous in cruising at a pace that allowed me to do so. Mahalo, Nalani!) I should probably note that I got a nasty sting from an unknown sea creature right across my cheek- OUCH- so I guess the day wasn't 100% perfect. But in good news, we managed to navigate through some pretty big waves and we didn't get pummeled so that was a relief.

9:45 Back to my phone for more updates... YES! Gene and Patrick both biked 5:18 and are now running  at the pace they were planning to run. Sweet. See Scott and Moana who showed up at the beach park (with our dog!) as well as Elizabeth's husband/daughter (who is about 1 year older than Moana). Introduce the 2 little girls and watch them become instant friends playing in the sand and water. Really, there are not many things cuter than 2 little girls playing with sand toys at the beach like that! They were in heaven. As was Hoku who was just chasing her ball in the waves. Go get that airpot of coffee to share with my friends and spend the next hour chatting and drinking coffee on the beach while watching our daughters giggle and play. Lest you think my life is perfect I should mention that at one point I got sand in my coffee... one of the hazards of drinking coffee on the beach I guess. So again, not a *perfect* day but I won't complain! Lol. ;)


10:45 AWESOME. Gene and Patrick are both 1/2 way through the marathon and holding steady pace. Leigh is done with the bike and onto the run. Moana and Nalani and I pack up and head to another park to watch a kid's soccer game. I drive while Nalani uses my phone to get updates on everyone else we know who is racing.

Noon I start freaking out b/c ironman.com is freezing up and not giving updates anymore and OMG my athletes are just about to finish and OMG somebody please give me a freakin' update!!! Finally I see Patrick's come up 9:55 which is a 20' PR for him in his 2nd IM (first one same course in 2008). He stayed totally steady the whole day and even at the end was running only ~10 sec/mile slower than he started. I literally started to get tears in my eyes as I smiled and reported his finish to Nalani (I'm such a sap!). 20' later I finally get an update on Gene who finished with a 9' PR in 10:23. Bummer for Gene he got a respiratory infection on Thursday so he was off today but even his 'off' day was not bad at all. Like Patrick, he stayed super steady all day and executed his plan and finished running only ~20"/mile slower than he started. Never fell apart.

3:00 Moana is sleeping and my phone rings and it's Leigh... Calling to tell me about how she ran every step of that marathon- started at just over 9' pace and held that the whole marathon. 4:03! She said "Michelle I remember you telling me that if I was running 9 minute miles I'd be passing a lot of people and you were right! I was passing so many people!!" Leigh was just gonna do one Ironman and was hoping to break 14 hours. Today she went 12:26 and signed up for next year. Can I brag a little more and tell you that Leigh swam 52' in the last 70.3 she did but swam 1:15 this morning?!?

OK I am drinking a beer. Holy crap I'm pretty sure coaching Ironman is a hell of a lot more fun than racing one. ;)