I'm Lovin' It

Hello from Kona!

I wasn't sure that I'd have computer access here, but Scott brought his laptop and we've got wireless at the hotel... and Moana is currently sound asleep... so YAY! An update from Kona!

I don't even know where to start. I'm just so happy! So happy to be here, so happy that I get to race tomorrow. So happy that Scott and Moana are here. So happy to have connected with some old friends... so happy that I feel fit and ready... I could go on and on...

This is why we train for Ironmans. To feel like I do right now. Ready. On top of the world. And in such a beautiful place on the planet.

So, the details... I've been swimming from the pier each morning. I wasn't actually supposed to swim this morning, but seriously, how could I not? It's the best place in the world to go swimming and I am not here that often. AND, they're serving free coffee about 500 meters out from a boat. The sign says 700 meters, but I'm pretty sure it's not that far because it only took me 7 minutes to get there. I'm a good swimmer but I'm not that fast. :) Anyway, It's social hour for triathletes out there, treading water while sipping coffee in the Pacific Ocean. Doesn't get much better than that.

I got to ride for a short while this morning with my old friend and training partner, Jennifer Chalmers. It was so good to run into her and get to spend time chatting. We haven't seen each other in years but connecting was just like old times. Look for Jen to be near the top of our age group tomorrow.

So Moana is adapting pretty well to the traveling thing. It's harder now, I think, since she's a little older than last time we traveled. She's getting so smart and knows so much, and consequently knows that all this is new and different and it's VERY stimulating for her. She can't sit still for a second, so that has its challenges. It's just so cute though to watch her soaking it all up- taking it all in. I keep telling her that she's at THE IRONMAN. Maybe that'll be one of her first words. Lol.

She was as good as an 11 month old could be on the flight over, though she couldn't figure out for the life of her why the guy next to her was more interested in his magazine than her. She kept reaching over and touching his arm as if to say, "Hey! Don't you see how cute I am? Why are you not paying attention to me?" I kept apologizing. He was a good sport, though they way he stood up and raced off the plane was telling.

A hotel room is an interesting place for a toddler too. I didn't have to do too much baby-proofing... just moved the trash cans up off the floor and put the toilet paper up high where she couldn't reach it. (She's getting taller so that means higher than just the top of the toilet.) She's pulled the phone and the alarm clock off the night stand and I just left them both on the floor. No use putting them back and playing that game over and over.

There's a flimsy crib in the room that she wasn't such a huge fan of at first, but she's figured out that it's where she sleeps. She did manage to fall asleep without too much hassle the first night we were here, even with me right in the room with her. I was nervous that I'd have to hide outside on the lanai or something until she fell asleep, but interestingly, when I went outside, she screamed. But then when I just plopped down on the bed where she could see me, she rolled over and relaxed. The problem came at 1:45 when she woke up screaming. At the top of her lungs. Um, what to do? What to do? At home I don't make a habit of running in to get her if she's screaming, so my instinct was just to let her cry for a minute and figured she'd go back to sleep. But she did not. After a few minutes I made the decision that I needed to NOT subject everyone in this hotel to my daughter's over-developed lungs, so I picked her up, only to discover that she had pooped. Really? That has never happened in the middle of the night! Even when she was an infant she never pooped in the middle of the night. I guess traveling even puts babies off their 'schedule'. Anyway, by the time I changed her diaper she was wide awake and ready to explore the hotel room. She was going to have nothing to do with that crib. So what was I supposed to do? Ugh. I let her crawl around the room for like 3 hours in the middle of the night, until I finally saw that yawn. Put her back in her crib and she fell back asleep. So yeah, 4:00AM we finally got back to sleep. That was a long night. Luckily last night she slept normally through the night and now she's taking a good long nap.

The one thing I really underestimated was how hard it would be to feed her a full meal without a high chair. It's really hard. We do the solid food feedings out on the lanai, and let's just say that the birds have figured out that our lanai is the place to be.

So though chasing Moana around has been challenging, I'm really glad she's here. Worrying about her and her schedule has not given me much time to worry about my race tomorrow. I'm still in the same mindset- not worried about the race much at all. No real nerves. Just so good excitement. Awesome.

Anyway, the little one just woke up, right on schedule. So mama's gotta go. I'll try to update again on Sunday. :)