Waimea, Kailua-Kona and the Parade of Nations

Just the other day we got in the car in the morning and it showed 24C for the temperature. We agreed that it is cold outside :) Car heat was cranked up as we headed to town. Apparently Hawaii has one of the steadiest climates on Earth, there is not much fluctuation during the year and even during the day and night. Weather has been warm (usually ca28-30C during the day) no matter if the sun is out or not. Past couple of nights it has been raining which made the humidity higher, and I guess also the mornings a bit cooler than usual. Today it was normal hot day and night again :) And in few days it should get even a bit warmer!

night time statistics ...

... and day time to compare :)

Besides the stable weather - there are many different climates on the Big Island, truly. On Sunday we were invited over to Ilmar and her wife's home. They live by Waimea, up in the hill, 800m in altitude. And guess what? It is about 5 degrees cooler there! How incredibly nice for a change - like summer in Estonia :) The house is located on a steep hill which allows for a wonderful view from the porch of the house. We had nice grill and local food barbecue, got to know their neighbors who came to visit and just had a good time. Plans for the race day got made - where to follow the race and how to move between swim/bike/run courses, where to take photos and how the finish line logistics should take place.

view from the top of the hill

As the evening rolled around we were all eager to get back down for the warmer weather :) Not many of us realized that it will be cooler up in 800m so we did not bring any extra clothes. As the sun was setting we could not get in the cars fast enough - it was really chilly! It is amazing how fast one gets used to the nice hot weather and not having to wear anything other than shorts and a T-shirt (if even that ;) ).

lava fields and holes/caves by Queen K highway

On Monday, it was a true vacation day :) Slow morning, swimming at a local pool for an hour, nice long lunch in town and then lying outside in the sun. Reading, napping, writing, staring at the sunset - the usual vacation activities you know :) The town we are staying at and where the race takes place is called Kailua-Kona. Nice town by the ocean, on the west coast of the Big Island. Capital town Hilo is located on the other coast and is bigger than Kailua-Kona. With the Ironman approaching it seems that half of the world has come to visit Kailua-Kona :) Atmosphere is great, tents and flags are being set up on the main road in town, there is live music on the streets at night and many many athletes moving around. It is this huge sports festival lasting for days and days on end. I guess at some point the main road will be closed for traffic even.

Ironman events schedule - so pretty much our schedule :)

Somehow we managed to have 2 hours of workout done by noon on Tuesday. 8am was general conditioning workout and then swimming at a local pool again. My foot is hurting a bit so no running for a while. On days like this it seems that we are at a training camp instead of a vacation :) But it is nice to get in shape so I don't mind one bit.

beach by the pier in downtown

We spent about an hour on a beach by the pier before the big Ironman Parade of Nations started. There was a truck all decorated in blue-black-white and prepared with Marko's photos, Estonian flags were pulled out and ready we were. The parade started from one end of the town and ran for about a kilometer or so through the main street, ending at Ironman Expo site. All nations participating at Ironman World Championships this Saturday were represented - country name and the flag were walked down the street with the participants and fans walking along. As we heard then last year Estonia was not represented and did not participate at the parade - well this year we had quite a nice crowd together. We were all wearing team shirts (thank you Indrek for the idea and organizing the shirts) and also Estonian flags. There were many spectators cheering by the road sides, announcements took place at least on 4 spots during the distance where they informed of which country is approaching and how many athletes are participating from this country.

Estonian delegation at the Ironman Parade of Nations

Tomorrow we have the plan to visit the Expo in town and to do another (but shorter) open water swim.