Castle to Hanauma

We've had an unseasonably wet winter here in Hawai'i. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it's not the same as the cold, deep freeze everyone has been experiencing on the mainland, but here, it's been wet and dare I say cold without getting flack.

Anyways, yesterday was the annual Castle to Hanauma Time Trial and I got convinced into signing up on a couple days beforehand. Aaron, Michelle Gary and I had a little wager on this event. Gary and I on one team, Michelle and Aaron, the other. We would add up our combined times and the losers had to cook dinner for the winners. Long story short Gary and I lost....looks like a good dinner though, yeah?

Back to the race...first Time Trial I've ever done...as soon as I finished, I was convinced I was NEVER going to do one of these races again. But after giving it some thought here are 10 things I decided/learned:

#1...You should warm up before they start..and you should warm up a lot...I should have brought my own trainer and rode on it for more than 3 minutes and a 2-3 minute jog...lesson learned
#2...Time Trails are time to go fast, don't look at the people taking pictures on the side of the road and smile and wave
#3...Trust the bike holders at the start..they won't drop you, even if they are wearing heels! Thanks Marcy!
#4...Bike races are HARD...no question about that, I would have liked swimming before and running after...a cyclist I am not...I'm working on it
#5...Stay off the white lines when it's wet out and you are going fast
#6...I can't see myself enjoying a flat, fast race. But I suppose that's how you get better, doing things that push you and take you out of your comfort zone...maybe Makaha next year??
#7...I would love to do this race again on a nice, normal, sunny, warm Hawaii day
#8...Starting later in the race > starting at the beginning
#9...Putting a friendly (dinner cooking) wager on races with friends is always fun
#10...What a well organized, safe, controlled, fun, race (thanks BOCA Team!) on what turned out being a wet, soggy, miserable day

and one more for good measure

#11...I will be doing another TT in the future, not sure when or where, but it was kind of fun in a miserable way.

Photo Credit: Sau Hsu

the aftermath

the finish

Next up....Lavaman

P.S. Happy Girls Day!