KONA PRE-RACE TIPS
Pre-Kona Tips from coach @cjrowlings and @timboreed.
The men’s Ironman World Championships are looming, the over thinking and race nerves are steadily rising. Here are some tips from some Kona sun-weathered veterans to help minimise the chances of all your hard work being undone by non-training poor preparation.
When you arrive
Much like arriving at altitude arriving in humidity after a long-haul flight requires a fairly patient and conservative approach to training. We get it, you’re bloody excited to be on the big island and want to go out and smash some mega training before it gets too close to race day but the reality is you’re likely under-slept and dehydrated from the travel. Listen to your body the first few days and be ok with resting more and keeping heart rate down in the training you do until you feel you’ve adjusted to the timezone and the humidity is not such a rude shock.
Bike Training
On the bike course, you’re riding in the breakdown lane in training, not the right of the freshly swept car lane like you will be on race day. Much like any highway, there is a lot of debris and it’s a real puncture party out there for those that are training on their race tyres. We recommend setting up your race tyres a few days out from the race OR taking a separate set of wheels to train on.
You’ll have less room to go with the cross-wind flow in the breakdown lane too. If you’re planning on running deep wheels on race day, go with your aero self but we recommend having a more shallow front wheel for training so you’re at minimal risk of getting blown into the car lane or lava fields in the middle while training.
If you are staying in town and have a car, the safest option is to drive out to either the energy lab if you’re looking to brick: link to map. Alternatively, you can park at Kona Mountain Coffee and leave from there: link to map.
Factor in, on the Queen K, there aren’t a whole lot of places to refill fluid. Take extra with you! Waikoloa shops have a supermarket with everything you’ll need and a bike shop too for emergencies but it's 28km from the energy lab: link to map.
To ride or view the climb to Hawaii but not keen on a 120km + ride, then parking at the shops in Kawaihae is a good option for a shorter ride viewing: link to map.
To note for newsletter subscribers and RPG members if you do train on your race tyres and they get slashed to bits, we’ll have some new race tyre options with us. Just reach out to info@rpgcoaching.com if you are in need. However, we still recommend training tyres or wheels.
Bike Gearing Choices
If you haven’t already thought about gearing, you definitely should. While there is a lot of elevation completed on the bike course, none of the hills are very steep, and going too large a cassette on the back can leave you unable to find your sweet spot cadence on the flatter sections. If it’s your first time riding the course, we recommend taking a couple of cassettes over so you can switch if you find it’s not right. In addition to that when you have strong cross-tail or tailwind sections it can be easy to spin out on the hot mix surface and lose time on some of the faster sections of the course so if you’re targeting a top 20 in your AG make sure you have a big enough front chain ring so that you’re not trying to pedal 120rpm + for extended periods to keep some power going down.
Bike Mechanical Work
If your bike needs some serious mechanical work, do it before you go over there. It will be long waits, and high prices to get a bike mechanic to work on the bike, especially in race week.
TT Helmet Choice
The fastest helmet should not be your only consideration. If it’s too hot, then that advantage will quickly disappear as your brain gets microwaved. If you have two TT helmets or can borrow from a friend for the race, take two and test in the heat. Provided it’s not too much of an aero sin, race in the cooler helmet.
Swim Training
The main public pool gets super busy and is quite hot. While heat stress is of course desirable for heat adaptation most of the heat adaptation should already be done and too much in race week can leave you feeling pretty flat. The swim course is stunning and much cooler to swim in. We are definitely not saying the pool doesn’t have its place but the swim course is a great option to avoid cooking and not having to deal with 10 people in a lane.
The Ho’ala practice swim is a great way to do the full course with company. How you approach the intensity of that swim is very much up to your coach, but whether you race it or cruise through, it’s a really pleasant way to do the full course without the worry of being way out in the ocean on your own, thinking Bruce the Tiger Shark is considering a lower-fat triathlete appetiser.
An alternative to the hustle and bustle of town and a great option to see the further sections of the bike course is to swim at either of these two locations: Kua Bay and Hapuna Beach.
Run Training
While Ali’i Drive is stunningly scenic and has a real tri-dog vibe, it also gets super busy and there is camber for the most part that has the tendency of really irritating achilles tendons if you’re on there too much. I would recommend more running from the pool and at the energy lab if you’re prone to run injuries.
Looking for a flat, quiet, non-cambered spot to run in town, there is a 1500m loop you can park right at the front of: link to map. Or head to the Energy lab. It’s not entirely flat but the camber is much kinder to the feet and achilles.
Final thoughts. Respect the locals, the local rules, and the incredible island. It can be so disheartening (and dangerous) watching triathletes bowl on through 4 way stop signs, leave litter, use the wrong sunscreen in the water, and more. Let’s work together to keep the island the true gem it is and make sure the race is always welcome back.
