Ko-Na! Ko-Na! Ko-Na!
Ferris and friends get loaded onto the flight
Home away from home
Ocean view, baby! (okay, so maybe you have to lean a little, and you can only see a little bit of blue)
Kona Kudzu
Dig-Me Beach! It's not the biggest beach in the world.
The mandatory "finish line sign" picture
Official tent at the swim course. Free gatorade and water, along with friendly volunteers.
Fifteen people at the same time makes Dig-Me look crowded. Race day should be something else.
Eleven days before the race, and already patrolled by volunteers
Farmer's Market - the best smelling part of Kailua Town
Hey, I'm here!
The french fry stealing birds of Lava Java (probably sent by Coach Matt)
Josh at Lava Java
Josh, Lachlan and some old guy (note the Ironman banner in the background)
Harden the Fuck Up
Belinda and Luke channel the dead
Luke Bell and Desiree Ficker dispense swim advice
Dig me!
Dig Me again!
Dig Me one last time
Volunteers at Dig Me
So, tell me about Germany...
Shane Smith - Head Aussie In Charge
Hawaii!
Kai - German Blogstar
Not the softest beaches around
Laughing Tiki
Royal Kona
Lava Java's SMALL Cin Roll
Dad and Lachlan, and my empty seat at Lava Java
The first glimpse of the finish from Alii
Mmmm... IronPizza and Powerade
This will look a little different in a week - The home stretch, with waves crashing on the sea wall
The first T-Shirts are out
Blind IronMan (right) with his guide. I Dig 'Em. Also, note the German pose on the left
The Body Glove boat is a little closer today than it will be next week
The finish line (at the Ford Banners) fromt he pier
The homestretch from the pier
Lifesport coaches from the Kayak
I can't stop taking pictures of this sign
The Swim couse - The Royal Kona on the left is half way
Tree! Famous Tree!
The sun sets on the pier
Apostrophe abuse - Splasher's? Splashers? Athlete's?
Another famous tree!
This just requires a Monty Python sketch - The Kealoakoamalamalama Church Police!
See that beautiful seaside restaurant with the blue roof? It's a Hooters
Finally, a sunset picture!
..Or two
This whole island is black, white and green
Welcome to NELHA!
If Michelle Downs looks scared, you know it's a scary place
The sun won't bother me next time I'm here
Busfull of Aussies - I'm in the back
Marathon turnaround, in the bottom of the Energy Lab
I finally got to run in the lava! It's hot!
It really is beautiful in the lab - lava to the ocean
Now it looks like Ironman Hawaii! Goosebumps, I tell you
Special Needs Beach
Climbing out of the Energy Lab - if the water can do it, so can I!
Sherpa takes a pic
The Women of Tritravel.com.au
....gone wild!!
Tables? We don't need no stinkin' tables!
7 Miles from home!
Happy to be running through the lava!
I won! I won! Okay, I didn't die! I didn't die!
Jimmie!
Xterra folks really run on this stuff?
Something's up... They need me.
Path 5/10K
Path 5/10K Runners with the swim course in the background
The famous Queen K telephone poles
There are brown, black and grey lava patches
Another mandatory Kona picture. I wonder how many get stolen each year?
The cockpit, with power words
My shadow hand on the finish line!
Trademarks? What are trademarks?
Check in your stuff while at dig-me, get a bottle of gatorade. Really.
Dawn at Dig-Me. I love the steeple in the background
There is no such thing as beating the crowd to the beach this week
It really does look like this (blur from the bus, not from my riding speed)
The surface of the moon
It doesn't look any more terrestrial when you stop
Pillars to the gods
..And my pillar to the gods
Queen K
To call this island inhabited is to slightly exaggerate
The surface. On a scale of dirt to perfect, I'd say 85% of perfect
Lava, the ocean, and the volcano
I swear these are all taken different places
A wandering herd of Aussies
Cows! Notice the green - altitude means rain, which means green
Main Street, Hawi, Hawaii - The bike turnaround
Hawi Post Office
The wind farm. Note the tree on the left. Uphill is to the right
Free ART massages - and they can rub their bellies and pat their heads at the same time
The King Kam decorating has begun
The banners are being hung - check out the crowds
The bracelet! The star is for good behavior
IM Race Bag
Brochures and Freeebies
The number specific bag - unopened
The Number-Specific Bag
Can you guess what number I am?
This sunset brought to you by PowerBar
I actually look happy and healthy - imagine that!
Sporting a cool new bracelet, and a ratty old hat
Chompers! My dad is obsessed with taking pictures of Jess, just to make her make this face
Setting up Ironman Village
Ford, Ford and Ford
I finally get to see the inflatable M-Dots in person
Me and M - We go way back
Who looks cooler, me or M?
The steeple from the finish line
Look at this happy island town
You think the're going to camp out until Saturday?
Worship the M...
The world's skinniest parade
Yep, that's the whole band
PNF, and her driver glaring at my dad
Yes, there are shriners in the Ironman parade
..and they look like shriners at all the other parades
Okay, I'll admit it's a cool shirt
Japan was the most boisterous country, just beating out the Aussies
Kiwis
Natascha leads the Swiss
Dad makes Natascha give the thumbs-up (and gets his own thumb too)
Baldwin wears a shirt to walk with the other USA folks
I hate him a little bit, because he's so friggin nice
Can I get one of these for my car?
I look forward to seeing the pace car come towards me on the Queen K
The Ironman forklift (?)
Michelle, Kate and the proud Aussies
More Aussies
And more Aussies (128 racers)
The parade passes the run tun on and off of Alii
The entire Chile contingent. He would stop and yell “CHILE!” every few steps
The conehead dragon (of course)
The competition (Sister Madonna Buder) and Mitch Thrower
The expo is open
Ironbaby!
No elbow room at the expo
You are not worthy
Not sued by the Ironman folks - they have some heart, I guess
It's at the church whose steeple is visible from the line
The scene at Dig-Me continues to grow
A sign for the floating espresso bar
Traffic on the swim course
Dig me! No, Dig me! No, Dig Me!
I'm glad I got here early
Dig-Me Shower (a well-kept secret)
Dude, you got a Dell in Kona!
Spectators for the swim, four days before the race
That's me on the panel with Lance Watson, Dave Scott and Paula Newby-Fraser
Belinda Rocks!
Who me? Bribe my wife to come to Hawaii? I don't know what you're talking about
Undie run - Sarah Reinersten in a Gu skirt on the right
More Undies
Dig me in my undies!
Roo in undies
Undie Calisthenics
High speed running
Elvis and Ronald McDonald wear undies too
Skivvies in the lead by a... nose
The view from the King's Shops
It's a long story...
Self portrait with smiles
Beautiful, and a nice view too
The random beach we found past Hawi
Don't worry, I'm only going 2.4 miles
Nuts!
The Carbo Dinner - an intimate affair
The finish line
Dad has some shaved ice
I'm the blur at the bottom
Is that podium quest in your backpack or are you just glad to see me?
Well, beautiful we're here.
One thumbs-up - lots of nervousness
Doh!
Umm.. how many defibrillators do we need?
Warning - Swim at your own risk
Spectators along the seawall
Crowds
The wall was packed all the way to Hooters
The helicopter that made it all real
The best-patrolled swim around
All types of boats out there
The seals dropped in
..And the pros are off!
The age-groupers rush the water
1500 bobbing heads
The starting line
I'm in there somewhere
The last swimmers escorted in
Fast guys on the bike while the sun is still low
Hay bales - never a good sign
Skippy makes an appearance
Fast biker
Lead bikers hit the road in a pack
Oh yeah, they blew by me on the bike
Jen waits for me (the other 200 pictures of this were redundant)
Crossing guard dance
Fast runners on Alii drive (on the way out)
Craig Alexander brings it back down Palani
Sindballe looks tough
The entrace to the finish line (with guard)
Finish chute guards
The view down the chute
The chute
..and it's a long, long chute
Finish line crowds
More finish line crowds
The pace clock
Bike rack (when dad went in to get Ferris)
Run start (from inside transition)
Bike finish (from inside transition)
A suprise for the doc
A suprise from the doc
Another one
Yes, I'm waving to the crowd. Sue me, it was my day
That's me hamming it up
Bike Pic from ASI
Another bike pic from ASI (good lava shot)
How do you feel today?
This is why I'm happy
The cheering squad
Jen, Aunt Joy and Uncle Marc - who came all the way out to Hawi for the turnaround!
I'm back!
I survived the bike!
Staring the run - not feeling so great, but out there
Daddy, why does that guy have a big black smudge on his neck?
Answer - from the tape holding his chin strap together rubbing against for 8.5 hours
Ferris back home - note the front fork
Up Palani with Jen - I told her I wasn't going to make the cutoff, but I'd finish the distance
I love this picture - what fuels an Ironman?
Palani (Pay N Save) is a real hill
Bringing it home - the last quarter mile
That blur is me
Happy boy with Lei and medal
Pizza ad (or gatorade ad)
A moment of recovery
The medal (front)
The medal (back) - The charms spin
The reflection and warping is my pic of a pic, not their original. I love this picture
Post race brunch with the Aussies
Shane Smith
Chris Leigh
Luke Bell
Belinda Granger
Kate Major
Finisher Shirt Front
Finisher Shirt Back
Finisher Shirt Sleeve
Cervelo Kona Shirt (Front)
Finisher Certificate
Pahu i'a Menu
Joy and Marc and Pahu i'a
Empty seat at dinner
Buddha Bellies
Can you see the 4? The only sunburn
Jen under the waterfall
View from the new balcony (left)
View from the new balcony (right)
Birds!
Dolphins at DolphinQuest
Dolphin Soccer
Coast of the Hilton
The rain line
Waipio Valley
Jen at Waipio
Waipio looking north
Jen and Josh at Waipio
Don't hurt the coqui!
Little waterfall in the rainforest
Rainforest
Big waterfall in the rainforest
Jen and the waterfall
Self-Portrait with waterfall
Josh in the rainforest
Steam vents at Volcano
Moonscape at Volcano
Volcano Caldera
Jen, cold at Volcano
Caldera
Josh at Volcano
Still venting...
Welcome!
There wasn't a sign where I did it
Sulphur Vent
Too big...
To fit...
In one picture
Josh in a lava tube
Jen in lava tube
Jen and friend on black sand beach
We're not Nene!
Black sand
Lazy honu
Not dead - just resting
No touch turtle!
Jen's happy to be here
Feet in the Pacific!
Big ocean
Yet another texture of lava
Jen plays in the ocean
Honu!
Best. Sign. Ever.
Yeah, they know it too
Above the clouds at Mauna Kea visitor center
Why do we always go by these signs?
Sea of clouds from Mauna Kea
Herd of tourists check out the clouds
Happy couple
Jen above the clouds
Sunset on Mauna Kea (one of many pics)
Mauna Kea observatories
Another sunset pic
It was a little chilly at the summit
The sunset was worth the cold temperatures
Pick a color... any color
More sunset
Sunset and the telescopes
A little windy, too
The sun is almost gone
Observatories saying cheese
Welcome to Hawaii!
