Last weekend I was a part of the 25th annual Tinman triathlon. Tinman started the year the Ironman in Hawaii moved from Honolulu to Kona. The island wanted to have a race so they came up with Tinman. Some say it was where the Olympic distance started. The race is a 750M swim, 40K bike, and a 10K run. It is a big race for the islands, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. I met some friends in Honolulu to be a part of the 25 years celebration.

It is always special for me to race in Hawaii. I love the people, the islands and all its beauty. Racing in that surrounding always motivates me.

After breaking my wrist in a bike accident 2 months ago, this was my first chance to race again in a triathlon. I was unable to swim for 6 weeks so I spent time racing a couple bike races. With only 2 weeks back in the pool this was going to be a little test to see how I was swimming. Lucky for me it was only 750M swim so I felt a little more confident going in. The swim was on the East end of Waikiki beach by the War Memorial Natatorium. It was built in 1912 to honor the 112 Hawaiians who died in WWI. Buster Crabbe and Johnny Weismuller trained there for the Olympics. It is 100 X 40 meters.

It was an out and back to the jetty. The water was clear and warm. I was able to swim well coming out of the water in 4th place. After transition I was in 2nd and just a minute into the bike I was in the lead. The bike went around Diamond Head and followed the coast into a strong headwind for 20K and then we got a nice tailwind back. I was able to put a lot of time into the field on the bike. I think the recent bike racing helped with that. I finished the bike segment in 56 minutes and had about a 4-minute lead. I started the run which was a challenging one heading inland and going around the almost the whole mountain of Diamondhead. Going up over the back shoulder of the mountain made it a tough hilly run. I was able to run a good 10K and finished with a 7-minute lead in a time of 1 hour and 44 minutes.

The race was great and as always the crowd in Hawaii was awesome and full of energy and the aloha spirit. It is always a great experience racing in the islands. I can't wait to go back for the next one.

Here is a link to the Honolulu Star Bulletin paper.
http://starbulletin.com/2005/07/18/sports/story1.html