Kona Here I Come!

... but not for Ironman.

I'm lucky enough to be taking a fabulous trip to the Big Island in September, for some friend's wedding.

But, I must admit something: I thought my first trip to HI would be with my bike en route to the World Championships. My excitement is stalled by how much I wish I was racing IM this year. And, how I wish I were racing IM Hawaii, not just stopping in as a tourist.

I sent a couple emails back and forth with the resident pro Bree about her hometown. She's promised me an OWS and I'm going to hold her to it. Also, I'll be just a month out from my open marathon, and training plans for that particular week look to include two 6 and one 12 mile runs. I'm hoping to pretend about an Ali'i Drive finish. Any chance there's a half marathon in Kona on September 12th? I'll have to look into it. (If i had planned better for my trip to MN over Memorial Day, I would have raced in the Stillwater MN half marathon.)

I don't think we're staying at the same resort as our friends, so I'm making some plans to ditch the hubs for 90 minutes a day to get in my workouts, and maybe get in a swim with Kona Masters, if they'll take me.

I'm trying to get myself psyched for the trip- I am really excited to go, but struggling with not be the terms I had planned. Plus, now after this trip, I have to convince the Hubs that we really will have enough money to make it to IM Cozumel in 2010 (which of course, the entry fee is due in November) to um, celebrate our anniversary (and race IM!).

In other news....

This whole gluten free thing is becoming less of a struggle, however, it's becoming increasingly difficult to stick to the Paleo plan. I had another allergic reaction over the weekend to something (oh, btw: I had an allergic reaction post IMKS 70.3 that put me in the ER). This one wasn't as bad, but made my lips poof out like I had Daisy of Love collagen lips. I also keep having crazy rashes. I've mostly determined that it's not actually allergies, but an auto-immune disease known as Celiacs. So, I suppose it's good I'm gluten free now. But, I still need to get the official tests done, and figure out what the hell is actually wrong with me.

The great thing is, I'm losing weight without too much effort. However, it's steadied off in the last week. The first 12.5lbs were a snap. I'd like to go another 20 of the L-Bs, but we'll see what happens.

It's not like I'm training for Ironman, as if I need another reminder.