Kona Pasta Company

Here are photos of the menu at the new Kona Pasta Company. It's in the ex-Broke Da Mouth, ex-Habaneros building in the triangle at Walua Road and Ali'i Drive.

Cruel World, Ramada, LAX

Ali'i Challenge Swim

The 33rd annual Alii Challenge 6.2-mile open water swim was held on August 11, 2019. Eight solo swimmers and four two-swimmer relay teams assembled for the start at Keauhou Bay. Conditions for this year's small field of participants were gorgeous with calm waters, good visibility, light winds, and there were dolphins along a portion of the course which finished at Kamakahonu Beach fronting the King Kamehameha Hotel at the pier. Next year's swim will be on Sunday August 9, 2020.
Solo

KANE (age time overall division)
Brock Imonen 17 2:17.24 1 1
Duke Becker 15 2:34.20 2 2
Rob Murray 63 3:23.54 7 3
Kauhoolai Pilago 3:59.46 9 4
Mark Lewis 44 4:22.36 10/fins 5

WAHINE
Brenda Avery 54 2:34.30 2 1
Tina Neil 53 2:41.19 4 2
Jan Roberts 4:44.15 11 3

TEAM
Peter Brescioni / Michael Traub 70/66 4:56.42 12 1
Glee Jewell / Brian Pinkston 61/45 2:48.41 6 1
Helen Meigs / Jackie Orsa 30/28 2:45.53 5 1
Braylene Jones / Wendy Jones 41/65 3:24.24 8 2

Run Month Reviewed

I did an hour wog on July 3. Did some stuff in the next month. Then I did another hour wog on August 3. A look at what happened.

7/03: 3.99 miles, 15:03 avg mile, 132 avg run cadence
7/11: 5.00 miles, 16:13 avg mile, 121 avg run cadence
7/17: 4.02 miles, 14:09 avg mile, 137 avg run cadence
7/24: 5.00 miles, 14:20 avg mile, 135 avg run cadence
7/30: 3.10 miles, 13:25 avg mile, 141 avg run cadence
8/03: 4.54 miles, 13:13 avg mile, 145 avg run cadence

Mileage in the hour went up about 12.5%. Average mile times went down. Average cadence went up. All good!

So the bottom line I guess is that in this month I got my turn over up and even though I still had to walk every now and then I walked less and wogged more.

Run Month

This month is for me to see what I can do with the run in a month. Not training it, per se, but it is in mind. So I did a 60 minute run at the beginning of the month, then I will do another 60 minute run after a month goes by and we'll see.

7/03: 60 minute run 3.99 miles
7/04: swim
7/05: off
7/06: ride
7/07: off
7/08: ride
7/09: swim
7/10: wave
7/11: run (5.00 miles)
7/12: swim
7/13: off
7/14: swim
7/15: off
7/16: swim
7/17: run (4.02 miles)
7/18: wave
7/19: swim
7/20: off
7/21: gym
7/22: swim
7/23: wave
7/24: run (5.00 miles)
7/25: swim
7/26: swim
7/27: off
7/28: gym
7/29: ride
7/30: run (3.10 miles)
7/31: swim
8/01: off
8/02: off
8/03: 60 minute run 4.54 miles

The Fall Off Bike

I did take a fall, well made to fall, from the bike on 1/5/2018. I was going downhill. A car just in front. A kid on a skateboard popped out from nowhere on the right. He stopped short to miss the car, but he kicked his board back - into my path. So I had a split second to go left and run into the kid. Go right and hit a curb and maybe some trees. Or go straight and try to bunny hop the moving board. I go straight, pop up, and my front wheel lands on the board. It gets pulled right, I fly over the handle bars, crash on my hip on the asphalt, bounce over to my other side, and head butt the curb. Bloodied, but I could walk. So I finish the ride, then triage...

 The fall happened at 11am. Above it the left hip at 9:30pm.

 Three days later.

 Later that evening.

Seven days later.

Now three months later it is not sore, and it is back to normal color. The swelling is 95% or so down.

A Food Challenge

A-Bomb comes out of hibernation to try his hand at a new, and the only, food challenge in Kona, Hawaii. After moving here on 8/11/12, he’s been doing triathlons. Food challenges and triathlons do not mix well. With no preparation or training for this challenge, he goes with Tommye, Ed, and Marie to take on 5 pounds of Portuguese sausage...

Want a Clean Bike?

Watch this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWf7tysOt18

Week #2

2nd week of the training plan for the Lavaman.

M: *WAVE*
T: 5.03mi run
W: 1.05mi swim
Th: 4.91mi run
F:
S:
Su: 3.1mi run - Jingle Bell Run

For the Lavaman plan Fridays each week are off days. This week, the weather really hasn't cooperated that much. Rainy. Windy. Not ideal for biking.

Totals so far:
Swim - 2.00 miles
Bike - 46.23 miles
Run - 21.85 miles

Week #1

The training has begun! I am doing Lavaman, an Olympic-distance triathlon, in April and also Ironman Hawaii (called Honu), a 70.3 half-Ironman, in June. I will be following an Olympic-distance training plan for 8 weeks, then following a 70.3 training plan for 16 weeks.

Lavaman is .9 mile swim, 25 mile bike, and 6.2 mile run.
Honu is 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.2 mile run.

This week was week #1 of the Lavaman plan.

M: 3.40mi run
T: .95mi swim
W: 17.07mi bike
Th: 5.41mi run
F:
S: *WAVE*
Su: 29.16mi bike

Totals so far:
Swim - .95 miles
Bike - 46.23 miles
Run - 8.81 miles

Bike News

I got new tires for the bike. Specialized Armadillo. Great tires, super puncture protection. They might be a bit heavy to use in racing, but I love them so yeah. They went into service on 3/4. We will see how the miles go.

Me run?!?

11/16 .. 5K .. 45:51

Lavaman Waikoloa

Last month before the triathlon. Here is the total of each part..broken down by week..

Week -4:
Swim: 2840m
Bike: 44.95 miles
Run: 6.47 miles

Week -3:
Swim: 3080m
Bike: 66.99 miles
Run: 16.32 miles

Week -2:
Swim: 5540m
Bike: 56.16 miles
Run: 14.52 miles

Week -1: [RACE WEEK]
Swim: 2980m
Bike: 62.14 miles
Run: 7.6 miles

The Ultimate

As you all know, I work at Ultimate Burger in Kona. I have worked there since the end of October 2012.

Before or after a shift we can eat a burger for free. I do not eat one every shift, but just maybe 60% or 70% of the time.

Today I ate my 300th burger there. And it was so good! I count any time I eat a burger - free or non-shift days when I have paid for the burger. Mind you I have only paid for 3 or 4 burgers, so 296 or 297 of the 300 burgers I have eaten at UB have been free. FREE!

https://www.facebook.com/hereisyomama/posts/10204398422218423

Today

Great swim (finned). Then wogged. The run felt shitty. Took FOREVER to warm up. And the time reflects that. And it also reflects more real world run on a street instead of on grass like before...

30 minutes: 1.80 miles

60 minutes: 4.32 miles (2.52 miles in this 30 minutes)

Old & New

Today I wogged for 30 minutes, and then 30 more minutes to make the hour metric.

30 minutes: 2.28 miles

60 minutes: 4.76 miles (2.48 miles in this 30 minutes)

The New Metric

I am going to see how this goes: my new metric for running... go for 30 minutes. And see how far in that span. Running, walking, warm up, whatever, just go for 30 minutes and see.

Today I rode 25 miles, and then did the 30 minutes.

2.23 miles. Run felt not too good, but let's see how it goes...

Training Begins

Warm up mile..wog..10:58

 2 mile.. 1st 9:54..2nd.. 10:12

after a few minutes.. 1/2 mile.. 5:02

Brat Eating Contest!

Humpy's in Kona had an Oktoberfest Party. And like last year there was a brat eating contest. And like last year I won! And like last year there was no real competition at the contest.

Here is a photo of the eaters at the table. 7 of us. There was one guy who could have been a threat. And a girl who manned up.

Winner: First one to eat 8 of the brats. At the beginning the deal was brats and buns. Buns were huge and dry. After maybe a few minutes of watching us struggle the organizers realized nobody would finish and they relented on that. Just eat the meat.

Training for triathlons and training for eating contests do not go together! Training for triathlons and being in eating contests do go together.

Anyway, I did pull away. When I finished my eight, a guy and a girl kept eating even though there was only the first place prize. It was close, 4, 5, 6, 7. They both put in their last bite of #8 at the same time. Chew chew chew. The guy grabbed his water, she didn't. He barely edged her out. Humpy's, liking the heart in them, gave them both gift cards.

Right now there are not many eating events here but maybe that will change...

Lorena!

Finally! I try the Cantina Steak Burrito at Taco Bell. It's about time!

Starting with the weight, 15.2 ounces. Pretty good heft for an item from Taco Bell.




Looks good!


The first bite is really good. Nice warm tortilla, bit of rice, black beans, and the steak. Actually it reminds me of Qdoba or Chipotle. From Taco Bell! The "creamy cilantro dressing" is not big hit with me. Tastes like runny guacamole or something. Next time, hold that please.


This is about half way through. Still tastes good. The lettuce is really crisp.


Last few bites. There was good guacamole coverage throughout the consumption of the burrito but as you can see toward the bottom there is a big dollop of guacamole.

Overall, it was pretty good! As we don't have Qdoba or Chipotle here this, surprisingly, is a worthy substitute. It costs $6.89 here, but that's to be expected. If Qdoba or Chipotle ever open here there cost would probably be about $9 so this item being $6.89 is fair.

I thought paying over $5.00 for a Taco Bell item was crazy nutz, but for this Cantina Steak Burrito it's not so crazy.

Do This

If you are looking to save even more money on the deals that are all over the place today, check out these Black Friday Deals 2012. And even if you miss out on the great Friday sales, do not forget about Cyber Monday Sales since the online guys want a piece of the pie as well.

Be sure you stop at the site to get all the best coupons before you buy. Possibly the best coupons are for online sales. Although many retailers have coupons, I think the best deals by far are to be had by using the Dell coupons. There are so many more coupons you can get here too, but the coupons for Dell are the ones you want to get.

Finally the brick and mortar retailers figured out that opening before Friday is the way to go. I mean why only have a one day sale on Black Friday? Open up on Thursday! It is just another day!

But again, just get out there or get online! Either way will pay off big time! Whether it is for Christmas gifts, or something else, get out and pound the pavement or pound your keyboard and take advantage of the awesome offers that are out there!

Found!

That's the storefront for Patricio's. It's a newly-opened taqueria in the Kona Coast Shopping Center. You know how we love Mexican food, and how we are searching for authentic Mexican food in Kona. This is the best yet, no doubt!


The menu is up on the wall above the registers, like Chipotle or Qdoba. It's a bit hard to read being that far away. Patricio's has holdable menus up front at the registers - but maybe put them by the doors for customers to grab on their way in.


The place just opened on the 8th. They had a primo placing of an article in the local paper last week. So many people are checking them out. And they won't be disappointed at all! When we stopped in, the place was packed.

Now the food we ate!


Chile Verde Taco Plate. The chile verde - AMAZING! Authentic? Soft corn tortilla tacos. That would be a YES! The refried beans - one of my make-or-breaks ... WOW!


Carne Asada Torta. Meat, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and (hold the) mayo on crusty bread. Absolutely delicious! It's good for sure, but I like tortas on grilled telera rolls. The bread here reminded me of a sliced ciabatta roll. But the marinating of the steak made up for the unexpected bread.


Here's a POV shot of the torta. See the salsa in the background? They offer a salsa bar with 6 salsas. The pico de gallo is the bomb!


Al Pastor Taco. It was missing the chunks of pineapple, but the sauce on the pork was muy delicioso!

I think that Patricio's has to either have a well-publicized eating contest to telegraph their opening to all of Kona and to the Big Island as a whole. Everyone has got to eat here. Get the word out! What better way! Taco eating contest!

Or - make that AND - they need some kind of challenge item on the menu. Maybe a big burrito, or something. Eat it and it's free. Humpy's has the Big Kahuna Luau Feast. Patricio's needs to have the El Jefe Burrito. Four pounds of pork, carne, and chicken. Or something.

Get a hold of me on Facebook guys, we'll get it going!

Patricio's offers a Kama'aina Card. Punch card. Buy 10, get 1 free! Repeat business - always a super idea!

But even without the card, people would eat here again and again! The food we had was AWESOME! Kona needed this place! We can;t wait to go back!