I do not play the ukulele, but I do play the trumpet!

This e-mail reached me for the "Cappo break" yesterday. Well then, Rox'anna or something like that...

--

Hello, Michael,

At IRONMAN we perceive many aspects of Hawaiian culture as the birthplace of our competition and venue of the IRONMAN World Championship.Many words in Hawaii have a special meaning that involves more than direct translation - Aloha, Mahalo, Ohana. 

Ohana is the term of a large family. It can include your cousins, your friends and your community.

Ohana is associated with responsibility and the expectation to act with integrity and good intent - both towards your Ohana and as a representative of your Ohana.

It is about acting with justice.

It means to be attentive.

It is about trying to be willing to learn, understanding and respectful. Ohana represents a special bond: the big family, working together, supporting each other and remembering each other.

In 2019 we honour and celebrate our Ohana - you, our athletes, our volunteers, our coaches, our spectators, our team, our partners and our hosts.

We look forward to continuing to share this special bond as we celebrate our shared sporting spirit and love of triathlon.

me, I myself Micho's Hibiscus Badge 

Look out for the 2019 Hibiscus Badge and keep the memory of this incredible Ohana in mind. Thank you for being a part of it.

--

my comment on that: jo, I have the seahorse. In bronze. And so I also made the 1,5-fold (forward somersault) of the 3m feather. Last time I bruised my face because I hadn't got my hands in front of it. It also hurt my shoulders and the cross. So it was, at that time, in the diving phase when I jumped from the 3 meter board. And yes, I pay attention to my hibiscus badge. Aloha, Mahloa, Ohana.

*edit: the thing that I participate in the lottery for a starting place at the IM in Hawaii, I hereby reject a priori.

annotation: Translated from German with www.DeepL.com/Translator

training and fun on Lanzarote

Like announced a training-camp is supposed to be a good idea to get fit for competitions. And it is. Especially to get fit in the 2nd discipline, and especially if kilometers in the 3rd during winter, running, had been plenty.

It is discussed among both tourists and travellers, sportsman as well, of how long a stay on the Canary Islands makes sence: few days, a week or better 10 days or even two weeks and longer? Well, it depends, but 10 days is good, not too short and not too long. Having started from Munich Airport 5:50 A.M. the first day it was possible to go for a bike ride 60k / 1200mtrs of elevation. Two days of hard training followed: a 120k bike ride plus 4k speed run after and a 90k ride the thrid day with a 12k trail run along the rocky coast.

Hola amigos 😎 Como estaís? 
Está training es super bién en Lanzarote 🌋🌴🌞  Una impression deste Lanzarote hasta Central Europe! 🚵!!!

The 4th day I took the bus to La Camara and went to a surf-course. After some training on the beach I was allowed to go and ride my first wave. It is great to feel the ocean's power and to stand on the surf-board. Happy of this experience I hang off with the surfers, nice people, and walked back home in the night using head-lights on a single-trail described by the surfers not listed in any tourist book in order to get fetch Taxi from Teguise to Costa Teguise, the town I stayed, strategically excellently located for bike-trips. Thus, the 5th day was a day off, time for sandy beaches and cooking together in the club.

The 4 days left focus was on cycling. Luckily wind was strong and uphill the "Timanfaya Road", where volcano activity is still seen today and flesh is cooked on hot stones e.g., well, the wind was rather strong so that some cyclists got off the bike there. Some local triathletes located at Club La Santa, a very pleasant atmospheric sport-club with the most fine pool anywhere on the Canaris, well, some Pros said of the wind is like the Mumuku on Hawaii. Sun blared down and heat was hard. This way I got impression of what Ironman-Triathlon Worldchampionships is about. Not kindergarden, definetly!

Altogether Lanzarote is worth its price. If you are interestend in sports, cycling, running, surfing, kiting, trail-running, swimming and diving, yes, and in some evening action at the tourist hot spots like Puerto del Carmen or Costa Teguise. Service and Support, thus infrastructure is great and local Spanish people are like Spanish people...- better to know some Spanish. Most best is nature: a mixture of destroyedness and beautitude created by craters, vulcanos, magma-fields, stones, bizzare rock-formations that make you think you are located somewhere on the moon. In sum, for me, it had been 700k on bike and 9700 mtrs uphill within 10 days at best weather conditions within the middle of the elements.

What is next is to focus on the 1st discipline with the 1st of May, when pools do open here in Germany. Untill May kilometres as many as possible to do has still priority. We'll see where to go next. May be next blog-post is about Northern Italy in order to meet people, who stayed in Club La Santa and make miles in the alps, too.

¡ Keep cool & and do not forget to stay awesome !

free rides in romantic franconia

After bikes had been inspected and repaired and the stability of the whole system, man and machine, is good, well, why not to ride my bicycle again?  Like so many. Good to be in Germany. Here in Franconia, the Northern part of Bavaria, that is regined from Munich, well, here we do not have mountains like in the alps, but it is hilly and good profils are able to be executed.

However, as a true triathlet, a camp on the Canary Islands is supposed to be a fine idea. Luckily, I found a good travel agent, who arranged it. So uphill-training in the warmth of the farwest Spain, lovely Islands, can come. Fuerteventura is the Island of the prisoners in former times, a rather death Island, but sandy and tricky. So this year me, I myself Micho, decided to book flights for holidays on Lanzarote, where training should be extended. Gran Canaria is not really suitable for biking. Teneriffa a little better, sure. To be honest: uphill training is a good thing in general. And  I am looking forward to the climbs. A nice surf camp is on the list of places to be visited, too, may be more or less often.

Fun in free bike-riding in German winter. Pitstop somewhere for photo.

The mild climate of Lanzarote, that is said to be location for the most hard IRONMAN, which is done every year late in May, well, it is an good argument to make the right descision to go for triathlon-training there in April in order to be fit for competitions, and thus, rides become more structured over that.