Try swimming a mile without using your legs. It tends to be tough. Which is why four friends did exactly that Friday morning at the YMCA pool. “We just did a mile with no legs,” said Jim Benkert of Lihue.
Try swimming a mile without using your legs.
It tends to be tough.
Which is why four friends did exactly that Friday morning at the YMCA pool.
“We just did a mile with no legs,” said Jim Benkert of Lihue.
It was a cardio workout, added Lisa Ledesma, which included stints of holding their breath while swimming.
“We’re keeping in shape for another triathlon,” she said.
But in their immediate future is Sunday’s Kauai Marathon and Half Marathon. Ledesma, Robert Russell of Lihue and Patrick Schanze of Princeville are all entered in the half, while Benkert is signed on for the full 26.2 miles, and he’s hoping to be there.
Yes, hoping, after suffering a calf injury last week.
“It’s the second time I hurt it,” he said. “Last time I hurt it I was out for about six months. If it’s going to hurt, I’m not going to run. If it’s good, I’ll run.”
Benkert plans to test his calf today with a short run. Other than the ailing leg, he’s feeling fit.
“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I’m OK with the distance. It’s just if it’s going to be pain free or not.”
These four, all members of the Divas and Dudes, say training together provides motivation and accountability. On a beautiful, sunny morning, they’re grinning, laughing and chatting, relaxed and enjoying each other’s company and camaraderie.
Not that there isn’t some friendly competition among them.
Russell isn’t shy about stating his goal for Sunday: Beat Ledesma.
“I don’t want to better my time. I want to better Lisa’s time,” he said, smiling. “I’m not competitive. I just want to beat Lisa.”
He adds that since he’s run all five Kauai half marathons, he knows the course well and that should help him achieve his goal of running it in 1 hour and 48 minutes — and finishing in front of Ledesma.
“She’s an Ironman. I want to be beat the Ironman,” he said.
Ledesma smiles. She’s ready. She doesn’t give away her entire race strategy, but she know she’ll relax in the early miles (“My legs don’t warm up until the third mile.”), then crank it up on the downhill of Omao Road.
“I love that part. I just let it go. Gravity takes me down and I don’t fight it,” she said.
Her Ironman status — a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run — doesn’t mean she’s always serious about pushing herself to the limit.
At least not on Sunday.
“I do it just for fun. I don’t really push myself to compete,” she said.
But Schanze isn’t after fun and games Sunday.
The Princeville man rose at 4 a.m. to make the long drive and meet his friends for their pool workout. He wants to break his mark of 1 hour, 52 minutes from last year.
“I think I can do it somewhere in the 1:30 range, which is difficult, but I’ll try,” he said.
Schanze said he’s trained harder, smarter and is shape for a record run.
“I’m feeling good about it,” he said. “It’s going to be an exciting race.”
Benkert likes the social side of swimming, perhaps even more than the swimming itself.
“For me, when you’re on your bike and running, it’s pretty alone. You run at your own speed, you bike at your own speed,” he said.
Swimming though, they’re five feet apart and sharing a glorious morning in the pool.
“You’re in it together,” he said.
Ledesma is looking forward to Sunday, not so much to see how fast she can go, but to be part of something with her training partners, friends and other morning runners.
She said the Kauai Marathon is the best race on the island. And having competed in many races across the islands, she speaks from experience.
“They’re just so awesome,” she said. “You know what I really love are the volunteers. They’re wonderful to be out there for us.”
And when she’s finished, how will she celebrate?
Well, the awards ceremony includes food and drink, and what better way to celebrate than with a cold brew — and a victory toast with Russell, Schanze and Benkert.
“The free beer is my favorite part,” she said.
