Traveling to Hawaii with friend/trainer who suffers from ADHD is not a recipe for relaxation

Landed in Kona, it was a glorious day…the sun was out, the ocean was clear and I was so lucky to get to stay in one of the sickest condos on the island! My bestie, Jolana, who also happens to be a personal trainer, was joining me the following day, so in my one day of solidarity I made some exhausting plans that included rotating between the pool, the poolside lounge-chair, the beach, rinse and repeat…gosh this trip was going to be so relaxing!

My one day of peace

Yeah, Jolana arrives!!!! I walk into town to meet this gorgeous, pre-bronzed bundle of energy!! I am feeling a little refreshed from my first day of rest, and am excited to show her the house…she is bumbling over with plans she has made for our time on the island…she is going on and on about hikes, yoga, running, weight lifting, pilates, swimming, paddle-boarding, etc etc etc etc…I’m positive that she is just pumped up about being here…as soon as she sees our place, she will change her tune and want to just get some r&r

the devil arrives…woops, I mean Jolana…

She arrived late and we walked the landscape enriched 2 1/2 miles home, chatting all the way about how awesome it is that we are both here…we get back to the house and tuck in for the night as she arrived late…YAY for Hawaii!!!

Morning One: 4:04 am Hawaii time…I wake up to my sweet little morning sunshine Jolana standing over me asking me if I want breakfast before we go to yoga…I just opened my eyes, so I decline, and I giggle at the time…she is still on California time! Oh well, I will go and enjoy the beautiful morning with her and entertain her with yoga..yoga can be relaxing right? And when is this yoga class anyway…I’ll just go with the flow, we’re on vacation:)))

The view from our lanai…what a great way to wake up!

At the continued encouragement of my travel companion, I finally wrestled myself out of bed around 4:30…yoga was still not for another 4 hours so she suggested we go for a light jog…why not, its early, and not too hot yet. 6 miles later we return..wow, I haven’t run in a while, but felt ok…I may have a blister, but nothing a flip-flop and mai-tai can’t cure…

TIME FOR YOGA: We didn’t have a car for this trip as it was the world championships for Ironman Triathlon, so they were sold out, therefor we had to walk everywhere. Jolana made me an organic breakfast, (real oatmeal and farmer’s market veggies), and we were off to walk to our destination! Gorgeous scenery on the way! We walked along the coastline for a bit before we started trekking up the side of the mountain to class. My legs are a bit tired from our run, but am enjoying the views…

WOW…a two hour yoga class, hmmmm…..maybe I should have read the description before agreeing…oh well, we already walked two miles uphill to get here, might as well stay and participate. People of all shapes and sizes are there, but all have very little clothing on…which I am SOON to find out is because the class is heated…I thought the natural heat and humidity on the island were enough, but turns out…I’m wrong???

yes, I was located by the heaters that made the room what I can only imagine the temperature that hell would be…

Ok…so I made it…it was TOUGH, to say the least…Jolana really enjoyed the class and was speaking with the instructor as I went and laid out on the lawn to regroup while I pretended to stare at the ocean. We start our hike back home and Jolana hands me a pass to yoga for the remainder of our visit…OHHHH, she wants to go again??!

Day two: 4:01 am….”are you sleeping?” says the overly exuberant trainer as she nudges me out of sleep…what is this crazy woman on? I try to roll myself out of bed, and soon discover that every muscle in my body is aching from yesterday…I don’t know what she is mumbling about, but I heard the word “tea”, so must be time to sit and enjoy the lanai…

I’m wrong again…she has already prepared back-packs and tells me to get ready for a hike…We pile in a 4 wheel drive with a new friend, Dan, and head out to Waipio Valley…one of the most scenic and gorgeous hikes on this planet…I am happy for the two hour drive as it gives me an opportunity to rest…and Dan is super friendly, so we have a nice chat…Jo text messages from the back while randomly bursting out beach requests that she would like to see once we have finished hiking…”and don’t forget, we have yoga…” Ugh…maybe she will forget:)

I’m going to search her bag for crack when we get back…NO WAY she can have this much energy, all the time…

Day Three: 4:16am…wow, she let me sleep in….my body is definitely feeling the daily jogs, yoga, hiking and swimming…she starts chirping at me from the kitchen, but I just go and hide in the guest bathroom, after 20 minutes of avoiding her, I thought she may go for “our morning jog” without me, but I was wrong…she just ended up standing outside the door nagging me to get my sneakers on…I don’t know what is in store for me today, but I do know I am going to have to start getting creative on how to catch a little r&r

The remainder of days 3 and 4 were filled with seizing muscles, food that tasted of tree-bark and a losing game of hide and go shake off your trainer. Swimming to the opposite side of beaches we were at to slip away proved unsuccessful time and time again, she just kept appearing like a chihuahua nipping at my heels. I even found an outside shower and restroom on the side of a cliff outside our yoga studio…just as I was about to exhale…she caught me…10 more push-ups and 5 mile run for me…aaaaahhhhh

Day 5: Ironman World Championships in Kona…Jolana is passed out…could be from the nyquil I slipped in her tea…luckily for me the neighbors were all volunteering so they had to all get up at THREE THIRTY IN THE MORNING….why me, WHY MEEEEEEE!!!? I almost jumped at the chance to get a little payback, but luckily for me, there was no “jumping” in my near future…my aches and pains saved me from a hasty slice of vengeance…there would be worse consequences for me if I roused the beast. At first glance she appears sweet and bubbly, but get passed the perfectly bronzed skin and a weight-loss driven monster resides within….

She was in hibernation for the remainder of the day, complaining of drowsiness…hummmm…weird;) So I walked into town and watched the race solo…what an awe inspiring group of athletes those cats were…and not bad to look at either, wink wink…please see exhibit yowza shown below:)

EXHIBIT YOWZA…thank you sir, may I have another

Day 6: return home, she finally let me relax….don’t fall in love with her now, its cuz we had an early flight……..

Back home, jump on the scale…6lbs down….Ok, now you can love her:) I’ll even give her a plug! You can check her out at www.stayfitnika.com or on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stay-Fit-with-Nika

She let me live…