for the next 2 weeks, blog posts should be regular, giving diary updates from kailiua kona as i prepare for the Ironman World Championships. be warned - names will be dropped unashamedly and i will not be censoring weather reports just to make you guys in the uk feel better ;o)
kona day 0
touch down 8:30 pm. that tiny open air airport. bike boxes were there waiting for us having been checked all the way through by a very nice lady in LA (who 'forgot' to charge us the carriage too) i think they got an earlier connection in honululu.
quick, very quite,cab ride to the hotel that we've stayed in the past 4 years, feels like coming home. first thing was get the run kit on and out for a short run, as directed by coach Scott. return to unpack bike. by now i'm beyond tired, but have no trouble sleeping when it's finally time.
kona day 1
wake up at a reasonable time. did we escape jet lag? woken to the sound of a million squwarking birds in the tree outside our room. what is their beef? daylight reveals that we have a great view of the pier, swim start area and section of Ali'i drive which will become the finish line in 10 days time. we can live with the excited avian dawn chorus. head down for a swim in the ocean . that feels so nice! we swim relaxed, and i'm feeling quite good in the water. spy a small pod of dolphins. there's another women is freaking out about this. guess she's not been to kona before ;o) dolphins swim off. the air right there, out in the ocean smells of flowers. have a horrible realization mid swim that i have brought a campag race wheel but only a shimano cassette. luckily steven is carrying a spare! i cant believe my luck (or my stupidity)
breakfast on the balcony then i go for a ride up 'the hill to Captain Cook (it's a town) to shake the jet lag off. just about an hour of riding uphill in the heat, though its kinda overcast today, and i'm retching at the side of the road. don't make it all the way to CC, feel lousy so opt for a soothing 40mph free-wheel home!
short run on Ali'i drive to try loosen the legs - really feeling heavy - so hopefully that's purged the flight out of my system. Meet up with a friend Steve (Moore), head for a nice supper at Bongo Ben's - our favourite for their generous Cob salad.
kona day 2
woke up before dawn had cracked. played on computer until it was reasonable to get up for a swim. big day today - last long one before the race. we met Rachel (Joyce) and Russ (Cox) this morning and all swam together (well, we all got in the water together!) . after that short swim, Steven and i go out for a ride together over the whole course. its not often these days that we do ride together, and though we dont ride side by side for very much of the day, its nice to have some company when we stop for drinks at the Wai'aka store. we have matching green machines too, so it's kinda fun to ride together, too. its a draining ride and the last 2hrs home is sure tough. legs still feeling a bit odd after the flight i guess, they had a hell of an ache in the last 20 miles home, i was suffering. Steven went out for a run of the bike, i lay down! but then he'd had a much easier ride than me at that pace. we covered the 107 miles in just over 6hr - my mate Steve, who headed out early in the morning, did it in 5hr 20. i was impressed. back to Bongo Bens for dinner with Steve, Rachel, Roger and his wife Mary.
kona day 3
slept through till after 4am today, improving. Ocean was choppy today - having rained last night was quite cool. i'm glad that i didn't go with Steven and Roger (Canham) to swim the full course. i was cold! Jenny (Gowans) and Richard (Melik) arrived last night and we hooked up after a swim. great massage with the muscular massage school - i got Gino, the tutor who enjoyed telling me about the triathlon great she'd worked with back in the day whilst working on my gluteus, worked an hour for my half hour fee. bonus. Headed out for a short lunch time ride with jenny, who tends to want to make me work. one point Richard (Hobson) and Stuart (Anderson) came steaming past us- she decides to give chase whilst i'm picking my nose or something and is soon a speck on the horizon. frightening. lunch of papaya ( 7 for $2!) , a few hours working on training schedules and catching up with my athletes at home, then a cruisy 5miles run on the Queen K before tea in front of the telly. so many channels of garbage and adverts. amazing.
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