Kona Diary 2019

Kona Day 1

I’m absolutely blown away. My heart is melting for this place, and it’s only Day 1!!

Life happens, Kona helps

Highlights of today include:
– a run in the heat on the famous Ali’i Drive. It’s much more undulating than I was expecting I’ve always loved running in new places, I find it’s such a perfect way to explore and get my bearings. It’s absolutely stunning here. I was smiling the entire run even though I must have lost litres in sweat

– a 3.2km swim in the Pacific Ocean. The water is so clear, you could witness so many sea creatures swimming with you! So magical that it distracted me from focusing on my stroke ! I just didn’t want to stop swimming in the end!

I confirm what I had been warned about:
– the heat is definitely extreme – today was 31C with 79% humidity, so it feels a lot warmer!
– there are so many super fit Ironman bodies in town, you feel like in a casting for Survival of the fittest

Kona : Day 2 & 3

I’m still in love with Kona . What a place, what an atmosphere. It’s so special here, I have never witnessed anything like it!

Everything is melting here: my heart for the place, my body (I must be loosing litres of sweat daily ). Even my phone melted and I had to take it to a repair shop !

The last couple of days have been:
–  more running, including a 10 mile run on Ali’i drive again. I didn’t have anything to carry water so needless to say I was sooo thirsty afterwards! I saw Al Brownlee running there too, followed by a camera man on a motorbike. At least he could get some water that way
–  more swimming in the ocean by Kailua pier. So beautiful I just can’t get enough
–  finally my bike arrived today. I’ve never been so happy to be reunited with my bike . It was starting to get dark so I didn’t venture outside and I went on the turbo instead. More litres of sweat lost  (a bit of a recurring theme!)

A few pics of the stunning surroundings, a couple Kona creatures (I had a visit from the pretty gecko with the blue eyes) and sweaty sessions haha

Day 4 & 5: Aloha from Kona

And I still can’t get enough of Kona   More race preparation the last couple of days:
–  I took part in the “Official Hoala IRONMAN Training Swim” yesterday. The word “training” is a code here for “racing” . So Game On ! A great experience despite my slow time.
–  Followed by a 100km ride, mainly on the famous Queen K Highway with the lovely Annie Frederick. Thanks Annie for showing me around . It didn’t disappoint: stunning, hot and windy! Also we went to check out the Energy Lab, phew it’s hot !
– Had the opportunity to go to the Zwift Tri Legends Pro Panel yesterday and learn from some triathlon champions. The pro panel included Tim Don, Mark Allen, Craig Alexander and Sarah True! Really fab
– I finally spotted a sea turtle

Kona: Day 6 & 7 – Race Prep!

Three days to go until race day, and now it’s all about the race

The IRONMAN circus has started , their tents and the partner village are up, the town is bustling with athletes. I’ve never seen so many fit people per square km – need to not get intimidated!

Pre-race activities have started: Parade of Nations yesterday, registration, race briefing.

The training is pretty much done now and the focus is on rest, and keeping your feet up (easier said than done ).

Kona: Day 8

It’s the famous Underpants run for charity today in Kona! Lots of fun with Annie, Will, Jo, Claire, and hundreds of other people, all of us running in our underpants haha!

Followed by going to On The Rocks to watch the famous Breakfast with Bob show, where Bob interviewed Al Brownlee. Really interesting and inspiring.