Buzzing atmosphere in the swim area

My first swim on the course

Instructions for the swim

Bike service in the hotel. I got a new headset installed

We picked up a new car, big enough to fit Tauny and Debbie and a bunch of bikes..

Day 1 in Kona
Last year I got to Kona with a preparation that was far from ideal. Although training had gone quite well, I had an awfull long (work) trip to Chile a few days before going to Hawaii (56 hours to get there including a 27 hour delay, and 25 hours back). Almost immediately after that there was the flight to Hawaii: another 25 hours and across 11 time zones. But the worst of all was the fact that I had to get in the plane with a terrible tooth ache. I had been to the dentist twice in the days before departure and the problem still was not sorted. I was on 2 different kinds of antibiotics and lots and lots of painkillers. Despite the drugs, I was in a lot of pain on the flight to Honolulu and although the pain disappeared somewhat in the last few days before the race it was still there. Also, last year the luggage had not made it to Kona! So this year things are looking a little better.

The day started with a nice swim. I swam to the halfway point and a little further. I had probably swam 2200 meters when I got out of the water. We met Phil Annette the "big boss" of PowerBar at the swim start. It was great to see Phil again who I had not seen since the 70.3 race in Rapperswill, Switzerland. He had been out for a bike ride already and was ready to swim! Chapeau!

Our hotel, the King Kamehameha (King Kam) is 50 meters from the swim start and finish area. Not a five star hotel (in fact the hotel is a little run down and could do with a bit of paint), but it has a lot of character, Ironman history, the rooms are clean and the location is amazing. There is no better place to stay on race day! A whole week before the race and the start area was already buzzing.

After the swim Jo and I went for breakfast with Phil and had some eggs and toast. We then walked to Lava Java, a very popular coffee place where triathletes hang out. Had another coffee and met up with pro athlete Luke Bell and his girlfriend. When we walked back to the hotel we bumped into Chrissie. She looked ripped and seemed in great spirits!

Jo and I went for a 10 k run in the afternoon: 5k out along the water front and 5k back. The first section of the race course follows the same route.

In the evening I picked up Tauny and Debbie from the airport.