Kona Diaries Tuesday

From Sam and Carmen

Hi Folks

After 14 hours of flying and an 18 hour lay-over in Tokyo, Carmen and I arrived in Kona yesterday morning and checked in to a really nice apartment with all mod-cons. It is situated on the famous Alii Drive about 5 miles out from Kona town.

Our immediate impression when we stepped off the plane was the heat and the similarity with Langkawi but unlike Langkawi there is starkness about the place given the lack of trees and greenery. As we drove out from the airport, we got on Hwy 19 heading towards Kona and we immediately saw loads of triathletes out on their bikes testing out the bike course.

On the drive into Kona, we passed the famous National Energy Lab that is such a huge landmark on the IM run course. And boy, did it look sparse and hot around there. Eventually, we arrived at our apartment and unloaded everything. Carmen proceeded to have a long nap while I unpacked everything and put her bike together.

By mid afternoon, we felt a bit more human and decided to drive into Kona to see the start and to get the feel of the place. It did not disappoint! There is already a huge buzz about the place and we could see loads of triathletes that had clearly decided to arrive early to prepare for the race. We bumped into Grace (used to work for Bike Boutique) at the swim start with her German wheel-chair athlete boyfriend (he won Kona last year). It was nice to bump into someone you know.

The swim course was laid out for practice with a line of buoys going out to the half-way point. The water was calm and very clear. According to Grace’s boyfriend, you can see the bottom for most of the swim and you can see loads of fish, rays and even dolphins. How cool is that? The plan is for us to have an early swim this evening to test the water for ourselves.

Kona town has loads of interesting triathlon shops with gear galore and not unexpectedly, Carmen could be found sifting through the 50% off bargains while I hovered and got bored! I was more interested in going for a coffee at the Lava Café where allegedly all the big guns in triathlon hang out. Sadly, there was not enough time to drop by at the café but that will be on the agenda today.

As we drove back to our apartment along Alii Drive, we saw Chrissie Wellington out for an early evening run along with loads of other athletes. She looked in top form so lets hope she does well again this year.

This morning, Carmen and I went of a 40 min run/jog along Alii Drive which was wonderful. This is the last section of the run and it is famous for the fact that it gets lined with thousands of people to cheer you on to the finish. That is where I will be on Saturday to cheer Carmen on to the finish. Until then, we will continue to prepare through light exercise and rest and with a bit of a tourist activity thrown in every day.

I will try and send another update on Wed. Cheers.

Sam