Hi there again
I was in the process of uploading this post on Tuesday when my laptop battery died, so here it is today!
I'm trying to get some video uploaded but it's not working through this blog site so I've put it up on www.youtube.com/camnapper.
I'll be the first to point out that they're not the most exciting videos ever but I'm just trying to get little bits and pieces together of what's happening over here and what it's like to be here.
It's now Tuesday of race-week and Kona is very busy. Loads more people have arrived and the roads are now busy all the time with runners and cyclists mixed with lots of cars all going at "Aloha pace" which appears to be nothing faster than 1st gear. Drivers just stop in the middle of the road to look at stuff, or chat to someone and the following cars don't seem to care. Everyone is very laid back.
We did our programmed swim from the Kona Tiki to the swim start this morning which I guess ended up around 2k? It was punctuated with a few minutes at the Coffees of Hawaii boat which was out for the first time this morning. A free coffee shot and swim-cap later, Marty and I were off again with a bit more boost than before. There is even an underwater sign advertising the coffee boat along the swim course! And it's still impossible to concentrate on swimming with all the beautiful reef fish around.
We saw Macca and Chrissie Wellington at the swim start this morning too. Normann Stadler is currently sitting with his team and the table next to us at LavaJava. They all look seriously fit.
Today is when things really start happening here too. The Parade of Nations is on later this afternoon and the Ironman Expo opens after that. We can also register from today and I might head over and get that out of the way soon.
Mary and I headed up into the hills behind Kona yesterday to tour some of the coffee plantations. There were so many different spots to stop and taste different coffees and eat their chocolate-coated coffee beans. We spent quite a few hours up there and took in way too much caffeine! The views from there were unbelieable too, but most of the time you can't even see the ocean because the vog from the volcano is so thick. The upside is that it often shields Kona from the sun during the day. In the mornings the sky is blue and once the sun is up, it is DAMN hot. But then the vog rolls over and breeze picks up and things become a little more manageable.
The heat comes a goes throughout the day, as do the winds. It seems completely unpredicable and it is impossible to say what it will be like on raceday or any other day.
Better get going again.
Catch you soon
Cam