Day12 - Monday - Kona

Day 12 – Monday – Kona

Pam and I agreed we have to get up earlier this week, to get her body clock into race time zone, so we were up and off to the pier before 7am.  It was SOOOO busy, that we couldn’t get a park at our usual spot near the pier, so had to come back to the Car park behind Lava Java.  How Convenient?!  Walked down main street and met up with heather and Annette, so arrived as the ‘awesome foursome’ in a fiesta of bods, all thin, muscular of varying shades of pasty white to golden tans!  Bumped into Chis Ger, the director of the TV programme I was on, and he asked me to look out for Cameron, as they were supposed to be filming him at the pool, but the pool was closed this  morning!  Can you believe that!  So all the pro’s and their entourages had piled on down to the pier and the place was just PUMPING with squillions of athletes and people like me pretending to be an athlete!

So, as you can imagine, I kept bumping into people I know!  Guy and Naomi from Blueseventy NZ, a wonderful lady (76ish) I met in busselton, my South African Friends and their son Kurt, Karlyn the swimmer, Eric, and lots of famous people!  Mark Allen, Cam Brown, etc etc.  I wished Cam good luck, and told him Chris Ger was looking for him, so I felt really important for thirty seconds!  J  It was all

go.  Finally I got into the water, into a lumpy porridge of arms and legs.  I wanted to yell out – get off my beach – but figured that wouldn’t go down well!  It was heaving!  We have had it so good so far!  Very exciting too though I might add! Did my swim and felt very sore from the race I did on Sat – the body is failing me!  Then out and had to walk back to the car, and called in on the Endless Pools Stand at the expo which was under construction – great to catch up with my USA Boss James again, and confirm details of me working on the stand Wed, Thurs.  We hope to film me to make a promotional DVD specific to NZ’ers, so that will be too cool if we can manage that.

On the bike, 40min ride with efforts (in prep for the 120km TT I have to do on Friday), then a run on the soccer fields.  I did 10min, and that was enough.  The leg did not feel great, so called it quits at 10.  Predictably, met Pam, heather and Annette at lava Java, for….coffee!

Afternoon was spent at Sports Authority (shop) where I spent $0 (yesterday's race suit purchase cleaned me out $), and the rest of the Hibiscus coast crew were very impressed with their purchases.  Supermarket (yawn) then I got dropped off at heathers accom so I could visit the South Africans.  They were sadly out, but I made up for the disappointment by chillaxing on heather’s verandah, drinking heather’s beer!

Home, sunset, dinner, chit chat, and soon to bed.  NICE.  Hawaii time…….

Nice Ass Count – about 1800

Nice Bike Bling – about 1800

Famous People – 3 - Cameron Brown, Mark Allen, Patrick Vernay.