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<\/a>Aloha to some fellow Joburgers and new housemates – Brad and Kino.<\/span><\/p>\nThis is one part of triathlon and particularly here at Kona that I really appreciate. The heroes and superstars rock up here in economy class flights, unpack their own bike bags and stand in queue at Safeway (the supermarket) to buy milk and eggs.<\/p>\n
One particular stalker is defending male champ Jan Frodeno. He must\u2019ve downloaded the same \u201cYour Best Ironman Training Programme\u201d from the web as it appears we\u2019re doing the same sessions (just kidding coach). I\u2019ve been out riding the same routes as him about four times already, and yesterday he jumped into the pool just after I finished.<\/p>\n
Today we went out to Hawi (Frodo was there as well) to ride the last 30 km of the course up to the turnaround and test the notorious winds. I had to make the seats flat in our big Dodge 7. Still half asleep and with the coffee intake not yet adequate, I went out to the car shirtless and in my pyjama bums. Remember it is about 25 degrees and 80% humidity at 6 am.<\/p>\n Anyway, it was a bit awkward when I closed the car door and was staring at our neighbor ex-ITU World Champ, Tim Don, about to head out for a bike ride. \u201cMorning Tim\u2026\u201d \u201cUm morning\u2026.\u201d Learning for the day: always make sure your PJ\u2019s are decent!!<\/p>\n Getting back to the matter at hand \u2013 the Ironman World Champs. After our Hawi ride today and a run through the Energy Lab, I\u2019ve now had a look at most of the race route. If I uploaded it to Strava, I wouldn\u2019t get many Kudos for climbs. Overall, it\u2019s a fairly average route on paper (or Strava). However, the weather is brutal.<\/p>\n It\u2019s nice to be able to stroll around in your (clean) PJ\u2019s at 6am. But by 3pm most days we are inside with the aircon on. The run is mostly along the freeway that heads out to the airport and then down to the Energy Lab. This area is surrounded by black lava fields, so at 2\/3pm when you\u2019re halfway through the run \u2013 the road temp can be 50 degrees, the hot air is 30 degrees and the humidity is 80-90%, with little chance of rain.<\/p>\n Secondly, the wind. I grew up in the Bay of Plenty (Port Elizabeth) and lived in Cape Town, so I have fair experience of wind. However, the winds here are plain weird. It changes directions 4 times every ride. And behind all the bumps and through the eddys created by the lava flow, the wind can blow from three different directions in the space of a kilometre. For a first timer, don\u2019t consider a deep section front wheel more than 50mm. You may be able to handle it, but A) it’s not worth the risk; and B) you will spend a lot of energy fighting the wind.<\/p>\n Thirdly, and this is probably for the guys that spent six months training on indoor bikes, running treadmills or being under a few layers \u2013 is the sun. Today we had our first bit of cloud cover, which made the run into the Energy Lab a lot more bearable, and also some evening rain en route to the airport for a pickup. But the sun is a shock to the system. Even with suncream lathered on, I picked up some serious burn on day one.<\/p>\n Outside of the challenging conditions, the training has been really enjoyable. When I\u2019m not swimming in the pool with Jan Frodeno, I\u2019m swimming in the sea looking at Nemo and Sammy the Turtle. The rides are on big wide roads with an excellent road surface, and the runs are mostly short.<\/p>\n The first few days were however quite tough with the jetlag and heat adjustment. Even now, 7 days after arrival, I have some feet\/ankle swelling issues. I don\u2019t believe it\u2019s wise to arrive anything less than 7 days out if you are coming from South Africa. Time-delay, heat, humidity, and the distance travelling is tough.<\/p>\n<\/a>Jan Frodeno, Terenzo Bozzone and some other dude popping out sub 3 minute KM’s on Ali’i Drive.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Cape Town’s Iain Bio floating through the Energy Lab.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>Energy lab done.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>First ride sunburn.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>Probably 8 World Champs in the pool at this time. Kona Aquatic centre.<\/span><\/p>\n