Part 2Did you know that Mark Cavendish was the only GB track cyclist at the Bejiing olympics to go home without a medal? He withdrew from the tour in 2008 to get into shape for the madison at the games. He and Brad Wiggins were reigning world champs in this event, Brad Wiggins already had bagged two medals and they were expected to clean up. However, the race didn’t go to plan and Wiggins could not deliver, his body was just too tired from his recent efforts. That night after the race Cavendish sobbed till he fell asleep….Just look at what he has done in 2009!Michael Phelps had had a very mixed year following the Olympics, looked off form in Rome this year….then pulled off the most amazing race I have ever seen….Disappointments teach us how to get stronger, how to grow and how to really enjoy the successes when they happen.As a coach I encourage my athletes to file race reports..it helps them to reinforce all the good points of the race ie what went well. It helps them to understand what they might do differently next time and what things they might want to train in the future.On Saturday what went well - My preps were as good as they could have been. Jimmy ensured my pre race week was perfect and I am really grateful to him for the amazing support. I was on the start line of the biggest race in the triathlon world, I am immensely proud of that. I swam a good swim in the toughest group of triathletes I have ever been in the water with! I rode the strongest 112 mile bike ride i have ever done. Germany was faster but on a much easier course and in much easier conditions. I lost 3 to 4 mins in the confused state getting off the bike and getting over the timing mat!I am really proud of my ride.What would I do differently? Maybe get out here even earlier although I am not sure if that would have changed the medical state I was in, I think I was just unlucky on the day there. Maybe make sure I got some solid proper food at the top of the course?What have I learned? That I love triathlon, I love IM distance and I am not done with this course yet. It is a tough course, not the profile, but the conditions and I would be on my TT bike next time. That health comes above everything else no matter how devastating that may seem at the time. That I have completely brilliant family and friends!!Time to come home now, rest and recover, set the new goals (some already set) for next year and get excited about what next season will bring.Thank you all for taking time to read this blog and sharing this adventure with me.Signing off, Paula.

…..well the blog at least!Sadly my journey to Kona did not end with a triumphant run along Alii Drive to get a medal and a garland of flowers. It ended in the medical tent having been diagnosed with abdominal ischemia - basically the heart stops giving the stomach blood because it is shunting to other parts of the body.But onto the race….Woke up really excited and very nervous! This was the biggest day in my tri career and I was hugely honoured to be on the start line with so many fit endurance athletes from all over the world.It was amazing to be close enough to see “Macca” setting up his bike in transition and to wish Chrissie Wellington well as she walked past me…what a race she had!!The gun went off at 7am,we were off! What a scrum! I swam very wide but still got battered every which way! thats what is going to happen when you put alot of severely competitive athletes of similar swim ability in a restricted piece of ocean! Before I knew it we were at the turn point and not a fish in sight! I was surprised that even on the way back I got well clobbered when normally the field spreads abit…hey ho.It seemed like the swim was over in a flash and into the change tent where I got my bike bag and some sun cream put on me(as it turned out,nowhere near enough!).Onto the bike and passed the crowds who were going bonkers with excitement.A brilliant moment. Saw Jimmy, gave him a wave and set off…the first part of the course loops around the town with some very wooshy corners which I apparently took at speed….It is a fun part of the course. I settled onto the tri bars, prepared for the bike leg,checking my heart rate,eating my banana and having a swig of fluid.For the first part of the course you are on about 40 miles of straight, undulating highway. At this point I was going well, averaging between 16 and 18mph, spot on for me. The HR was looking good and the nutrition was going in well, with the right amount of carb per hour for me. The wind was against us but ok and no worse than a day on Lanzarote. I was pleased to turn off the highway and onto the climb up to Hawi. The road twists up for abit and is much like riding in Kent. The Pinny was brilliant here, she is such a versatile bike and I started picking off a few people who had passed me on the highway. I was looking forward to my bagel at the special food station at the top of the hill…The second half of the climb got tough into the wind which had picked up. I had set myself a target of reaching the top of the course in just over 3 hours, I was just off this but still happy with the ride.The top of the course is where the trouble started. Despite yelling my race number, no one got my food bag. In hindsight I should have stopped,got off and got it myself but was going well, I had food on the bike so the bagel was not essential..would have been nice though! I was shocked that the wind had changed and found myself working really hard to get OFF the climb. When I reached the bottom, I got the first stomach pain. I sat up, slowed up and hoped it would pass. every time I got back on the tri bars I felt sick so had to sit up. Now on a course where good aerodynamics are essential this is not good. I felt ill when I tried to give myself any nutrition and knew I had problems. Earlier this week I wrote about race visualisation and the “what ifs”. I knew the stomach had shut down and could not put anything in, I knew I had to make it back. You can see the bike splits drop off at this time. So nothing went in for at least 60km back. I got back to transition, was helped off the bike, sent to the med tent and evaluated and diagnosed…30 mins later I still could not drink any water and made the toughest, hardest race decision I have ever made - to put my health first and withdraw. It was without doubt the hardest thing for me to have decided, it was absolutely the the right thing to have decided too. To say I was devastated is a huge understatement…end of part one.

Awake 2:29(hrmmph). So lay there and visualised the race, all the scenarios,how I want to be feeling at each point and what to do if I am not feeling that way. Made decisions about shoes on the bike for T1 or not depending on how close the first hill out is.Rest days before a competition are the strangest things…you know you need it and it is necessary but at the same time you kind of think that you should really be doing something. It is especially tough here as I sat and watched other athletes doing their thing whilst I did…nothing!The day has had the desired effect of a. giving me a good recovery and rest day physically and mentally and b. I am absolutely itching to do some exercise!Started the day with a great brekkie at Lava Java of porridge,bananas and other fruit - really good stuff then a wander to the expo to get some kit - some new compression socks and some reflective bands(for on the run at dusk). By chance Leanda Cave, one of my triathlon heroes, was standing behind me in the queue so had a brief chat with her and she very kindly gave me a couple of tips for the race. A very cool moment for me.Came back for some feet up time and listened to IM talk podcast where they interviewed “Macca” a couple of days ago. A very cool interview with one of triathlons’ greats. I recommend IM talk podcast, full of top tips and info presented in a very relaxed and humorous way.Got some fresh air in a little bay up the road  and have to say the ocean looked very tempting!I am looking forward to having a dip on Sunday just to splash about!Back to the hotel and a short walk along the front followed by a dip in the hotel pool to cool the limbs then back upstairs and compression tights back on! I have finished the Mark Cavendish autobiography and thoroughly enjoyed it. It gives a very frank insight into the Tour and he is extremely blunt but very honest. I know he gets some odd press at times but he goes to pains to present his side and whatever you may think of the guy you cannot take away the fact he is an awesome sprinter.At present I am sat on the balcony typing having just had the first rain since we have been here, very refreshing and we all got treated to an amazing rainbow…Going in search of spag bol tonight then onto the race briefing at 8pm…tomorrow will be busy again with pre race brick session, bike racking and bag racking so I am glad I have made the most of today!

Awake at 3:29 (woohoo) -so quite a long wait till the tea and coffee arrived in the lobby!Todays agenda was to tweak the bike gears,tri bars, to swim and to run.After yesterdays’ reports of big fish sightings I was pretty nervous this morning about getting into the waves. I am such a wuss at times! No choice but to get in so thats what I did. Ended up being a nice swim. There was quite a chop on the water today and swimming back was quite hard work, I could feel myself being lifted up on the swell and pushed back out again!The morning was spent doing domestic bits and pieces (and saw the Bayliss’ doing some shopping in the supermarket too!).Headed out for a run later in the afternoon, it was cooler and the breeze wasn’t quite so hot.Ran the course in the opposite direction to Monday and the road follows the coast which again meant there was a nice breeze off the ocean and some nice shady parts. The run felt much better than Monday too.I can feel myself getting more tunnel vision as the week goes on, its like looking down a funnel where your focus closes in on one point. I am thinking about nutrition for the next few days and keeping hydrated too.Tomorrow is a complete rest day which I am looking forward to. My legs are getting the heavy tapered feel now and I am hoping tomorrow will give me that twitchy feeling when you want to get on with it.I have to report at this time that US tele is not great, way too many ads and I will be writing to the BBC about providing iplayer outside of the UK!!! Fortunately I have Mark Cavendishs’ autobiography to occupy the feet up hours - very entertaining!

Awake at 4am(!!) having slept all night for the first night since being here. Felt much better for it and less jet lagged.The objectives of today were to get registered for the event and to suss out the top of the bike course.The ocean was very different today, it was overcast and the water was much more murky as a result. The swell was much bigger today too and the swim felt like harder work to yesterday. Just a short swim today - 20 mins then out for brekkie and to get signed up for the race.Quite glad it was a quick swim today as there were shark and manta ray sightings by other triathletes today!! Apparently there are dolphins playing in the waves too….It was quite a moment when registration opened and it was very efficient once it did. Firstly you are weighed,  apparently you are weighed after the race too so they can establish if you need help rehydrating after the event. Then you fill out medical forms and various waivers and collect your race pack. I am athlete number 836.So now Kona is full of tagged athletes and suddenly the race is very very real.The ride today took us up to Hawi at the top of the bike course. The road up here is quite different to the highway and it is very pretty and much greener. It is rolling and much like riding in Kent( apart from the different temperatures of course). I very much enjoyed the hour ride spinning the legs and thinking about gear selection for this section.The afternoon sped by and at 4pm we all gathered for the parade of nations. As Team GB, IM UK sponsers Tri UK issued us with very cool team T shirts along with a goody bag. We followed Phil Graves in the classic car up the sea front road in the parade. Felt very proud to be amongst a load of ironmen (and women).The eve concluded with tea at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co restuarant, very good food!Tomorrow I get to run again…fun, fun, fun!

Awake at 4am(!!) so as soon as the sun came up we got into the ocean to check out the course. The water wasn’t quite as warm as we were expecting but it was crystal clear and teeming with fish swimming over rocks and beautiful coral. The water got deep fairly quickly but was so clean and clear you could see all the way to the ocean floor. We swam out for 15 minutes into the gentle swell, the water getting busier and busier as more triathletes got in for an early swim. After 15 mins we turned and swam back to shore. Sighting wasn’t quite as simple going in as the swell cuts across the bay obscuring the vision more. The highlight of the swim for me was seeing a family of stingrays passing right under me as I swam - absolutely amazing.After breakfast we headed out in the car to drive the bike course, all the way up to Hawi and back. The road is long and undulating to hilly in places. The latter part towards the top of the course and turn point is hillier than the first part, with legendary winds and we saw Chrissie Wellington on a training ride on this section of road.The bike course on Lanzarote is full of changing terrain and scenery; here it is mainly unchanging so I set about mentally dividing the course into sections. For me, having defined sections of the ride keeps it managable. The return section shows mileage signs back to Kona which is nice to see!Today the wind did not seem too wild but the weather was blisteringly hot and I am very aware of how important hydration and nutrition will be on race day.Back from the bike course reccie it was time to go out for my run. It was 1230 and at the height of the heat of the day.Part of the run course goes up onto the same highway that the bike course is on. It has no shade and no respite from the sun. It was tough running to say the least and the breeze reminded me of having a hairdryer blown in my face! I was pleased to get back and cool off!Treated ourselves to a visit to Jamba Juice, a great place which sells fantastic juice combos - Jimmy had the pomegranite pickup and I had the strawberry energiser - kind of sums it all up really!Finished today off with a drive along the first section of the marathon and caught the stunning Kona sunset in the trip. I now know what I am looking at doing on Saturday and they don’t say this is a tough course for nothing!

After a very long day travelling (we had to keep going back over the same time!) we arrived in Kona in the pitch dark and were told that my bike was still in San Francisco…So we drove to the hotel and after buying some water went straight to sleep…Woke up at 5am which I was quite pleased with and to my immense delight found that the lobby supplied tea and coffee between 5am and 7am. My prime objective today was to get my bike back. It is surprising how incomplete you feel without your bike!The day got hot very quickly and by 8am the heat was already quite intense. I walked down to the sea swim start and there were hundreds of extremely fit and healthy triathletes getting into the ocean.I opted for a recovery pool swim at the Kona Aquatic Centre which is a free(as far as I could tell) 50m outdoor pool laned off. It was good to get in the water and move after being squashed up in planes the previous day. Had a good swim then went to find lunch,but not before we went to Wal Mart to purchase a mountain bike for Jimmy( more later).After lunch I chased United Airlines to find out where my bike was. Fortunately she was at Kona airport so we drove up to pick her up. Once back the bike got put together and off Jimmy and I went to do my first bike session of the week…me on my race Pinarello and Jimmy on his newly purchased Mongoose mountain bike! We got onto the IM course which is basically all the way up one side of the island on a dual carriageway then back again. It is undulating and very exposed. I suspect that on a windy day it will be very very hard work. Wind wasn’t too bad as we set off and I can say that this ride was probably the only one I shall ever beat Jimmy on! He said afterwards he had had a tough old workout! I was pleased with my session and pleased to have got out onto the bike course.tomorrow the Expo opens so will be looking at any new kit out there!