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!

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