#konalove

I'm laying in bed, Normatecs on, listening to waves crash and keeping my eye out for dolphins: To say I was in heaven would be an understatement. This place is swarming with history and legends, only exacerbated by the fact that I've probably watched every rebroadcast since mid-1980s that I could find on YouTube. It's weird how familiar these spots seem--Palani hill, Dig Me, stretches of the Queen K--despite never having set foot here before. It's rather magical.

I've also gotten to finally meet Hillary and the rest of her crew and swim the course with them (salty!) and take my QR out for a spin on the Queen K. My parents dropped me off in Waikolua and I rode the 25ish mile stretch back to town, loving every minute. Yes, it was windy but I didn't experience the oppressive heat I was imagining out there in the lava fields (guessing a summer regularly training in 103- and 105- degree heat will do that to you) and the hills reminded me of a gentler version of the Parmer route we have down in Austin. Granted I didn't make the trip up to Hawi but so far I am love love loving the bike course!

Folks are starting to trickle into Kona and the excitement is definitely building. Still can't get over being here, someone please pinch me.