I woke up just before my alarm went off at 3.50am. Down to breakfast 4.15am. Then the shuttle buses took us to the swim start. I was booked on this race at the last minute with the lovely Ken Glah from Endurance Sports Travel. Ken has this race really sewn up, everything is exceptionally well organised. It was Ken that actually started this race when he set up his company in 2002, looking after athletes

It appears to be somewhat cooler than you think Brazil is going to be. Race day at the moment shows rain and temperature starting on the bike about 17 celsius rising to about 19 celsius before starting to cool again around 3pm. Sun sets early around 5pm. The swim is one lap but with two loops side by side and an Australian exit in between where we exit the water after the first bigger loop

So after a relaxing holiday in Dubai, drinking copious amounts of champagne and eating lots of really good food in some of the best restaurants in Dubai, I return home. After having a conversation with my coach we decide before writing Kona off for the year to have another go. I’m left with two options: IM Lanzarote 21st May or IM Brazil 29th May. I know Lanzarote bike route inside out and back to front,

Race day dawns. In the dark at 4.30am. I stagger out of my comfy bed realising it’s D Day. I love the mornings of race day. I think to myself, ‘the page is totally blank now and today the story will be written. I wonder how it will read tonight’. The hotel puts on a fantastic breakfast for us. As usual everyone is walking about with strained faces, nerves written all over, trying to eat