[IMAGE: A typical Hawaii Ironman World Championship swim start - a hard and fast one, particularly for Age Groupers]

2XU's Co-Founder/Director and Head of Product Development Jamie Hunt, is lining up for his first IRONMAN (IM) World Championships (Kona, Hawaii) on October 13.  In the M40-44 category; Jamie made his full IM debut in Melbourne earlier this year - not only finishing in a cracking time of 8:58:06, but winning his Age Group.  While Hunt originally left the circuit to establish 2XU; he's now back and determined to show what his highly acclaimed technical 2XU Compression + Triathlon garments can do.  Starting Wednesday October 3 to race-day eve, Jamie will be checking in with a daily journal entry.  

Here's DAY 10:

Hi guys,

Currently sitting by the pool soaking up the sun, and with just two more sleeps to go, the nerves kick in more and more.  At this point, you really start questioning your training, taper, equipment and even the brand of water you just chose to consume!  It’s not a particularly enjoyable time - you just want to fast forward and be standing on the starting line.

The part of the race I fear most is the mass Age Group start - 1900 athletes heading out at once.  Melbourne wasn't bad, but here in Kona, everyone knows how to swim well – it’s a necessity here. 

It will be a hard and fast start - my swimming is going really well at the moment, so I know I can put in a solid 200m then slide into a pack.  Being 20% easier swimming on someone's feet, I’ll be aiming to pick someone slightly faster, then head into auto pilot and follow their feet.

The bike will be a similar situation - it's illegal to draft on someone's wheel, however the drafting zone here is only a small 7m, which still offers a nice ride for the guy behind. 

The cycle packs here get big, so being a strong swimmer will hopefully help me settle into the right draft-legal pack on the bike.

Run wise, there’s just nowhere to hide.  I’ll be taking it 1km at a time for the entire 42.2kms. 

Yesterday involved an easy ride with Cam Brown.  I’ve definitely been feeling better each day – the legs still don't feel great, but with a complete day off today, hopefully they will freshen up.

Tonight will be another quiet evening tonight – I attempted to watch Spiderman with the girls in our room last night, but fell asleep half way through. 

Well, that’s it from me.  My next blog will be post-race…see you on the flipside!

 Aloha,

 Jamie