Swimming 140.6?

At the Koala Hospital
















Waking from a 20-hour nap.



















Lunch time!

If the torrential rains continue, it may just come to swimming 140.6! It has been dumping down rain since we arrived in Port Macquarie, mixed with howling winds for good measure. Thank goodness the swim course is in a fairly protected river, because the ocean swell is something to behold! MJ was quite amused when I asked whether this was monsoon season in Australia.

There have been breaks in the storm, and during those times I’ve had a chance to view the incredible beauty of this area. It reminds me of a mix of three places I absolutely love: Hawaii, Idaho and the Big Sur coast. It’s truly stunning and the views on the bike course will do wonders to tamper the frustration of the rain, if it does remain.

One very sad note from our crew: Mike has determined that his injury will prevent him from racing, so he’s returning home today. We’ll certainly miss him, but there’s no doubt he’s made the right decision – and there will be many more successful race days in his future once he’s properly healed.

We had the pleasure of visiting the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie yesterday, where we saw a handful of little cuties being nursed back to health from various injuries and illnesses. The animals wind up in the hospital for a variety of reasons and the volunteer caregivers do everything possible to rehab them for release back to the wild.

I’ll have more to report about the Koala Hospital and other features of the town of Port Macquarie in an upcoming article in Triathlete’s print magazine. I’ll also be blogging more throughout race week - but now it’s time to prep for one more training ride. Wish me luck and dry skies!