We were very lucky to have both scraped together enough time away from work to stay in Hawaii for an extra week after the race.  The first couple of days were spent recovering: we were both exhausted.

Two days after racing I was bored with sitting around doing nothing, and tried to go for an easy walk along the seafront in Kona.  To my great irritation, I managed about a mile before my feet had swollen up too badly to continue without inflicting further damage.  It seemed I would be mostly exploring the island from the passenger seat of the car… some highlights are below.

At the visitor information centre on Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano that you can drive up

Ed inspects the place where lava meets road in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The road used to continue on from here until lava flowed over it!

As the lava cools, the outside solidifies first, leaving empty “lava tubes” that you can walk through

The excellent Bamboo Restaurant, located at the turnaround point in Hawi. Delicious food, friendly service and great cocktails, as well as a shop and an art gallery. We drove up for dinner on our last night in Hawaii

Clambering over the rocks by Rainbow Falls Lookout, just outside Hilo

Halema’uma’u Crater, on a fairly well-behaved day

Obligatory beach picture: we spent our last day here, before heading to the airport in the early evening

Thanks are due to everyone who has helped me along the way, but in particular to Ed, holding as he does the roles of chief coach, mechanic, chef, sports psychologist, chauffeur, training partner and most importantly long-suffering boyfriend and provider of hugs.

Onwards and upwards…

You can also see my race report here, and details of the week leading into the race here.