St. Croix 70.3

I have made it home safely to New Zealand after several long flights to get here from St. Croix. About 24hrs of flying plus extended layovers at each stop so by the time I got home I have slept and slept. Almost time to invest in a private plane like one of my competitors from last weekend, Lance Armstrong.

My third and final race of this trip was the St. Croix 70.3 in the US Virgin islands in the Caribbean. It is a race with so much history behind it and so many legends of our sport have been down to compete. This year was much the same and probably the most stacked professional men’s field the race has seen, including Lance Armstrong who actually raced this race in its inaugural year way back 24 years ago.

I seem to be dragging the bad weather with me wherever I go and St. Croix, the hot tropical island was much the same with plenty of rain and flooded roads even on race day.

I had the opportunity to meet Lance a couple times before the race and he seemed like a nice guy and a good swimmer… for a cyclist. Actually he was good non the less. The island deserved the Lance effect with the Oil refinery shutting down a couple weeks ago and 3000 people being stuck without jobs. 

I felt like I had recovered well and was ready for a good race but when I got out there it was not to be my day. I had a great swim start the put me in the lead but didn’t manage to hold onto that for long with Andy Potts and Stefan Poulat, two of the strongest swimmers in our sport taking the lead and moving away from us other guys. They would later go on to take first and second place. I was swimming with Armstrong and Fredrick Van Lierde and by the end of the swim we had lost a sizable 90 seconds.

Off onto the bike with the rain come down and puddles of water covering the cracks and holes in the road. I struggled to find my biking legs and when Lance made his move I had nothing to react with. I ended up riding most of the 90km super hilly bike solo and not feeling great, by the time I got into transition I had been swallowed up by the chase group of guys some 7 minutes behind Armstrong.

I was determined to keep my moral up on the run and give it everything. I found a good rhythm and soon with some company from Allesandro. We were pushing the pace and trying to bridge the gap to the 3 in front of us. The legs were sore but I managed to keep on top of them, at mile 5 he made a move and I couldn’t go with him but I kept him in my sights. Ticking along around the course and waiting for the other guys to blow up… which they did. I was glad when I made it into the home stretch. This battle was over and now I can go back to the drawing board and get ready to make my next step forward.

Thanks to my great home stay Ed and Linda Staats. The hospitality on the island is overwhelming and I “thoroughly” suffering on the hard, hot course with the guys.

I am back in NZ for a couple weeks then I will head state side for a few more races.

St. Anthony's Triathlon

  Photo by: paul@competitiveimage.us

Over the weekend I competed at the St. Anthony’s Olympic distance triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida. With not that much high-end speed work in my body I was unsure how I go against a stellar Pro field. I went into the race without much pressure and did what I could. Which on Sunday was good enough to put me in 6^th Place.

With the good results in this area of Florida over the past few years (St. Petersburg/ Clearwater) Kelly and I have always enjoyed coming back. Unfortunately she has been stuck at home in NZ with health issues and is missed more than words can describe. On a brighter note I did have a great homestay, local celebrity and Oxiclean front man Anthony (Sully) Sullivan, his partner Brett Stone and their 18month old girl Devon. They really helped me feel at home and recover from the previous weeks race, plus Brett is a great cook. On top of that Sully pitched the opening pitch at the Tampa Bay Rays baseball game against the LA Angels, my first ball game, we went cruising in the Gulf in their pimpin boat, caught a shark and didn’t get eaten. Thanks guys for opening your house to me and making me feel at home.

My big goal last week was to get rid of the heavy feeling in my legs, which with the help of my 2XU compression gear, Normatec boots, and loads of massage I managed to do.

Then race day, I misjudged the time needed to get to the start of the swim and ended up rushing down there, made it with a couple minutes to spare. I ended up having a great swim and was in a good position coming out of the water. Then it was onto the 25mile/ 40km bike. There was a breakaway of 3 riders from the beginning and the main group failed to bridge the gap. The bike stayed reasonably controlled and then with 5 miles to Tim O’Donnell and I made a run for it. We managed to get off the bike with a small buffer on the group but 4 guys up the road.

Heading onto the run my legs were stuck in 3^rd gear. I tried changing up my cadence and stride length but the pick up wasn’t there. Tim ran by my, then Philip Osplay, by this stage I was in 4^th gear. Then another small group caught up and I was determined not to let them get away so I changed into 5^th gear. Unfortunately I was like a 5 speed Jap import racing 6 speed Euro cars and was topped out. I was happy with how I ran for my current fitness and held on for 6^th place, which for the time being I am okay to call this a “job well done.”

Next Stop is the St. Croix 70.3 down in the US Virgin Islands. This is one of the hardest courses on the circuit, not only because of the geographical terrain, but also the climate and the competition which this year will include 7 times Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

I am still early in my come back from injury and just hoping for a good race, do not expect any records to be broken… just yet.

Will fill you in on the stories next week.