So this weekend was the Ironman 70.3 Auckland Asia Pacific
Championships, the first big race of the 2014 season and to kick things off
everyone did a great job. I was blown
away with how stacked the professional field was. You wont see another pro
field with this many big names in it until the World Championships later in the
year. The race was put on to an unbelievable standard thanks to the
organization, the volunteers and Auckland city and not to mention the great
crowds of spectators out there making the hard racing so much sweeter, and last
but not least the weather Gods were good to us giving Auckland an absolutely
amazing day to showcase the sport and the great city I call home.
With not being able to stand on the start line last year after
being taken out by a car door 2 days before the race which resulted in a slow
start to my 2013 season due to a concussion I was very grateful to be a part of
the action this time around.
I took the bronze which I will be happy with as it is still
early in the season for me and I am just getting back into some good training. I am really pleased with how my body
responded so to finish on the podium in one of the most stacked fields outside
of world champs is very satisfying. I had a great time racing in front of my
home crowd on an absolutely stellar day here in Auckland. Right from the start
of the race I was excited and loved every minute of the action. The pro field
did a great job putting on an amazing show for those watching and whilst I tried
unsuccessfully several times to split the group I loved this challenging
Auckland course which took in some pretty cool sights. It is not every day that
you are allowed to ride over the harbor bridge and the North section of the
course went around the roads I used to train on as a beginner. Put all this
with the huge crowds, the multi lap course and an unbelievable back drop and I
was in my element. 
Olympic gold
medalist Jan Frodeno took line honors with seasoned pro Richie Cunningham
showing he has stepped up his game to a whole new level of racing to take the
silver. The other names that were in the top 8 included 2 x Olympic medalist
Bevan Docherty, home favorite Cam Brown, 5 x world champion Craig Alexander and
super runner Tim Reed. The girls podium was Cat Morrison, Annabel Luxford and
Jo Lawn.
A week of
recovery ahead before getting back into the serious miles in my build up for
Nutri-Grain Ironman NZ on the 1st March.
Until then, keep
safe
