Columbia, Maryland USA 17 May 2009

Hey hey,

What a great place to have a race, Columbia Maryland is so beautiful, very green with loads of hills… well at least the course had plenty of hills. The weather was a little fresh and a little wet for my liking but with me carrying a few extra kilos (my rubber ring) around the course it meant I didn’t have to worry about overheating. We started at 6:45am and because the water was 70’F (over the 68’ cut off) we were not allowed to wear our wetsuits. Ffffffreeezzzzing. But as we got going and the blood started pumping the cool temperatures made for a fast day. I was second out of the water with a little gap on the other competitors which was nice. I got going on the bike and thought I was riding strong… I was riding strong but Andrew Yoder, a young 19year old who is the bomb on the bike came rolling past me 10minutes into the bike and made me feel like I was standing still. He was the only person I saw out there on the challenging but fast 40km bike. He ended up putting almost 2minutes into me by the end of the bike.

I felt good starting the run and just tried to find my rhythm. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to run back my 2 minute deficit, all I could do was run within myself and hope to see him by the end of the 10km run. I got to half way and still no sign on Yoder. There were was plenty of up and downhill throughout the run so I just keep working it and eventually at about 4.5miles / 7.5km I caught him, but he didn’t give up and pushed me all the way to the finish. I managed to hold him off for the win and we were not too far off the course record.

All in all… besides the travel, our experience here has been great. The Tri Columbia staff and volunteers did a great job in looking after the athletes and putting on and world class event. Also ARX http://www.fastertomorrow.com/ one of my sponsors was an event sponsor so it was great to hang out with them at the expo and after the race.

Back off to Santa Barbara first thing tomorrow to get into some heavy training millage for IM Germany. Right now I have to break down my Specialized bike to fit it into my custom box (made by my dad), dry and K-Swiss race flats and my Aqua Sphere Swim Suit, email the kind folks at Zipp to let them know my Sub 9 Disc with Ceramic bearings must have had a stone flung at it at Wildflower because I found a small crack in the carbon before packing my bike for this trip, and chat with the guys at Plumbing World about the Stellar Trust Ball that was held this weekend in Auckland, New Zealand in order to raise funds for the awareness of the drug “P” or Meth.

Next race on the cards is the Buffalo Triathlon in Minnesota in 3 weeks time.

Until then, Take care

Terenzo Bozzone

WILDFLOWER 4 MAY 2009

So I guess in this line of work or any line or work you have good days and you have bad days. This past weekend at the Wildflower Half Ironman in California was one of those bad days at the office.

Last week started off great, after flying back to the west coast after my race in Florida we headed down to Specialized at Morgan Hill, although I didn't get any product I felt like a kid a Christmas. Hanging out with the engineers and designers looking at the new bikes and equipment that will be coming out later in the year... I can't wait.

Well, The race started off as a good day. I swam well and was out of the water not too far behind Andy Potts (one of the fastest swimmers in our sport), jumped onto the bike and was riding strong, at least that is what my SRM (power meter) said. But for some reason there was a bigger group of guys than usual pushing the pace, and they didn't slow for the whole 90km. We soon bridged the gap to Potts but Bjorn Anderson had started to put some time onto us and was riding into the distance. We got about 75 percent through the course and hit one of the big climbs. To illustrate how fast we rode up the hill - Chris Lieto (a great biker) had put about 1minute into the group in about 10km, half way up the climb we had already caught him, surely he was meant to be riding away from us? These guys were racing up the hill like it was a 40km bike race and I probably should have backed off, but I didn't want to lose time so I pushed it to stay with them.
We soon got off the bike and headed out onto the 21km hilly run. Potts and I were running shoulder to shoulder, It was not feeling great so after a mile I backed off the pace and thought he would come back to me, I was finding my rhythm and my legs were starting to feel okay, that was until I hit the hill at mile 4 and had to slow into a walk. I think the drink bottle I lost at the start of the bike with all my calories in it was a bigger problem than I thought. I tried to keep going the best I could but it was ending up like last year's race where I blew up big time. On the course we passed a road that would lead us down to transition/ the finish, that is where I wanted to go (a short cut to the finish), but I couldn't do that so I just kept plowing through the run, almost running backwards, I went from 2nd place with a comfortable lead on the rest of the field down to 8th place.
This was definitely a race that I would like to forget, but after looking at how last year unfolded after getting thrashed at this same race I am sure the rest of the year will go okay. Maybe my weekend was not that bad after all, Dixie - a great lady who helps organize the event slipped on the grass on Friday and broke her ankle, my buddy Chris Boudreaux was having a great race and it a pot hole at full speed and pulled his back out and couldn't finish, another friend James Cotter hurt his back and was having trouble moving the days leading up to the race and last but not least James Bowstead, he was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the femur 10days out from IM New Zealand and was meant to be up here training and racing with me but is still not back running. Other than that it was a fun weekend, a couple of my sponsors, ARX - Faster tomorrow, Aqua Sphere and Specialized had a presence at the expo and I had a good time hanging out with them.

We are now settled into our place in Santa Barbara with my brother where we will be based for the next month training and working on our tan while swimming in our lycra in the awesome 50m outdoor pool that is pretty much on the beach.Attached are a few pictures from the past week.

Next stop for me and Kelly is the Columbia Olympic distance Tri in Maryland on the 17th May

Thanks
Terenzo

ST ANTHONY'S 26 APRIL 2009

Hey guys,

It is the end of a long day here in St. Petersburg, Florida, even though it was a shorter race than I am used to. It was an Olympic distance race, but non drafting on the bike made it a more fun playing field for me. The race was held about 30 minutes from where I won the World 70.3 Championships last November.... Kelly and I love this part of the world, the sun is always shinning.

The age group swim was cancelled due to the water conditions being really rough, I wish they cancelled our swim and made it a bike run.I lost a bit of time in the swim to the likes of Andy Potts and Matt Reed (2 x winner here) but made up good ground on the tactical and fast bike course and came off the bike in second behind Andy, about 40 seconds down.
I ran most of the run with him in my sights but couldn't seem to bridge the gap... bugger.To round off the top three was Stuart Hayes from Great Britain, also a ITU racer from way back moving into the non drafting scene.
We have had a great stay here in St. Pete's with our home stay, Lisa and Philippe and all our new friends... well actually there friends that we will now claim. They made our stay here relaxing and enjoyable.

Next stop Specialized bikes in Morgan Hill, CA for a couple days before heading down to Wildflower to get punished by the course. This year the race has one of the toughest fields in the history with almost 80 professionals lining up on the start line. Sure it will be good fun as always.

Will keep you posted on next weekends events.

TERENZO

THE STELLAR TRUST APRIL 2009

HI everyone,Please read this email and browse the attachments, if you are unable to help please pass the information onto some of your contacts that may be able.This email probably relates more to those based here in New Zealand but is not to be taken lightly by anyone else. It is in relation to a charity that I am part of and who's aim is to fix issues that most are effected by in one way or another, Drug use, in particular the drug Methamphetamine know on the street as "P". The Stellar Trust (http://www.thestellartrust.org.nz%3chttp/www.thestellartrust.org.nz>) is going to make a huge impact on our society and the issues it is trying to solve is not only a National problem here in New Zealand but escalating on an international level.Methamphetamine is the world's worst drug problem and sweeping the globe at pandemic levels.Below is an extract from the fact sheet attached that highlights the issues here in New Zealand:
New Zealand now has the highest recorded per capita use of P in the world
In 10 years New Zealand came where it took America almost 30 years to get
Over 60 percent of all frequent meth users are in full time employment
P knows no boundaries and is just as commonly used by well educated business people and school students as it is by unemployed criminals
A frequent user of meth may need as much as $2000 a day to support a 3 gram a day habit
On average a P user will commit $24000 worth of crime every 6 months just to support their habit
A P user is thought to cost their employer about $47 500 per year in lost productivity, absenteeism and theft
Almost 60 percent of High Court cases involve meth manufacture or dealing
In 2006 P was thought to cause $554m in social costs, more than any other illegal drug
The purity of methamphetamine has been directly linked to addiction rates and increasing violent crime. New Zealand has some of the most pure methamphetamine in the world
Customs now make up to 4 seizures of crystal meth or chemicals to make the drug a day, but 70 percent of what's found in New Zealand is made from locally madeBasically what we are trying to do now is to raise funds so that we can create awareness about P and its addictive and harmful characteristics. There is a Charity Roast at Sky City on May 16th where Paul Holmes is going to be Roasted! Along with other national and international entertainment. Please see the attached information.This is a problem that we are going to need as much help as we can to fix.On a much smaller and light hearted note I raced Xterra (off road triathlon - 1000m swim, 30km mountain bike and 11km trail run) this weekend down in beautiful Rotorua, it felt like one of the hardest races in a while, I couldn't stop puffing going up the hills and was screaming like a little girl on the inside going down the hills, unfortunately I crashed my new Specialized and broke the frame but managed to finished 5th. Was great fun and I will be back next year to try and get my title back.Thanks to everyone for their support, I hope you all take this email seriously as "P" is a serious issue that needs something to be done about it. If you need any more information please read the attached files or go to > to find out more.ThanksTerenzo Bozzone

PROGRAM FOR 2009April2009

HI,

I have had a good few weeks relaxing after Ironman New Zealand and am now in the second week of getting back into training. The summer in New Zealand is really doing its best to hold on, hopefully it hangs in there and stays warm until I leave for the States on the 21st April. I can’t think of anything worse than riding in the cold and wet, I think I have gotten soft with old age.

My coach and I have decided to slot in another Ironman race before the World Championships in October as I need to try and move forward as fast as I can and we believe the best way to get experience over this distance is to do more racing… within reason. I have chosen the Frankfurter Sparkasse IRONMAN Germany which is on the 5th July in Frankfurt, it also doubles as the Frankfurter Sparkasse IRONMAN European Championships. It is going to be a great race with some of the best Ironman athletes in the world. I have heard great things about Ironman Germany, it is a world class event and the support from the spectators is like the hill stages in the Tour de France. All the top athletes have gone to race there before Kona with the likes of Chris McCormack, Cameron Brown and Peter Reid performing well in their build up for Kona and hopefully I will follow in their footsteps in the near future. I am really looking forward to event, and hope that I can put what I learnt at IM New Zealand into practice.

This is what the next 3 months will look like for Kelly and I – I can guarantee we will be sick of being on the road and living out of a suitcase by the end of it:

18th April – Xterra New Zealand down in Rotorua, I won this event last year and hope to defend my title.
26th April – St. Anthony’s Olympic Distance (non Drafting Triathlon)
2nd May – Wildflower Half Ironman in California (well really in the middle of nowhere, but an awesome place to race… and camp)
17th May – Columbia Olympic Distance (non Drafting Triathlon)
7th June – Buffalo Olympic Distance (non Drafting Triathlon) in Minnesota, a good friend and competitor Chris Leigh has said great things about this race, so thought I had better check it out.
14th June – Eagleman 70.3 (Half Ironman) Maryland, after getting a dodgy drafting penalty here last year and finishing 2nd I have some unfinished business.
5th July – Frankfurter Sparkasse IRONMAN Germany

After Wildflower we are planning on spending a month in Santa Barbara with some training buddies from Portland. Then looking at either Portland or San Diego for the 2 weeks of training between Eagleman and Germany.

For those in New Zealand you can watch the footage from IM New Zealand on Sky this week, below are the dates and time:
7-Apr-09 21:00 SKY Sport 2 8-Apr-09 23:30 SKY Sport 1 10-Apr-09 06:00 SKY Sport 1 11-Apr-09 02:25 SKY Sport 2

I will keep you all posted with results and how you can follow events online.

Kind regards

Terenzo Bozzone


TAUPO IRONMAN NEW ZEALAND 7th March 2009

So on Saturday the 7th March 2009 in my home country New Zealand in front of a spectacular crowd down in Taupo I competed and completed my first full distance Ironman. I now know how it got its name!!! It was one of the toughest days of my life not only cause of the physicality of the event but also because of how the event plays with your mind and tries to destroy you in any way it can.

The day started at 4am for me when I got up, my beautiful girlfriend cooked me breakfast in bed (I can’t get her to do that for me at 6:30am most of the time). I then did a small bike and run warm up from our motel before heading down to transition to get body numbered and put air in my tires. The gun went off at 6:45, 15 minutes in front of the age groupers. I tried my hardest to stay next to Brent Foster who is an awesome swimmer but that didn’t last long. A small bunch of 7 formed and we chugged around the 3.8km swim. Unfortunately Cameron Brown had been working on his swimming and we were unable to brake him, from then I knew it was going to be an interesting day.

Once I put on my arm warmers and socks (it was a little bit cold) we started the journey on our 180km bike. Here is the thing with ironman, the pace actually feels reasonably easy for the first half but the second half feels like death. I was honestly ready to get off my bike after lap 1 and call it a half ironman! Eventually the second lap did start, I managed to get my special needs bag which had a couple drink bottles and a snickers bar in it without too much trouble. There were 4 of us rotating the lead, although we were not getting an advantage from sitting 10-15m behind the person in front it was a great mental break to be able to ride and look at others than riding at the front with only bare road in front of you.

45km to go and Dirk Bockel made a break for it, then at 40km to go Cameron Brown started to pull away and I couldn’t do anything about it, this was my first bad patch of the day. All I could do was concentrate on pedaling and count down the km’s. After eating my snickers bar and drinking 2 bottles of Pepsi I started to climb out of my slump and was able to ride properly again breaking away from the remaining 2 guys in our group. Now the bike was over how the hell am I meant to run a marathon is what was going through my mind. Truthfully it was the crowd that started me off, the cheers were so loud that I couldn’t hear my body moaning at me so all I could do was run. Brownie was 45seconds up the road and Dirk had managed to stretch out to a 5minute 30second lead. For the first 10km Brownie was in my sights, we were both running quicker than we should have been but he wasn’t pulling away, at about 12km that all changed, heading back into town on the first lap I was hurting but I couldn’t give up because my support crew were turning up everywhere and there was no way I was going to walk in front of them!!!

At the end of the first lap, Dirk was still up 4min and Brown had stretched out to just over 2minutes. All I could do was run my pace and keep my rhythm, I guess this is what they call the Ironman shuffle! 10km’s to go and Dirk was only 2 minutes up the road, Brown has taken the lead and was showing his class by not slowing down as all of the grueling 42km. Dirk, also a first time Ironman athlete who was running time into Cam and myself for the first 10km was now starting to struggle, he was walking through aid stations and I could see him coming closer and closer. With about 6km to go I passed him and all I could think about was making it to the last 2.5km where I knew the crowd would carry me home, and that is what they did, the pavement was lined with massive amounts of people, out the corner of one eye I saw Harold, the mascot for Life Education what an awesome surprise. I wasn’t sure how much time I had put into Dirk so I couldn’t slow and start high 5ing people cause I felt like I would trip up or do something stupid in my almost comatose state.

Finally I was in the finish chute and all the pain and suffering from the day was a distant memory, I had done it, I had worked through all the mental barriers and made it to the finish. What a day and 2nd behind Cameron Brown, well that’s ok, for now.

Congratulations to everyone who finished the race, inside or out of the cut off time, you are my inspiration. Seeing you guys out there still giving your all when most people have tucked into bed to call it a day, that is what Ironman is all about.

Thanks to everyone who have been part of my preparation for this event, there is no way I would be where I am now without your help and support.

Here are a couple links with some news coverage and photos for your information.

TV1
http://tvnz.co.nz/othersports-news/brown-storms-eighth-ironman-win-2523604/video

TV3
http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/sports/19321.html

here is a link to some photos
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/lPgfWBWAUH_/2009+Ironman+New+Zealand/32I0VpWEKiD/Terenzo+Bozzone

and attached are a couple other photos.

Thanks again

Terenzo

NEW ZEALAND 16 FEBRUARY 2009

HI guys,

I hope 2009 has been off to a great start for all of you and you are keeping well and healthy. I am 3 weeks out from my first full distance Ironman event, it will take place in Taupo, New Zealand on the 7th March. Training has been going great, probably thanks to all the good company I have had on all those long and hard days. I can definitely say my buddies have put me in the hurt box more than once!!! On top of that the summer has been really good… touch wood. But for some reason the weather has turned around today and it is bucketing down outside as we speak. Oh well, lucky I have an easy day.

Below are two links from a couple of pre Ironman interviews I did with our National TV stations, the first link is from TV1 and the second from TV2. Hopefully they still connect. In the background of the Photo below is the yellow pages Treehouse Restaurant where I took Kelly for an early Valentines dinner. It was an amazing experience dining 10meters up a tree.

http://tvnz.co.nz/othersports-news/bozzones-hope-1-37-2458707/video

http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/sports/17913.html

I will let everyone know closer to the time how you can follow the event live.

Thanks for everything and I wish you all the best for 2009, I hope you have a great year and you reach all your goals.

Kind regards

Terenzo