Eagleman 70.3

Hi guys,

I just got back to LA after a good 2 weeks on the road. Firstly last
weekend where I finished 2nd to Ironman World Champion Craig Alexander, then
this past weekend where I managed to back it up and win the Eagleman 70.3, a
race I won last year.

This year the conditions were tough with wind blowing in all directions and
the temperatures reaching about 35'C/ 100'F, not to mention the tough
competition.

David Kahn lead the swim from start to finish and managed to hold that lead
for a good portion of the bike, that is until young uber biker Andrew Yoder
swallowed him up. Behind them I was with a good group which included James
Cotter, Richie Cunningham, Tim Marr & Philip Graves. We all seemed to be
struggling and the gap the Yoder grew to almost 6 minutes before we decided
we needed to dig deep to gain a bit back. Cotter and Graves road strong.

We were off the bikes with a 4 minute deficit on Yoder and I guess we were
all questioning our ability to run him down. All I could do was find my
rhythm which I struggled to find and let the rest take care of itself.
Slowly we were making time but with the sun blasting down anything could
happen. Cotter was only seconds behind me. I have done some training with
him in the past and knew he was going to be dangerous.

It wasn't until about mile 8 where I caught Yoder, but things were getting
ugly out there. Every stride was a struggle and I am not proud to admit I
spent more time looking over my shoulder than I did looking in front of me.
Counting down the miles to the finish and it wasn't until the final stretch
where I knew I had the race.

By the time I got to the line I didn't have enough energy to grab the
banner, all I could do was get my hands about head high and try to smile.

Cotter also managed to run down Yoder in the closing stages of the race.

Fellow Kiwi Samantha Warriner took out the girls over Sam McGlone and
Michellie Jones rounded off the woman's podium.

Chilling out for a couple days before trying to find a little extra form for
my next race, Buffalo Springs 70.3 in 2 weeks in Texas.

REV 3 HALF IRONMAN

Wow, what a race!!! My legs are screaming at me big time!!

Today I raced the Revolution 3 half here in Quassy, Connecticut. The scenery is so beautiful here with stunning lakes and rolling green hills, reminds me a lot of home.
The pro field here was unbelievable with the best of the best on the start line, including Craig Alexander, Matt Reed, Ritchie Cunningham and Joe Gambles to name a few.

The gun went off at 6.50am………tick tick boom, we were now off on the 1.2 mile swim around Lake Quassapaug. Got into a great rhythm early on in the swim and managed to get onto the feet of Matty Reed. He is an amazing swimmer and I knew if I stayed close to him I would come out of the swim in a great position.

Came out of the water with Matt and most of the other main competitors and out on to the incredibly challenging and tough 56 mile/90 km 1 loop bike course. This was the hilliest bike course I have ever raced on and it was a matter of pacing myself and not losing the front bunch so that I still had a little left in the tank for the run. For most of the bike 6 athletes stayed together while Bjorn Andersson flew right past us early on in the bike like we were standing still. Joe Gambles then came through the pack and managed to get a 1 minute gap on us.

Arrived in transition with Craig and Matt, 2.30 minutes down on Bjorn and 1 minute down on Joe Gambles. Matt set the pace early on in the run and he was flying, if I wanted to have a chance at taking the title I had to stay with him. By mile 4 on the run we had dropped Craig Alexander and had about a 1 min gap back to him. Matt and I now thought it was game on between just the 2 of us so we slowed down slightly and found a more comfortable pace. Feeling really comfortable now and running side by side with Matt half way through the run, I now had to make sure I paced myself well so that I still had something left in the tank to get to the finish line first. Looking back over my shoulder at around mile 9 Craig was in my sight again and catching really fast…..bugger, I thought he was down and out. I now had to put the hammer down as Craig was flying toward us. With only 4 miles to go I managed to drop Matt Reed and have a slight gap on Craig Alexander. By mile 10, Craig had caught me and we were running side by side. I managed to stay with him for another mile but he eventually dropped me and unfortunately I had nothing left in the tank to go with him. With Craig now running away from me I knew I had to keep pushing to get to the finish line if I wanted to finish on the podium. Finally made it to the finish line in 2nd, 1 minute behind Craig Alexander and with Matty Reed 2 minutes back from me in 3rd to round out the podium.

All in all this race was unbelievable and really happy with the 2nd place result. With the stellar line up of Pros, grueling race course, incredible venue and professionally run event by Todd and Heather Gollnick and her Revolution 3 team, I will definitely be back here again next year.

Next stop is Cambridge, Maryland for the Eagleman 70.3 on the 13 June.

Regards
Terenzo

Rev 3 Olympic Distance

Hey Everyone,

4 races in 22days….some would say that is crazy but I was feeling good and wanted to go for the hat trick and a chance at the $115,000 prize purse to win all 3 REV 3 races….unfortunately today wasn’t that day, but I would have kicked myself if I didn’t give it a go.

So the last stop of this 22 day schedule was Knoxville, Tennessee at the Rev 3 Olympic Distance Triathlon. Last minute decision to race today but was feeling great and thought I had another 1 in me. The weather here was amazingly warm all week but then race day came around and it was frreeezzzing!!

The horn went off at 7.45am and we were off. The water was so cold which made it hard for me to get going. Out of the water in 8^th place which wasn’t the start I was hoping for but knew I still had the bike and run to go. With a quick transition I was out onto the bike. I was feeling really strong and comfortable at this stage. Spinning well and getting into a good rhythm for the challenging 40km bike. But unfortunately half way through bike course I was controversially penalized with a 1 minute stand down. So off the bike on the side of the road for 1 minute which feels like forever with all of the other athletes passing by which can be soul destroying and race ruining but I wasn’t going to let it get to me and kept striving for the perfect race which very nearly happened. Passing Chris Lieto into 2^nd with 150m to go. It would have been an exciting race for the spectators without the 1 minute penalty as I was 45 seconds down on Matt Reed at the finish line.

Congratulations to Matt Reed and Chris Lieto rounding out the top 3 and Bjorn Anderson who finished 4^th and came past me on the bike like I was standing still!!

All in all I had a great time here in Knoxville and Rev 3 put on an amazing race and I look forward to the next race of theirs in Quassy, Connecticut on 6^th June.

Wow, what an amazing time I have had racing over the last month. I’m stoked with the 2^nd, 1^st, 1^st, 2^nd results. I have learnt a lot and hopefully next time there will be a whole lot fewer 2nds in the mix.

Regards

Terenzo

 

St. Croix 70.3

Hey guys,

Just finished my third half ironman in 15days with a bang here in St. Croix. Managed to just hold on for the win over Tim O’Donnell who was also second last week in Texas.

It was a tough day. The competition was world class, the course was hilly and the heat was unbearable!

We kicked off at 630 this morning which meant my alarm went off at 3:45am. I did hit snooze several times. The swim was fast but the core group of guys, which included Craig Alexander Ironman World Champion 2009, Richie Cunningham, Tim O’Donnell and Tyler Butterfield stuck together. That all changed pretty early in the bike section when the Frenchman Romaine Guillaune pushed the pace big time. Fortunately Tim and I managed to keep up and split the group. The three of us stayed away for the duration of the 56mile/ 90km bike and stretched our lead to about 2 minutes over the chase group.

Heading off onto the run my legs were dead. Tim quickly open up a 20second lead in the first couple miles. Finally my legs started to free up and I could find a good Rhythm. At mile 4 I caught up and got myself a little lead that I held onto until mile 7 where Tim caught back up. We then ran together until mile 12 of the 13mile/ 21km run where I made my move and managed to hold on to the finish.

Tim is a class act and a great sportsman – thanks for keeping it real out there buddy.

Tyler Butterfield ran through the field to finish 3rd closely followed by Richie Cunningham and Fraser Cartmell, who lead out of the water.

The woman’s race was won by Catriona Morrison, second place was fellow Kiwi Sam Warriner.

St. Croix has been an amazing experience thanks to my great homestay Dave and Jane Kendrick. They own a amazing restaurant “Kendricks” so I ate in style every night. Think Dave’s special Pasta last night topped off my Carbo loading.

Planning on taking a couple weeks easy now before getting ready for some more races in June.

Will keep in touch,
Thanks for the support
Terenzo