Vineman 70.3

I just finished 3^rd in the Ironman 70.3 Vineman tri today up in Sonoma Valley. It was a tough race but I am pleased with the result and I am looking forward to a couple easy weeks before the build up towards the world champs in Las Vegas begins.

Kelly and I spent the last 2 weeks up in Portland, Oregon. The training up there was great and it was good to have a good friend of mine, Chris Boudreaux up there to smack out the miles and the hard sessions with. Looking back I am somewhat surprised with the amount of work we managed to do in the short time between these past 2 races. Aside from a couple appearances at the local bike shop “Athletes Lounge” the big thing to report back with was the amazing food. Both of us expanded our taste buds horizons and had an absolutely amazing time in the NorthWest. I would like to say I managed to execute self-control and not over indulge in the amazing food… but I would be lying.

 

Race day rolled around and while I felt I had not recovered and absorbed the past 2 weeks training as much as I would have liked I managed to get stuck in and take out of the race what I needed to.

The pace was hot in the swim and a small bunch of 7 of us formed going out onto the bike, again for 5miles the pace was on, Tim Don, Luke Bell and Paul Matthews all trying to stretch it out. About a mile later Bevan Doherty made a move that couldn’t have been any more perfect for his race. He attacked and basically road away from the group and held onto that lead to win the race.  I tried a couple times to get the group working to close the gap but it seemed everyone was content with sitting in. Something I still can’t understand as we had a couple minutes on Gambles and Reed, 2 of the stronger runners in the sport and Bevan was riding away basically to take the title without contention. I guess they were happy with finishing outside of the money.

I stuck to my race plan and soon Gambles and Reed caught us, we eventually got off the bike 2.5minutes down on Bevan and set off on a mad chase.  I was 1^st out of transition with Reed hot on my heels, we ran through the 1^st mile in 5minutes (which is quick) but soon settled down to about 5:25 pace. Both of us kept pushing the pace trying to take as much time as we could. At 6 miles we had made up almost 1minute. Bevan showed his class by holding that time difference even for the rest of the race and Gambles was equally as classy, after setting out at his even tempo he was now closing the gap to us. The last 2 miles was a dogfight with Reed and I doing everything we could to hold off the fast approaching Gambles. We did so but I had nothing left in the tank to react to Reeds kick with 200meters to go.  I would be content with 3^rd place today and I am happy with where my form and fitness is leading into the final build up to the Ironman 70.3 world champs in 8 weeks time in Las Vegas.

Back to NZ for a couple weeks of R&R, I am looking forward to sleeping in my new Tempurpedic bed and hanging out with friends. But firstly a quick detour to Queenstown for the filming of a new Kelloggs Nutri-Grain commercial. Watch this space…

BSLT 70.3

This weekend was the Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon in Lubbock, Texas. It was my third time to Lubbock, which matched my placing of 3^rd in the race.

Kelly and I had a couple great days in Montreal seeing the sights after the Mont Tremblant race, which probably was not the best recovery, but seeing the sights in particular the Notre-Dame Basilica was well worth it. We also celebrated our half-year wedding anniversary, I can’t believe how fast the year is moving.

Then to top off my great recovery our flight out of Montreal was delayed 7 hours, we missed our connection in Houston and had to overnight at a really dodgy hotel, but at 1am in the morning we were not in the mood to go looking for luxury. Finally on Thursday we made it to Lubbock where we stayed with one of our favorite homestays, The Holloways. A big thanks the Shari and Randy for taking such good care of us.

Race day rolled around and while the temperatures were a lot cooler than past years the pro start list was one of the best the race had ever seen, but it was going to be a Tasman showdown with Kiwis and Aussies rounding out the top 6 placing’s.

I woke up race morning with a bit of a crook gut and struggled to get in the zone the whole day, I ended up making a couple very amateur mistakes including my front wheel sliding out under me turning around the 1^st U-turn on the bike.

Josh Amberger and James Seear took out the swim hard and had a minute lead out of the water. Mark Bowstead must have got some inspiration after the opening stage of the Tour de France and was riding like an uber biker pushing the pace. Just as we were about to catch the leaders I took my little spill and struggled to bounce back. I contemplated calling it a day but thought better of it and tried to get the most out of the race given what I had.

Up the front Greg Bennett had started to pull away while Amberger was stuck in a penalty tent, Bowstead was paying a little for all the work at the start of the bike and after having Tim Reed in my sights for the whole race I finally bridged up to him just before rolling into transition.

Reed set a good tempo immediately and closed the gap to Bowstead in 4 miles. I was struggling to hang in there and soon found myself running solo trying to hold onto 3^rd place.

Bennett showed his experience and class by putting together a solid run after a hard bike and taking the victory, Reed chased hard the whole run but struggled to take much time out of Bennett and I cruised home for 3^rd place. 

Next stop Portland to do some training with the guys from bike shop “Athletes Lounge.” I love the training up there, good riding and some of the best trails in the world. We will spend a couple of weeks here, before we head down to Sonoma County for the Vineman 70.3 in 2 weeks time.

Mont Tremblant 70.3

I just finished the Ironman 70.3 up in Mont Tremblant, Quebec and had a great day. Kelly and I arrived up here on Thursday night, picked up a car from my bike sponsor Argon 18 – which like their bikes was the fastest airport transition ever…  Thanks guys! We didn’t see much driving in from Montreal as it was midnight, but navigating via a Google map print out felt a little old school, but after a few wrong turns we made it to the amazing Mont Tremblant. The town in the winter is a ski resort which I could imagine is unbelievable beautiful, Kelly and I both felt we had left north America and were hanging out in the Swiss alps.

About a week ago Ironman announced that this race would be the venue for the Ironman 70.3 World Champs next year once it moves from Vegas and let me tell you, it was worth seeing the course first hand.

The swim was the usual 1.9km lake swim and there must have been 3 Aqua Sphere wetsuits in the front group. I snuck into 3^rd spot and settled in there for the duration while fellow kiwi Tom Davison led pretty much from start to finish.

There was a massive 1km run up to our bikes and Brent McMahon must have thought it was an ITU race cause he had the burners on full. But soon the front group formed and we had 6 guys up there. I tried to keep the pressure on as much as possible as I knew we had a few good runners further back in the field so I ended up leading most of the 90km super hilly bike, that was until Romain thought it would be good idea to attack me up the hills. I guess good on him for racing to his strengths, but after riding hard at the front that was the last thing I felt like responding to – especially in the last 20kms where it was near impossible to find any rhythm.

I was a little unsure if I had left too much out on the bike and the run was going to be a bit of a mystery. McMahon who has been having a great year went out strong, I managed to get on his shoulder and let him repay the favor. He set a good fast tempo and at the half way mark we had managed to close the gap to Romain who had built a minute lead coming off the bike. The run was basically 5km hilly, 10km on a gravel trail then 5km hilly to finish off. I think everyone struggled a little those last 5km.

I made my move with 2km to go and thought I would test the water and see what McMahon had in the tank and to be honest I was thankful when he didn’t react and come after me. There were still a couple good hills before the race was over but the adrenaline and the lively crowd gave my legs a little extra gas to take it out.

Now I am back in my routine of trying to recover as quickly as possible and nothing beats my 2XU compression Quads sleeves, socks and tights combo along with some Clif Bar Builders protein bars to get the legs back in shape for the Lubbock 70.3 race in Texas next weekend where Kelly and I are looking forward to catching up with our regular homestay out that way – the Holloways and catching up with the Bowstead boys.

Until next week

Au Revoir 

ITU Long Distance Triathlon* World Champs - Silver

Coming back to Europe to compete for the first time in 2 years was a bit of an experience. I was targeting the ITU long Distance Triathlon World Champs (4km Swim, 112km Bike & 30km Run) and was hoping to learn a bit more about myself and what I can do in the future to help me transition from the 70.3/ half ironman distance racing to full Ironman distance races which seem to hanging out just out of reach.

Due to the polar temperatures in Europe at the moment the organizers cancelled the swim and made the race a Duathlon (10km run, 90km bike & 20km run), not quite what I was coming to Europe to do but none the less a great opportunity to race the Euros on their home turf in what was sure to be a battle, both with the competition and the course which included a 8km climb up 600 Vertical Meters (1800 feet).

Coming here for an ITU World Championship event brought back memories of my very 1st world champs in Calais, France in 2000. That time it was actually for a duathlon and I finished off 19^th after a small crash on the bike. Unfortunately my French back then was probably better than it is now but hanging out with the New Zealand Age-group team here in Belfort made the trip a lot of fun. “Table for one” at races becomes old after a while…

I got to the start without having to many croissants in the lead up and was ready for the longest Duathlon of my life. The pace for the first run was not as fast as I was expecting but we still managed to separate the group and tire some of the uber biker’s legs. The ride seemed to be up and down with not many flat sections but thanks to the great roads we were flying over the course. There was a group of about 10 guys that hung together until the 45km mark, the bottom of the 8km, “Le Ballon” climb. Knowing how these guys can ride and with the Alps in their backyard I was a little nervous and wasn’t sure how I would stack up against them but I was determined to “bring it” the whole way. Bertrand Billard and Toft, the Dane took off at the bottom of the climb, I was positioned behind the race favorite, a Frenchman, Sylvan Sudrie who is a strong cyclist and I thought he was the man to watch. After 2km I moved in front and tried to keep the pressure on to limit my deficit to the leaders. Soon I had dropped Sudrie and I was clicking off the kilometers. I have a climb back home where I do my hill work, “The Quarry” which is a 15minute climb and as I was climbing I visualized sitting on my training partners wheels, Mike Northy and James Oram who are riding for Pro teams in Europe. I think they will be proud with how I climbed out there. The ascent and descent where definitely my favorite parts of the race this weekend. 

Descending through the fog and trying not to loose to much heat was a little hairy, I would have loved to have had someone who knew the roads to follow, but I was giving it a good crack.

Soon I road past Toft and with 5kms to go Dirk Bockel caught back up to me and was riding like a man possessed. Weaving through the narrow streets we came close to overshooting a few of the corners. I pulled out one of my signature transitions and was off trying to chase down the race leader Bertrand Billard who had the race of his life and went on to become the 2013 ITU World Long Distance Triathlon* Champion while I had to settle for the silver and Drik Bockel took the bronze. Although another world title would have been awesome I am pleased with how I raced and where my form is at the beginning of my season… and 2^nd to a Frenchman on French soil, not too bad!

Back to LA to thaw out for a few weeks, then next stop is the Mont Tremblant 70.3 in Quebec in 3 weeks but what I am most looking forward to is Kelly joining me in 10days.