TX70.3 Race Recap

19 May 2015-

Few weeks behind on this one, so my apologies.  I was fortunate enough to be back in the states quite a bit the first part of the year, and that helped keep the training consistent and focused.  I headed to San Diego for January to train under the guidance of my coach Scott DeFilippis.  After 4 solid weeks in California I headed back to the UK for 4 weeks, but was lucky enough to spend 10 of those days in Lanzarote training at Tri Sports Lanzarote  After the time back in the UK, I packed up for a 2 month trip back to the US.  The trip started off with 10 days in Tucson for US Military Endurance Sports Cycling Camp, followed by 15 days in San Diego training under my coach again.  I then left California for Colorado Springs and spent 10 days with Hila and her family, along with getting some solid training in.  After Colorado it was off to Texas, for the Team Red, White, and Blue Triathlon Camp.

Team RWB Triathlon Camp is one of the highlights of my year.  I am part of the team that plans the camp for the athletes and then helps coach alongside Derick Williamson of Durata Training and a few other coaches.  The camp focuses on bringing in 30-40 Veterans and equipping them with everything they need to leave the camp as a triathlete.  If they didn't come with a bike, they leave with a bike, same for everything else, from wetsuits to running shoes.  You can find out more about the camp here: www.rwbtricamp.org.

After the camp I spent the week hanging out in Austin and getting ready for the race.  I stayed with Derick and his wife Kelly, and was lucky enough to get some training in with one of Dericks athletes Chad Holderbaum.  I also did the Austin Pure Quarry Fitness Splash N Dash by Jack & Adams, it was a great time, other than getting beat by Julie Stupp and Michael Lori.  It was a great way to get in a hard open water effort and remember what it feels like to swim "fast and hard".

I headed down to Galveston on Friday and stayed with fellow pros Lauren and Barrett Brandon who I trained with when I lived in Ft Worth.  Always good to catch up with them.  Saturday ended up being an interesting day with a huge storm hitting Galveston.  We procrastinated and avoided the storm as much as we could.  We ended up not riding until close to 6pm, but it all worked out.

Race Day:

Swim- 29:27

I wasn't really sure where I was going to be with the swim, since this was the first "big" pro race.  It ended up being non-wetsuit, which didn't play into my favor.  I got a decent warmup in and found myself lined up next to Lionel Sanders in the second row.  The horn sounded and off we went.  I made it to the first buoy, about 200m out still in the "pack", which in reality was already the second pack.  I hung onto that pack and felt really comfortable through the second buoy.  I fell off of that pack half way through the swim, still not really sure what happened or caused it, but I think I just lost the feet of the person in front of me, and since I was on the back, off I went.  I swam on my own for the second half of the swim and was a bit worried about 200m out from the finish.  A kayaker ended up next to me and I thought I was the last swimmer.  Then a few moments later Lauren came swimming by me, they had started 3 or 4 mins back from us.  I tried to hop on her feet and that lasted all of about 15secs, if that.

Bike- 2:03:59

I came out of T1 and had Reilly Smith just ahead of me.  He out biked me at Galveston last year and took the overall amateur win.  I paced off of him at 12m back for the first 20-30mins.  We started to pass a few people and then I got around him and just focused on the road ahead.  I slowly kept passing guys and just after the turn around I caught the second pack.  I was really surprised to catch them that early, but I had only lost 1 minute to them on the swim, so I guess I shouldn't have been that surprised.  I sat at the tail end of that group for a few minutes before getting frustrated and pulling to the front.  I knew there were guys chasing from behind and I wanted to keep the pace high to prevent them from catching back on and hopefully catching a few more guys up the road.

I ended up staying up front pulling the group along for a majority of the way back.  Rookie mistake on my part, but the bike is my strength and I wanted to push the pace.  We caught a few more guys before T2 and rolled in as a big pack.  I made sure to stay to the front to ensure a clean entry into T2 and not to get tangled up with anyone.

Run- 1:23:14

I came out of T2 in the front of the group and was told we were 2:30 down to 6th place.  There was one guy (David G.) that had a huge lead and then 2nd-6th, then our group of probably 10 guys.  I felt pretty good coming off the bike, ran through the first mile sub 6.  However, the group just went out of T2 flying and I got left behind.  Around mile 1 that group ended up running off course and myself and Barrett Brandon ended up going the right way.  I tried to stay with Barrett but he didn't want to run with me and he left me in his dust as well.  

I just settled into what I thought was a comfortable pace and just kept clicking off the miles.  I started to fade just past half way but tried to just keep getting the calories in and putting one foot in front of another.  There were a few out and back sections so I knew when people were closing in on me, or when I was gaining on people.  There was a guy gaining quickly on me on the last lap, and luckily I was able to push hard to the end and was able to hang onto 10th place.

Swim (1.2 miles)- 29:27

Bike (112 miles)- 2:03:59 (3rd Fastest Bike Split) /Strava / TrainingPeaks File

Run (13.1 miles)- 1:23:14 / Strava

Total-3:59:24 / 10th Pro

Results: http://eu.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/texas/results.aspx#axzz3aX9vGVlf

Overall I am really happy with how the day went.  Realistically I should have been 13th-16th, but hey, I got lucky and I will take it.  I am excited to see how Challenge Rimini Half goes on the 24th of May.  Been putting in a bit of work with my run and swim, so looking forward to see what progress has been made.

Thanks to all of my sponsors and supporters for the support this season.  Without them and the support of my family chasing this dream would not be possible.  You can view all of my sponsors HERE and get special discounts from a few of them as well!

 Focused and chasing

 The new triathlon media coverage, on course interviews!

 Struggling through the final miles of the run course.

 

Thanks to Zo Mendosa for this finishing shot

The Hidden Gem of the Canary Islands

The Hidden Gem of the Canary Islands-

Last year when I was planning to race the Ocean Lava Triathlon on the island of Lanzarote, I found out about a Triathlon Villa.  I was referred to the place by Dan Hawksworth.  It was quite reasonable, around $120USD a night (£78 or £550 a week).  I thought it was just going to be a place to stay for the race and that was going to be the end of it.

Upon arriving at the Villa, I found out it was more than just a place to stay. They provided transport to and from the airport, 3 meals a day, minus 2 nights out for dinner every 7 days.  The 2 nights out were still reasonable at 25-30 Euro a night.  The dinners at the Villa are always great, anything from Paella to a traditional style BBQ with steaks and burgers.  They cater to everyone's eating needs, as you know triathletes can have quite the "dietary" restrictions.  They also provide a fridge stocked with beer and a wine rack filled with wine.  Not to mention, that is included in the price of your stay.
I have not stayed at the "other" resorts on Lanzarote that everyone talks about, so I cannot say whether they include what I have talked about above.  But I can say the real kicker to the Villa is the family like atmosphere.  The owners, along with the 2 employees, treat you like family.  The kitchen and fridge are always open if you get hungry, the beer is always cold, and if you can't find something that you want and absolutely need it, they will track it down on the island for you.

The training is absolutely amazing on the island.  Along with the 25 meter pool on site you can go down to the ocean for open water swimming.  The van normally goes down for open water swims 2-3X a week and the pool is open anytime for swims, although I do not think it is lighted, so daylight swimming only.  The riding is absolutely amazing and is bound to make you strong.  From the long climbs to strong winds you can make it a brutal day around the island.  The climb up Tabyesco is about 1.5 hour ride away and is said to be an hour long.  There are a few shorter climbs within 30mins of riding that range from 5-20mins.  If you want to avoid the climbing and wind for some reason, no worries they have 2 spin bikes onsite along with a trainer (turbo) for use.

The running is amazing as well, you can't really beat it.  A lot of rolling hills with some steady long "false flats".  They have routes right from the house from 5K-17K mapped out, and you can always adventure out on your own.  You can escape to some dirt trails through the fields or run down a few kilometers and run along the ocean.  There are two tracks within close proximity to the Villa, one is at a local school which is a short 20min bike ride and the other is a 15-20min drive in the van in Arrecife.  They seem to make a weekly trip to the track and if you can't make it on that day you can always ride down to either of the tracks.

Wanting to race in Lanzarote rather than train?  Well you won't be disappointed staying at the Villa.  When I was there for Ocean Lava, all of the logistics were taken care of.  They take you down to registration and the race briefing, race morning and post race transport, and then you also have some fans along the race course.  They even have a plan if you want to race on the next island over in Fuerteventura. They will load up the van and take a short 30-40 min ferry trip across and set up lodging for the pre-race nights.

After finding all of this out on my trip back in late October, I knew this was going to be the place to go when needing to escape the winter of Oxford.  So back in December, I knew I was in the UK for all of February and wanted to get away for a bit.  So I booked a stay for 8 more days in Lanzarote, and of course I booked at Tri Sports Lanzarote.

For more information on Tri Sports Lanzarote and how to book, you can visit their website here: www.trisportslanzarote.com .  If you have any questions about the Villa or training on the island feel free to email me at bw_tri@yahoo.com.

 The Pool

 BBQ Area

 The Backyard

 The Amazing Views