Redondo

Too long for me without an update....very Dano Wells of me.

Two races came up in May that both took place in the adventure that is Mexico.

After a great altitude camp in Flagstaff, special thanks to Paul Brinkman for hosting me, I headed down to Monterrey for race #1. Great TriCan support for this race made everyone feel at ease. It truly gives you the best possible preparation when you have staff looking out for you.

Having done the race last year I knew exactly what to expect off the pontoon. However, I found myself being very complacent in the race and never really feeling that desperation and drive. I accepted where i was in the swim and bike and didn't really do anything to change it. It was clear when off the bike that I just wasn't in the shape needed yet to run to a top 20 WC result, placing 41st.

Here a few pictures from Monty:

Brent at the bow

Finishing up with the fans

Tri-Boat headed to dinner and some unexpected sprinklers!



Back to Victoria and we rolled right back into some decent training. Two routine weeks with some speed intro had me excited to do it all over again in Mexico, this time in Ixtapa. AP hooked up a great condo in Bay View Grand that was ideal for race prep.

On race day I felt much more 'spunk', as Barrie Shepley would say, and got after it right from the gun. The swim was just a lot of fun. I really like ocean swims with some rolling waves to them. Being a horrible kicker i find the salt water lets me get away with a 2-beat kick and not lose body position.

Out of the water near the front we had a 800m run over sand, wood and asphalt to the bikes. Normally i suffer with T1 runs but this one felt healthy good.

On the bike i fumbled a bit with my mount and found myself chasing for a bit. Once I was able to get on the wheel of my training mate, Jon Bird, we rolled up to the lead 5 where Brent McMahon was tapping out a strong pace. I helped with what i could, but our group of 10 became 25 after 10ish k. The remaining ride was so diverse. You had everything from significant coasting to spinning to steady to attacks. Just what you would expect for a pan-am cup in Mexico.

T2 was a bit tricky with the larger than normal ixtapa pack barreling over the grass/tree boulevard. On to the run I built the first mile and settled into a rhythm and feel that i felt i could sustain and build upon on the last lap. I did just that and ended up placing 5th. Its a good progression from Monterrey and gave a good indicator of where my fitness is at. Great races by Kyle and Brent to start their 3-week point chase trip.

I've just had a somewhat chill week dialing the intensity back and visiting my family. The newest family member, Adel May Bollans, was met this week. Another niece that I will marvel at as she grows.

The next two and a bit weeks look to be a heavy plate of meat and potatoes. If i'm lucky i'll get some gravy with a good result in Monroe (Seattle) June 26th.

More frequent posts to come.

Marveling at how much sand is already in my suit at the start

coming in for T2

ARZ

We have just finished up a 3 week stint in Arizona building fitness and having fun. The opportunity to train day in day out with all my teammates has made for another great learning and growing experience.

Coach Brown has done a great job of keeping things rolling smoothly; Along with the monitoring from Ben and body awareness/adjustments from our new addition Marilyn everyone has come out of the time here wiser and hungry for the season.

Coming up next weekend is Monterrey WC. I will remain in Arizona prepping for the race to minimize travel. A small womens squad has arrived with Kyla Coates, who will be my travel buddy to Monterrey.

Thanks to Triathlon Canada for the support of this training block. Not a camp, but training block...As Dr.Jones would say, every week should be your 'training camp'.

Green Men

Espn to showcase full interview today. Mind games!

Valparaiso

Recovering from Santiago and getting in a few key sessions thru the week had me ready to race again in Chile. This time about 80k NW of Santiago in the port City of Valparaiso.

Arriving on Friday I had two good looks at the beautiful race site for this one. Choppy, technical swim followed by a well paved 8 lap bike with a 1k gradual 3% climb, finished with a hilly 3 lap run.








The swim started well with a good start position on the far right. The loop had 2 bouys and a natural bouy as a set of rocks on the return leg to the beach. This was a very fun swim as the chop really seperated everyone and required good sighting skills. I found i was quite slow on the exit/re-entry and then the run out to transition, losing a few positions each time. On the first lap exit there were two street dogs on the beach waiting to get in on the action. When a few of us re-entered the ocean they came along with us! Salty dogs....

With a decent swim I exited about 20s down of Vasilev and 4 others in a group of 6 including eventual race winner Marek Jaskolka for Poland. This time around on the bike I felt much better. Power was there from the get go and stayed up near the front for the 40k. On lap 3 our group caught the leaders, due in large part to Will Huffman and Quinchara, a rising Columbian commodity, but a few laps later a large chase bridged creating a group of 25 or so coming off at T2. This race had a bunch of fun technical bits, including T2. The last section of the bike included climbing the 1k hill to the turn-around and then bombing back down into T2 (which itself was on a slight downhill). T2 dismount was the fastest i'd ever done and I was very close to not having the leg speed to match the pavement.

Out onto the run i had better speed. At about 1 mile seperation began into a head wind. Although this run went better than Santiago I was stlil a bit unsatisfied with the overall result of 13th.
















My stay in Valparaiso was short but I saw quite a bit of the area on my bike. Very pretty, rugged, coastal landscape. Many of the different communities nest on top of small mountains (100-200m vertical). I was staying on top of one these in a B&B. At first I was a little concerned with the brutal climb up to home each time I ventured outside but then I found out they had 'ascendors' for each mtn. Essentially a train car that ascends the slope, I found these very cool and well worth the 75cent fee.

This trip to Chile was a great racing and cultural experience that I would recommend to all. The more and more I travel to races, especially unique ones such as this I find myself realizing how fortunate I am to be doing what i'm doing. A moment during the Valparaiso race I found myself saying 'you are the only Canadian to ever have done this...take it all in.'

Can't thank Felipe and Pam for their gracious hospitality and comfort during my stay, you guys were great.






Travel home was a bit of an adventure. After jetting from the race shortly after I got to the airport Sunday evening in good time. However the flight was delayed delayed delayed and then canceled. Everyone was put up in hotels for the night and would fly out the next morning. At about 3am that night I woke up with that feeling you know where you don't quite know where you are? Pffffew your in the hotel....then things went all wonky and it felt like I was surfing on jell-o.....earthquake! Thank god it was not significant. What is the world coming to?

Piedra Roja

Picture of the Race



ITU Piedra Roja or Red Rock

What a great start to the season. Although my result of 16th is not what I wanted, it is a start to build upon and positives and negatives to take away into this weekend in Valparaiso. The race essentially went like this:

- great swim start
- then vasilev & Farias let loose opening a gap with a few others
- exit in main chase
- hurt like a mofo on the bike hanging 30m off the back until 4k
- finally got feet into shoes after first lap
- found bike surges tough
- mid pack T2 transition
- no speed out of T2
- chugged along run stuck in what seemed like 4th gear

The race was held very well for a first time event. The course is smooth and fast with a challenging run. Great venue, i hope to return.

A lot of the athletes are staying in Santiago to train this week which is great for meeting others and getting in some training together.

The Chilean Federation has opened their training centre, pictures to come, to all. A beautiful 50m outdoor pool in the hills with a great bike studio and a dirt 400m track.

Being hosted by Felipe and Pam has been awesome. They have shown me the best routes to train on and the given me great insight into Santiago and its brilliant culture. Chilean people are most friendly and the cuisine is delicious.

Chile

In 2007 a Chilean athlete named Felipe Van de Wyngard visited Victoria and trained at the NTC for a spell. A very classy and friendly guy, he was immediatley liked by all. Keeping in touch with Felipe ever since and meeting up at races I've had the invitation numerous times to visit him and and his land.

So I have finally made true on that offer and am flying out tomorrow for 10 days in Chile racing two ITU Pan-Am Cups, Santiago March 20 and Valparaiso March 27.

The preperation although not ideal for these bouts has been coming along. I don't necessarily feel speedy but i do feel strong. I look forward to a great visit and some hard racing.

CT tweeted about this being the proposed Valparaiso bike course....8 laps i presume.



Now to make some travel bombs!

Sunday Paper

Front Page

The devastation in Japan, surreal events that have shaken all of us. The feeling I get most of by hearing and seeing the carnage that has happened is helplessness and guilt. I feel like I should be over there trying to help out where ever possible. Not endulging in myself day in day out with training....The videos are out there of the destruction, water has never seemed more powerful.

Sports

Ran the Bazan Bay 5k last weekend here in Victoria. Always fun and fast, especially with the Saucony TypeA4.

BB5k just after 1k

Been playing around with my Garmin 310XT and Garmin Connect, useful and fun. Todays tempo run of 2x(10/2'r/5'/2'r) at beacon is here. In the woods however this watch is not great, pace fluctuates a lot.


Announcements

This year I am really fortunate to be a part of the Saucony Hurricane Program once again. Last year I quickly became familar and comfortable in the line of shoes Saucony has from trainer to racers.

The Kinvara was a big introduction last year that I certainly was quick to try. Great shoe for tempo running, however for a bigger guy like me I was searching for a bit more structure laterally and in the heel cup. They must of read my mind because this years addition of the Mirage is exactly that. Very impressed with the Mirage, great shoe essentially for anything and everything.




The new adjustment to the fastwitch line has made the FT5 my shoe of choice for mid-range intervals (5-10'), the shaved heel (now 4mm heel to toe drop) has made the shoe feel quicker off the ground. Completing the shoe arsenal is the TypeA4 flat which remains the same this year; light, responsive and with sole drainage for hot/wet races.