Race-day recap from the road

The last few days Kelly and I have been hanging out in Buffalo, Minnesota, with Bret Oden, the race director of the Buffalo Olympic Distance Triathlon, and his family. We’ve had a wonderful time, even though the weather has been freezing. The setting here is beautiful, and the Odens have been so hospitable.

The race on Sunday was a good challenge. I really struggled to find my rhythm throughout, as my body didn’t like the icy weather. It was about 45’F/ 6’C, which is a typical winter day back home in New Zealand. But now I feel soft complaining because I heard that the Nordic skiing team here trains and races in -30’F in the winter—crazy! The pace was on from the start of the swim. I managed to get away and keep a small lead for the rest of the race to hold on for the win, but 2nd place was under 2 minutes back and 3rd close behind.

The course was great as it had a bit of everything, and the volunteers and race organizers did an awesome job. To top off my experience, I got to race with a truly inspirational guy with a fabulous team behind him. Paul, who is a melanoma cancer patient, was receiving chemotherapy just two weeks ago while the rest of the competition was out training hard and getting ready for the race. Paul’s wife, his son, and a whole group of supporters turned up to see Paul finish the race, which he carved up big time. I saw him out on the course and there is no way you could tell what he has been through. Congrats Paul, and keep up the great fight. You are a true inspiration! It was also very cool that the proceeds from the race went to sports teams at the local high school whose budgets have been cut. Without this funding, the teams would not be able to continue.

With this trip to Minnesota we have now left Santa Barbara for good. On Tuesday, we are off to Cambridge, Maryland, for the Eagleman Ironman 70.3 Triathlon on Sunday June 14th. Then we head to Portland, Oregon, for my final two weeks of training before heading over to Germany for the Ironman on July 5th. I’ll keep you posted.