5th at Ironman Brazil

Just got back to the hotel after the race.

It went Ok, Í swam well, I led for about 400m then Carvalho took over and it was easy on his feet so I sat there the whole way, we had 1min on the next group at the end.
Carvalho and I rode kind of steady for 40km till Renaldo, Sturla and Pedazza cought us, they were riding really hard though, but I sat there, towards the end of the first 90km, my legs were going, then they really went, I lost all my strength and it took me another 40km of very slow riding to get some sort of strength back.

I then rode the best I could but paced it a bit to get ready for the run. I think I rode about 2:15 for the first 90km then 2:39 for the 2nd 90km! I really blew myself up. I definately had some pacing issues here on the bike today:)

I ran ok, I tried to hit 4min km pace and ended with a 2:53 which is my fastest marathon time but I´m not over the moon with it. I think I rode much to hard early on, and it affected my race quite alot. I was happy enough to be able to run ok after the bike, but I´´m looking for much better. I had the fastest run time of the day which is great.

Anyway onwards and upwards.

Bella did amazing, 3rd place in 9hrs 20min is great, she wasn´t happy with her swim but had a good race all round, I am as always very proud. Renaldo was very smart as always and took away a great 2nd place to the very impressive Oscar Galindez.Hillary did her best as always, I know not one of her best races, but good job Hillary as always hanging tough.

Thanks for readingStephen

Getting around the dreaded baggage alowance!

Here are Bella and my tips on getting through checkin with the strict baggage alowance that most airlines apply these days:

1.Pack light. Great tip I here you say but really try to just take the essentials, you can always buy, when you get there, cheap Tshirts, underwear etc.
2.Use a cardboard bike box, they are the lightest bike carrying device and they actually protect the bike very well.
3.Pack heavy items in Hand luggage. I put the seat post and saddle in hand luggage.
4.Have a very big rucksack as hand luggage, it is usually possible to get through checkin without them saying anything about the size of your hand luggage.
5.Have a couple of extra bags(plastic bags are good as they look like things you have just bought) , Bum bags are good, get a massive one, people don’t usually notice the bum bag!
6.There is also the good old foot under the bag whilst on the scale trick! You need a very steady foot!

Bella and I are off to the airport tomorrow so will be employing this tips ourselves. We are off to Brazil for Ironman Brazil on Sunday.

We have had a great 2weeks training in Arizona after our last race Florida 101. We have been staying with Marcie, John and there fabulous daughter Madison. We have been look after so well, I believe that the whole family should be considered for Saint hood, or something equally as special!

We have 4 Team TBB athletes racing Ironman Brazil on Sunday: Hillary, Renaldo, Bella and Myself, 4 athletes in great shape so we hope to all be right in the mix on Sunday.
Hopefully I will have access to email on Sunday after the race and I can update you all on my race. You can follow all the team TBB athletes during the race on www.ironmanlive.com

Thanks for reading
Stephen.

2nd at Florida 101 Triathlon

Here is a race report from my race today at the Inaugural Florida 101(101miles distance in total) triathlon.I had 3 full days before the race to get over the flight and loosen up, I felt better each day and was looking forward to the race today, I have to say I was quite nervous so it was good to get started.
I had a good swim start and lead to the first bouy about 300m, then a girl came past and I sat on her feet, she was swimming fast and we dropped everyone bar Leanda Cave, so 2 girls and me, but I was ahead of all the men so I was happy to follow this super fast lady. I did lose this girls feet towards the end but still emerged out of transition ahead of both the girls and with a healthy gap on most of the men. I rode pretty solid and lead the race for about 25miles before the eventual winner came past and I was unable to follow at his speed. In the end he put a big gap in to me, and also 5 others came past during the ride and I was feeling a little week towards the end and so not overly confident of a good run. However I got of the bike and felt good. I caught 3rd position quite quickly and still felt good so kept pushing on, 2nd place was Marino Vanhoenaker( he was 6th at Hawaii last year) he started to struggle a little so I caught him around half way, but I still had a big gap to the leader, he was running pretty strong. I took some time out of him but the gap was much to big and I was just under 9mins behind at the finish.
I am happy with my race, I swam and ran well. I was disapionted with my bike ride, but I will get faster here. This result is step in the right direction and another step toward world domination;) No seriously it is step closer to where I want to get, so a satisfying day.
A quick mention about Bella, I won’t say too much as she will put a report on herself. She really dug in, she was not on a great day for her but she plugged away and did great to finish with a solid performance. I’m very proud of her.
Congrats Hilary too, you looked great out there.
Next up is Ironman Brazil in 3weeks time. So some good training to get in before hand and then look to race well there.
Thanks for readingStephen