First up I did a bike race up Bogus Basin hill . It was a 16 mile race , but all of it is up hill. Very very very very very ...... And very painful.
I was the only person ( except Kate ) riding a tt.
Being a bit of a novice these days I started to far back and was deep in the hu locker drilling it for the first 5 miles to ctahcing the lead group of men. I thought if I could sit with them it'd be a great way to get a tow to the top.
Unfortunately I went way to hard and soon after catching them I blew and had to ride my tempo for the second half of the climb.
Finished in 17th and vowed to get a road bike for next year. But we'll see if that happens . A lot of fun if you like tasting lung butter for an hour.
Next up was Casade Triathlon , which is amazing, a truly beautiful place with a great group of people that run a Casual yet well organized event.
I went 1:51 and change which gave me the win...my good mate Rick took in a close second keeping me honest all the way to the end.... Thanks Rick.. I think...he'll be kicking my ass before to long , so I'll take the wins while I can.
Then it was time to head off to Vegas and do a little work for blueseventy before racing 70.3 worlds .
This was going to be interesting as I haven't worked an expo and attempted to race..
To cut what is a long story , short. I didn't have a great day.
I swum with the lead group and came out with all the contenders , but soon came unraveled on the bike. Just didn't have my hard man legs... Instead I packed my " I just learnt to ride a bike legs "
I did manage to finish the race. But in a less than I deal place and time.
So then I thought . I'll go race another 70.3 a week later in Branson, MO.
This was going to be a big ask, i have never done the double before and wasn't sure how my body would take it. Especially being these two 70.3 races are amongst the toughest in the world.
Arriving into Branson it was raining and a bit cold and things continued that way until race morning , when it finially stoped raining, however heavy clouds still loomed overhead. ( soon to unleash a down pour that would see the later waves getting pulled from the bike course.. )
The good news was the race could start and there was going to be a swim.
I had a good swim , leading the pro men out with Ben Hoffman right behind. Onto the bike and I went to ride as I usually do and Oh No.. My legs were smashed. I did my best to hold onto Matt Lieto and Ben Hoffman , but the pace was too much for me and once again I had to find my own sustainable pace. Onto the run and settled into a pace that was hard enough for me to want to vomit but without vomiting.
As the run went on I gradually slowed , but by that point the damage was done and I had to settle for 5th. Big congrats to the boys Ben, Matt and Ian.. Great races guys.
Now it's back to Boise to chill for a few days and figure out what's up with my legs....
Thanks for all the support team... i look forward to seeing most of you in Kona ..
Guy
