The race morning was one of the colder 70.3 races I have done. With the day starting at 9c and only warming up to 16c. The water was warmer than the air that day and it was one of the few times I wanted to get in as early as possible. Once they had lined all the pro men up it felt like they held us on the start line forever. I just kept moving my arms to stay warm. I started near Ben Collins and was looking for some fast swimmers to work with.
Victoria 70.3 is the first race that I will be returning to as the defending champion. All the other races that I have won in the past have either been discontinued the next year. It is always a disappointment to see a race disappear but it happens.
After under performing at Oceanside I was very focused on having a good result at St. Anthony’s Triathlon. I had not raced the Olympic distance in over 2 years so I was excited to see what I could do in a shorter race. I went into the race still keeping my training geared for 70.3 racing but with a couple of faster workout to get my speed up
I will be racing St. Anthony’s this weekend. St. Anthony’s is one of the more prestigious Olympic non-draft distance races left in the USA. It has been a race that I have wanted to do for a few years and this year it fits in perfectly, one month after 70.3 Oceanside and 5 weeks before 70.3 Victoria.
A quick look at my past Oceanside 70.3 races and this years race.
The swim was non-wetsuit and a rectangle shape. I chose to line up on the right hand side since I breathe to my right a little bit more. I have been working on breathing on both sides a lot this year but I still preferred my right side. As the sun cracked the horizon we got the count down to the start. 3..2..1 and the horn blast!
Canadian triathlete Taylor Reid opened his 2017 season the right way: with a win in Sunday's Ironman 70.3 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Reid said the win was surprising, even to him. "It really was a race," he said. "I didn't know I was going to win until the last few kilometers of the run."
We’re now three months into 2017, and I have yet to run a race.
That changes this weekend. I’m in San Juan ready to race Ironman 70.3 Puerto Rico. Sunday morning, I’ll be back to the grind of waking up at the crack of dawn, heading down to transition in the dark, watching the sunrise as I get ready for another challenge.
I’m ready for it. I’ve spent the last three months training; I had one day off after a very minor altercation with a pothole at the end of February. And, based on my experiences from last year, I’ve made some changes coming into this season.
