Great to find some form for the longer distances and come away with a win at Ironman 70.3 Japan. I duked it out with my training partners Murph and Freddy and they kept the pressure on the whole way through.
It came down to a sprint finish between Freddy and me, much like what happened at this race in 2012 between myself and Tim Berkel. I don’t race with a watch, so it was a nice surprise to find out I’d finished a minute faster than my time in 2012.
It’s been a while since I last stood on the top step of an Ironman 70.3 race, and this feels good. I hope to feel this good when I start at Ironman 70.3 in Haugesund, Norway the first week of July.
Next Race: Challenge Atlantic City
I’ve been in the USA for about a week. I arrived Thursday in New York City after a long flight from Phuket connecting through Dubai. It was great to shake off the travel fatigue with a run from the Under Armour branch in Soho with some of my Twitter followers.
I was in Philly for TriRock Philadelphia last weekend and just arrived in Atlantic City for the Challenge race.
After my short run on the Boardwalk today, I am looking forward to swimming, biking, and running with my MaccaX camp leading up to Sunday! Will be great to hang out and grab morning coffees each day also.
This is my first full distance in a while but I know my build has been solid and I really want to do well here, especially since I’ve had to defer my Norseman entry to next year.
No Norseman, No Kona, No Lance? What Now?
My younger brother’s gone and decided to get married at a date very close prior to Norseman, so I won’t be able to race it. However, I am 100% committed to doing it in 2015 and the organizers have generously granted me entry! Watch my full announcement below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcGzFsyhdWw
Finally, I know many of you have been asking this question since I threw down the gauntlet late last year, but I can confirm that there will be no race with Lance at this point. I know he’s got a lot on his plate right now and we’ve had major differences in the past, but at the very least through all our discussions we’ve been able to come to a detente (it’s the only word I can think of that best describes the situation, look it up if you like).
I’ve got most of my year already laid out and no Kona for me, either. I involve my family in deciding what races I am doing, and for this year my wife Emma says no chance. I promised her a family year, and I say, « Happy wife, happy life. » I will enjoy the next wave of boys mixing it up and will share the journey of assisting others achieve this year.
Next month I do 70.3 Norway, the Jenson Button Trust Triathlon (and our MaccaX UK camp), and I will also be present in a team relay at the world’s biggest triathlon, Challenge Roth.
Then it’s back to Thailand and hopefully by then the monsoon rains will have spent themselves and we’ll get some nice weather for our Thanyapura Super Camp in August.
Like I said above I want to help others achieve their Kona dream this year, and what better way than through this camp, which is the perfect foundation block for Kona. Just bring your bike, goggles and running shoes and be prepared to put in some quality miles. Only 50 slots! Find out more about it at thanyapura.com/supercamp