ST. GEORGE 70.3, UTAH - US PRO CHAMPIONSHIPS

It's been a while since I've packed up the man van and gone on a good ol' road trip to a race. St. George had always appealed to me for it's renowned tough course and since this year the race was changed to the 70.3 distance and the US Pro Championships it was one I was keen to toe the line.

The bike course in St. George is stunning

I was lucky enough to have the company of the young up and coming Aussie Mitch Robins and one of my closest and dearest friends Jen Fletcher. Between the three of us the conversation and banter made the trip fly by and before we knew it we were in Utah.

My two road trip compadres Mitch and Jen

Friday was busy with sponsor commitments, registration, briefings and bike check in at Sand Hallow State Park, a good 20 minute drive out of St. George. I was keen to test my new 2014 Aquashere Phantom wetsuit but I wasn't prepared for the shock of the sub 60 degreee water I was swimming in. It literally took my breath away and I only managed a quick 10 minute swim before I turned to ice. I have to admit I left a little nervous about facing the swim the following morning on race day.

Saucony photo shoot in Snow Canyon

At this point I'll wind the clock back a few days and give some back story to my week. Training had been going well in San Diego with the good company of Clayton Fettell, Brett Carter and Mitch. I am really enjoying the move to my new home of Cardiff by the Sea and life is settling after turbulent times. I was feeling good about the coming weekends race and ready to battle against an extremely competitive field. Here is the best way to kill that mojo. I am riding home from dinner on Wednesday night (a short 5 minutes on my Scott townie) from Encinitas to Cardiff and it had just gone dark. I was looking forward to an early night and preparing for the drive to Utah in the morning when all of a sudden my front wheel hit a lip in the road and I came crashing down at about 30kmhr. Of course I tried to save myself but instead I rag dolled along the ground and ended up on my back - in the dark, in the middle of the road. #@%!! NOOO! I hadn't come off any bike in years and the last place I expected to crash was on the commute home from dinner! I got home a few minutes later to survey the damage. Skin off hands, elbow, knee and foot. I was actually pretty lucky and wasn't worried at all that it would affect my race. I patched myself up and was about to go to bed when I noticed I'd got some blood on my jeans. I was leaving for Utah in the morning so I thought I better throw them in the washing machine.

Result of riding home from dinner in the dark

The following morning I wake up and start to pack for the trip and I am looking for my passport. Where could it be? That's right I had a meeting about a visa application yesterday, followed by a massage then I went out to dinner. It's in my .... OH #@%!!! NOOO!!!! I opened up the drier to find my passport absolutely destroyed and in a million pieces all through the machine. It's safe to say I wasn't a happy camper!

This is what happens when you wash your passport! 

** Clearly I know I am an idiot for making these two very avoidable mistakes.

So back to St. George and it's race morning. It's time to turn the tides and forget about all the weeks bad luck. I was blessed to have my friends Rob and Hailey down from Oregon to support me and I wanted to make their trip worthwhile.

I had a terrible swim mostly due to the fact that I could hardly breath in the cold water and I felt a little panicked. I tried to stay calm and relaxed but all I wanted to do was get out of the freezing water. I knew everyone was in the same boat so it was a matter of getting it done.

It didn't take long for me to get to the front of the large group on the bike. Andy Potts and the Vassiliev brothers from Russia were about 1 minute ahead but we had them in our sights. TJ Tollakson and Greg Bennett pushed the pace early and strung the group out going into the back half of the course. Snow Canyon proved to be a decisive point in the bike course and we reeled in Greg, and TJ pulled a little further ahead. Sebastian Kienle had now joined the group and everyone kept a close eye on him in the closing 10 miles. I was impressed with his descent back to town and I fought hard to chase him constantly tucking into the aero position at over 50 miles an hour yet he was pulling away. 

Climbing Snow Canyon

The first 3 miles of the run is a long grind up hill with a very sharp pinch at about 2 miles. The top 10 were strung out at 10 second intervals and I could see the leaders around 1-1.5 minutes ahead on the long straights. I caught TJ after 4 miles and we traded positions constantly throughout the rest of the run and in the last mile caught Matt Reed. Turning into the finishing chute it was a three way battle for 6th, 7th and 8th. I tried with everything I had but my sprint wasn't there and I had to settle for 8th. I was very pleased with the result as I finally felt my old self again. Some new training direction is definitely paying off and I am enjoying my training and racing with a fresh outlook. 

Next up for me will be Ironman Cairns at home in Australia on June 9th. I had plans to race at Ironman Brazil but unfortunately the passport washing incident was bad timing and it was going to be too much stress to get a new passport and Brazil Visa in time. So for now I will stay in San Diego and train till the end of May before flying back to Oz for a few weeks. 

Ironman 70.3 St. George
St. George, Utah / May 4, 2013
1.2m swim / 56m bike / 13.1m run

Top men

1. Brent Mc Mahon (CAN) 3:51:10
2. Kevin Collington (USA) 3:53:37 *
3. Andy Potts (USA) 3:54:21
4. Ivan Vasiliev (RUS) 3:55:08
5. Denis Vasiliev (RUS) 3:55:59
6. Matt Reed (USA) 3:56:58
7. TJ Tollakson (USA) 3:57:00
8. Luke McKenzie (AUS) 3:57:03
9. Ivan Rana (ESP) 3:57:32
10. Trevor Wurtele (CAN) 3:57:55