70.3 Pucon Chile
January is early when racing a 70.3 but it has always gotten me motivated to get out there and train a bit over the Holiday’s. It fits perfect with my season plan of building strength in the early season including weights and low cadence work on the bike – due to my lack of hills in Florida. Speaking of which (lack of hills) doing treadmill hill work or running the bridge is imperative, (yes we have one hill where I live about 30 minutes away – however most people call it a bridge).
The swim in Pucon is a two lap swim and I felt good on the first lap and ok on the second – a buildup of yardage will help with that. I was the fourth woman out of the water and in to transition. I was extremely pleased with my bike and felt very comfortable on my new Kestrel (Yahoo !!) I just signed a new contract with Kestrel and am very excited about the opportunity. I have now found a small enough frame that will allow me to get low enough to take my biking to a new level – thanks Steven !! I have been riding in the new position for just three weeks, and although I love the ride – I didn’t feel so “comfortable” getting off the bike and on to the run.
Wow, the legs just did not respond and unfortunately I had one of my slowest run splits here. I ended the day second to Amanda Lovato who had a great day. I know how emotional it felt to win my first big race back in 2003, I had not realized it was Amanda’s first 70.3 win until her victory speech, I was happy to see her win but was not surprised, she is tough. Teresa Macel Team TTB another amazing pro finished behind me in third to round out the podium.
The Pucon 70.3 in Chile is without a doubt one of my favorite races for a number of reasons. First, the location – Pucon is a quaint and very beautiful city. Not many places can you wake up in the morning and see a snow capped volcano out your window
Second, the people of South America have always been wonderful (especially when you struggle as you try to speak to them in broken Spanish J ). There is a tremendous amount of support locally and they really get excited come race day. The day prior to our event they have a kid’s event. Over 250 kids participated and they are fast !! It’s terrific to see the younger generation so excited about this sport and I love interacting with them after the race.
Additionally the organizers of this race, Pedro and his crew, really know how to take care of us. We have been very fortunate over the years as we have gotten to know this crew very well, I have won this race twice and have been coming here every January for many years now. This year we invited our good friend Don Bosch from Tennessee and his wife Maureen. The four of us had a great time sharing our meals together, walking around town sampling desserts and Maureen and I enjoyed some quality time shopping for shoes. They are a great couple and we were so glad that we could share the Pucon experience with them.
Todd and I will be staying a few extra days and traveling to Pedro’s house (the Race Director) up in the mountains. His home is nestled in the woods by a pristine lake with the mountains as a backdrop – very beautiful and very peaceful.
It was an amazing day and a half at Pedro’s home in the mountains we had the opportunity to hike, water ski, go on the catamaran, kayak. Yep, this girl hadn’t been on one ski water skiing in fifteen years – what fun !
A big thank you once again to the race organizers and the people of Pucon for supporting this race the way you do. And to my wonderful Sponsors, without your support this would not be possible. To Trakkers, K-Swiss, All3Sports, Kestrel, First Endurance, Ed and the crew at Village Bikes, GU , Lifesport, Oakley, Premium Leisure, and William Muhlstadt at the Center4. To all of you a huge THANK YOU – I value your support as well as your friendship.
