Buffalo springs 70.3 – June 26th


Last Thursday I set off for the Buffalo Springs 70.3 (half Ironman) which was to take place in Lubbock on Sunday the 26th. I travelled to Lubbock, Texas from LA a trip which should take 4.5hr ended up taking me 19hrs. There were maintenance problems in LA so the plane sat at the gate for 3hr. We finally got off the ground but unfortunately this was not a direct flight and my connecting flight in Denver to Lubbock was long gone. So the next thing to do was try get on the next flight out of Denver which I did the only problem was it was not leaving for 9hrs, yes, 9 freaking hrs!! I finally got to Lubbock, Texas just before midnight totally exhausted but happy to be there. On exiting the airport I was hit by the heat, a heat I haven’t ever felt before and it was midnight. I realised that the heat was going to be the major factor in this particular race. Talking to some of the locals it turns out Lubbock is having a major heat wave and it basically hasn’t rained in over a year.
The next two days were spent checking out the course, doing some light training and desperately trying to sleep as much as I could because the trip from LA had left me feeling like I had flown from NZ to London. Race day rolled around and before I knew it I was on the start line. I had a few aspects of my race I really wanted to work on and having a good swim was top of that list. The gun went off and I went out really  hard I tried to not think past the next few strokes and I did this until the first turn buoy at which I was still in the front pack which was great as I hadn’t been starting strong lately. From that first buoy I really tried to be aware of what was happening around me and tried to draft behind people. I ended up exiting the water in top 10 and less than 1min off the front which was my best swim EVER so very happy.
On to the bike I quickly got to work and by the 10 km mark I was in second behind Raynard Tissink. I got to within 20sec of Raynard but I had difficulty bridging the gap right up to him so we basically rode 20seconds apart until the final few kms where he managed to put a few seconds on me eventually entering transition 2 just under 1minute in front of me. At this point the heat was getting out of control the high of the day was to be 43degrees C and it felt like it had already reached that.
I headed out on the run and knew that the only way to get through this was to run my own race and block out everyone else. I did this and unfortunately I slipped from 2nd to 5th but I really had no choice if I had run any harder or tried to go with the guys when they past me I literally wouldn’t have finished. I love racing in the heat but this was on a whole new level. Today I was trying to think how to explain the heat but I can’t think how to. It was amazing and what made it very different for me was it was a dry heat with no humidity what so ever. All in all I am very happy with this race, it taught me a lot especially how to suffer.
I must acknowledge the amazing help and support I got from my Texan family, Randy and Shari. They did all they could to welcome me into their home and make my race day easy and stress free. All the homestay families are great and make life on the road a whole lot easier for us when we are away. Thank you guys.
 I now have two weeks until Portland Rev 3.  This is my last race before I head back to NZ so I am very motivated to take everything I have learned from the last few races and put together a perfect race.
 Just before I left Texas I picked up the paper and on the front cover read “second hottest day ever in Lubbock yesterday” which I thought was very funny.
 I hope you are well.
James
 Results

Elite Men

1. Raynard Tissink     (RSA)     4:03:27
2. Michael Lovato      (USA)     4:04:22
3. Josiah Middaugh    (USA)    4:05:51
4. Joe McDaniel         (USA)    4:06:52
5. James Bowstead    (NZL)     4:11:26
6. Andres Castillo       (COL)    4:13:15
7. Gavin Anderson     (USA)     4:14:55
8. Brent Poulsen        (USA)     4:15:16
9. Matthew Russsell   (USA)     4:15:55
10. Peter Clode          (NZL)     4:17:14

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Eagleman 70.3

                     
Eagleman 70.3 – June 12th
I just arrived back in LA after a 10 day trip to the east coast where I had two races. The first being Rev 3 (half ironman distance) and the 2nd the Eagleman 70.3 (another half Ironman distance). You probably read my previous blog about Rev 3 so I wont go over that again but will bring you up to speed on my 2nd race. So Eagleman 70.3 I had 7 days to get the body back to 100% for round 2. I have never raced two half ironman triathlons one week apart so I was definitely a little apprehensive. I kept the training short and light but frequent, doing a total of 5 swims, 4 rides and 2 runs, I felt this was a good ratio across the three sports, spending most time in the non-weight bearing sport (swimming)and least time on the major weight bearing sport (running). So Eagleman 70.3 was a complete 180 from Rev 3 it was sweltering hot in fact the days leading up to the race were hitting 100degrees F. I was very excited by this as I absolutely love racing in the heat, the hotter the better. Race day rolled around and I went about all the normal pre race rituals, again no wetsuits but this time the water was a pleasant 84degrees F. The gun went off and I quickly got to work and I felt I was swimming well but it wasn’t until I exited the water I realized I was 3.5 mins down on the main front pack which to be honest is simply unacceptable. So with that and the disappointment of last weekend’s race I went on a rampage on the bike. I got on the bike and just went for it, make or break kind of thing. Anyway that 90km ride was the best piece of riding I have ever done. I rode 2hr 4min 29sec for the 90+km (it was a little long) averaging 43.8kmh it took me from nowhere in the swim to 2nd off the bike behind TJ Tollakson  and just in front of Terenzo, Matt Reed and Krylov Stanislav. Terrenzo being the super fast transition expert went through a little faster than me so we exited together with Matty Reed about 20 meters back. It was great running out with Terenzo he is such a good friend and training partner it was really cool. Unfortunately he was having one of those days we have all had where the body just wasn’t playing so we only ran together for 1 mile and then he drifted back a little. By this time Matt reed had caught me. For a few moments I think I let his reputation scare me and I let him run away a little but by mile 2 I realized we had run 10meters apart for about 500meters and the gap stayed the same so all of a sudden I realized I can run with him so I bridged the gap backup to him and we ran side by side from mile 2 to mile 5. Where I went from thinking stay with Matt to “shit I think he is hurting more than me” so I attacked and from mile 5-7 I managed to put over 30secs on him. At this stage I was safely in 2nd but still a few mins down on first so again a bit like the start of the bike I went for it. Make or break  from mile 7-10 I ran so hard but that’s where my dream race ended I hit mile 10 and I was so spent I could do nothing more than lock in the Ironman shuffle. During those last few miles I was passed first by Matt Reed and Krylov Stanislav who were running together and then a storming Richie Cunningham which pushed me from 2nd to 5th . All in all I am very happy with how the race went I learnt so much during both for that matter. It was a real pleasure racing such great guys and I congratulate everyone who raced because like the heat or not the conditions were tough. Next up is Buffalo Springs 70.3 in two weeks time so until then…..
Top men

1. TJ Tollakson              (USA)    3:54:39
2. Richie Cunningham    (AUS)    3:57:43
3. Stanislav Krylov         (n/a)     3:58:13
4. Matty Reed               (USA)    3:59:42
5. James Bowstead        NZL)     4:00:27
6. Mike Caiazzo             (USA)    4:00:30
7. James Cotter             (NZL)    4:02:19
8. Matias Palavecino       (?)        4:05:11
9. Kyle Pawlaczyk          (USA)    4:06:13
10. Terenzo Bozzone     (NZL)     4:07:32

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REV3 - June 5th

Rev 3 Triathlon                                                                                                                                                                                                          
Yesterday was the Rev 3 triathlon (half ironman distance) a race probably made famous with its large amount of prize money on offer.
 Most of you probably know that I have been training in LA for the last four weeks so last Thursday Terenzo, Kelly and I made the 5hr flight east to Middlebury, Connecticut. Going in to the race I was feeling very confident, my training has been going great and having traveling companions in the form of Terenzo and Kelly has made the trip much more enjoyable. So on arriving on Thursday we checked the course and much to my delight it was hard as hell with lots of seriously tough hills on both the bike and run course. The final days ticked by everything went smoothly and I really felt I was both mentally and physically ready for a good race. Race day arrived and on arriving to the race site it was announced that the pro field will not be allowed to wear wetsuits as the cut off is 68 degrees F and supposedly it was 69 degrees f?? Anyway I tried not to let this worry me even though my history with the cold isn’t good. I went about my normal pre race routines and before I knew it I was warming up in the lake, first big mistake of the day, my so called warm up turned out to be a cool down. I swam around for about 5 mins then everyone was told to exit the water and we then had to wait a further 5mins in the holding area for the actual race to start. By this time I was frozen and my core temperature had dropped dramatically. Speaking to some of the other pros after the race they said to never warm up in the water if it’s cold which after yesterday I totally agree with. You are better off just to get a good run warm up in and swing the arms a bit. Anyway the gun went off and I felt my start was good and I was sitting in a good position but after a few hundred meters unfortunately the cold water really started to knock me around and my body just seized up on me. I lost contact with where I needed to be and started drifting further and further back. I ended up coming out more than 4 mins off the pace which although the swim is my weaker of the 3 disciplines coming out 4+mins behind in a half is way off where I normally am. I got out on to the bike and I must admit I was in somewhat of a dazed state due to the cold and my body wasn’t functioning well but I figured just get on the bike and start pushing really hard and the body temp would warm up. This was the case but it took much longer than I expected in fact it wasn’t until this 1mile climb at the 26 mile mark where I started to get some life back in to my body. The problem was the air temp was very cold even though it was a beautiful day. That paired with the fact that you were already freezing from the swim, the opportunity to warm up was pretty much zero!! So about half way through the ride I started to warm up and I found some good rhythm but I was over 90mins in to the race by this point and to be honest it was too late I had lost too much time. One of my goal for this race was to run strong so I still wanted to do this so I pushed on to the end of the ride and got off and tried to put a solid run together which I am happy to say I achieved that, I ended up running a 1hr 19min half marathon on a very hilly course which I am happy with. I ended up finishing 17th in a stacked pro field which I was very disappointed about but one of my main reasons for coming to the US this year is to gain valuable race experience and learn and I do feel in a strange way I did get a lot out of yesterday so I am trying not to be too disappointed. Thankfully I have another race, Eagleman 70.3 on Sunday so I don’t have to wait too long to have another crack. I will check in after that, until then…
James
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