Jano's Blog Website @ janosoto.com

My First Time in a Surf Ski!

2012-02-06T22:43:00.000-10:00

Asia Pacific Ironman 70.3 Championship in Phuket, Thailand.

2011-12-08T17:51:00.001-10:00

After being for almost 2 Weeks in Thailand and having raced last Sunday, I couldn't be happier, Thailand is such a magical place, I couldn't write this race report without writing about Thailand and also posting a couple of Pictures.... After Laguna Phuket Triathlon Sunday last week, there was no rest time, I know that's not ideal but hey, how could you miss one of the most Mythical After-parties in the Triathlon World? so right after the race there we were Jumping and Dancing like maniacs at the Rhythm of AC-DC or Black Eyed Peas! This time the party started to slow down right at midnight because most of us were racing in just 7 days.....

Next Day Monday at 7am we were on a Speedboat trip to Phi Phi Islands, we visited the Island where the Movie "The Beach" by Leonaldo li Caplio (As Thai People call him ha ha) We also visited an Island that you can walk around the whole island in less than 10 minutes, and if you stand up in a Big rock in one of the tips of the island you can see the whole Island.... Note: It's not a sandbar! But it has a few very cool Bars ha ha!

Next dat Tuesday after a couple of hrs on the bike and an easy swim we headed to Patong for one of the weirdest nights I've ever experienced.... Let's just say that is a rated XXX Night out, Night Ladies, Ladies who do weird shows with ping pong balls amongst ohter things, and another genre called Ladyboys!

Wednesday we went to another Speedboat trip to more islands, this time we saw the place where the Movie "The Man with the Golden Gun" a 1974 James Bond 007 was filmed...
It was only until Thursday that I started to Focus a little more for the upcoming Ironman 70.3 race...........
It was my first time racing 2 weekends straight so the plan was just what I did, take it really easy a few days and then light training for the rest with just a few bursts of intensity Thursday & Friday....
One of the reasons I choose this 2 races is because of my new training weapon, The Normatec Boots are simply "AMAZING" I know I couldn't have made it without them.

Ok Lets go back to Race day....
The Whole Week it was Sunny and Hot, just as Thailand should be, or at least as I thought it should be, Saturday the skies closed in and the rain started, when I planned to take my bike to Check in into Transition it was raining cats and dogs! So I waited until the last minute, when I finally went there was a Foot of water flooding the Transition, and the Weather Forecast for Sunday was even worse.....
Race day appeared to be much better, we lined on the Beach start and got ready to go, the gun went off and I tried to do the same as last week, find a fast feet and get on with it..... This time it didn't worked, I lost the faster guys in the craze of the swim start, I could see 3 or 4 green caps up front, but I was never able to catch their feet.....I hate that slow guys start from the line! Why do they do that? Do they like to be passed all over, hit and elbowed?

Pros started 6 minutes ahead of us, and the first wave of Yellow swim caps started 5 minutes ahed, I started passing slow Yellows "Before" the first Ocean turnaround buoy, and that meant that it was going to be a slow swim due to the Yellow caps TRAFFIC, passing and passing people was the rest of the swim, and with every pass it came danger, cause even if they know they are slower and are about to be passed, they try everything.... So it was pretty rough, I finished the Ocean swim run over the beach part and jumped into the Lagoon, that after swimming in the Ocean it feels terrible, cause it's Hot and Frech water! So you feel more tired and you feel like you're sinking, but I tried to focus on how cool is that swim and got into my rhythm again....

I exited the water in 30 minutes and got on my Bike, the first 15kms were flat but not fast, to many corners, then there's the BRIDGE where you have to dismount a go over it running for about 300mts, it's all well carpeted so no issues there, around km 45 we hit the first set of hills, these are NASTY hills, this is the reason I had a 27 cogset in my rear cassette, by this time it was just starting to rain and some of this hills are 22% steep, so it was tricky to maintain the balance between cadence and strength, too much and your rear wheel slipped! Yeah it Slipped Uphill, every thing that goes up, must come down, so there were also NASTY downhills with sharp corners, the torrential rain was imminent, and I just wanted to get out of those hills before the skies opened and let it pour down! I was really concentrated in one of those downhills, maybe too mucho, cause when the road turned up, I had the wrong gear, and for the first time ever I completely lost my chain and got stuck in the rear wheel/frame! I think I lost a few of valuable minutes trying to fix it on the fly, until I realized I had to stop and do it by hand, then. starting in that kind of steep uphill is no easy task, the truth is that I felt like an idiot! I would regret those minutes in the end, I knew it!

As soon as I left the hilly section the Heavens came down, and they came down HARD! It was raining cats and dogs, I've never ridden in this kind of rain! 40-45km/hr and you could see nothing! NOTHING! it was pretty scary, cause there were flooded sections, it was like crossing rivers! I'm glad that the bike wheels are so thin and when you hit the water it only slows you down, so now I know my bike is Hydrodynamic too!

I crossed the bridge again, by then the rain was now normal, passed the plantation area, the airport and hit the second section of hills, by this time the road was very very slippery and I remember seeing more than a few guys go down, it's not encouraging to see a guy that you are closing in fast to go down...... makes you slow down... When I got to Transition I had no idea how I was in my Age Group, so I started in the dark, hoping Paola was there to tell me, but with that such first wave that started 5 minutes ahead it was almost impossible, the first few kms I tried not to look at my watch and just run at a comfortable pace, I had 21kms ahead of me, and those hills even that I was prepared they were going to ask for payment at some point of the run.... I looked at my watch at km 3 and I was in a 4min/km pace, too fast.. so I tried to slow down a bit, more like a 4:20/km but then around km 7 when I heard my name I had to bang a sub 4min km, It's a boost hearing Chris Lieto Cheering on you! He had to drop out of the race after crashing a few kms into the Bike.

When I started my second lap, Paola gave me the "Look" and that meant I was not doing great, so I tried to pay attention to the numbers from my Age Group I saw at the turnarounds, It was difficult to know where I was, but I was aware of 2 guys closing in fast on me, one of them really fast, I was also closing in a few guys and I ended up passing them, But that guy number 495 was getting closer and closer, I didn't knew if we were fighting a podium finish or a top ten, but I knew he was going to catch me real close to the end, and that't exactly what happened, this guy who then I learned lives in Singapore, James Middleditch passed me around km 20.8, my plan from the last 15kms since I saw him was very simple, run as fast as possible leaving something for the end, and thats what I did, even that the last 3 kms were close to 4min pace (6:24/mile) when he passed me, I let him go a few meters hoping he let his guard down, and then I just sprinted in the corner to the finish line, I didn't knew I had that kick at the end, so at least I was very happy for the next few hrs, I saw the numbers and I thought I was 3rd place.. how wrong I was!

When I saw the list I couldn't believe that I was 9th! 6 minutes from that 3rd place, and a whole 11 minutes from 1st and 2nd! I want my revenge! I know my swim could have been better, but my Bike Split Time is that one that bothers me..... It difficult to say "I should have done this or that" cause probably I could have not run a 1:30 for the Half Marathon that at the end it was Faster than all the guys but one, that finished ahead of me!

This Race is now my Favorite and I want to come back next year, it's not a fast race, and it's by no means an easy one, it might be one of the toughest races around but is so much fun!
Thank You Thailand for one of the Best Trips EVER!

Kob Kun Kaa Thailand.... Kob Kun Kaa.

Laguna Phuket Triathlon 2011

2011-12-07T14:25:00.001-10:00

Since I started Triathlon many years ago I read about the Laguna Phuket Triathlon, in that time it was Mike Pigg, Simon Lessing and Greg Welch the guys winning the race, Obviously it was not even a dream doing that race in such an Exotic place like Thailand..... Time went by and then guys like Craig Alexander and Greg Bennet came to win the race, this only made it more a "Mystique Race"

So Arriving to Phuket Thailand was already an accomplishment by itself, the place blew my mind from the beginning, my second time in Asia and it was a pleasure to see the same kind of Friendly and Happy People, as in Malaysia, everyone is super kind and you can feel the good vibe all around you.
Phuket is an island in South Thailand, the Beaches are "AMAZING" is like a dream, and there are thousands of them...
But let's get back to the Laguna Phuket Triathlon....... it's a very particular race.
The swim starts in the ocean, then you run in the beach just to jump into a Lagoon to swim the last 600 meters of the 1.8k, The 55kms Bike Course has a Gnarly Set of Leg Killer Hills at the beginning, some of them with a mind boggling 22% incline! Yes! 22% (according to Garmin)
And it ends with a 12km Run in a mix of Hot and Sunny Pavement, and a hard Grass Golf Course...

I did what my Coach Justin Granger told me, I got there with a 27 tooth cogset to save my legs for the run (and to be able to climb those hills)
I had a great swim at the feet of a faster swimmer than me, came out of the water fresh in 29 minutes and got into my bike getting in some nutrition as fast as possible before hitting the hills at around km6.
When we hit the Hills I took my time and tried to go as smooth as possible and always in the saddle, I saw others grind them selves up like maniacs, I let them go..... after 7 or 8 kms of hills we got to the Rolling Hills around the Airport area, I started to pass all of this guys, we were only 16kms in and they already had fried legs, then after the town I saw I was in a good position Overall, so it was hard to keep my cool, I wanted to go faster and I could, but I also wanted to have a good run...

The rest of the 55kms were between little towns and plantation areas, in some towns the School Kid were lining on the side of the road screaming and Cheering, that was a great energy boost!
By the way. Those part of plantation areas were Hot and Humid as Hell, but the truth is that it was not as "Hellish" as almost everyday in the Queen K......

My 55k Bike split was a solid 1:32 and I'm quite happy with it, I started the Run with a 3:55km just from the excitement of seeing the Transition Area in a such a Beautiful place, and from seeing Paola and Joana who were cheering on me, it was also great to be that far away and realized that I have already quite few friends, so hearing my name in other parts of the Run Course was also very positive and energizing, in the next few kms I found a rhythm of 4:05 for the kms that were flat and 4:15 for the ones that were on the spongy grass of the rolling golf course....

It was a 2 lap course of 6km each, and when I got to the second loop Paola told me that I had to hurry up if I wanted a podium, She screamed 3 minutes from second place, I knew that if she didn't told me my placing it was because I was out of the podium, so for the first time I did a Negative Split Run during a Race, I didn't catch a place in the podium, but I'm satisfied with my race, the Run split for the 12kms was 49:50 and looking at the others my total time was right there... Maybe not enough but close..... I fell short for 37 seconds for a 3rd place and 1:06 for a 2nd place (The 1st place smoked us by 3-4 minutes)
I finished in 14th Overall (with 5 Pros) and 5th in my Age Group, But the truth is that when I say I'm satisfied I really mean motivated to train harder............

..........1- Massimo Cigana PRO ITA Swim 27:43 Bike 1:18 Run 43:54 Total Time 2:32:51

.........2- Alberto Cassadei PRO ITA Swim 24:21 Bike 1:24 Run 45:31 Total Time 2:36:56

.....3- Romain Guillaume PRO FRA Swim 24:59 Bike 1:25 Run 43:55 Total Time 2:37:08

..4- Frederik Cronenburg PRO SWE Swim 26:23 Bike 1:26 Run 43:45 Total Time 2:38:10

....5- Todd Spackman M-18-24 AUS Swim 27:14 Bike 1:30 Run 44:00 Total Time 2:43:42

.............6- Justin Granger PRO AUS Swim 27:04 Bike 1:30 Run 48:07 Total Time 2:48:04

......7- Thomas Braun M-40-44 GER Swim 27:04 Bike 1:28 Run 51:58 Total Time 2:50:49

8- Benjamin Webeck M-30-34 AUS Swim 29:35 Bike 1:30 Run 49:12 Total Time 2:51:28

.........9- Richard Hall M-40-44 GBR Swim 28:41 Bike 1:32 Run 49:18 Total Time 2:53:06

............10-Luca Figini M-40-44 ITA Swim 28:59 Bike 1:31 Run 49:26 Total Time 2:53:30

....11- Chris Bradford M-35-39 AUS Swim 29:16 Bike 1:30 Run 50:45 Total Time 2:53:36

....12- Timothy Smith M-25-29 NZL Swim 31:53 Bike 1:30 Run 48:41 Total Time 2:53 57

.................13- Ashley Dyer M-40-44 GBR 28:45 Bike 1:32 Run 50:34 Total Time 2:54:06

............14-Jano Soto M-40-44 MEX Swim 29:03 Bike 1:32 Run 49:52 Total Time 2:54:12

Lavaman Keauhou 2011

2011-12-07T13:53:00.001-10:00

There's not to much to tell about the Race, I won my Age Group and I was 7th Overall, never felt great during the Race but it's not a fast course.........

Swim :24:47 Bike 1:04:14 Run :41:50 Total Time 2:10:51

Video Clip Of Ironman Honu 70.3 Hawaii 2011

2011-07-12T08:39:00.002-10:00

Kona Half Marathon & The balancing game

2011-07-01T21:41:00.001-10:00

How cool is that the start line of your next race is exactly 0.5 miles from your front door? That's how far Paola and I had to walk to the start of the Kona Half Marathon last weekend, and in August it will be the same for Lavaman Keauhou Triathlon, I just love it!
The Race Plan was to Bang some fast miles at the beginning and then just hang in there as long as possible, because this 1/2 Marathon was more part of my training than a Running Race...

I've been working with Justin in my run for the last few weeks, and the goal at this phase is to make me a better long distance runner with Ironman in mind. So The Kona Half Ironman was a good opportunity to see how long I could hold some fast paced miles.
The gun went off and I just went on thinking I was going easy, after 3 weeks of feeling sore all the time and after a week of tapering I should have imagined that I was going to start too fast, and that's what I did

I saw the first km in 3:38 ( I thought that I might have I started a little too fast, it was also a hint to see that I was in very first place ha ha! I tried to ease it down and I found my pace in 4min per km or 6:24 per Mile, running in Alii Drive from Keauhou north up to Sports Authority where the turnaround was, at the Turnaround I still felt ok, the first 10k in 40 min so I tried to just hold that pace back to Keauhou, but 21 it's not the same as 10, around km 16 I started to struggle to hold the pace, and I got to the finish line in 1:25 6th Overall

Ironman 70.3 Honu 2011

2011-06-14T17:46:00.000-10:00

Hapuna Beach

It's been a while since my last blog, I had a lot going on but not too much related to Triathlon that didn't required a quick update. So I kind of waited until my next Important Race.
So first... Here's the quick update since Abu Dhabi:
After Abu Dhabi I was in a pretty bad shape, all beat up in many ways, my first ever DNF, burnt Feet, the worst Jet lag ever, and to top it all I went to see the Doctor because in the last few months previous to Abu Dhabi I wasn't feeling really comfortable in my bike (saddle wise)... To make the story short I ended having Surgery that same day, they removed a mass I had down there that luckily was just a 1 inch Cyst with no traces of cancer.... On the bad side, I obviously had to stay away from my bike for a while, and let me tell you..... I had no desire at all to jump into that saddle ha ha!
So I had to skip Lavaman and Ironman St George.

The Brutal Mass Start Swim

OK now Ironman 70.3 Honu 2011.
After all that happened this turned out to be my main event of the year, so the pressure to do well was on... I usually don't get nervous at all, but I was felling obligated to do very well and that put me in a "tense" mode the days before the race. Honu is definitely my favorite race, not only because it's a beautiful race in the best place, it's because now it's in my own backyard! with my friends!

And should have been enough for me to avoid this BIG Mistake, after checkin in the Bike at Hapuna Beach I had planned to eat my favorite Hamburger at the the Fairmont Orchid at Mauna Lani, everything was going according to plan, but it started to rain just a little, so we decided to eat somewhere else, we went to an Italian in Waikoloa Beach Resort, they didn't have my burger and also they didn't have a steak that I like, so I went with another kind of steak, I was starting to feel hungry so when it came and I noticed it was FULL of garlic I juts ate it! In the moment I finished I knew I was in trouble, my stomach is very strong, I almost never have G.I. Issues and it was making some weird noises, went home, reprehended myself a couple of times for doing that and then went on to keep a positive frame of mind.
At 3am I was throwing up in the toilet! I kept myself in positive and drank tons of coffee, I was wired and went on to the start at Hapuna beach.

Coming out of the water in 6th

The race start in Honu is always very physical, this time it was Brutal! The race has been growing since the first time I did it in 2009 when we were 1300, it went to 1550 in 2010 and now in 2011 we were 1800 guys, so you can imagine the first turn buoy! That's exactly when I got an elbow right in my Jaw! I heard the BONE sound going through my body and then realized that I couldn't close my Jaw! it was out of it's place, it didn't hurt so I just kept on swimming, that went on for a couple of minutes until it finally got back to it's place, I don't think it really slowed me down but it was a weird feeling.

Back from Hawi

My Age Group was enormous! 238! I came out of the water in 6th place and went on blazing through T1.
The first part of the bike was ok, I wasn't feeling great and strong but also I had no stomach issues and that helped me keep myself into positive side. At the turnaround in Hawi my energy levels came up when I finally saw where I was in the Overall so I hammered all the way back to Mauna Lani.
Arriving to Mauna Lani Beautiful Golf Course is always like finding a Oasis in the middle of the dessert, specially after riding 90kms in the Dreadful Queen K and the Always hard Climb up to Hawi. Too bad that feeling lasts only for a brief moment. I came out of T2 ready for what I knew it was coming, even that the Run Course is beautiful it's a damn hard RUN!

Arriving to Mauna Lani T2

Mauna Lani Golf Course "The 1st Mile"

I always tend to do a pretty fast first mile even if I try to keep it easy and relaxed, maybe because I always see and hear Paola Cheering me up, I don't know but I thought that my first mile was going to be well under 7minutes close to a 6:30 so when I saw a 7:05 at the first mile marker it made me remember myself throwing up in the bathroom a few hours ago......

You just can't beat this view with the Ocean in the Background

For a moment I felt pretty scared of the remaining 12.1 Miles! So I started to work in my mind, I took every mile like the only mile, the problem it was that every mile felt like the last mile I could do at that pace! And it wasn't even the pace I knew I could hold on..... So in reality I felt like crap for the for the first 7 miles, after mile 7, I felt better, my pace didn't improved but I felt more comfortable, I knew that pace was what I had in me for that day and went on to just try to keep it up!

It's a really tough course

Does it seems Flat to you?

When I came to the Mini Energy Lab I was prepared, so I put the gas down, I felt even better and coming out of it in one piece I was almost there. There's nothing compared to see the horizon all green with palm trees and the Ocean in the background with one mile to go. It was a tough day at the office as it is always in Honu and in general it was an OK result, 46th Overall in what seemed to be the Ironman 70.3 World of my Age Group.

Paola always by my side

Our friends Cory & Alyssa

Yeah!

Abu Dhabi Race Report (English)

2011-03-17T12:50:00.000-10:00

Since we got to Abu Dhabi everything was quite different from last year, the Airport that was already beautiful, now was under construction "renovation" I don't understand why.... We also arrived extremely tired after a 33hr flight from Kona-San Francisco-Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi. And the weather was surprisingly cold! That made me remind that I left my wetsuit in Hawaii, very dumb thing to do, I don't know why but since last year the thing that I remembered the most of this race was the extreme heat, so I just bothered to find out if the race would aloud the use of speedsuits, they didn't just like a WTC event, so I decided to race with a Red/Black Kiwami Amphibian instead of my usual Kiwami Konami White Trisuit
The week was pretty crazy, we both were trying to recover from the awful long trip, swollen legs (I forgot also my compression socks) and specially the Jet Lag! I think I jinxed myself when I told Cory and Alyssa "Oh 33hrs of flight, we can handle that, we are used to it" ha ha ha! The whole trip I had to eat every word I said! Just like Justin Bieber song..... Never say Never! ha ha ha!
The weather kept changing drastically every day, it's incredible how this is possible in the Desert. The only thing that kept rising was the water temperature, when we arrived it was 21 degrees celsius, but it kept rising 1/2 a degree every day, so I had a pretty good chance of being safe without a wetsuit.
Friday came and the water was 23 degrees exactly but the organizers decided that it was going to be wetsuit legal...duh.. I thought that saturday the water would be above 23 degrees.
Race day came, 5am at transition and there was Belinda Granger with a wetsuit for me, thanks BG! I was resigned to loose some minutes but now I had a wetsuit! Cool!
When the gun went off I found myself leading the swim, when I got to the first turn buoy I noticed that we were 5 guys that had separated around 3 meters from the group, so I decided to save some energy and follow some feet, we stayed together for the rest of the 3k swim and started the bike together.

in the first few kilometers still in Abu Dhabi we left behind a couple of guys, and other left me and a guy with an AVIA Uniform, he left pretty fast, maybe too fast and I thought he will sooner or later would blow up....
As soon as I got out of the city into the Desert road the wind made it's great appearance!! I knew it was going to be a tough one this time, so the beautiful road from last year now seemed very, very scary. Then I thought that I shouldn't have this negative thoughts so early in the race, so I tried to focus and do my thing. Which was not that easy, the wind kept on coming strong, you could see waves of sand in the tarmac, what made me feel better is that the first 45kms I passed them in 1:19 (34.1km/h) and also I passed the guy in the Avia Uniform. I knew I was going strong even with the wind, I felt good and even better in the second 45kms which I passed in 1:13 (36.9km/h) Pretty good for the conditions, so the first 90k were down in 2:32, I felt I could finish at that pace without a problem, but that problem came at km 130.....

I started feeling crappy, I think it was the Gatorade they gave me a couple of times when I asked for water, in the 3rd 45k my pace dropped to 1:22 (32.9km/h) the only good thing was to see the Guy who left us at the beginning, he was pedaling squares! I felt for him, but I also felt for me, because the guy from AVIA passed me too.... I felt better after drinking some Coke and water and I got to the 180km mark in 5:15.

Then all went to Sh#$%^ I felt terrible, tired and started cramping every time I went out of the saddle, and I couldn't stand the aero position anymore, my back was killing me. So the last 20kms I tried to recover for the run, I dropped my pace a lot, but I worked, I arrived to Transition feeling good and strong for my 20k run.
Now I know I should have visualized my race like I do every time, but this time I didn't..... maybe if I did I would have noticed that I needed to get to Transition with my bike shoes "ON" and not barefoot, last year it was pretty hot, the problem with this year was that it was EXTREMELY HOT! Just like a frying pan! My head didn't worked as I was running over the blue hot tiles I was just thinking in getting to the tent, I didn't even thought about stopping in my track and put on my shoes.... Bad mistake!

I started the run feeling good, my pace was fast (6:30min/mile) and I was not pushing that hard, but after 2k I felt a sharp pain in both feet, it was like electric shocks, I said to myself "come on, suck it up" but after 3kms it was just impossible, my primal instinct was taking over and changing my foot landing position, I couldn't do anything, and the pain was excruciating! I thought I was developing blisters from the burned feet, so I thought in sitting down and puncture the blisters to let the water out, but there was no water yet! It was more like the outside skin was separated from the inside skin, that's why I felt that my feet were sliding inside my shoes.

I sat down for a while trying to find a way to continue, but when I stood up to try to run, I couldn't even walk! I was forced to DNF a Triathlon Race for the first time in my life. They took me in a car to the finish line to find out that Dirk got 3rd place! I was happy for him but pissed off with me. After a couple of hrs I remembered that I do this because I like it, that it's all about the Journey not the Destination, so I felt better the same day after a nice shower.
The rest of the trip was pretty good actually, we went to Dubai and also to a 4x4 Safari in the Desert, it was excellent.

Now we are back in Hawaii after another 33hr flight from hell, happy to be back home.

Resumen de Abu Dhabi (Spanish)

2011-03-17T00:23:00.002-10:00

Desde que llegamos el Lunes en la noche después de 33 horas de Aviones y Aeropuertos, Abu Dhabi parecia distinto al Año Pasado, empezando por maldito cansancio y la hinchazón de los pies, y acabando por el Aeropuerto..... que estaba en remodelacion (Me pregunto para que remodelas algo nuevo y tan Increible como este Aeropuerto) En fin..... al llegar hacia frio!
El martes antes de ir a nadar mientras armaba mi bici me di cuenta de que habia olvidado, el Wetsuit, el Speedsuit, el cinturon para el numero, el body glide y alguna que otra cosa como las calcetas de compresion (ahi el hinchamiento de las patas) en fin....todo indicaba que por alguna razon me habia apendejado grueso desde Kona. Mi pretexto (pues tiene q haber uno no?) Es que en la ultima semana en Kona hubo algunos contratiempos que se llevaron mi atencion y mi tapering se fue por la ventana (o a otro lado).

Lo del Wet y del Speedsuit lo puedo medio entender porque el año pasado lo mas cañon de Abu Dhabi fue el calor, y por esa razon mi cerebro decidio que la nadada era "No Wetsuit" asi que solo me preocupe por averiguar si las reglas de Abu Dhabi permitirian el uso de Speedsuits, no se permitiria tal y como lo seria en un evento de la WTC, por eso decidi en llevar un Trisuit Kiwami Amphibian, en vez de mi Preferido el Konami Blanco de Kiwami asi que ni se me ocurrio llevar el Wet o el Speedsuit. Todo lo demas... Pues por wey! ha ha!
Toda la semana fue de cambios super drasticos en el clima, es increible como cambia todo de un minuto a otro en el Desierto, lo unico que se mantuvo constante fue el incremento en la temperatura del agua, cuando llegamos estaba a 21 grados, lo que haria la competencia Wetsuit Legal y al mismo tiempo a mi un idiota ja ja! Todos los dias subia medio grado, asi que habia esperanzas para que llegara a 23.1 y asi pudiera usar unicamente mi Amphibian.
La semana se paso bastante rapido pues esta vez Abu Dhabi era como Ironman Week en Kona, estaban TODOS! Y entre cena, rodada o paseito llego el dia previo a la competencia, lo que no llego suficientemente rapido fue maldito termometro, el viernes estaba a 23 grados, asi que los organizadores decidieron que "SI" se permitiria el uso de Wetsuit asi que ni modo, estaba resignado a perder un par de minutos en la nadada. Grata fue mi sorpresa cuando al llegar a la Transicion el sabado a las 4am Belinda Granger me tenia un Wetsuit, el unico problema era que me apretaba un poco, pero bueno......la flotabilidad en 3 kms era mas importante.
Arrancamos y los primeros 500 metros me fui en la punta, llegando a la primera boya me di cuenta de que eramos 4 o 5 los que nos habiamos separado del grupo como por unos 30 metros, asi que decidi no jalar e irme atras de alguno de ellos para ahorrar energia, nos mantuvimos juntos el resto de la nadada y salimos a rodar al mismo tiempo. En los primeros kilometros aun dentro de Abu Dhabi dejamos a 2 cuates atras, otro que salio como loco nos dejo a mi, y a un cuate que venia con un traje de AVIA, yo solo pense que se iba a acabar tronando.

Saliendo de Abu Dhabi oh surprise! El pinche viento estaba gruesísimo! La carretera que el año pasado me habia parecido padrisima ahora me parecia aterradora, aun mas aterrador era el tener estos pensamientos negativos tan temprano en la competencia, asi que me concentre en asimilar que esto era el 2011 y no el 2010, esto era el presente y habia mucho, mucho viento, me dije varias veces que era lo mismo para todos y trate de concentrarme en hacer lo mio. Lo que la verdad.........Fue un poco dificil pues estaba en la tierra de nadie. Adelante estaban los Elite, y atras muy probablemente un grupo drafteando, y cada vez haciendose mas y mas grande, y a su vez cada vez mas rapido.
Los primeros 45 kms los pase en 1:19 (34.1km/h) bastante aceptable para las condiciones, pues el viento no aflojaba, si no al contrario, apretaba cada vez mas! Tanto que se empezaron a hacer "olas" de arena en la carretera.
La ruta de ciclismo en Abu Dhabi son 3 vueltas, 2 de ellas de 80kms saliendo de Abu Dhabi, pasando por Sadiyat Island, y llegando a Yas Island donde se encuentra el Circuito de Formula 1 El famoso "Yas Marina F1 Circuit" Rodar ahi es increible, parece irreal! La ultima vuelta es nada mas hasta Sadiyat Island y son solo 40kms.
En la primera vuelta, a unos 5 kms despues de salir del circuito de F1 me di cuenta de que no estaba equivocado en mi idea de que se iba a formar un grupo de Drafters o tramposos! Pues casi no habia Jueces, cosa que deberian de haber arreglado este año.
Para pasar de isla a isla obviamente hay que pasar por puentes, puentes que son verdaderamente altos pues pasan barcos Gigantes por abajo, asi que de plano, la ruta no tiene nada, y el pinche viento solo seguia apretando, despues de la primera vuelta completada sucedieron 3 cosas que me animaron bastante, la primera fue rebasar al cuate del traje de Avia, depues el ver mi tiempo de los segundos 45kms 1:13! (36.9km/h) Lo que es igual al un 90k de 2:32! Buenisimo con esas malditas condiciones!

Pero lo mejor fue pasar al wey que nos habia dejado en los primeros 10 kms! Estaba Super Reventado! Pedaleando Cuadrado! Por cada cosa di un buen grito de guerra! Asi que ahi iba yo en Primer Lugar!!!!
Todo fue normal hasta el km 110, me empeze a sentir realmente mal, muy probablemente por haber tomado Gatorade cuando queria agua, un par de voluntarios que me tocaron en las estaciones de abastecimiento simplemente les valio madre que les pidiera agua y decidieron que YO iba a tomar Gatorade..... los terceros 45kms los hice en 1:22 (32.9km/h)

Despues de casi una hora de tomar agua y Coca me empece a sentir mejor, ya me habia pasado el cuate del traje de AVIA lo que me aplasto un poco. (El de Avia eventualmente gano el 1er lugar de mi categoria)
Ya el cuarto 45k lo hice en 1:20 (33.3km/h) o sea que pase los 180kms en 5:15
Y fue justo en los 180 kms que las cosas se pusieron UGLY! Justo al empezar a trepar uno de esos pinches puentes que cada vez se hacian mas grandes, cuando vinieron los primeros calambres, trate de todo pero era inevitable, cada que me salia un poquito de la posicion aerodinamica venian instantaneamente en las dos piernas, eran bastante fuertes en las pompas, muslos, cuadriceps y femorales, lo malo es que ya no aguantaba estar en la posicion aerodinamica! Los ultimos 20kms fueron de recuperacion pues tenia que correr mi mejor 20kms al bajarme de la bici, fueron lentos en 37 minutos (29.4km/h) pero funciono mi recuperacion, hasta una barra de la Zona me eche, lo que me cayo de perlas!

Llegue a la Transicion sintiendome bastante bien, pero el piso estaba extremadamente caliente, era de unos azulejos azules que se habian calentado como sartenes! Yo solo pense en entregar mi bici y llegar lo mas pronto posible a la tienda de Transicion para ponerme mis tenis.
Me puse mi Zoot's y sali como ratero, los primeros 2kms los trate de hacer tranquilo, y los pase en 8 minutos, no me dio tiempo ni de sentir satisfaccion del tiempo, pues algo en mi subconsiente me estaba atormentando, en el km 2.5 me di cuenta de que era lo que pasaba.
Mis pies se habian quemado tanto en los piches azulejos esos que lo que yo sentia como que se me resbalaban los pies dentro de mis tenis, era realmente que la piel externa se me estaba separando de la interna, se estaban creando unas ampollas realmente gigantes! Cuando me empezaron a doler fue desde el principio un dolor insoportable, corri 500 metros despues del abastecimento de los 2.5kms y no pude dar un paso mas! Me quite los tenis pensado en reventarme las ampollas pero cuando vi mis pies las ampollas aun no tenian agua, lo que estaba sucediendo era como dije antes, que la piel de la planta de los pies se me habia separado de la piel de adentro, se movia como si hubiera vaselina "DENTRO" de mis pies! El dolor era neto....una mamada! Lo pense un par de minutos y cuando me pare, me di cuenta de que ni siquiera caminar podia. Me subia a una camioneta de un organizador y me retire por primera vez en mi vida de un Triatlon.....

La verdad la pase muy mal por un par de horas, despues me acorde que hago esto porque me gusta y que no siempre me van a salir las cosas como quiero, creo que aprendi mucho y me recordo que aun teniendo varios años en esto, hay cosas que nunca hay que dejar de hacer....... Si hubiera visualizado mi carrera, me hubiera dado cuenta que el piso iba a estar hirviendo y simplemente me habria bajado con mis zapatos de bici hasta la tienda de la T2.

Me dio mucho gusto que Dirk Bockel quedara en 3ro pues es un buen amigo. El resto de la semana fue de paseos en Camellos, Cenas de comida Arabe Realmente buena, Dubai y hasta un Safari en el Desierto, el dolor llego al subirme al avion por otras 33 horas de tortura mas otras 20 de esperar a que llegara mi bici, pues se quedo en algun aeropuerto del mundo. Ya estamos aqui en casa los 3 (Paola, yo, y la bici..jeje) y este fue el resumen de Abu Dhabi 2011.......

Mini Monster Half Ironman Triathlon 3rd Place

2011-02-27T00:09:00.000-10:00

Last Feb 13th we had The 1st "Mini Monster Half Ironman Triathlon" right here in the Island, it was a great effort by Team Mango aka Carl Koomoa.
The swim was "obviously" from the Kona Pier to the 1.2mile buoy or King's Buoy, The Bike went up to the Queen K and north up to the turnaround at Mauna Lani, and the Run was up Palani, Kuakini towards the Old Airport and around Target to get back to Alii Drive all the way to the south end in Keauhou Shopping Center.

At the starting line I knew that I had to keep an eye in two guys, Thomas J. Vonach from Austria and Mario Erath also from Austria, both have been training here for the last few months, and I knew that they were both the ones to keep an eye on.... My goal at this race was to test my racing pace for Abu Dhabi, so I didn't Taper as much as I would for a BIG Race, but still I wanted to win.
So When the gun went off and in a matter of minutes we were just 5 guys and Yvonne Van Vlerken up in the front pack, everything went smooth until the 1/4 mile buoy, I really don't know what happened, I just lost my focus for a moment and lost my direction for a moment, that was enough to turn a group fast swim into a chase swim, I really need to say that Yvonne is a complete different person when racing than when training in the pool, is remarkable how she transforms herself into a killer machine, I respect that!
When I got to the turnaround buoy I saw that she and Thomas were around 30 seconds ahead of me, I was mad at myself, so I tried to push harder, at the end they both came out of the water 1 minute ahead of me with Mario breathing in my neck a couple of second behind, we went into the Bike Leg with a little of head wind that later turn into a sidewind, at the turnaround we both were not sure on where to turn, so we passed the turn point and maybe lost a Minute there, Mario was the first to realize this, so he gained the front on the way back, let me say that is great when you find someone like Mario Erath to race, he never tried to take advantage of drafting, he was always aware of the distance between us, and I really respect someone who is so honest, specially when we both know that we might be fighting for the podium at the end of the race.....
Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to take this to the end of the race, because another distraction of myself........As previously stated there were no Aid Stations, so if we wanted to have our drinks at the turnaround we had 2 options, give them to Bill Greentree who was going to be at the turnaround or have someone to take it there, in my case was Paola, who also was leading the swim portion of the swim in her Stand Up Paddle Board (Maybe that's why I got distracted, I was just so happy to be looking at her during a race!)

So I told her to hand me the water bottles, but I didn't showed how to do it, completely my fault, she handed me the water bottles facing forward and she also placed herself in a fast descent of a rolling hill, instead at the top where you go slower, so I lost my first bottle, and in the second attempt I had to really slow down, I didn't wanted to hurt her wrist. In those hiccups I simply lost Mario, and I was never able to reel him in. He got to T2 1 minute ahead of me in 2:19 and I arrived in 2:20, I wished that I could started the run by his side, but that minute was a long way in that first part of the course, so I never really had the chance to even get closer to him, I actually knew he was running faster than me.

The first 10k south in Alii Drive went hard but manageable, the real problem was the the temperature started to rise dramatically and there were just 2 aid stations, so keeping up the pace in the way back to the finish line ended up being a hard job, but in the bright side I was one of the happiest race I've ever done, it just felt so great to be a "Local" I got goosebumps every time someone called my name in Alii Drive, there's nothing like it! Here I was Racing in Kona as a Local.........Who would have thought this 2 years ago when I was buying my Cervelo P3 in San Diego.

So the Total Results were like this:

1st Place: T.Vonach Austria Swim 29:17 Bike 2:15 Run 1:29 Total Time 4:14
2nd Place Mario Erath Austria Swim 30:33 Bike 2:19 Run 1:32 Total Time 4:21
3rd Place Jano Soto Kona Swim 30:26 Bike 2:20 Run 1:36 Total Time 4:26

1st Place Female Yvonne Van Vlerken Swim 29:36 Bike 2:16 Run 1:29 Total Time 4:15 Yes she's FAST!
So here we are..... With almost all of the training for Abu Dhabi in the Bank, just a couple of hard weeks, key workouts and off to the Middle East! The Desert is waiting and getting hotter everyday!

Insane Overtraining & Recovery

2011-02-26T19:28:00.000-10:00

First of all I can't believe that we are already at the end of February, my last blog was at the middle of November, that's 3 1/2 months! Of course a lot have happened since then...... Being the most important the Adaptation Period to the new training Schedule.
During "Ironman Week" I had the chance to train with my buddies Dirk Bockel, Rasmus Henning and Eric Sullivan, so in that week I learned a lot by just training with them, remember that they were tapering! Having said that, in some cases I found myself hanging for my life in their rear wheels when coming back from Hawi to the Energy lab, just to make a quick transition and then run some 6:20 minute Miles! It was really great to fly in the Queen K with this guys, but in the downside..... after they left...... I was simply Smashed!
But Hey! At least I've got a good glimpse of what was waiting for me in next few months, it also re-assured my decision to put my training schedule in the hands of Justin Granger, it's a great feeling knowing that you took a very very good decision!
So in this last 3 1/2 months the point has been miles in, mile in, and miles in, specially in my run mileage, so Justin and I decided to start with the Honolulu Marathon in December 12, 2010 and The Maui Oceanfront 1/2 Marathon in January 23, 2011.
I wish it would have been as simple as just adding miles to my training schedule and then go to the races and perform like I wanted to...... But this was just not the case.
When we started stepping up the miles problems came out, problems like simple muscle tightness, to a little more complicated...... Let's call them "PHYSICAL CRASHES"
I'm still impressed of how different is to train for Olympic distance Triathlons or even Half Ironman distance Triathlons to the BIG ONE, The Ironman....
After this few months now I think that I know the SECRET! it's all about a delicate balance between Overtraining & Recovery, and between an INSANE OVERTRAINING & RECOVERY! And this is no Joke! ha ha!
The first few weeks of training, every week I felt like there was no way I would be able to make it to the end of the week, but after a few feedback exchanges between Justin and I, we kind of started knowing each other more and more, so now... after almost 4 months and many moments of doubt, I feel more comfortable with big numbers.
Just to make an example, a pre-Justin running week consisted of 20 miles divided in 3 days of running.
Last week, Thursday I ran 16 hilly miles and Friday 9 miles in the Track! So it's a big difference!
And that takes me back to the Physical Crashes, at The Honolulu Marathon I was feeling great! My training had been very good, and a pace of 4:30min/km was a pace I felt comfortable, so the truth is that I came to Honolulu a little too cocky, I really thought that a 3:09 for my first Marathon was going to be easy.
The race started...... and at the first 10k mark I was right on the pace with 44:41 and holding myself to not go faster, because I was feeling great! The 20k mark came and also another split of 45:56 still feeling great, at the 30k mark the split was 46:26 and I was still feeling very good, this part of the course was slightly uphill so I knew I was still in my 3:09 Goal, but then, around the km 32 a sudden "heavy feeling" hit my legs, It was a weird weird feeling, because my Heart was OK, I felt OK, but my legs didn't feel like part of my body at that moment, I felt I had to lift every ounce of muscle to take every stride, then the real uphill came, the climb of Diamond Head! It was torture! But I kept pushing as hard as I could, I knew that after Diamond Head I was going to gain speed and have the chance to recover from that bad stage.... The downhill came... and I felt worse! I couldn't believe that it was much more painful the way down than the way up, I got to a point that my legs were almost locked, I even felt afraid of falling down like a toy soldier, I saw the 40k mark and my split was of 56:57 I felt devastated, 10 minutes over my predicted 3:09! This couldn't get worse! isn't it? Well......... It could.... and it did......
The last 2 Kilometers were the most horrifying experience I ever felt running! Those 2 k from hell took me almost 15 minutes!!!! My finish time was 3:30!

That's 21 minutes off. The aftermath was a learning experience but it took me a few day to understand what went wrong, and also to recover.
The next test was Maui 1/2 Marathon, which initially was supposed to be the full Marathon, but due to my previous experience we decided that the Half was better for my real goals "2011 Triathlon Season" Maui was not the perfect race, but I was able to run myself to a 9th Overall finish in 1:28:58 that's a 4:13min/km pace So I was happy with that result...
After a few days of whale watching and exploring every corner of Maui Paola and I were back in Kona, it's good to race because I have a goal and I can focus better in the little thing that matter, but I need a Triathlon race soon...... I like running, but I prefer Triathlon........ There's Half Ironman Triathlon in Kona coming soon, Thomas Vonach Yvonne Van Vlerken and Mario Erath are training in Kona, so I think it's going to be an interesting race, I can't wait!

Getting Ready for 2011

2010-11-16T17:16:00.001-10:00

It's been a busy last month, I've been focusing in my run, it will pay off in 2011, my next race will be the Honolulu Marathon, but in the meantime I've had time to think about my 2011 Kiwami Racing Trisuit and also the training Gear.
Here are some Pictures of the apparel prototypes and My 2011 Bike with the new 2011 Hawk Racing Carbon Clincher Wheelset:

For Training: Tempo Singlet, Twinki Shorts. And (not pictured) Easyrider Bib Shorts & Boomerang Jersey.

Trinamik, Perfect for Shorter Distance

Konami Trisut My Favorite for Long Distance Races

Ready to Rock & Roll with the new 2011 HAWK RACING 50mm Carbon Clincher Wheelset & SL11 Hubset
FOR RACING: 80mm HAWK RACING Tubulars

Kaenon Sponsorship!

2010-10-24T23:15:00.000-10:00

How Cool is this? I'm a Triathlete Sponsored by Kaenon!

Here's the website Kaenon.com you can check out the super cool designs and different styles, but I have to say that the bottom line is....... When you try them you will be amazed of the quality of the lenses, the Polarization is SUPERB!!!! And you can wear them all day long, they are so good to your eyes that you kind of forgot that you have them on, and let's be truth here..... The other ones, most people buy them because the world champion is using them.

I'm super stoked to be in the Kaenon family!

I love my Kaenons!

Let's get the Running miles in........

2010-10-24T23:02:00.000-10:00

Ironman week is gone, and it's time to get back into the training rhythm. For the next few months I will focus in my Run. So far I've had the luck to get away with just 40 kms per week average, of running, and that's nothing...... Things are about to change, I'm starting to get used to get more than 10 miles each run even if it's speed work, and I've also had a couple of 30+ kms Long Runs, I'm still excited and I haven't found that wall everyone keeps warning me about. Lets see what happens when I step up the pace.

This week was a little frustrating but the point was to get the miles in, and I realized that a little too late when I felt smashed and frustrated because I couldn't keep the running pace that I'm used to it.
But hey! As Justin says "It hurts when you are struggling, and it also hurts when you are flying, as you will always push harder its human nature" What a great quote!

Well yesterday I was struggling, and today I was struggling too, but today it was different, it was better because I understood that the keyword in Long Distance is Consistency, even if I have to drag myself out the door.........
I can't find a good picture to go with this post, but let's try with this one from the Kiwami Photoshoot of the 2011 Catalog.
Check out the Sunglasses! KAENON

It's Perfect for my next Blog "Keanon Sponsorship" I'm Stoked
They are Really Cool! And the polarization quality is just above the average of the Leading Brands.

Hawk Racing Sponsorship

2010-10-17T00:29:00.002-10:00

I am absolutely Stoked on my Sponsorship with Hawk Racing!!!!

I once said that I will never endorse any brand or product in which I didn't believe 100% And there's no better example than this one.

I first learned about Hawk Racing from friends, and it called my attention how they all expressed about Hawk Racing and Sven Folmer the mind behind Hawk, then I saw the video about his Bottom Brackets and Derailleur Pulleys, but there's nothing like trying them out in the road, after my first ride I was hooked!!

It's not only the BB System, The Wheels are incredibly fast and when you hit the hills and get out of the saddle, there's no loss of power because they are super rigid. Check it Out at HAWK RACING.COM

Here's a video that explain much better why you should have Hawk Racing BB System in your Bike if you want faster Bike Splits

Facebook post from HAWK RACING BYCYCLES

Sven Folmer - Jano Soto - Hawk Wheelset
Hawk Racing: We would like to welcome Elite AG athlete Jano Soto to the Hawk Racing athlete family. Jano moved to Hawaii now to train more and make the next step to be a Pro. Hawk Racing will support him on his way in 2011. Good Luck Jano!

Kona Pier Morning Swim

2010-10-16T21:59:00.003-10:00

This video was taken by Paola Soto from her Paddleboard a couple of weeks before Ironman Kona.

It was a really cool swim!

In this video: Dirk Bockel, Rasmus Henning, Eric Sullivan, Bree Wee, Luke Mckenzie, Amanda Memphis Balding, Mathias Hecht, Norman Stadler, Tyler Butterfield, Joanna Lawn, Armando Galarraga, Craig Alexander, Lucy Alexander, Alicia Bockel, Paola Soto, & Jano Soto.

Japan!

2010-10-16T20:05:00.001-10:00

After Lavaman Paola and I felt really tired, so we decided to go to Japan for a week and recharge batteries for the upcoming Ironman Month. Nothing could be more away from reality! We both came back from this trip even more tired, but it was a lot of fun! I think that if my legs could talk, I would have been insulted many many times, our Hotel in Tokyo was just a couple of blocks away from the Imperial Palace and it's beautiful gardens, so it was impossible not to run it's surrounding 5k loop since the very first day we arrived, so before walking everyday for endless hours, we did our daily Imperial Run of at least 12kms.
I knew Japan was going to be interesting, but not that amazing!
We traveled by boat, by Train and we learned how to use the Subway, it might sound silly but when we first arrived to the Tokyo Train Station that's enormous and everything in Japanese you feel a little daunted, so finding your way around after a couple of days is very exciting, we were feeling just like locals! ha ha!
Our favorite place was definitely Kamakura, crossing the Sacred Bridge at Hachimango and looking at the Palace is one of a Kind Experience! Then we both felt like crying when we heard the story and saw the 1000 years Old Ginkgo tree that went down just a couple months before in a wind storm, you can see how Japanese really love that tree, they are trying soooo hard to save him, there are so many prayers in it's surroundings that it's hard no to feel the same way...... We both wrote and left there some prayers too.
Of course the food was amazing too, a little too expensive but as good as it gets!
We can't wait to go back and do a race there, I wonder what happened with Ironman Japan....
I'm still working in my 2011 Race Schedule but I don't think I will be racing in Japan in 2011, But in 2012 it might be, who knows?

I could write a lot about Japan, but it will sound like a travel website.... Boring..

So here are some pictures of a one of a kind trip!

Seriously...........?

I love this jumping little thing!

The view of this restaurant was Amazing!

The Big Buddha at Kamakura

Tokyo City Lights!

Lavaman 1st Place

2010-09-12T20:18:00.010-10:00

So after swallowing up the bitter pill of not racing Ironman Louisville, I kind of started feeling a little better just a couple of days before IMLO, but as I stated in my previous post, there was no way I could endure 9+ hours of racing Ironman.

But then.........there it was........... LAVAMAN right here in KONA, hey! right in my street!

So even that I knew that I was going to get myself into the Hurtbox, It was just impossible I didn't do this one. I thought "I will just enjoy racing a good race in my town" Gee Like I didn't knew myself.
The swim was in the Keauhou bay where Alii Drive ends to the south.

It was so cool to be there with all of our friends, people who we see everyday, everywhere, the atmosphere at this race was definitely the most friendly ever, to the point that when we were just about to start, I had to repeat to myself that this was not a friendly training session, so I placed where I knew the fast swimmers where, and after the gun I tried to keep up the pace, but I wasn't successful in getting some fast feet, and after 300 yards I found myself swimming alone. I came out of the water in 23 minutes, about 90 seconds behind the leaders.

The Bike start was Uphill right away, up in the K3 road where I do my Hill Workouts, so I knew perfectly what to spect, the problem was when I arrived to the top and saw that I was a whole MINUTE slower than in my training sessions, it was a bad surprise at the beginning, but then I remembered that "I was in bed 5 days before, and that I was there to enjoy the race" ha ha! That idea lasted like 20 seconds, I was replaced for "Just Go HARD and don't mind the numbers" After the climb of the K3 road it was Kuakini Hwy that after 2 miles turns into The Queen K, the turnaround was right in-front of the Energy Lab or NELHA, and there I was able to see that I was well placed, and that gave me back some of the lost confidence in the uphill, in the way back to town I felt like flying, but when I got to Alii Drive where I thought I was going to have a power boost just for being racing in that street which I go up and down many many times every day, where I eat, have some coffees, and see the sunsets ha ha!! Was that too much? =)

Well..... in Alii Drive my legs started to fail keeping up the pace, I thought I was going to ride in less then 1 hour, I was off by a couple of minutes, I had hopes to get my legs back when I started the Run, there's always a relief when you start to run because you are changing your body position, and I usually start the run feeling great, but that feeling usually goes away once you leave the craziness of Transition #2, and this time was no exception.
The run started with a very steep hill, that made me remember once again that I was sick 5 days before, so the cycle of thoughts repeated again. I got some miles under 6:40 and some in 7 minutes and I was quiet happy with this.... (Obviously) But with 2 miles to go the Heavy Truth of my Reality went down on me, and it came really bad, I felt like walking for a second, but I knew that it will be harder to start running again than just keep going, and I did....... My run time was nothing I could be proud of, but it was enough for taking the win in my Age Group and 7th Overall.

At the end, the result couldn't have been better, doing this race and obtaining this result was perfect to shake off the DNS of Louisville.
But the best part of Lavaman was definitely our friends, the awards ceremony and the swag! Maybe the live music was a little loud, but also maybe it was just because we wanted to just hang around and chat with our friends!

A simple cup of Kona Coffee!

2010-08-23T00:43:00.001-10:00

One of the pleasures of Life

I'm spending my recovery time learning how to make designs in the frothed milk of the lattes or cappuccinos. It's very fun. By The Way! Try Tiare Lani Coffee, is 100% Kona Coffee and is the best I've tried so far in Kona. www.tlckonacoffee.com

Plan B (Same as Plan A)

2010-08-22T15:05:00.017-10:00

If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.

Dalai Lama.

I Love this quote! I've been using it almost everyday since I read it for the first time.
Today is one of those days.
I went to the Doctor and I have a Strep Throat Bacteria,and doing an Ironman in less than a week is out of the question. So I had to cancel my trip to Kentucky, It's a little sad because I was starting to feel very good with my Ironman training, but it's not like the end of the world. There will be many many more races, and like I always say "It's all about the Journey, not the destination" So no worries... Time for plan B: 1-Get well. 2-Back to training. 3-Continue to have a good time. It's actually the same plan as plan A.
The half full glass point of view here, is that I have more time to train properly for the next race. So it's time to relax and watch a little tv.

No Drama! Just Keep Training.........

2010-08-02T22:17:00.010-10:00

Louisville is getting closer and right now I have a mild case of food poisoning, I'm trying not to freak out, and make no drama, but it's a little nerve wrecking anyway........

Today is Wednesday, and next week on Tuesday I will be on the plane to Kentucky, I hope that by that time, I will no longer be thinking of the Microscopic Bug that put me out of training for a couple of days....

Since I came back from Tin Man in Honolulu, I started to train with Justin Granger, I always thought that I was un-coach-able, but after spending almost 2 months getting nowhere, and trying to figure out my own training method for the Ironman distance, I finally realized that I needed help. I was lucky enough to have met the Grangers just a few weeks ago.

First of all, Ironman Distance is "not" just 2 times a Half Ironman, is not as simple as: 1.9+1.9=3.8, 90+90=180 or 21+21=42

This is not like an add equation, In the last few weeks I've learned that 70.3+70.3 is NOT 113.6 And that means I have a lot of respect for the Ironman Distance.

So far...... I managed to get away with very little running, and more or less perform, in shorter distance Triathlons, but there's no way I was going to get away with it in Louisville.

I wish I would have met Justin before, but hey......I believe that everything happens for a reason, and trying to see this with the "Half Full" point of view, makes me think that I still have a long way to go, and instead of being stuck with a non effective training method, now I'm starting to get into a new phase of "Learning & Performance" I wasn't running not even the distance required for Olympic Distance, but my knees are also not worn out and I have no issues with important injuries, and that's good.

The truth is that comparing what I used to do, and my current training is like night and day.

Maybe I was so reluctant to have a Coach because of what I've seen in the past with some coaches, they just don't care, and this is not the case....

Training with Justin has been like an Eye Opener and I can say I'm very excited for the things to come. I'm not to worried about qualifying for Kona anymore (at least this year) I just want to do things right, and for Ironman it takes more than just some weeks, so I will try to have fun and enjoy IM Louisville. I'm so glad that I'm one of the guys who really enjoy training, because I have plenty in my future.....

And now I can be sure that with Paola as my sane part of my mind, with Justin as my Coach and Belinda around I'm on the right track.

It's all about the Journey, not the Destination.

Tin Man, Honolulu. 2nd Place

2010-07-30T22:36:00.006-10:00

I have to love HONOLULU! is the second time that I come back to Kona with a better result than I expected, last time I was fried from overtraining and came back with a 1st place, and this time.....

Well........This time, the same (no first place but Overtrained ha ha! )

No seriously! I've been doing the same mistake since I got to Kona 3 months ago, overtraining and at the same time, not running enough! How I managed to do this? Well first of all, I've been trying to take my Half Ironman Training and by just adding more here and there, convert it into an Ironman Training, the result is that every single week, before the long and important runs, I'm already fried in the Legs. And that's how I was feeling Friday before Tin Man. Saturday I went for an easy ride and came back to the hotel really scared, If I wasgoing to feel like that in the Race, a long and painful day was waiting for me.

Race day came and I simply forgot about it, I was leading the swim for the first 300 meters, then Gregory Price passed me, I came out of the water 2nd in 10:51 just 25 seconds behind him, after a 1:41 transition I managed to pass him (he did 2:04) But around 10k into the Bike he passed me again. I didn't even tried to speed it up, I was feeling OK but it was like I didn't have another gear, I wanted to go faster, but that was my pace, my legs refused to make any changes, it seemed that even if I tried to go faster for a moment, or even a little easier, the pace didn't change a bit, that day my legs had their own mind and there was nothing I could do about it. It was a little windy and we had to take on 2 times the climb to Diamond Head, and feeling not at 100% is was not a ride in the park.I got to T2 after a 1:02 Bike split, not bad for the course, I knew that I was in 2nd place, and that gave me the incentive to start as fast a possible, I didn't want to be passed and loose that place, so I went strong from the beginning. Paola was there cheering, and started to run behind me, Out of T2 we had to go around Kapiolani Park, and I could hear her shouting, but what took me by surprise is that after a couple of minutes I could still hear her, so I was like "I must be going too slow" Then my brain started to work a little better and I saw that she just cut the corner and then crossed the park in the middle, ha ha! I wasn't going that slow, but not that fast either, but after the first climb, I kind of found what seemed to be sub 7 minute mile pace, there were no km or mile marks ( I hate that ) so I never knew if that was correct until the finish line, I gave it all in the run, enough for a 40 minutes 10k.I was 2nd in my Age Group and 7th Overall with a total time of 1:56 It was a good result, but at the same time this race opened my eyes, I know I can't continue with this type of erratic training.
Louisville is only 5 weeks away, and I still haven't found my training formula, maybe is time for a big change.

A Beautiful Day

2010-06-28T12:18:00.002-10:00

The Aloha Way

2010-06-28T00:03:00.000-10:00

kama'aina Means A native-born or longtime Island resident in Hawaiian, I know that we might not be there yet, but Paola and I surely feel that we belong here. It's been almost two months, and it just keeps getting better and better, it's not about updating my blog in the Lanai with a beautiful Ocean View, it's not about the Kona coffee that I drink in Industrial quantities, and it's not even the Dolphins we get to see every other day at the ocean swims or at the Paddleboard.
It's the air of happiness, the air of easy going that you breath in here. I know that every place in the world have a little of everything, good and bad, pros and cons. Who else might now more about that, than us? that in last few years, we've been very tempted to move to 4 different cities in the USA and Europe, we finally ended up choosing Kona, and I'm glad we did.

We've found here the perfect mix between all of the things we like, the sports culture is impressive, everyone is into some kind of sport, no matter the age, don't get me wrong dear Konians (I have no idea if this name is right) but it look like no one works here, and what I mean is that it looks like everyone is having so much fun all the time, even if they are at work, they simply enjoy life (there are some exceptions of course) But for the most, every day of the week seems like a weekend.
This is why it's the right place for us =)

Our days are simple, I could write for hours of deep thoughts and feelings, that you might discover when you find your peace or your ZEN....... but without entering philosophical waters........The equation for us...... is very easy:
Sun, Sea Breeze, Wind, Stars, Coffee, Swims at the Ocean, Paddleboard, Coffee, Great Food, Swims at Kona Aquatics, Naps, Lava Java, Sushi, Beaches, Great Bike Rides, Runs, Coffee again =) Sunsets and Sunrises, this is the Aloha way.
And with all this good vibe comes good people, we've always thought that we were meant to be us against the rest of the world, but now we feel more alike, less lonely and not at war, and that's a great feeling.

About triathlon training, it's been 20 months already since I started training seriously (not just 3 or 4 times a week) and if someone have told me before that I would be here after 20 months I might have never believed, but now I do, I'm feeling great and I'm sure I have room to improve, and in the way have the time of my life.

Even now that I can't run because I hurt my knee while falling in the Paddleboard, I'm still enjoying my life, the moment, and I know that my knee will eventually heal, just like other things in life, it's a life flow, it's Karma, and the only thing we can do to change the future is the present. "oops again philosophical" Sorry...... This heart beat is for my son Jonatan ( I can't wait for you to come to Hawaii, Son)

So this week, I took it easy just as recommended, Monday was rest day with Massage, and the rest of the week just swimming and ez on the bike, so I did 4 times the Ironman swim course, the masters at Kona Aquatics and some time chasing dolphins that ended up being 23km or 14 miles of swimming, Plus 350km or 217 miles of biking, including one of the best rides I've ever done, Kona to Hawi by the Queen K, then up (really up) to Waimea and returning back to Kona, via The Belt Road, 6 hours of endless and drastic changes of the riding conditions, just plain beautiful!

Ironman 70.3 Hawaii ( Video )

2010-06-26T02:19:00.001-10:00

Rhoto Ironman 70.3 Honu 6th AG 39th Overall

2010-06-09T23:22:00.001-10:00

I prefer 100 times a mass start than different wave starts, this is one of the best things about the Honu 70.3 race, the only downside is that by far, this is the most violent swim start of all the races that I've done in the past, last year it was like a battlefield and I got punched right in the face a couple of times, luckily this time was different, it was still pretty rough but I was out of the craziness after the first buoy, I tried to remember coach Steve the whole time and what he has told me for the last weeks.

I knew I was going faster than last year so it was a little disappointing to see my swim time at 30:49 but at least now I see that compared to last year this year was almost a minute slower (with some exceptions of course)

After the swim I was ready to put on a good time in the Bike (my specialty) and I felt good for the first 20 kilometers, but as soon as the road started to go up to Hawii I knew I had done a terrible mistake, I realized that I didn't trained "Hills" I've spent a month going back and forth in the Queen K but I simply never trained from Kawaiihae to Hawi (the hilly part) I know that It may sound very stupid and it is, but with everyday of the month going that fast this is the BIG Mistake I did, simply as that.

So all the way up to Hawi I felt really slow and I wasn't able to get into a rhythm. So when I got to the turnaround I saw that I have plenty of work in the way back to Mauna Lani (T2) I knew I could make up some lost time, and even with the wind that was blowing hard, I started to get back my legs, and started to get into a good and fast pace, everything was OK, but then I lost my 2 fluid bottles in a bump near Kawaiihae, and that must have affected because with only 10k to go my legs left me again, I just tried to keep up with the same pace in that flat section, and maybe recover enough for the run, at the end my bike split was not near what I expected to be, it was 2:33.

I knew that the conditions were not favorable so I tried to keep up the positive frame of mind by thinking that way, and trying to focus in the Run that was waiting for me in that Golf course, that is very pretty but also very very hard, it's simply impossible to get any kind of rhythm, if it's not a steep climb, it's a hard downhill, of it's not grass it's asphalt and then back to grass.

I started the run as I always do, fast but controlled so I don't blow up my race with the excitement of that first mile where I can always hear my Paola Screaming, Corre Pelucas!!!

Knowing what was waiting for me in the next 13 miles, I just kept my pace, the first mile was under 7 minutes, and so the next few miles, after mile 6 or 7 I knew I was going to be able to come out with a decent run in this hard course, I even felt good in the mile from hell, the mile number 9! and when I came out of that stretch of lonely road I just pushed as hard as I could for the remaining miles, I saw the ocean and that was a great feeling, I enjoyed those last few meters as much as possible, my run split was 1:33 for a Total Time of 4:41:47

Enough for a 6th place in the AG and 39th Overall, but not enough for a podium, here in Honu you get to be in the podium up to 5th place, I guess that must be a sign that the competition here is Fierce, and it was also not enough for an Ironman Slot I was 5 minutes from that only International spot, but I'm happy, I know that I gave it all that day, and that's what matters.

I now have time to reflect and pull my things together and slow down a little at least, It's time to get back on track and focus in Ironman Louisville, that's where I need to get my slot for the Ironman World Championship in October, I really don't want to be seeing the race from the sidewalk.

I don't know how to train for an Ironman but I will try to do my best, I know that I have to work a lot in my run an log much more miles, until now I've been able to get away with a low mileage, but I know that an Ironman won't let me do that. My swimming is getting better and I know what kind of work I need to do on the bike, the MIX of everything is what gets a little tricky, but I will try to do my best, one of the first things I have to do, is less facebook and more Running that's for sure ha ha! This Blog has always helped me to re-focus, to keep me on track, and it's also kind of therapeutic, and I can't say the same when I spent more than 20 minutes on FB it just leaves me with a not so nice feeling.

So I will start to work in a training plan for Louisville right now

Race Preview and landing feet in Kona. Becoming Kamaaina!

2010-06-09T17:37:00.002-10:00

It's been 5 days since Race Day and just until now I'm letting myself to start analyzing the Honu 70.3 There are just too many things to think about and understand. Last year when Paola and I came to do this race we decided to move to Kona for good. And now I can say that I raced in my town. It hasn't been easy and we had to do a lot of stuff to finally get here.

I can't believe that just two months ago we were in New York a couple of weeks after The Abu Dhabi Triathlon, we were very happy with the outcome of the Race and the trip, but at the same time we were starting to get worried because we had tons of things to do for the final "Move" to Kona.

This was supposed to be the race recap and now it will be like the race Preview ha ha! So I will just say that a lot!!! happened since we got back from New York at the Beginning of April.

In one month only, we did what you have to do when you leave your home country and move to another, and let me tell you that only someone who has done this, will understand what I'm talking about, so April was already a crazy month, I barely was able to put on some decent training because of the "other" stuff that needed my attention.

Then we arrived to Kona in May 1st, I thought I that everything was going to slow down, but I was wrong, and since the very first day it was just CRAZY!

We did hundred of things! learned how to paddlebord, get into the swim team, visited many many homes, I had to fight a mild case of shin splints because of the effort I had to do in my first attempt to paddleboard, it looks so easy, and it's NOT! Then there's meeting so many people! Everyone here is very friendly and we wanted to learn every one's name, it may sound silly but it's kind of hard.

And then there's our "normal" behavior, ha ha! Paola and Me every time we are in a new place, we try to know every inch of the town in just a few days, go here, go there, etc etc, and that can wear you out, and it did..........And then.... went to Honolulu ha ha!
I raced there and I got a first place in an Olympic Distance Triathlon, this was pretty good and encouraging, but I returned to Kona very very tired and with some nasty cuts in my feet, since I made the mistake of running without socks in my 70.3 race shoes, the ones I only use with socks. And in the top of it, the pre-race week we had a friend visiting us, so the taper week was more like a Tour Guide Week.

After saying all this, I was feeling very good for the race, I managed to put some decent miles on the Bike, and swim much more than I have used in the past, So I was almost sure to come with a decent run on the race day, and a positive result, using all the positive energy of Kona.

Now........Lets go write the race report......

Honolulu International Triathlon 1st Place!!

2010-05-19T23:15:00.002-10:00

Let me start saying that after the first two weeks we had in Kona, I'm very surprised with the result in Honolulu, I was almost sure I was in for a bad day.

Paola and I have waited for almost a year to finally made it to Kona, and the excitement led me to do almost every possible mistake in my training, but how can you turn back in the Queen K when you feel so happy just to be there? So the first week was all about riding, the written plan was a balanced hard week, but it all started to go wrong when I went paddle boarding, I had so much fun, but the next day my shoulders were done, also my calves and shins were pretty sore due to the effort I had to do, just to stay standing in the board, so my running and my swimming training were affected.
Another thing that got me in that negative frame of mind, is that changing the swim stroke is not an easy thing to do, even if you know that you are in the right path there's a lack of confidence due to the lack of results.
So there I was, the day before the race with a bad attitude, fortunately after the alarm went off I knew I was in the right frame of mind. The swim was pretty intense at the start, but after a while I was swimming with plenty of space, that went on for just a while when I had to start passing the first 3 waves that started 3, 6 and 9 minutes before mine. So I had to swerve a lot the rest of the swim, which I finished in 23 minutes, I was hoping a better time, but as soon as I was on my bike I started passing the rest of the previous waves.
After the first turnaround I knew I was in a good position and almost sure I was in first place, that's when I was passed by two guys that were clearly drafting, they had the same uniform and that got me very mad, I only hoped that they were not in my age group. The last 10kms were under a light rain and we also had a little wind, but nothing to important.
My bike split for the 40k was 59 minutes, a race PR split in an Olympic Triathlon and that helped me get trough the first mile of the run, I felt my legs very heavy, I was afraid I over did it in the bike, but after a while my legs came back and I was able to keep up with the pace, the heavy feeling came back at the end but knowing I was doing fine helped my to finish strong in 39 minutes, also a PR.
I was 1st place in my Age Group and 9th Overall.

The actual race was excellent, the run course in the Ala Moana Park is Beautiful, but the organization of the race I think is not so good. There was no control of the wave starts, it would have been very easy that someone started in the wrong wave on purpose, that could have been avoided with the color of the swim caps, that by the way......... they were handed right before the start along with the timing chips, both should have been in the race bag, luckily the cheating didn't happened at least in my age group or in front of me.

Another thing to mention is the attitude of the race Director someone called JJ, I had the bad luck to catch him in a bad moment I think............ The previous day there was this misunderstanding when I asked him about the next race briefing, I had just arrived when he was finishing the first race brief of the day, so I think he thought I was in the briefing, so the first thing he told, well............ he pretty much yelled at me, was that I had to have the bracelet on before I pick up my number, but when I arrived there was this lady who asked me of I was doing the Olympic, I said yes and she handed me an Orange bracelet, and told me to pick up my number, and that's what I did, so when I came to ask JJ about the next meeting he saw me with the bracelet in one hand and the race number in another, and it was supposed to be mandatory to have the bracelet on, to be handed the number, so he got mad, I just said it wasn't my fault that I received my number without having the bracelet on, that I thought that was his staff responsibility, not mine, and wow! He just exploded, I really thought he was going to hit me in the face, I tried not to explode also by just keeping my mouth shut, and waiting for him to end his show, so after he screamed that this was his race that this were his rules and bla bla bla, I just kept looking at him with a neutral face, and after some awkward seconds of silence, he just shake my hand and said he was cool......... What a freak moment, and what a freak dude!

That was the bad of the race, but everything else was really good, Honolulu is a great city, it's very cool that everything is so close, the perfect beach of Waikiki with all of it's Restaurant's, Shops and Hotels just steps apart.

The day after the race we went to Kailua Beach, they say it's the number one Beach in the US, Ít's really great but I bet I've heard this same thing about some other beaches ha ha!

Another Highlight of this excellent trip is that Paola raced a 10k race and she also got a PR! She's been running a lot of miles every week! and I mean a Lot!
More than me by far........ There's no doubt that in Kona, she will turn into a runner, I better start coaching her, because she's really strong and I think it's about time to put some sense into her running...... I think she's a power runner, lets see. She was so happy after the race, and got 4th in her age group, she is very excited to start a formal training program, I Love Her!

Kona. Our First Week.

2010-05-11T13:39:00.000-10:00

We finally made it to Kona, since last year it was just a dream, now it's real. We arrived Sunday night after a day with our friend Lalo in L.A. We both were pretty tired of the trip, but monday morning it was like we had new batteries, I was supposed to ride 50k at moderate pace in the Queen K and I ended up riding 120k at almost race pace.

I know it's not the smartest thing to do, specially one week before a race, but I kept doing it the whole week, and to make ir a little worst I took my first shot at Paddlebording, It was really fun, and before I knew I had more than one hour standing in the paddleboard, I won't say it's easy or difficult, because the point is not only stand up and paddle, the point is to go where you wanna go and do it swiftly, and that's when you fall. I had a blast but next day I could feel wich muscles I used to stay upright, the calves and the shins, so my run sessions for the week were in pure pain.

I also put myself in the hands of Coach Steve, I meet him last year and I knew he was the one to trust to change my stroke and help me take my swim to the next step, I do have a long way to go, but here's the place to do it. What I didn't knew about Coach Steve is that he was the assistant coach for Mark Spitz, Amazing!!!

Our place is very close to the pier and to the pool, so we are in the heart of Kona, Paola is running all the time, and of course taking all the sun possible.

Saturday Morning we went to Waikoloa Beach to spend the day, we had Spicy Ahi Poke and Sushi and the day was perfect, we just can't believe that we have already a week here.

Friday we are going to Honolulu, I will race at the Honolulu International Triathlon, it's an Olympic distance Triathlon, it might be not so important in my racing schedule but still I want to do good, so i will try to take it easy this week and get there rested, It's also my first Olympic Triathlon in almost two years, and there's no worst feeling than race with heavy legs.

The people in Kona is very very friendly, it's like a big family and everyone is ready to help in any way you need, so we already feel locals.

Abu Dhabi, Dubai & New York City. What a Trip!

2010-03-29T13:44:00.000-10:00

Finally I had the time to Upload to the pictures from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, & New York.

It was pretty hard because Paola shoot more than 3,000 pictures.
I just love to say this...... "THIS WAS THE BEST TRIP OF MY LIFE" and I keep saying that at least once a year, that means we are going to the right places, or least to "our" Right places.

Abu Dhabi is unreal............ Everything is perfect and beautyful, & The Hotel Shangri-La just made it seem even more perfect.

Since the moment you enter the lobby you know you are in a Special Hotel, I've never seen anything like it, the service and disposition of everyone is above normal, they make you feel like a Sheik, the view of the Zayed Mosque is amazing, you can see it from every place in the Hotel, and at night the Ilumination of the pool with the Purple Mosque in the Background seems unreal.

The race as I said in my previous Blog, was almost perfect, I know that the organizers want this to be one of the most important Triathlon races in the world, and I think they achieved that in the very first attempt.
After the race, we went to a Safari in the desert, an expert driver took us on a Toyota 4 Runner along with other 7 or 8 Toyotas, and going up and down 60 meters high Dunes is an experience I wont forget, ever.

After about and hour, we stop to see the Sunset, and that's something you want to see in the Desert, then we arrived to the Camp Site where we had Libanese food, Shi Sha, Camel Riding and a Belly Dancer Show.

Dubai was also pretty amazing, the Burj Khalifa Tower is the tallest in the World, with 800 meters you kind of loose the perspective of things, the Tall Buildings at it's side are pretty tall, but they seem tiny, and then you think about the sorrounding thing, like the Fountains and the Mall in the explanade below, even that the Fountains are twice bigger than the Fountains of the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Then.......... New York. It was a long time since I visited NYC, and I didn't remember that I liked it so much, even that this kind of life has nothing to do with Triathlon, I kind of like it, It has a "something" about it that's pretty cool and adictive. We went for a run in Central Park almost everyday, then have breakfast in a random place in the Strees, we just looked for a different "cafe" So there we were, next to the usual kind of New Yorkers, ha ha! Very Very different one from the other, this is where you get to find so many different people.
We went to a Knicks Game, and to the Liberty Statue, we were also turning experts in the Subway, and we also walked and walked and walked a little more.
One of the best things about triathlon, is that you get to travel and meet interesting people and places, and like this trip, places that if it wasn't because of a race, we might have never visited, and now we can't wait to come back.

Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, Race Recap. 3rd Place.

2010-03-14T03:11:00.000-10:00

Yesterday was the day that I've been waiting, and training for more than 120 days. It was a long wait, and with it came a lot of expectation from this race, so to tell you the truth the previous days I was a little nervous, the long long trip to Abu Dhabi and all the waiting made difficult to take it as "just another race"

This time there was my family here to watch me race, so my thinking was
"I took them all across the Globe to watch me race, I just can't let them down"
So the simple idea of having a flat tubular, gave me nightmares.
There were also other things to worry about, even I didn't wanted to think to much about it, but they were always in the back of my mind.

One of them was the approach that I took with my training for this new distance for me, my longest race before this was Half Ironman distance races, so 90kms at race pace was the longest distance I ever done. And my approach to training for a 200kms bike ride, was the opposite as almost everyone does it, instead of doing various Long & Slow Rides, I took it with mid distance (90-120k) At slightly below race pace, so my longest ride in the year was just one, of 120kms. So even that I knew I had it in me, there was this fear of the 200kms that I have never, ever ride in my life.

There was the Heat factor also. I like the hot races, and I tend to handle the heat ok, but the previous days here in Abu Dhabi were just too much, I was starting to doubt of my affinity with the mercury.

And the last one, was the field.........it was like a Kona Week, everyone was very fit, so I knew it was going to be "Hard" in every aspect.

4am.......... and I was already up and ready to go, after a Good Breakfast, we went to the Emirates Palace, a Hotel that really deserves a couple of lines, it's simply AMAZING!
It's the most expensive Hotel ever built, 3,000 Million Dollars, it has 850,000 m2 of floor space, an underground parking for 2,500 cars, and the exterior has 114 domes of 60 meters high. so being on it's beach front at T1 was a privilege.

So there I was preparing my stuff in T1 with a surreal view of this amazing changing color hotel in the background.
The swim was 2 laps of 1500 meters and a 100 meter dash in the sand in between. My first lap was right on time, 23 minutes, and my second I think I didn't swim straight, because I lost a minute, coming out of the water in 47 minutes.

Already in the bike I knew it was going to be a hard & hot day, much more than the previous days, because I had been training at that time, and it wasn't as hot as this day at the same time.
The bike course was in the Corniche that is along the beach front of Abu Dhabi, where all this super hyper modern buildings are, so the first 7kms of the course are extremely beautiful. but then you cross the first out of many bridges, and enter the real Desert, at the moment you start seeing the sand dunes you feel the temperature rising, the view was fantastic, and I was feeling also fantastic, the first 40k split came in 1:04, the second 40k in 1:05:50, the 90kms split was 2:27 and the 180kms split was 4:57 for a Total of 5:30 pretty much what I expected in the right conditions, the only "problem" was that this were no right conditions by any means.....

The heat was just like being in a barbecue, just like Bjorn Andersson later said it. I was pushing like there was no run after the 200kms bike ride, I knew I was taking a risk of blowing up, but since biking is my strongest leg, it was also my best bet, so there I was hammering through a hotter than hell heat, some winds, and hot water & gatorade at the aid stations.

It was a real hard bike, but it also had something that no Triathlon race in the world has.......
You get to enter and ride the incredible "ABU DHABI YAS MARINA FORMULA 1 CIRCUIT" this was a rest for your mind and body the 2 times we rode the 4 kilometers of the circuit. The surface of the Abu Dhabi roads is very smooth, but as I entered the Yas Marina Circuit was like there was someone pushing me, the pain in my legs was gone and the mind was to busy enjoying the surreal view of the buildings like the Ferrari Building, or the Yachts parked inside the Marina that's inside of the circuit, it was like being inside an X-BOX game of car racing.
(I can't wait for the pictures)

After 150kms I started to feel cramps in my thighs every time I was out of the saddle, so for the next bridges I was forced to stay in the saddle.

Arriving a T2, there was a smile in my face when I saw my bike split of 5:30, but that smile turned into a scream of pain when I took my first stride, my left thigh was cramping bad, and the floor was like a frying pan, after a couple of steps the cramp started to fade away, so I knew I was ok for that 20kms run that was in front of me, and that I was pretending it didn't existed for the previous 6 hours, now it was about time to start thinking they were as real as the 3k of swiming plus the 200kms bike ride.

The run was ok, I never felt like I was suffering, I just didn't have another gear, the first lap I did it, in 40 minutes, and the second in 46 minutes, for a total of 7:48 enough for a podiumo 3rd place in the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon.

p.s. as soon as I have time, I will upload some pictures in the Gallery @ http://www.janosoto.com/

My better Half.

2010-03-01T13:56:00.001-10:00

Today I'm feeling good because is hard for me to even climb the steps in my house. That's a good sign in your day off with just some days to go, till the next race.

It's been a long wait and lots of hard work since my last Half Ironman at the Worlds in Clearwater last November, but I have this nice feeling that I did my job.

And is in this time off that I've been thinking a lot in my other half, the best one, my better Half... Paola.

I really know how lucky I am to have someone like Paola by my side, in this last few months I know I've been like a maniac, full of energy in the morning and depleted in the afternoon, I know the bipolar mood changes we triathletes have while training, and it's amazing to realize how easy she changes to good, something that for other couples can be hard.

I have to give her credit for pushing me to train when I needed to train, and holding me back when I needed to rest, I've always relied a lot in listening to my body, but I think she might have a super coach soul inside, she can actually read me better than I do, she's been taking care of my nutrition and even my hours of sleep.

So this last few months the correct way to say it, is "We've done the work, now lets RACE"

I know that this nice feeling won't last long, and it will turn into butterflies in the stomach, I know it's going to feel like that because of the same long waiting, also because it will be, by far..........my longest race ever.

This year "we" decided that my goal was Kona, and this is the first step, I know that the whole road is going be tough, but I'm enjoying every minute of it. I'm starting to think that I like pain ( maybe just like every triathlete, ha ha)

In this last few months I discovered that I really like the long distance, maybe it's too soon to say that, but at least I like training for it, lets hope I can say that after I cross the finish line.

After Abu Dhabi, a new chapter in my life will begin, and it has the M-dot written all over.

I might never have the M-dot tattoo, but with the new training surely it is already stamped under my skin.

It's not only the Ironman race that made Hawaii so special for me and for Paola, there's something about the Island and it's Ohana, that makes you never want to leave that place, Paola felt the same, so in May, we will be arriving with plenty of time to make a good training camp for the Honu 70.3 (that's the next step) So the 2010 year ride starts now..........

This month there will be a Kiwami advertise in the French Triathlete Magazine, where I will be using the new Konami Trisuit, Super comfortable, by the way!

Check it out:

www.kiwami.co.uk/shop/konami-trisuit_1-60.html Or http://www.kiwamitri.com/ for the U.S.

I love what they wrote in the Ad, I just can't get it out of my head. And I don't want to, I love it!

I hope I can buy the magazine in the Zurich Airport.

Birthday Set! Swim: 40x100mt Bike: 40k TT Run: 40x400mt

2010-02-12T14:43:00.000-10:00

Today, February 10th was my Birthday.
And Finally I can write about a crazy idea I had a couple of weeks ago when Paola asked me what did I wanted to do in my birthday. The Usual stuff would be a party right? But I really didn't wanted to be forced to eat cake and have a drink just 30 days before Abu Dhabi, and just when my training should be at it's highest intensity. So I remembered bits and pieces of birthday sets that I've heard in the past, like the 100x100mt swim set, or beer miles, but since I was like I said, just 30 days away from The Abu Dhabi Triathlon, the best thing to do, would be a race, but there are no races in Wednesdays, so I thought about doing something more race like it.
I didn't wanted to write about it "before" because I really didn't knew if I was going to be able to finish the day within the parameters that I established before I started. I wanted it to be really challenging, so it will be rewarding as well. The idea was to swim 40x100 every 2 minutes if I did every 100 in 1:30 it will be Great, then a 40km Bike Time Trial, and then to finish up the day, a run set of 40x400mt every 2 minutes, this one was what I knew it was going to be hard, I was hoping to make every 400 at 1:36, that's a 4 minute per km Pace.

So here we go.
6:45am: Breakfast # 1.
7:45am: Swim Set: 400mt easy, and 40x100mt every 2 minutes. Average per 100mt= 1:26, and the last 100mt @ 1:21
9:30am: Breakfast #2 with my friends, they were at the pool making sure I go out every 2 min.
Rest & Hydration.
11:30am: While getting my bike gear ready, and making a little seat height adjustment I broke the seat clamp screw, so we had to hurry up to find a new one.
12:30: After a 15min Run and a 10km bike warm up, with race gear & my Kiwami new Suit. 40km Time Trail in a hilly and windy road, similar to the last 20kms up to Hawii. Time 1:05 @ 143 bpm & 153 max, 10km cool down.
3:00pm When we got home there they were, my family waiting with my favorite food, presents, cake, and good coffee (Paola told them about my day plans)
5:30pm: I was already frightened about my idea of doing 40 times 400 meters going out every 2 minutes, the plan was to do them at a 4 minute/km pace, that's 1:36 every 400 meters, the previous days seemed possible, but I was having a little of doubt, So I started easy, thinking that I might take it easy at least on the first 4.
The Park is called "The Art Park" ( I had no idea why, since there's not even a sculpture ) and it has a flat trail of 1 mile, marked every 100 meters, so I pretty know my rhythm in that particular place.
So I started easy, and the first 400 came out at 1:34, that gave me 26 seconds to erase every bit of doubt and go for all or nothing, so the second 400 came out at 1:29, so in the next 31 seconds and now with no trace of doubt in my mind, I decided to keep the pace, It was fairly easy until the 12th 400 when I did it in 1:34, in that moment I was feeling a little funny in the stomach, so I decided to stop in the middle and rest for 5 minutes. But suddenly my mate Robert Oliver appeared, I was just finishing the lap # 5 and about to rest, So seeing him was like a big energy rush, in the morning he told me that he wanted to run some of my 400's with me, to help me keep the pace, so how could I stop to rest just when he was arriving?
I was very grateful and soon, I forgot about that 5 minute rest that would have ruined my perfect day.
At the end, the 40X 400 time splits were like this:
1:34, 1:29, 1:30, 1:30, 1:29, 1:29, 1:30, 1:30, 1:31, 1:29,
1:31, 1:34, 1:32, 1:31, 1:34, 1:34, 1:32, 1:32, 1:34, 1:33,
1:34, 1:36, 1:37, 1:37, 1:34, 1:32, 1:34, 1:35, 1:35, 1:35,
1:35, 1:39, 1:36, 1:34, 1:40, 1:40, 1:36, 1:34, 1:32, 1:26. @ 150 bpm average 159 bpm max

I can't describe how happy I was, since at the middle of the set I was already thinking about cutting the set with a 5 minute rest, I know that, doing that would have been a reason to be mad the rest of my day.
It was already 7:00pm and I had to take a well deserved (needed) shower because we had planned a birthday dinner with friends at 8:30pm in very cool french restaurant where they have a delicious fondue.
So after a big recovery Shake we were on our way to the restaurant when Paola told me that there was a slightly change of plans, I really believed her and just followed her directions to the supposed new dinner location.
The place looked very nice, and when we entered "Surprise" my first ever surprise party!
There they were............. my really good friends all together waiting to surprise me.
The place is called MiTra, and the garden was adorned with fire torches, and had 3 little lounge huts, it was very very cool!
It was my "Perfect Day" and nobody had to force me to eat cake or have a few beers........
I did it on my own..........
p.s. after analyzing my birthday set, I guess that you guys know my age, right?

Kiwami 2010 Racing Gear

2010-01-26T09:39:00.000-10:00

I've just received my new 2010 Kiwami Racing Suit's, as always they are really great, specially the new Kaiman 2010, and the Black & White Colors are going to be perfect for racing in the Heat of the Desert of Abu Dhabi.
Thank you www.kiwamitri.com

Building up Steam

2010-01-25T20:50:00.000-10:00

Almost a month without writing in my Blog, I guess I'm not too much of a Blogger, Ha!
Maybe I was too busy being afraid of the new type of training, don't get me wrong, I knew that training for Abu Dhabi will require to increase the distance and maybe ease down on the intensity, but a part of me maybe was hoping to carry the same intensity in the 100% plus distance. So the first weeks of the year, were a little like a crash and burn weeks, I don't regret it, because this week I started to feel fast in my longer than usual rides, my back also got used to be in the Aero Position for double the time. I knew I was doing it the hard way, but I'm feeling alright now.
Yesterday Sunday ride, was to see where I really was in my Long Distance Bike, specially after a hard week of Run Focus. So I headed to the Airport where there's a Circuit of 25 kms of Flat with a couple of Rolling hills and a part where the wind might hit you pretty good, Yesterday the wind was picking up, as I was getting ready to start a 15k warm up before a 100kms Tempo ride, not too hard not too easy. But I thought that my goal of a 2:45 at 140bpm was going to be out of my reach because of the wind.
Anyway I started with no expectations, but I passed the first 40kms in 1:04, so that gave me more power to keep going at the same time that the wind kept getting stronger. 80kms @ 2:09 perfect! and I ended up doing my 100kms in 2:39 at 141bpm average with a max of 151bpm.
So now I can write something in my Blog, So in this month I can just say that the blogs would have been all the same and something like this
" I had a very hard week, I was not able to reach the required distance, because maybe I over did it in the intensity, I can't walk! I want a massage, I need to rest blah blah blah"
So that's it, that's what I might have wrote in the last 5 weeks.
Another thing that might be worth to write, is that we moved to another house, our last before Kona! Everything is on it's way! So we are very very excited!
The new supplements are also working pretty good, I can see that my recovery time is far better than a couple of months before, The Eicopro is just magic, I can't see myself not having my dose every night, in so many years I've tried so many thing's and the truth is that I never see the difference, but with the Eicopro is so easy to tell that this stuff really works, there have been some days that I forgot, and before I realize that I didn't drink it the night before, I knew that something was wrong, that I just didn't recovered as I should.
So that's it, I know I'm doing what I should be doing for Abu Dhabi, so I'm happy (and tired) So come on 200kms I getting ready for you!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T10:30:00.000-10:00

Christmas 2009 has gone by, and also with this year I completed my first ever! One Year Training Cycle.

I can't say I didn't knew that if trained consistently I could achieve good or better results, but after those "good" results came, Now I know I can do much better, and that those good results might be not that good. It's amazing how the body is able to be better and better if you keep pushing it.

At the beginning of 2009 my goal was just to Qualify for Clearwater Worlds. I really didn't hoped to finish at the Podium 4 times, win the AG in an Ironman 70.3 event and cross the finish line at Clearwater in 4:23 (with a 4 minute penalty ) It's funny......... but at the same time I'm satisfied with this season, I'm more certain than ever that there's a long long way to go.

We are close to the end of the Year, and I'm already in the Starting List for my First Ironman 140 event, A distance I've always said that I will never do if it was only for finishing.

It's been a good year but the most important thing that I learned is that "I can Learn" So many things have changed in the last few years, and my frame of mind have changed with those things.

Actually, I learned "Because" of that frame of mind......... It's hard to explain without boring you to death with so many words, but I can say that I'm in my best shape of mind ever!

After the 70.3 in Hawaii, I was riding in the Queen K with Benjamin Sanson, and we were talking about training methods and that kind of stuff, but the conversation then took a deeper insight, and we ended talking about FEAR, we both got to the conclusion that the hardest obstacle in our way, is always FEAR, again it's a little hard to explain what kind of fear we were talking about, but let's just say it's the FEAR of the unknown, the FEAR of getting out of what we are used to, and most important, the FEAR of really listening to that inner ME that never stops saying what he wants, but we are so used so not listen, because this or that reason that "Learning" to listen again like when we were kids, might take some effort.

So what the hell I'm talking about?

I think It might not be all about the Bike, It might not be all about training or even results, it's something else, and without FEAR we all might find out what that "Something else" is for everyone.

Destination: Ali'i Drive

2009-12-04T07:08:00.000-10:00

I guess that I knew it since mt first year as a triathlete, Ali'i Drive will be, sooner or later, my final destination.

In 2005 I was there for the first time in Ironman week, but I wasn't racing IM, the previous week, I competed in the ITU Worlds in Honolulu, so the jump to the Big Island was a must.

It was really exciting to see the most important Triathlon in the world, Since I was also writing an article for a Sports Magazine, I was privileged to carry a Media Pass, the result was a great article and great pictures. Even with that, I really didn't catch the bug of racing at Kona.

It was until this year "2009" and after riding the Queen K plenty of times, racing at Ironman Honu 70.3 in May, and once doing the whole 180kms starting from the Lava Java, Hawi, and back to Kona, when I started thinking seriously to qualify and then come back to Race the "Ironman World Championship"

I've just signed for Ironman Louisville, Kentucky, it's still a long time away from this day, but I can already feel the difference, every Ironman is tough, and Louisville is not an exception, I know that first, I have to qualify against the best of the world, but I already have the "Bug"

So the switch is ON!

Even that I will be training for every race I enter, this 2010 the main goal IS KONA!

is Ali'i Drive!

Zone Diet Sponsorship

2009-11-24T10:56:00.000-10:00

Today I received an excellent news. I'm officially sponsored by ZONE DIET http://www.zonediet.com.mx/ I've always said that I will never sponsor something that I don't really believe in, and Zone Diet couldn't be a better example.

I'm a true believer in the 40-30-30 Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat ratio and how's related to your body composition and performance. Since I read the book of "Enter the Zone" by Dr Barry Sears, I became a follower, it literally changed my body, and took my performance to another level, and now with their support, I will be able to reach deeper in the Zone, and get the most out of their really good products like the ones that I currently use, like Eico-Pro (omega oil) Sea Health (antioxidants) protein and energy bars.

I know it sound like an Ad for my new Sponsor, but the Zone Diet program is much more, than just supplements and a type of Diet.

For example........Today they will test my blood for a full profile of cellular inflammation and Omega Oils Blood Profile, with those lab results a Dr Gustavo Orozco, from Zone Diet and Nutrasource Diagnostics "NDI" will elaborate a Diet, and Supplement plan tailored just for me, it's really exciting!

The lab itself is impressive www.ndimexico.com/home.html NDI Mexico is part of NDI based in The University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Ok........... Got to go to the Lab appointment......

(Funny this sponsorship came right after my 3 kilos post, and by the way.....Those kilos are gone........ In just 5 days into my 2010 Training Pre-Season)

3 Kilos in 1 week

2009-11-24T10:35:00.000-10:00

It's scary how fast you can gain weight if you stop training, and at the same time stop taking care of your food intake, and that's exactly what I did last week. Sure I enjoyed some desserts, a couple of beers, and more than one Breakfast "a la" Michael Phelps Style. But after a week I was already feeling like a Fat Person, I didn't weight myself until yesterday, my first day of training for Abu Dhabi and the 2010 Season, and the scale just confirmed my feelings, I was up by 2 kilos! And I felt them in today's run...... So the break is officially off. Now it's time to train.

Race week & Race Recap

2009-11-18T05:08:00.000-10:00

I'm still reflecting of what happened in Clearwater last saturday, there are hundred of thing to learn from, and as I said, I still have to find out what went wrong or right, because it was a bittersweet race, a couple of bad things and also some nice things occurred that day.

First it was race week, my last post was on Tuesday morning, & the day before was an off day with a well deserved massage, Tuesday I was preparing to do a couple of things that I was postponing due to training all year, they ended up being more time consuming and a little bit more stressful than I thought, being one of them finding a new house to live.....

So the previous week was not what I wished it to be.

Then....... here comes the first mistake that ended up having an influence in the outcome of my race, for some reason I thought that the race was Sunday, so we had our flight scheduled for Thursday, too close to the race, but I bought these plane tickets months ago and they were non refundable, so in the back of my mind I knew that it was a little bit dangerous to have only one day to prep for a World Championship, anyway I tried not to think to much about it, but that ended as soon as we were on the counter of Mexicana Airlines.

The flight plan was Mexico City/Miami, Miami/Tampa, not ideal but it was ok, so it was a surprise when the lady of Mexicana tell us that first the plane was going to Cancun! I couldn't believe that just like that! they can change the flight schedule, I had in my hands the online ticket and it clearly didn't have a stop in Cancun, in that second I knew there will be problems with my bike, it's not that I can predict the future, but surely I can recognize Disorder when I see it., and what happened next just confirmed it, they sent us to the other side of Mexico City's Airport because now...we were departing "Domestic" but after a long walk and once inside the domestic gates, we had to walk back to the "International" gates, it was just dumb.

When we arrived to Miami after a 60 minute stop in Cancun, my worst and every other Triathletes nightmare came true, My Bike didn't arrived.

They told me to continue my trip to Tampa and that the bike will come 3 hours later in another plane, they even gave me the plane number, so we spent 3 hours at the Tampa Airport just to find out that again, my bike didn't arrived, I tried to talk to the same person who assured me that in 3 hours I will have my bike, but we was already gone, so there was no ones fault.

Again they told me that it will arrive to my hotel in Clearwater at midnight, so I couldn't sleep well, waiting for the Bike that never arrived!

Friday was pretty much the same, they kept telling me that it should arrive in the next "few" hours and that I should stay in my hotel, so there I was.... making phone calls, trying to rent another bike just in case, and having to register.

When I had a rental bike ready and with just one hour left for the mandatory bike check in, my bike arrived, so I didn't even had time to ride it more than the 800 meters from my hotel to transition.

After I left my bike at T1, I realized that I haven't hydrated or eaten properly, so we went to the first place to eat and to the hotel to get some sleep.

At morning race I found out that they changed the swim to a canal, just because Friday the sea was a little rough, very disappointing because I like swimming at the sea, and if it's choppy, better.

The swim start was supposed to be on waves, so it really took my by surprise when we got to a little dock and everyone was already entering the water one by one, so before I knew what the hell was going on, I was already racing, I didn't even had a chance to start my watch.

(I missed the compulsory race meeting due to the bike issue)

My swim was a disaster, I couldn't see the buoys because the sun was hitting right in our faces, and I didn't really knew where they were supposed to be, in fewer words, I didn't knew where we were going, but I knew I wasn't swimming straight, as I found out later after the finish, the swim course was not a rectangle, it had a few non straight lines in the middle.

I also didn't got into a rhythm at any point of the swim, so when I saw my slow swim split in 32 minutes, it really wasn't a surprise. I was very UN-concentrated, at the point that I couldn't find my transition bag!

Once in the Bike I screamed to myself " Jano, just get it together! " So I did, I found my focus, and started passing people, I was flying, there was always someone in front to pass, so I even thought that a slow swim was a good thing, that coming late out of the water gave me the chanceway to pass slower riders and avoid drafting issues with guys with the same physical abilities.

It all went "Perfect" until the 65km mark, I was on my way to a 2:07 bike split and suddenly here comes a " drafting group" and absorbs me, almost at the same time the Marshall comes in a motorcycle screaming the numbers he could see, and there was my number and my first drafting penalty in my life. Even worse is that I slowed down my pace! Because I couldn't break out from the group, It was very stressful.

I got into T2 in 2:10 and headed to the penalty box, after 4 minutes of waiting and seeing people passing by, I headed into the 21km run.

At this point I knew that even if I had a lousy run I would still break my 4:34 pb for a Half Ironman distance.

But still I set my mind to no matter what, I had to run like never before, and hold a 7 minute a mile pace for the 13 miles, that's the pace I've been training, and I was on mode of succeed or blow up!

First mile 6:50, last mile 7:00. There was a bridge that we had to climb 4 times, and in those miles was where I pushed it the most, so at the end the pace was exactly 7 minutes per mile. Right On!

My placing is not even worth mention it, but the time was ok, 4:23 with a 4 minute penalty is not so bad, at the end I had a good year and I'm very excited to start the 2010 racing season with the Abu Dhabi Triathlon in March.

I still don't know if I will come back to Clearwater next year, focus in Kona, 70.3s or 140's but I will have time to think about it later next week.

Right now I have more important things to decide on, I have to enjoy my rest week in Vegas, and I still don't know if I will have the Cheesecake, or the Brownie Chocolate Delight for dessert.

Clearwater in 4 days, Abu Dhabi in 123 days.

2009-11-10T01:49:00.000-10:00

I know I'm not too much of a Blogger, but I promise to do better in the future. My last hard week just finished and I'm already into the hardest week of all, the Taper week, I don't know but for me is easier to go out and train like a maniac than train with certain limits, I really feel like an animal in a zoo. I guess that must be a good sign..... Ha Ha....

I was about to sign up for IM Langkawi, and Paola was about to start the travel arrangements to our trip to Malaysia and also to Bangkok, so there we were with our laptops on, and our index fingers ready to start clicking when we find out about this new Triathlon in Abu Dhabi, and we just couldn't resist.

The Abu Dhabi International Triathlon http://www.abudhabitriathlon.com/

Abu Dhabi seem "fantastique" just like Ben says, the race course is irresistible, and Dubai another place that we were planning on visiting soon, is just an hour by car, so after a couple of minutes I was already signed in, and Paola was taking care of the travel itinerary.

The Race date is March 13, 2010 and the unique distance of the main race will be a 3km swim, 200km bike ride and 20km run, all around of one of the most amazing cities in the world, so this race, as they say it's already an Instant Classic and a "must" for my 2010 season.

The presentation of the race was set up at the Abu Dhabi Shangri-La Hotel, where we will be staying, it was presented by Faisal Al Sheik, head of the ADTA (Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority) Faris Al-Sultan 2005 Ironman world Champion, and John Hazan, race director of the Inaugural Abu Dhabi International Triathlon.

As for the "Amazing course" the opening swim leg takes place in the lagoon of the Grandiose Emirates Palace Hotel http://www.emiratespalace.com/ one of the most luxurious Hotels in the World.

The Bike passes many of Abu Dhabi's iconic sights including The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, before moving onto Yas Island, home of the recent F1 Grand Prix, and yes, the bike course takes in the impressive Grand Prix course, so imagine just riding onto that same ground where just a week ago Sebastian Vettel in his RBR Renault won the last F1 race of the 2009 season.

After the 200kms bike ride in a course that will be completely cosed off to traffic and thus setting the stage for a very safe event.

"The race will be quite flat and fast, but it'll be windy and hot" said Faris Al-Sultan at the press conference.

So Yes! I can repeat like in my last post that 2010 is already here, I guess that if you want to be competitive it's not only about training, resting and eating right, there's also planning, marketing and all the stuff managers do, so I guess I can say I already have a manager, Paola.

Well........ I will go back to my taper day ( I have a massage appointment soon ) and then start to focus for Clearwater that's just 4 days from today!

2010 Already?

2009-10-30T17:01:00.000-10:00

With so many races around the world we could think that it's just a matter of choosing where to race, but it's much more complicated than that. You have to plan your training months ahead and then, there's the registration to the event.
I've been thinking in my 2010 season and if I don't decide and register almost right now, I might find the events "sold out" in a couple of months.
Next year I will do my first Full Ironman in Langkawi, this race doesn't fills out that fast, but there's also the flight prices, here it's the same, if you wait to buy the tickets and hotels you will be paying more as the date gets closer.
So... I guess that 2010 is already here, I already decided to race Langkawi, and Ironman 70.3 Hawaii, but it seems that I will have to keep going till the end of the year if I don't want to find myself left out of other races.
After 70.3 Hawaii in June, Paola and I want to rent a Motorhome or RV, and drive from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Niagara Falls, and in the way race at Ironman 70.3 Muskoka and a week later Ironman 70.3 Syracuse, that's in September but again, If we don't decide (and pay) now, we might have problems either with the planes, the RV, or with the registration to the events.
I reckon that soon I will have to register to a 2011 Ironman Distance event.
(I want to do IM Western Australia, and IM Canada)
How crazy is that?

Back from Malaysia and USA. And now Clearwater is around the corner.

2009-10-30T14:42:00.001-10:00

Finally a solid 10 days of training after Malaysia.

After the race in Putrajaya, we went to Kuala Lumpur, where we had a great time, KL is an amazing city and we left with the feeling that we needed a little more than the 4 days we spent there.

In the way back to the U.S.A. we had the longest (and strangest) day of our lives.

It started waking up in Kuala Lumpur with the amazing and surreal view of the Petronas Towers in our window, we spend the morning at KL, we had lunch there, and then we took a "teksi" to the airport, our plane left at 2pm to Taiwan, where we arrived at about 7pm, and the next flight to L.A. was at 11pm, so we had 4 hours to be at the Airport, the Taipei Airport is very interesting so it really gives you the feeling that you are in Taiwan.

So we left Taiwan at 11pm heading to L.A. and here's where everything starts to get a little strange, after a 13 hours flight, we arrived L.A. at 8pm of the same day, we waited 2 hours to get in our third plane of the day, heading to Las Vegas, where we arrived at 11pm, so there we were... at Las Vegas Strip, surrounded with all the nightlights and thinking "What a long day" we just couldn't believe that we were still on the same day, after all it was a 39 hour day! Strange, Strange, ha ha!

We had the weekend to relax in Vegas before heading back home, I was ready to resume training, and I was feeling rested and energized because a managed to swim almost everyday in KL, in a very cool Swimming Pool of 25 meters in the 33th floor, with an excellent view of the Petronas Towers, actually this pool becomes the "Sky Bar"at night. So it was very nice to swim there.

The problem started as soon as we walked into our house, in that moment I felt like I was about to get a cold, and in less than 3 hours I was feeling like crap, with a fever of 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) muscle pains like never before and a terrible headache, I went to see the Doctor and he said I had The Swine Flu or H1N1, I was like "WHAT?"

He told me that it wasn't that bad, and that I didn't need medications, so I went home with a prescription of a simple dose of Paracetamol and over the counter cold medicine.

Just as the Doctor told me, the lab results came positive for H1N1, and I felt much worse the next 2 days before I started to get better, in the 5th day I was riding my bike again, 3 days of easy training, and now it's been already 10 days of solid training.

I'm feeling great and ready to race.

Clearwater is just around the corner, so I have this weekend of hard training, and then just taper for the Big Race. Another good news is that my Website http://www.janosoto.com/ is ready, everything is going great and now I'm immune to the H1N1 virus ha ha!

Ironman Putrajaya 70.3 1st Place!!!!!!

2009-10-04T13:56:00.001-10:00

It was simply the perfect day and the perfect race I could ever wish for.

Starting by the swim leg, after the gun shot I went to the front of the pack, at my sides i had a Korean guy and a Aussie, the lake was flat as a pancake so it was very easy to see the buoys but since I was at the front it was easier to follow the Kayak, the feeling of being at the front was excellent but in the 950mt turnaround I let the Aussie take the lead and get some rest at his feet, I knew I could get him later, and that happened at t1, so there I was in the bike 5 minutes behind the Elite Group, and at the front of the rest.

The bike course this time didn't look flat anymore it was more hilly than the previous days ha ha! But after checking some splits I knew I was going fast, after the first lap I started to pass the Elite women and I got to t2 in front of all of them and some local pros.

The run was simply beautiful as I said in the previous blog, and running in the main street of this exotic place was really incredible, and being at the front of the Age Group pack was just the best I could ask for, in front of me there was just Jan Rehula, Cameron Watt, Passuello, and .... ( I still have to see the results)

My plan was simple, try to hold my target 21kms pace (4:30 min per Km) as long as I could, and I did it til the 18km mark from that point I lost the pace, but nothing disastrous, I was passed again by 3 Elite girls, one Elite guy and by one guy from the 30-34 Age Group, so I finished 1st place for the First time in an Ironman 70.3 Event, and I just can't by more satisfied.

Later in the week I will post the great pictures that Paola Shoot, they are really great.

Malaysia 70.3 Preview

2009-10-02T13:26:00.000-10:00

After a 25,000 kms trip, Here I'm in Putrajaya, Malaysia at the other side of the world literally..... It was a long long trip, but it also was not as terrible as I thought it would be, a Shuttle Bus from Puebla to Mexico City International Airport 2 hours, then the flights... Mexico/Las Vegas, Las Vegas/L.A. L.A/Taipei (14 hours straight) Taipei/Kuala Lumpur, and finally a cab to Putrjaya, funny but we enjoyed the whole time.

The City is simply Beautiful! This is a new Federal city created to move the Government powers from KL ( Kuala Lumpur) And looks like they didn't spare a dime. You get the feeling that things are not real, everything seems so perfect, and the streets so clean, even the sidewalks have beautiful designs and are made of different kinds of stones, just like the lobby floor of a 5 star hotel.

We are staying at The Shangri-La Hotel, in the top of a Hill right next to the Prime Minister's house, the name of the hotel says everything and from our balcony you can see the Putrajaya Mosque, one of the 3 other ones in the Main Street, where the run leg is gonna be (2 laps) I can't wait to be running here.

The Putrajaya 70.3 is gonna be held in the Pullman Hotel, also an incredible place (later I will add some pictures) and the bike leg consists in 3 Laps around Putrajaya, in a perfect conditions freeway, flat with some rolling hills in the mix, I think we will get fast times, not like in Cancun.

Well...... I will eat breakfast and then head to the Pullman hotel where we will stay for this night (5 star hotels are very cheap here) there..... after a 1 hour ride, I will go for an easy swim in the course that's also very well marked with buoys every 100 meters and then relax for the rest of the day.

Everything seems perfect here, I'm feeling good and I know I'm in Shape, so I hope to be writing about a good result tomorrow after the race.

Cancun Ironman 70.3 2nd place! Yes!

2009-09-23T17:01:00.000-10:00

Cancun, Mexico September 20th, 2009.
6am and I'm at the transition zone in the parking lot of The Aquatic Park, Wet'n Wild.

We are just 1 hour before the start of the Cancun Ironman 70.3 2009. Today after so many races I feel nervous again, maybe because my inner type A Triathlete, knows that especially today I "have" to race well for so many reasons, first because is the only Ironman 70.3 in Mexico, and second, after an excellent start of my 2009 season I will race against the whole Mexican Triathlon Community, many of them being this race their primary target or key race of the year. So this time I "HAVE" to do well. So I check my gear, once again and we all start walking the 300 meters to the swim start at NIZUC Beach, the time flies as I put on the speedsuit, warm up, and Paola shoots some pictures, before I know it, I am at the starting line and the siren goes off, normally my heart rate is about 80 bpm but this time reaches 3 digits. And the reason is that in the last 3 races, the swim has been very violent the whole time, specially in Hawaii and the X-Terra, so the last couple of months I've been working in my swimming, and it's time for the truth. The Siren goes off and here we go! I swim as planned, fast as I can for the first 200 meters, I was expecting violence but this time after the first buoy I see that I left behind the chaos. I realize that now I have no one around to push my pace, and I will have to keep up the pace alone, so I do my best to keep up the pace and I exit the water in 29:56, not bad knowing (after the race) that the Elite group and the Overall winner, Oscar Galindez swim time was 27:23.

Already on the Bike is time to work my strenght, that is, and has been always the bike. In the first 5 kms I pass at least 20 guys and when I reach the first aid station I found myself alone, at this point the course consisted of 2 laps of 40kms to complete 85k and then back t2. For the next 20 kms I ride alone, and as I was getting closer and closer to the turnaround point, I realize that I was in an excellent position overall, I see the first pro, then the second, and then Oscar Galindez with another 4 guys, I try to count everyone, and I get to the turnaround surprised and of course very happy, seeing the there were no more than 15 in front of me. After the turnaround I pass 2 of the 3 Women that were in front of me, the remaining one, was Michellie Jones, then in the 45k mark I see that I'm getting closer to a couple of the guys but I also realize that I have at least 5 guys hanging on my wheel, very annoying by the way.

And I have no other option than keep up the pace, hoping to leave some of them behind. At least the Race Marshall saw a couple of them and penalized them with a 3 Minute stop, but the others just kept drafting behind me. The first 40k split was 1:01 and as I said I had no other option to keep up this high pace, even knowing that I would have to pay later.

So I get to t2 in 2:22 and start the run with my passengers haha! in the first mile, finally they blow up, the split is 7 minutes, second mile 7 minutes again, and then I found myself chatting with Chris Davy from Florida, he is the guy who was second place last year, he was looking strong and he confirms my idea that the first place was ahead of us, a guy from Argentina, that I think was having breakfast with Oscar Galindez, it was in this 3rd mile that Chris left me.

I was not sure if he pushed the pace or I was slowing down, so after checking the split in 7:30 I knew I will soon start to pay that 2:22 Bike split in that kind of heat. The next 2 miles were hard but I think that realizing that I was running in 10 or 12th place overall helped a lot. But after mile 5 the real crisis started, I couldn't drink water, I had some abdominal pain and the Gatorade made me feel like trowing up, so I had to walk at the aid station in mile 6, bad choice because there was Paola waiting for me, she shouted as loud as she could "keep running! keep running!" so I had to run again, then I had to walk two more times and after mile 10 is when I started to feel good again, I pushed the pace again and there I see Chris Davy, he was not running as he left me, you could see he was in bad shape and maybe in the middle of he's own crisis, so I got behind him, trying no to alert him with my presence and I matched his footsteps, I knew that no one was closing on me, so I rested there for a couple of minutes, trying to prepare for the battle for second place, so after the marker of mile 12, I attacked, running as fast as I could for what seemed like an eternity, later I knew that from the marker of mile 13 there was another 2 miles left!!!! so as my friend Erich said in his Blogspot, it was the Cancun Ironman 72.8.

At the end I feel very happy with my second place, because this might be the hardest race I've ever done. Next time that I wish for a hot race, I will think twice......

It's been a Fast and Crazy 2009

2009-09-23T15:25:00.000-10:00

After the Hawaii Ironman 70.3 last May I knew that something had changed in my view of Life.

Now..... after reading my last blog I realize that the change of perspective of "everything" started almost 3 years ago, and maybe a couple more. I was just coming out of a dark stage in my life and at the same time I was starting to take Triathlon more seriously, it was October 2005 and I went to the ITU World Championships in Honolulu, and after that, in December I went to Australia to train & race for almost 3 months, it was in Melbourne where I found out that the 70.3 Distance was better for me, and specially I liked it much more than the Olympic Distance. I returned to Mexico to find out that things could get worse than they were before, so I was forced to quit training like in those last 10 months, then......... Again I found the way out to much brighter and new life, but in those 3 years (2006, 2007, and 2008) I almost didn't train, at least not for more than 4 months straight, so.......while I was enjoying life again as it is supposed to be, I forgot about my passion "Triathlon" and it was in November while I was in California with my wife Paola where I think that the real "change" began, and I mean the one that has to do with this Blog haha! (I see that I entered existentialism waters ) anyway, after that trip to L.A. I started training again with a new energy, and I remembered that last race in Torquay, Australia, so I signed for the Lonestar Half Ironman in Galveston TX, I shed 11 kilos that I gained of the Dolce Vita, that's 24 pounds! and went on to a PR of 4:34 in that distance.

After that race I planned my 2009 racing season with most of the races being Olympic Distance in Mexico and finishing up with Ironman Cancun 70.3 in September, it's funny how things never come out the way you planned, but it really depends on your point of view or attitude if the change in the outcome is for good or bad.

2 months later I was racing the Hawaii Ironman 70.3 and earning a Clearwater slot, another month and I was getting a 4th place overall finish in Half Ironman race in Alchichica, Mexico. (missing the 3rd by 56 seconds) Then...in August I raced The Xterra Mexico Global Tour without much expectations, I was more than happy of placing 2nd and earning a slot for Maui, so as soon as we were back in home, we started planning our trip back to Hawaii. Time went by, some 10k races, a PR of 38:30, and a Half Marathon in 1:28 at 158bpm so I decided not to go to Maui and focus in the 70.3 distance and Clearwater.

About those Olympic races, none........ Why do races that I've done over and over again since 1995? Why not go to new places? new races in the distance that I like so much, why not even change place to live? I mean...... If I am thinking different, why not really different? I am about to be 40 and I never felt so good in my life, so instead of thinking what I would like to do, I will better do stuff and write about it in my new 2009 blogspot and website.

I don't want to sound to deep or like Scott Tinley, but I really think that in life we have to do more and dream less, this way our dreams will come true.

Ironman 70.3 Hawaii and a new perspective.

2009-06-16T20:05:00.000-10:00

I've just came back from Hawaii, and let me say that I Love Kona!

This was not my first time in the Big Island, I was there in 2005, I went to race the ITU World Champioships in Honolulu, and just the next week it was the WTC Ironman World Championship in Kona, sooooo obviously I went to the Big Island.
I saw Faris Al Sultan and Natascha Badman win that year.
I had a Great time, swimming the course and riding almost daily the Queen K just up to Waikoloa.
But this time, everything was different, Starting from the fact that riding from Waikoloa up to Hawi is where you really get to feel the mystique of this route, is where it gets interesting.
Paola and I, had the greatest trip of our life.
After the Lonestar Half Ironman Distance Triathlon in Galveston last april, where I pulled out a 4:34 pr, I was a little afraid of not having that same accomplishment feeling since I knew that this course was going to be much harder (Slower) so a 4:33 was just out of the question.
Anyway, after what may be the thoughest triathlon I ever did, surely is by far the most gratifying of all.
As the race Director told us in the Race Meeting, the race was tough, and the run course was HELL!

Everybody laughed when he said:
"Guys, tomorrow the run leg is gonna be tough, please don't look at your watches, because you just won't be able to run at the pace you are used to, you better take everything you can at the aid stations, and just worry about keep moving forward, as long as you are moving forward, that means you are doing ok"
The race started at the beautiful Hapuna Beach, the swim start was very violent, I got hit right in the face with an elbow in the first 50 meters, and I thought the like in other races after 200 meters you were able to swim at your own pace, well.... this didn't happened, the whole swim course was like a start, very fast and very violent and crowded.

After a 31minute swim I had to run uphill to T1, and then to the Queen K southbound to Mauna-Lani for about 4 miles to turnaround and then head north to Hawi, in that turnaround I was able to see how far ahead of me was John Flanagan who exited the water almost 2 Minutes ahead of Craig Alexander, Luke Mckenzie, Chris Lieto and the swim specialist Benjamin Sanson (who swim without a speedsuit)
They were almost 8 minutes ahead already, but after those monsters I saw that there were not to many better swimmers than me, so I thought I would be able to pass some in the next 56 miles, my pace was very good and I was feeling great, I tryed not to pedal to hard because even I was one of the guys that laughed at the race director comments, I was also a little worried about the run course (it was closed to public before the race) so I paced myself, and also I was able to pass a lot of guys in front of me. (much less than the ones the passed me)
Just a couple of miles from the turnaround at Hawi I saw Chris Lieto SMOKIN the bike Leg, I couldn't believe how ahead he was from Craig, Luke, and Chris, and at the turnaround I saw that I was in a great position, less than 10 minutes behind Benjamin Sanson.

I was so happy that I really had to fight against the will to speed up and then blow-up in the run. I got to T2 in 2:32 and started to run, I thought I was going easy but the first mile was 6:59, second 6:58, third 7:00 Minutes!!! And I was like "WOW!!! Maybe I can run the whole 13 miles like this" haha and then the miles started to get longer haha! 7:20, 7:40, and then the words of the race organizer came into my mind at the same time I got to the Really Tough Parts of the Golf Course, I wondered how much horsepower those little Golf cars have, to be able to Literally "climb" those pathways with 2 or 3 Usually Heavy guys with their golf equipment.
It was hard but I wasn't suffering, because that's what I LOVE to do, and the whole place was really beautiful!

But then in mile 10......... I entered the one and only HELL!!!!!

It was a lonely black little road outside the Hotel Complex in the middle of a Lava Field, It really felt like running inside a Sauna, the heat that was coming from the pavement and the lava fields, was amazing, I looked at my Polar and it said it was 41 Degrees Celsius, that's more than 105 Fahrenheit!!!!! Luckily I was able to get out in one piece and still running, the last mile was easy, coming back from hell and entering again those views of the Golf course, the Sea, the palm trees, everything, I was happier than ever, so I finished with a big smile in 1:41 for a total of 4:50, enough for a 66th Overall place (and qualification to Clearwater) in my point of view, far way better than a 4:34 pr.
The following days I was riding the Queen K with my new friend Ben Sanson, both powered by the energy of Madame Pele all the way to Hawi to later have a swim at the KCAC Kona Community Aquatic Center and then a well deserved cup of Coffee & Snack at the Great Lava Java.
So now I can say I'm addicted to Ironman, to Kona, to Kona Coffee and of course to the ALOHA WAY!!!! It's like having a whole new perspective of everything, this race and place was like an eye opener of a new stage in my life.

Jano Soto

p.s. Craig won the race SMOKIN the run in an incredible 1:17 In that course! and Belinda Granger took the lead early on the bike to the finish line.