Signing up with Rudy Project

I'm so happy to announce that I signed up a Sponsorship deal with Rudy Project! Plus as a member of Ichiban Triathlon Team I can't be happier, I'm excited for this 2013 that promises to be a tough one but also a very interesting year, I'm still finishing up the details of my Racing Season, but I can tell you that the 1st two races are already in the corner, Lavaman & Oceanside 70.3, there's going to be a few interesting new 70.3's the Always Tough Honu 70.3 plus a solid 3 Months of European Racing! Including Berlin 70.3 and what might be the Best Ironman Distance Triathlon in the World.... Challenge ROTH! For all this there are no better company Logos that I would like to Represent:
Rudy Project ----- Kiwami ----- Zone Diet ----- Normatec ----- Hawk Racing & Polar (click to Link)
Is not only the super cool stuff, it's more the passion that you can feel from the company towards the sport and his athletes!Here's a little History of this Italian Brand:

In 1985 Rudy Barbazza created Rudy Project with the firm conviction to improve the performance of athletes all over the world. A love of progress, a passion for style and a keen eye for quality all contributed to give life to his Vision: the world’s most technologically advanced sports eyewear. Rudy Project works in cooperation with athletes from all fields, listening to what they want and need. Rudy Project never stops researching to find the latest and best materials available to realize cutting-edge products. Technically Cool: the two words that can best sum up this Vision; the two words that best express the DNA of each and every design carrying the brand Rudy Project. 

You can start shopping here RUDY PROYECT

The Catalog is Huge!  :)

Mini Monster Half Ironman

Sporting my New & Awesome Rudy Proyect Sunglasses & Helmet
(More info about my signing with this great Company to come Soon)

I won't lie.... I was nervous the days before this race, if you read my latest blog post, I had some rough patches in 2012, it ended up turning into 5 Months of dealing with injuries and stuff, I can't believe that 5 months went by without Racing! And that's why I was nervous... Coming back from injury and time off you loose a lot of confidence.
So I started the race with this in my mind:
 "It's your 1st race, you do your best and then you will know where you are, and you this will give you the Focus to Get Back onto it"
The Swim was Ok, I managed to came out of the water in the lead pack with a Fast Girl, a Canadian Guy named Randall Walker and also with Thomas J. Vonach.
NOTE: I said lead pack but we were not the first guys out of the water, Lance A. was doing a relay, and he was only swimming, so he did the swim as a possessed man or fish, he put Bree Wee (his Biker) 4 minutes ahead of us.......
With a terrible transition I lost my slim swim lead of a few seconds to the Walker and to Thomas. I knew that my bike wasn't that bad, so I thought of making the best out of it, without worrying to much about the Run, that by all means was the leg that suffered the most after 5 months of intermittent and erratic training...

X-Terra Speedsuit
helping me to get out of the water in the lead pack

Already on the Queen K, I passed the Canadian Walker, then a few minutes after I passed Thomas... Umhh passing Thomas before 10k on the Bike? Maybe that wasn't a very good idea and more like a suicidal mission..... But I know Tommy and I knew that he was going to fight this one to the end, like he always does :) So after a couple of changes in the lead I let him go, and tried to keep him in sight for as long as possible, the wind started to pick up and gain strength, with each mile it was stronger, and when we passed Scenic Point it was just Horrible! Perfect! I knew this would smoke the huge group of Canada that was on our heels, and it did... When we got to Mauna Lani and turnaround I could see the faces of "What the Hell is this!" We flew back to town, I was always between 1 & 2 Minutes behind Thomas, and we were both gaining in Bree Wee who was the Overall Leader, He passed her right before T2 after a 2:21 Bike Split, and I passed her Runner after a 2:22 Bike Split, right after T2 and at the beginning of the Run.

As soon as I started running I knew I was going to have a long long day... My legs were done! That kind of pain was not a strange to me, because that's how you feel your legs in the last couple of miles of  the 13miles of the Run, But when you feel like that in the first hundred yards, you know you are in for a Smashfest of Pain...
It was blazing Hot! So it was not fun, I had to fight with my head every single stride, that part that telling me "Ok that swim was Ok, that Bike was Awesome and your Run Sucks, just DNF and tomorrow you start training with that in mind"

Already known as the Kiwami Guy :)

I've been racing since 1995 and I've done more that 100 Triathlons, and I've only DNF Once in Abu Dhabi when I burn my feet so bad that my skin peeled off so it was impossible to run. So DNF was not an option.
I was in 2nd and I wanted to keep that way, so I tried not to think about the other Canadian, Christopher Caswell who was closing in, and closing in fast!
After 13k I had to walk for a couple of minutes, then in the last turnaround I had to do it again, I knew I was doomed to loose my 2nd and I did, Caswell passsed a few kms from the Finish line.
 I was a bittersweet feeling that then became more sweet than bitter. I am BACK!
IT'S TIME TO FOCUS! TIME TO TRAIN AND TIME TO RACE!