I really do enjoy Victoria it just has natural beauty about it, which makes me feel so relaxed. You do not feel rushed when you are there it is like everything slows down. If I get the chance I would live there for sure. Victoria has everything you need to train as a triathlete, pools, good roads, trails. It is not surprise Simon Whitefield chose to live there.

Leading into this race there were a lot more commitments since I was the returning champ. I had to be part of the pro panel and the kids run. All of these things are fun but it does mean that I have to build my day and week around them. Still making sure the main focuses is on the race.

The race morning was one of the colder 70.3 races I have done. With the day starting at 9c and only warming up to 16c. The water was warmer than the air that day and it was one of the few times I wanted to get in as early as possible. Once they had lined all the pro men up it felt like they held us on the start line forever. I just kept moving my arms to stay warm. I started near Ben Collins and was looking for some fast swimmers to work with. I new I still had some work to do in the swim but swimming with faster people will always help get you to the next level. As we crashed into the water I quickly found Ben’s hip and stayed right next to him for the first 200m we had started to gap the main field already and to the far left I could see Marko Albert and Graham O’Grady moving into the lead. They were to far away for me to get to. As the swim continued the group I was with started to veer all over the place way off the race line. I made a decision to abandon the group and follow the shortest line. This may have been a mistake because the group did get away from me. I swam solo for the rest for the swim chasing down the leaders. With about 300m to go I saw I was catching 4th place. By the end of the swim I was right beside him as we came dashing out of the water I was pleased to see that it was Justin Metzler. I did not have a perfect swim but it I am pleased with how swimming has been going. I will keep working away at it but having all my swims close to the 25min or faster is a good start to the season.

This was the best place I have come out of the water in, but I still had a lot of work to do to get up to the front. Once I got onto the bike I just got into the grove. I tried to ignore everything that was going on around me. It was all about running my own race and not let other people dictate my power. There were a lot of punchy hills . It was nice not just to sit in one position and hold a number for the 90km. I was able to move up into third by 45km and second place by about 75km. second threw fourth formed a small group and stayed together until the end of the bike.

 I had a fast transition that put me in 2nd place starting the run. I was 4:20 down from Marko Albert the leader. I was very motivated and focused to try and catch him. But I wanted to play it smart so I went out strong but relaxed for the first 10km then cranked it up for the last half. At the half way point I had brought the gap down to about 2:30 but with only 3km to go Marko Albert still had 1:57 on me. I put it all out there on the run but just missed the top step. I am pleased with a second place on the day but will be looking for even more as the season continues.

It was the first race that I have gotten the chance to have a champagne celebration and this just made my day. We work so hard for these moments and to get to celebrate in this way is so fun.

Next up I will be getting ready to rock Ironman 70.3 Mt. Tremblant on June 25.