10th at Vineman 70.3

Hosted in Sonoma County, California, is one of the most beautiful courses I have ever seen!!
It was colder than expected, so the day before the race I went to a Goodwill store, and got a kid's sweatshirt (which would be very tight to the body) keeping me warmer and not dragging during the bike course! In the bike picture below you can see how athletic it looks like!! lol

We swam for 1.2 miles in the Russian River; certainly one of top 5 spots for aquatic workouts. The bike passes by a bunch of vineyards.  It has rolling hills and amazing views. I think the run course is nice but it cannot compare to the beauty of the first 57.2 miles...

I swam poorly. I missed the front pack right at the beginning, and I couldn't catch up. I jumped on the bike and it felt good. I rode balls to the wall, as planed!! My bike ride was lonely, as the first person I saw, was my teammate, Jonathan Shearon who with Eduardo Sturla (a pro well known to Brazilians; as he won Ironman Brazil four times) passed me at mile 45.

I had a fast transition and ran at a good pace for the first couple miles. I caught both positions I lost on the bike plus one more! I broke with only 3 miles left!! I was making a tremendous effort to stay in the  boxing ring and run away from the people coming from behind.

It was funny when at one of the aid stations someone yelled "keep it up! 1 mile to go!", I felt relief for a second, then I remembered that at that point it would be at least 2.5 miles to go, and he was wrong. I give thanks to my teammate Rebekah Keat, who made me become familiar with the whole course.  That way I did not have the extra mental suffering wondering why the finish line would never come!! 

Happy with my results and performance, I felt good on the bike, which has been my worst section on every race. Still my bike leg needs improvements but it is also important to celebrate achieving small goals!! 

Two top 10s at 70.3 Ironman: Buffalo Springs and Rhode Island

Last weekend I achieved another top 10 finish in the Ironman 70.3 circuit!

I placed 9th at Rhode Island, just two weeks after my 6th at Buffalo Springs

Its true that the best views are only seen after great climbs!! 

These two fantastic races treated us with breathtaking courses (figuratively and literally!). 

Add heat to the hills and you can just imagine how unforgettable each race was!! lol

I felt really good on both (But still finishing dying!) haha 
I had a mechanical problem where a piece of my bike frame broke just a few days before Buffalo Springs.  I could not fix it, and then I had to adapt instantaneously to a loaned bike for Rhode Island.

Getting two more top 10s this season put me very close to qualifying for the 70.3 World Championship, which is going to be on September 9th in Las Vegas.

I am proud to announce my newest partnership with Ignite Naturals.  It offers a brilliant product line with 100% natural ingredients, with no artificial stimulants or synthetic sweetners. This means extra motivation for workouts and races which are nutritionally very well supplemented!

Right now I'm having a recovery week before the next step, Vineman 70.3, which will be on July 15th, where I hope to consolidate my position for Vegas!!

Photos: Brightroom - 70.3 Buffalo Springs