SO FAR, SO GOOD. THE GRAND RAPIDS TRI 70.3

In front of the Amway Headquarters in Grand Rapids where the athlete registration and the Expo were held.

The 2014 tri racing season is in a full swing. Just returned from the Grand Rapids Triathlon, where I was fortunate to qualify for the June 2015 Long Distance World Championship in Matola, Sweden. It was a challenging day which started at 7:10 in the Thornapple River with a wetsuit-legal swim. Wearing the most comfortable BlueSeventy wetsuit, I swam the 1.2 miles in 36 min. Getting out of the water in 18th place and spending longer in the transition than planned I knew I had some work to do and time to make up.

Out of the water and on my way to T1. The rain continued falling for a little while longer.

The swim-to-run transition took almost twice as long as it should have but once on the bike there was no looking back. The 56 mile course was picturesque and, for the most part, flat. The bike "engine" was working well and help deliver negative bike splits for each of the two 28-mile segments, 1:15 and 1:13, respectively.

Onto the run after a 2 hr 28 min bike split with a chance to break 5 hours.

Things got a bit hairy in the middle of the course after loosing a few additional minutes due to a forced stop. My nutrition plan did work out to well on that day. In the end, however, I crossed the finish line in 4 hrs 58 min and secured a qualifying slot for a trip to Sweden.

TRIBIKE TRANSPORT IS HEADING TO NICE

Seven years ago I traveled to Nice, France to race in my first European Ironman. It was an awesome race which has gotten even better over the years. Back then, I had to endure the hassle of hauling my bike across the "Big Pond" and hoping it will arrive there in one piece and on time. I would not have to worry about it this year because TriBike Transport is heading that way. If you are racing Ironman France this month or know someone who does, I highly recommend this awesome service. How do I know that? I am a raving client and an Elite Team member.

I fondly remember the warm, turquoise-color water and the pebble beech of the Mediterranean Sea.