Last weekend I travelled to Ixtapa, Mexico, to compete in my first ITU Pan American Cup since 2010.  I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect of myself, so the point of this race was to get feedback on where I am as I begin focusing on the sport full time.  The feedback I received was exactly what I needed.  I did this race 2 years ago, but the swim was cancelled, so it was a run-bike-run event.  For this year’s race, we were thankfully able to swim!  I still came out of the water behind, but I kept at it and biked myself back into the race, to finish 11th overall.  My run time was just over 3 minutes faster than 2 years ago, on the exact same course and in similarly hot weather. 

So, what to do about the swim?!?  I already know the answers to that question, and instead of writing about it, I prefer to let actions and results speak for themselves!  The next benchmark: Mazatlan ITU Pan American Cup race on April 21st!!  Bring it on!!!!!

Ixtapa was a beautiful race venue!                               

Palm trees, beaches, jet skis, waves, wind, sun, sand, people literally hanging out in the sky, body surfing...you name it, Ixtapa had it!

Until my swim is up to par, I need all the hard bike training to pay off in the race!  Combine that with the best gear around, and I feel ready to roll!  Thanks BH (bikes), HED (wheels), GU (race day nutrition), Rudy Project (helmets, sunglasses), SIDI (shoes), Clean Bottle (water bottles), Vittoria (tires and PitStop), and Stretchtastic (rubber bands)--just kidding, I don’t have a rubber band sponsor, but I do use them to hold up my SIDI cycling shoes as I run out of transition to begin the bike portion.