Vietnam 70.3: A Good Sign
This past weekend was Vietnam 70.3. In an effort to keep this short, I put together a video, hopefully you will enjoy that more than my typically long ramblings.
Swim- 27:57
My first non-wetsuit swim of the year, and one that didn't particularly suit me well. The field had quite a few top level swimmers in it and on top of that, it was a pretty long section of shallow water, maybe 75-100m or so of dolphin diving and running. I managed to find some feet early on and lost them towards the end when they caught a wave and I missed it. Coming out 3 mins to the leaders in this field has me optimistic that we are making some good gains in the swim with some recent changes and consistent swimming over the last 4 months.
Bike- 2:09:40 (includes T1 as the splits are messed up, really rode ~2:07)
I came out of the water with 2 guys within 30secs, but from the research I had done, I knew they weren't guys that were going to work with me on the bike. So I took a few extra seconds and put socks on in T1. I would end up having to put them on in T2, so depending on where I come out of the water dictates when I put socks on. I got to work early on the bike and passed 4 guys by mile 15. Around that time,I got a split that I was ~3mins down. Around mile 30, Michael Raelert had succumbed to a mechanical and was on the side of the road, so I was up to 9th at that point. The next person I rode up to was the main pack, and it was just as I was pulling into T2. By that time Tim Van Berkel and Mike Phillips were already off the front and had a ~3min lead on the field. I biked ~45secs slower than those two and had the 3rd fastest bike split of the day. Hats off to the race organizers for having the lead vehicle, lead motos, and media motos well out of the way of the race, it makes a difference and a lot of us appreciated it.
Run- 1:30:19
I was pretty quick through T2 since I had taken the time to put socks on in T1, but quite to my surprise I had the fastest T2, according to www.obstri.com (check it out, really awesome website for stalking results). I moved into 5th within the first 1k and had Sam Betten right behind me. The gap slowly opened up as the run went on, but knowing Sam and his run, I was running scared the whole time. $500 on the line for 5th place, and it didn't seem the guys ahead of me were going to blow up. I thought 1 of 4 might as they were all pretty close and racing pretty hard against each other, but that was not the case, and hats off to them for great run splits.
Swim- 27:57 / Strava File
Bike- 2:09:40 / TrainingPeaks File / Strava File
Run- 1:30:19 / TrainingPeaks File / Strava File
Total- 4:10:31 / 5th Pro
Overall I was really happy with how the race played out. Came in with few expectations as the field was a really good field for a $15K / 500pt race, and walking away with 5th left me feeling satisfied and motivated as we move into this next training block before 70.3 Japan. A HUGE THANKS to Sunrise Events who puts on Vietnam 70.3, they always take care of us, but this time it was over the top. Looking forward to doing more of their events in the future!
To my sponsors, as always, THANK YOU! This journey wouldn't be possible without them, so take a few minutes and support those that support me. All of their links and logos are below in the footer, and a few of them offer some sweet DEALS AND DISCOUNTS for you! (http://www.bw-tri.com/discounts)
Lastly, I had posted this on FB after the race with a short recap, but for those of you interested in how a Top 5 looks like in terms of financials, here it is.
Expenses- $1,405 Flight to Vietnam- $1,290 USD Bus Ticket- $45 USD Extra Night at Hotel- $75 USD Hotel- Race Organizer provided (a 2bdr Suite at Hyatt Regency) Food- All meals have been covered by race organizer & via lounge access at Airports via Airline Status
Income- $750 $350 Travel Support $400 Prize Money (20% Vietnam Tax on $500 winnings)
Profit- "Lost" $655
Don't get me wrong, I came out to Vietnam and had a great time, getting to see the world, all at the cost of $655. Could have been a lot worse if I didn't get into 5th (It only paid top 5). So that's the harsh reality of our sport on the professional financial side of things, if you want an in-depth look at my financials from 2016, see that HERE.
