Well that was one of the hardest courses I have ever done!! In the weekend I raced a international ITU race in Schliersee, which is in the south of Germany. I’ve always wanted to do this race but things have always conspired against me and the timing was never right. But as I was cutting down on my travel towards Beijing, and thus not heading to America as I’ve done the last years. Schliersee was on!
This is a really beautiful part of Germany and one I will visit again for sure. The race itself is situated at around 1000 meters above sea level. It starts at 700 in the Schliersee ( lake) and then takes you on one of the most beautiful and challenging bike courses you will ever do. The last part of the ride goes directly up a 5k climb towards the second transtion at 1172meters. The final leg busting run is either going down or up!! from road to trail to grass.. And all around a smaller lake the Spitzingsee. This race also doubled as a German league race. There were 130 guys in the race and most of them were my good mates from Germany. Start line included My Beijing bound flat-mate Jan Frodeno and World Champion Daniel Unger. These boys are classy and when you also throw into the mix a few guys that had nothing to lose the race would be on from the start.

The swim went well for me as it normally does when coming directly from altitude. I stayed near the front for most of the 1500 meter distance and exited the water 3rd. I ran hard to my bike in transition, and with a good exchange opened up a small gap with Micheal Realert who would start at the front of the race and go on to dominate from there. This initial break was short lived and was never really going to work as the step climbs were yet to come. The front group of about 15 or so formed before the first major climb. Everyone was feeling themselves out and getting a look at who looked good. When the second climb arrived Micheal went again with one of my team mates ( Claude Eksteen) and another guy from Jan’s and Daniel’s team. As it is in team racing this pretty much shut the big boys down and we were left to watch each other for the rest of the bike until the final climb. Just before the climb the second group caught us and the group swelled to about 30 Athletes. The 3 guys in the front worked really well and made 3.30 on us by the time we arrived at the final 5k climb.
So after 35k we had to go up and boy did it go up!! at an average of 12% there was no resting until the top and the final k before the second transition. I had always said to myself that this race was all about having control and by no means being out of it... So with that in mind I just rode a tempo I thought I could sustain to the top. It just got harder and harder as the climb went on but one by one guys were dropping off. By the time we arrived at the top there were just 3 of us left and we were still 2.30 behind.
I hit transition and had thoughts of running fast!!!! Boy was I kidding myself. Its just a slog this run, you start by going 2k directly downhill off the bike and my legs were cramping everywhere. I tried to find some sort of rythum but due to the cramping I couldn’t stride out at all. I tried to wait it out and after about 3 or 4k I started to feel better. I started to pick up my cadence and then tried to focus on the guys in front. I knew they were a long way down the road but I ran in a controlled state to the finish and managed to pick up one of the guys and sneak on the podium. Micheal Realert dominated at the front right from the start and took a well deserved victory. He Showed again that racing with a positive attitude can be a dangerous weapon on any course but even more so on a course like Schliersee.
In the end for myself the race went great. It was a perfect hit out for me, and turned out to be a real test of my current fitness and overall strength at this time.

I’m now back in Font Romeu again until my next race ( A French Grand prix ) on the 5th of July in Paris. So until then take care and you will all hear from me soon enough!

Regards,
Kris

Yesterday I raced in the third round of the French grand prix in Beauvias, which is just out of Paris. Its been a long winding process to get me back into this style of racing. As some of you may or may not know I had some troubles with Licenses and then the change over to my new team Beauvias was stalled for the first races. But now I'm in! and a big thanks goes out to Laurent Chopin for his time and effort on this matter in what is such an important year. Merci Laurent and go Beauvias!
There were 10 guys toeing the start line that were off to Beijing, and some of which "I'll" say are the hitters of our sport. My training had been going well in Font Romeu before the race. Both myself and my coach were looking for a good race to test me out and this was a really strong field to do so. I've said to you all, that in the past a big struggle for me coming directly from altitude was my running speed. So the test for me would be could I follow anything that went off the front of the race at the start of the run?? On a side note In the days before the race I was bitten by a rouge rotten egg that I had decided to have in a salad. Please mental note to all of you. If you are boiling eggs and they explode there is a reason.... so trash them.
The atmosphere when I arrived in Beauvias was great. The team has a really relaxed feel about it which is great in a year where everyone is thinking of one thing. The boys at beauvias were very welcoming of myself and I knew that we were about to have some fun when it came time to race.
The swim start was great and I got off the line well. I found some good feet and was sitting nicely. After about half of the 750 meters I got nice square kick to the head. Nothing damaged, but it caused me too lose the feet I was on and I ended up to wide around the 1st bouy. I went from swimming in the top 5, to exiting the water around 20th or so. This is triathlon! If there is one thing I've learnt in this situation is not to panic. I just say to myself you'll have to ride harder the first Ks now. I jumped on my avanti and rode directly towards the front. After a k or so I was in the front group and leading up the first climb. I felt great the whole time on the bike. I was able to follow all the attacks, and as a team Myself, Tim Don, Fred Belaubre, Slyvain Sudrie and Stephan Poulart controlled the entire race from this point on the bike. We also made sure we all arrived to transition 2 safely and at the head of the field.
Of course the real show was yet to come! and with Donny ( Tim Don ) being one of the fastest guys over the first few k's in the world this 5k was going to be fast. Tim and Myself cleared out very early in the run just as we had done in London some weeks ago. I was on my limit early on to follow Donny but we worked well and encouraged each other to keep the gap we had made. Just after 3k Tim started to tire a bit. He had some hard sessions in the lead up to the race so I moved to the front and took a turn. Come Beijing he will be ready to go I'm sure of that.. As I pushed a gap opened back to Tim and the others. I felt good and had a lot of control at this stage of the race which was a good sign. I tried to keep the gap as it was to the other boys as they caught Tim. Both these boys are also heading to Beijing ( Alastair Brownlee and Will Clark). With about a K to go I could hear someone bridging up to me and Alastair loomed over my shoulder. We ran the last 500 meters together until we ended up in another sprint to the line. I managed to hold him out just as I did last year when I won the World Cup in Rhodes Greece.
So all in all a great day. I was racing for my new team "Beauvias" in Beauvias and I was winning for Beauvias. It was all I could have asked for in this race. Not to mention that the team also ended up winning the overall day so a really dominating performance from everyone.
Of course from a personal stand point the race was exactly what we were after. And so confirms again we are right on track with where we hoped we would be at this time. Having John there to watch was another small important thing that could be valuable heading into these last weeks before Beijing.
I'm now back in my training haunt Font Romeu for my last two weeks of altitude. I'll then race in my second World Cup of the year in Kitzbuehul on the 20th of July. So until then take care.
Kris

Well, the season is definitely in full swing and it is event after event as I prepare for Hawaii in a few months time. On Saturday 21 June I competed in the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon. This was an Olympic distance race comprising of a 1.5 km swim down the river, a 40 km bike and 10 km run. It was another 4th placing for me, finishing in a time of 2 hours and 10 minutes.

The start time for the pros was at 6.55 am so I had to leave the house at 4.45 am. Holy Moly, that’s earlier than some of my Ironman race days! The preparation in transition went smoothly which is always nice and I made it in time to the starting line, which even involved a bus ride. Interesting I know!

I had a good warm up swim, but got a little cold when I had to get out and wait around for the national anthem. No “God Defend New Zealand” here though!

It was an average swim for me, but an event like this is harder as there are not many pros in the race. The fast swimming females are on the ITU circuit and these girls can keep up with most of the guys. So there is a big gap between us, which means more work. Usually when I am in an Ironman race, I have more people to swim with, which is better for the drafting. Anyway, I got on the feet of one girl and a pro guy so that was okay but was still further back from the lead ITU girls. I have felt a lot better in the water than I did today. Just a little flat I suppose.

It took me one whole lap to get into the swing of things on the bike, but then I actually really started to feel strong and comfortable. But I came up on the age groupers who were starting their first lap, which was a pain in the backside as we had to go around them. However, there is something about passing people that makes you feel good, regardless of how fast either of you are going. It was a very undulating course and had some good decent flats which was great. A solid course for me and I felt good especially in the second half of the bike leg.

I got of my bike and passed two girls straight away, so I had picked them up on the bike which was good to know. I then had four others in front of me that I had to catch. The first half of the run was average but I got into a good rhythm and felt strong. Again, I have felt better in other races, but am still running strong and I caught the girl in 4th place. I was gaining ground on 3rd spot but ran out of time unfortunately. Oh well. It was a good solid training day for me and it sure felt like I had the fastest run time again. Nice!

	Swim	Bike	Run	Total
Rebeccah Wassner	00:19:17	01:03:36	00:38:40	02:03:25
Alicia Kaye	00:18:21	01:04:29	00:39:41	02:04:32
Laurel Wassner	00:19:32	01:07:55	00:39:16	02:08:45
Fiona Docherty	00:21:35	01:09:23	00:37:11	02:10:10
Michelle Le Blanc	00:21:43	01:06:21	00:40:51	02:11:10

Below are some Race Reports from my recent events

Eagleman 70.3
After getting 3 good weeks of training in since Florida 70.3 I went to Maryland with a bit of confidence on having a good race. As I love the heat and they were predicting weather in the high 90’s so I was happy about this early on they were saying pro’s could wear wetsuits but on race morning it was changed to the no wetsuit rule and I had a mad dash back to my homestay’s to get the Blueseventy Point zero 3.
My swim went ok but I didn’t see John Kenny get away from the main group and exited 1 min down with all the main guys there then running into transition I felt my right calf twinge and didn’t think much about it as have never had any problems with my right leg so got on the bike as set about going as fast as I could for the 56miles I felt really good early on and push hard but wasn’t going to get away from the strong riders.
They were T.J Tollikinson , Paul Amey , Ritchie Cuttingham and Trenzo Buzzone at mile 15 Trenzo got a penalty for getting too close to me and had to go to the penalty tent and the group was down to 4 then at 35miles T.J got a flat tyre and he was out of the race now down to 3 I was liking my chances for a top 3 placing.
At about 45miles Chris leigh and Chris Bregg caught up to us and the pace went up then leigh got a penalty and didn’t go to the next penalty tent I was caught out by this and a gap open up losing just under 1min by transition having Ritchie behind me not helping at all!
I felt good heading out onto the run is was getting very hot, condition which favors me but at half way on the run my right leg blew out and it was a matter of survival to get to the finish.
My thoughts of a top 3 vanished and had 4 athletes run by me in the last 7 miles.
I came in with a below par 1.30 half marathon and was straight to the medical team

UK 70.3
Well I had booked all my tickets on to England and knew it would be a long shot to see if my leg would get better in a week but really had no choice to keep traveling.
I arrived in London on Wednesday and then headed to the race on the Friday via train.
My friend Ed Hawkins picked me up from the station as we still had 1 1/2hr to get to Wimbleball.
I was really tired and then to find out the race was going to start at 6am was a kicker as that is 1am USA time for me.
After putting our bike together I noticed that my break cable was loose and took it to the Mechanics I said it may need a new cable but they only tightened it.
Race morning was cool with fog on the lake it was warmer in the water than on land so was happy to be warming up in the lake.
The gun went off at 6am and I had a good start but felt very sluggish in the water and then at the second turn I could see the buoy from the fog ahead and lost the feet of Fraser Cartmel
I exited the water 2nd about 15seconds down had a quick transition and hit the bike climbing up the hill out of transition my rear wheel was rubbing on the breaks!
For the rest of the 90k it got worst and made me laugh as it started to rain then hail on us. My ride was not going well and I was losing time on the guys ahead and just knew it was going to be training from there on.
Getting off the bike 9mins behind in 7th place pro was pretty funny and the injury was sore from the cold weather so I put my run gear on and headed out.
I knew after the 1st k that I was doing damage so decided to call in a day after 1 lap of the tough 3 lap course.

Ironman CDA
My flight went straight from London to Spokane, Washington and I was picked up by my friend Ben Greenfield who was also racing Ironman CDA.
He has organized me Physio and treatment at where he works at Champions sports med in Spokane. They were a awesome team and worked very hard to try and get my right leg fixed.
My challenge was having enough time for healing.
As the week went by the leg was getting better and went for a run on the Thursday and managed 35mins so was happy with the progress.
Race morning the sky’s had cleared and it looked like we were going to get warm weather the water temp was still very cold at 59f so I had the Blueseventy scull cap on and was ready to go. Then warming up 5mins before the start I sprang a leak in my
Wetsuit and found a hole along the seam of wetsuit under the left arm massive panic having no time to change into a new suit the guys tried to duck tape it up and that just was pointless as had no movement so knew I was going to get cold during the swim.
The Pro’s had a start time of 6.25am and the cannon went off on time I quickly went to the front and had Tom Evans in tow I could feel the cold water getting in the suit but after a while didn’t notice it and pushed hard. Exiting lap 1 I felt the water gushing out of the suit and time to speed up on lap 2 and get warm as was a little wobbly after the 1st lap.
I exited the water in 51mins a bit slower than I had planed as it was hard to pick the current.
My leg was tight as soon as I got out of the water and knew that this was not good so hoped that it would pass over the 180ks of riding but it just got worst and by the time I was finished the ride I knew there was no way I would be able to run a Marathon so called it a day after a few miles of running warm down!
I’m now looking forward to healing and getting prepared for Ironman Canada on the 24th of August.
Cheers
Rhodsey

Well, it has been race after race, but this is my last one for a little while, which will be nice. The break will be good, but training hard for Hawaii will continue. Race day for Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens, Washington was Sunday 06 July. I woke up at 4.10 am after yet another average night’s sleep. Waking up on the hour every hour to go to the bathroom is a bit frustrating, but it must mean I am well hydrated which I was on this occasion. I had my usual breakfast of oats and coffee and then had enough time to stretch and get things organised. This was one of my better preparations for a race and I got down to transition at 5.30 am for the usual body marking and gear organization etc which all went smoothly.

The race started at 6.30 am and we were due to start 1 minute behind the guys. Some of the girls wanted to start with the guys, which would give them an advantage so I opposed to it. Luckily for me, they kept things as they were, which I was very happy about. It was another non-wetsuit swim, which didn’t bother me, except that the air temperature was cool and so the dilemma was whether to get in and do a warm up and then get out for the National Anthem. I opted for the warm up which was fine, but when I was waiting around it did get a little chilly - Brrrrrrrr!

The deep-water start was good and I felt better as the swim went on. I could tell I was going to have a good swim, as I felt good in the warm up. The water was flat and the temperature was nice. To begin with I was swimming with Linsey Corbin, the girl who would eventually finish second. But I dropped her as I felt stronger and stronger as the swim went on. Then I caught some of the pro guys and some of the age group guys caught us so there were people to swim with which was good for the drafting. I was really happy with my swim in this race.

The bike however was a different story. I felt very dead in the legs from the start. I thought this might wear off but it didn’t throughout the whole ride. I didn’t feel good at all. It was awful! I felt like I was not getting anywhere and I couldn’t understand what was going on. My training was going really well and I had been feeling strong on the road, but today it just wasn’t happening. Then the silly negative thoughts started going through my mind and I wanted to pull out. Two girls came past me, then another and all of a sudden I was last. Not going well and definitely not happy!
But I stayed in the race and soon I was off the bike and onto the run. At the start of the run my legs still felt flat and I thought this was going to be a tough run, which it was. I couldn’t see the girls in front of me at times and being in a situation like that is tough! Then I took a gel and when I got to a downhill section I slowly started to come right. I saw my first victim and it was on. I was on fire and on the hunt! I then reached the turn around point, which gave me an idea where the other girls were. I had one lap to go and was making good ground. I had passed a few of the girls and thought I might be able to get myself into 4th place. I was flying by this stage and was soon at the turn around point again. Then I saw that 3rd place was a real possibility, so I really dug deep up the hill and I caught her at the top about 1.5 km from the finish. This was Kelly Couch who got 3rd in Eagleman 70.3 in Maryland back in June - the one I was trying to catch there.

I wasn’t going to catch 2nd place today, but it was good to have it over and done with. Despite the third place finish, I was not that impressed with my race. I will be a lot happier when I don’t have to run that hard to play catch up and have a decent, solid bike ride. Once I have that down I honestly think I will be placing much better.

After the post-race formalities, it was a casual ride back to my home stay to loosen up the legs and have some well earned treats.

I also qualified for World 70.3 Champs in ClearWater which was a bonus.