Today I took advantage of a day off from my internship to head out for a mid-day bicycle ride.  What a pleasure!

It was about 26 degrees F in Connecticut but with proper layering I didn’t notice the cold or the wind at all.

What I did notice is how easily I could read my heart-rate with the new Timex Ironman Race Trainer Pro on my wrist!

With a great workout planned:

3 x 15 min in Zone 3

1.5-2 min recoveries

total 1 hr 15 mins on the bike

I was thrilled to be able to focus on my intervals and not struggle to catch a glimpse of my heart-rate.

The unique position of this watch on the wrist and large display allows a cyclist to keep their hand on the hood, aerobar or in the drop and still be able to see the screen!

It was truly Love at first Sight!

Easy visibility of the Ironman Race Trainer Pro while in the hoods on my 'cross bike.

My first Timex blog! and my first race report for TeamTimex

Well, Saturday morning Tracy and I drove down to New Plymouth which is about 3hrs from Cambridge for the Inaugural New Plymouth Half Ironman. Selwyn and his team put on a great event with the best race pack I think I have ever seen at a race in New Zealand, it wasn’t full of advertising but stuff you could actually use, some goggles, chocolate, squeezys and even a towel + more
Sunday was race day, and it was an absolute cracking Taranaki day, lots of sunshine and quite a strong wind. The race started at the very reasonable hour of 7.30 so we got a little sleep in. Pre race favourite Mark Bowstead took off like a rabbit at the start of the swim and we were all left chasing right from the start. I ended coming out of the water with Brodie Madgwick and another athlete about 1min40sec down on Mark. Up through transition and we even had change tents! Just like Challenge Wanaka or IMNZ, Brodie decided he wanted to check out the action in the girls tent and went in there….. So onto the bike and it was basically a big tail wind out to the turnaround plus the numerous hills to negotiate, I think the longest piece of flat road was about 3k so it was a definite testing course. At the turn around Mark had increased his lead by about 20sec which I was very happy with as he and his brother James are well known for their biking ability. And Brodie was about 10sec back from me. We all struggled back in to the head wind and over the hills, I remember going past a sign with 27k to New Plymouth and since I don’t use a speedo thinking “man this is a long long ride” as I thought I must be only 10-15k from home. The last 3-4km is basically all downhill so you can roll down the hill and into transition, I had opened up a small gap to Brodie of 30 odd seconds and Mark had increased his lead out to 3mins. A pretty slow IM transition for me, straight up Bayley road and Brodie was on my heels, we ran the first lap pretty solid and cut Marks lead down to 1min30sec and I started to feel very confident we would catch him and me and Brodie would fight it out. The 2^nd lap we eased up and ran up to Mark at the about the 12 kilometre point. Running along the esplanade it was pretty sheltered and it was getting very hot and sticky. Going into the last lap I made a little dig going over the top of a hill and felt Brodie slide off the back and then ran through the last lap pretty controlled to take the win. My first for TeamTimex. I was pleased to get the “Monkey off the back” after my disappointing day in Wanaka a few weeks back, so next up is IMNZ in 3weeks where I hope to improve on last year’s performance.

My athletes from www.Vo2coach.com had great days, with Candice Hammond demolishing the womens field for the win and Grant Tuffery 2^nd in his age group by only 10secs. Again a big congrats to Selwyn, a very well run event which is excellent timing for anyone who is lining up for IMNZ in 3 weeks time.

On the run

Check out what the visiting members of the press at Team Timex Training Camp had to say about their experiences:

Lava Magazine

• Reunion Tour: The Original Triathlon Team Celebrates a Decade
• Video: Veteran to Newbie
• Video: Rookie from Afar
• Gallery: Where Triathlon Meets Football
• Gallery: 10 Years and Going Stronger

espnW

• Team Timex turns 10

EverymanTri

• The TIMEX Multisport Team celebrates 10th Anniversary at New Meadowlands stadium

Slowtwitch

• Team Timex Camp – Day 1
• Team Timex Camp – Day 2

(Links will open in new windows.)

For the second straight year Team Timex gathered in NYC for team camp. This was a special season for Timex as it was the 10th anniversary of the team. I am particularly honored to be a part of this team for my 7th season!! The support of Timex and all the sponsors is truly unparalleled in the sport.

Me and Tamara at The Meadowlands Stadium

Me and Barry in the NYG locker room

Showcasing 10 years of Timex

The 2011 Orbea Ordu

Showcasing all the Timex Ironman victories

No trip to NYC would be complete without a stop to Times Square

What a welcome sign as the Timex Multisport Team pulled up to the stadium!

It’s the day after a great weekend with the Timex Multisport Team and I thought it was a good time for reflection.

The Team met at the Timex Performance Center and the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey for the weekend.  It was great to see my fellow teammates and meet the new members of the 2011 Multisport Team.

This is my second year on the team and I still can’t believe it.    All of the athletes are incredibly inspiring and have a great story to tell.  It’s no wonder this team is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary!

My experience at camp  was a little different this year.  As a rookie to the team in 2010 I was very nervous and quiet at camp, this year I couldn’t wait to catch up with all of my new friends!

Camp was also very special this year as we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Timex Multisport Team.  I was inspired by everyone inducted into the Timex Multisport Hall of Fame: Tom Schuler, Tim Hola, Kim Hagar, Louis Alvarez Gonzolez, Marie Danais, Chris Thomas, and Viktor Zyemtsev.

The 2011 Timex Multisport Hall of Fame!

I was also inspired by our great speakers: Dick Hoyt, Amani Toomer, and Bob Babbitt, Herbie Calves and The Dave Schultz!

I still can not believe how amazing this camp was and that’s not to mention all of the great Team apparel from Sugoi, some more great time pieces and training tools from Timex like the new Ironman Race Trainer Pro, Powerbar goodies, Native Sunglasses, Nathan hydration products, the list goes on!

Another thing that worked out great this year was some incredible weather.  New Jersey saw temperatures into the high 60′s while we were there and cooled off just in time for me to return home Sunday afternoon for a chilly 30 degree F bike ride.

View of Lake Quassapaug in Middlebury, CT near Timex HQ on my bike ride after camp.

Over all this year at camp I had a great time and feel even more inspired to go faster in 2011.

So look out!

The Timex Multisport Team is looking great this year!