ITU Premium Pan American Cup- Kelowna, Canada

Hey Everyone,

Last week I travelled over to Canada to compete in my first race in the America’s. It was set to be a very high quality field and close to 60 starters. In the weeks and days leading into this race I had to overcome a number of hurdles and it almost seemed by race day that the world just didn’t want me to compete in this event. First it was a broken bike, followed by a niggle in my left knee, and to top it off, the day before the race on a very light jog, I was reduced to walking with really bad pain in my left foot. I tried to put everything out of mind and just have a crack. Apart from everything though, the sessions that I had managed to do recently had really raised my confidence and I was feeling pretty strong and was really pumped for a good result.

Then the race came and I am still lost for words.

I had a horrible swim and never felt like I could grab any water, immediately out of the water my stomach felt like it wanted to explode and I ended up throwing up twice during the hilly and hot 40km ride. By the end of the bike I was in a terrible position, had dribbles of spew on me and my bike, but was still hopeful that I could at least put something together on the run as to not make it a completely terrible day. About three steps into the run I knew this wasn’t going to happen. I really struggled even just to stand up as my stomach was again feeling like it was trying to escape me. No more than 500m in and I was again hurled over in a garden and barely able to stand up. My race was over.

I have wracked my brain trying to come up with answers and what I have come up with is still just a guess. I really don’t understand what happened when, despite the obstacles, I had felt so good beforehand.

I am back in Australia now and will have a good chat to the coach and try to work out what went wrong and to get back up. Canada was certainly not the trip I was hoping for but it will not keep me down. I am getting straight back into training and want to make sure something like that never happens again.

I’m sorry this update couldn’t have been a more positive one but again, thank you all for your support and I’m sure next time I can come to you with some much better news.

Aside from the race I have to say a massive thanks to Greg and Sarah Johnson who hosted me for the week I was there. They were so helpful and made my trip so much more enjoyable.

Cheers,

Ben Hammond

Pre-Canada Update

Hey Everyone,

Well, 1 week to go now and I am heading over to Kelowna in British Columbia, Canada. This race is an ITU Pan American Cup and will be held on the 21^st of August over the Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run). I am extremely excited about this race due to the presence of multiple Olympic medallist, Simon Whitfield (Gold in Sydney 2000 and Silver in Beijing 2008). I have never raced or met Simon before, however we did used to have the same running coach and he is the reason that I began this sport. Lining up against him, regardless of the result is something I have wanted to do for a very long time and finally it will happen.

As for the race I’m hoping I can turn up and add some more ITU points to my name to help strengthen my ranking on the ITU points list as well as gain further experience racing in another country with a whole new set of challenges.

As I mentioned in my last update, I had some issues when my bike was cracked during my return trip from China. Not riding for nearly two weeks is certainly not great preparation however I have finally managed to secure a temporary bike to use and luckily have still felt quite strong while riding.

While certainly not confirmed at the moment, I am also looking at heading to compete on the Life Time Fitness Triathlon series event in Chicago on the 28^th of August following Canada. This is a very large non-drafting series in the US that I have wanted to compete in for a few years. I will keep you posted on what happens.

 

Cheers

Ben Hammond