Another weekend, another title to defend. After the much publicized success of Jesse Thomas last weekend, this weekend it was Emma-Kate Lidbury’s turn to defend a title, this time at Mallorca 70.3. Following last year’s win, which was her first as a professional athlete, Eccles (as we call her) felt the same internal and external pressure as any returning champion would.
While many in the purplepatch team were down at Wildflower, Meredith Kessler was winning her second Ironman event of 2012 in one of the toughest Ironman races ever contested (conditions).
In any athletes career there are important events that can determine a path that will be taken, in either a positive or negative light. This past weekend Jesse Thomas faced one of those challenging events, or crossroads, that presented itself as both a burden and an opportunity.
This weekend Sarah Piampiano shocked quite a few people in the sport (including her coach to be honest) on her way to an overall victory at the New Orleans 70.3.
purplepatch Hot Start and Getting Hotter: We are already toward the end of March, and so much has already happened on the racing scene. Long gone are the days of slow builds into a season for the professional athletes, with new and important races built into the early part of the season requiring a shift in training and preparation, as well as how we build individuals seasons. For most athletes and coaches, it is a shift, and one that requires careful planning and preparation. With ‘Q1’ coming to a close, it is a good time to review some of the early season highlights of the purplepatch pros, and look ahead to some of the fun and games coming in Q2. Here are the quick highlights:
Severe weather forced the postponement of Kelloggs Nutri-Grain Ironman New Zealand 70.3. None the less, when the race got underway Meredith went on the attack and in the end cruised into the finish line almost eight minutes ahead of Kate Bevilaqua.
Lava Magazine has a nice write-up on purplepatch athlete Rasmus Henning's March 3rd win in Abu Dhabi 70.3. Henning says this win could be pivotal. This is a nice look into Rasmus's race and a litlle backgorund on his life. Don't miss the link in the article to the gallery of some of the race action.
If you are interested in reading about the state of training for swimming in triathlons, we might as well go to the best resource we have, with Gerry Rodrigues at Tower 26. This is a must-read for all triathletes interested in improving both swim and overall performance.
This is the backbone of thought that has gone into our partnership with Tower 26, and the development of the purplepatch swim program.
I am excited to tell you about the launch of the purplepatch/Tower 26 Triathlete Swimming Plans. Check out the Swimming Plan details page for all of the details.
