Kyle Jones
Canadian TriathleteArchive for Home
Another 4th place
In 2007 I raced my first Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where I nearly missed the podium with a 4th place finish. It was tough to go home from the Games empty handed after coming so close, but overall I was happy with the result.
Fast forward to yesterday. Four years later and another 4th place finish. However, this time around it was a different story. I came to these Games with the expectation of winning. In my mind, nothing else mattered. Winning a medal would have been nice but with an Olympic country spot up for grabs, Gold was all that counted here. So, I’m finding it hard to be happy with this result.
I felt like my preparation for this race went very well so it’s frustrating not being able to deliver on the day. The running form I’ve had the last couple of weeks was nowhere to be seen on Sunday. It felt as though I was stuck in 4th gear the whole way and wasn’t able to go any quicker. Certainly not how you want to feel on race day.
Although it would have been nice to finish off the season with a win, overall I’m very happy with my year. I’ve made steep progressions since my surgery only eleven months ago and this result leaves me with lots of motivation heading into the winter months of training. 2012 is going to be a big year and I’m more excited than ever for what lies ahead.
8K Photos
There are less than 2 weeks to go now until Pan Am Games. My “tune-up” race at the Victoria Marathon 8K this past weekend went well. It was great to be a part of such a successful event. There were over 11,000 people running the waterfront on Sunday in either the 8K, half, or full marathon. It was nice to see so many people being active.
Another week of training here in Victoria and then we’re off to Puerto Vallarta!
PanAm Prep
There is just less than three weeks to go until Pan Am Games, my final race of the 2011 season. The preparation so far has gone very well. I had a good rest after returning home from Asia and have seemed to regain form quite quickly. The last 10 days have progressed very nicely.
Given the current temperatures in Puerto Vallarta and what is expected later this month, there will be some quality time spent in the sauna and heat chamber incorporated into this next block of training. Always fun times!
This weekend I will be running the 8k at the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon. It will be a nice tune-up and a good opportunity to test out the legs!
3 worst letters of the alphabet
I’ve just returned from Asia. It was a frustrating couple of weeks to say the least. Earlier this summer I came home from Japan and China with 2 wins. This time around was a different story.
After the race in Beijing I continued on to Yokohama, Japan for the WCS race this past weekend which had been postponed from earlier in the year due to the earthquake/tsunami that occurred in March. Usually I recover quickly between races and I’m able to perform quite well on back to back weekends. Unfortunately this time I struggled to recover and felt quite flat all week. My quest for redemption after the disappointment of flatting in Beijing gave me the motivation to keep plugging away, but come race day I simply had nothing left in the tank.
It’s been a long season and I’ve had some great successes. However, I’ve traveled quite a bit more than normal. I’ll take a few easy days now to let the body recharge before ramping up the training again for my final race of the year which will be the Pan American Games in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on October 23rd. I’m very excited to have a crack at my first Major Games medal!
Unfinished Business
This season was essentially based around 2 races. The first one was the Olympic test event in London and the other one was the World Championship Grand Final in Beijing this past weekend.
Much like London, I had another great start to this race. Everything was going so well. I was in the lead group right out of the water. I road comfortably in the group, feeling strong each time up the hill and staying out of trouble in the wet conditions. Then, on the 5th lap just as we were starting the climb I felt my back tire go soft. I looked down and within seconds it was flat. I couldn’t believe it. I managed to keep riding to the top of the hill, hoping there might be a wheel stop. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have been further away from one as it was at the bottom of the hill on the opposite side of the course. At that point, with no chance of getting a spare, my race was officially done.
Later on back at the hotel our team bike mechanic pulled this staple-like piece of metal out of my tire.
This season has been all about progressions. With each race I’ve gained more confidence and with every training block I’ve gotten stronger. My results have reflected that trend and I was confident that my performance here in Beijing would again trump everything I’d done up until now.
We spent months preparing specifically for this one race and although it’s immensely frustrating, fortunately, I’ll have another opportunity to express my fitness a week from now at the World Championship Series race in Yokohama, Japan.
This is only a small bump in the road in the grand scheme of things. I’ve overcome much worse in the past year. I’ll chalk it up as another character building experience and move on to the next one!
FAN 590 Interview
Yesterday morning I was on Sportsnet Radio chatting with David Grossman about life as a triathlete. You can listen to the interview here:
Canadian triathlete with David Grossman – Sunday, August 28th, 2011
Kelowna Nationals
Another National Championships has come and gone. The city of Kelowna once again put on an amazing event. The race organizers and volunteers do such an awesome job. I would be happy to go back there every year except next year I’d like to break my streak of 2nd place finishes and win one of these things!
Slowtwitch Interview
Thanks to Herbert Krabel at Slowtwitch for taking the time to chat with me about my season so far. Here’s a link to the interview: A Chat with Kyle Jones
