February wrap

It was a month I will never forget. February was jam packed, Mendoza, Argentina and to finish in the historic, Lima, Puru . All of which, I had mixed emotions and results from. Villarrica volcano just outside of the popular holiday destination Pucon, Chile is 2847m high and sees snow all year round. On a clear day from Pucon, you can see the picturesque volcano standing out like wild flower on a postcard. I couldn't stop looking at it from the town. It was truly incredible. And then to climb it, was beyond words! The trek took all day with a 630am start and the zig zag journey took 5hrs to reach the top. After a breather, a walk around the top and the manditory happy snaps, we slid down on little plastic sleds to make for a fast descent. The day was one of the best experiences I've had! Argentina is quickly becoming a favourite of mine. With some of the best steaks and unique scenery. The race was held in Mendoza, seeing 4 athletes, including another Australian, two Argentinians and myself gain a substantial lead out of the swim maintaining throughout the bike leg. I knew I had to run an even paced 10km run for the win. But I was caught by an in form runner from the chase pack and held onto the podium for second place. Back-to-back weekend Olympic distance racing has always been a challenge but nothing I shy away from, so it was a week of recovery before the race in Lima, Puru. The countries population has a huge difference in range of wealth, with little to no sign of commoners. A 90minute bus ride from the hotel (no accommodation at the race site) saw a beach start, a group of 5 formed together on the hilly bike course after many attacks from the front pack . The bike course also had some tour de France like switch back descents which I have never seen before. Onto the flat run and from the start I had zero energy that I still tried to build into, with little to no success I finished in 4th. With a an experience I will never forget, a champagne showered podium in Mendoza and an energy zapped, but still solid 4th in Lima, proved to be an excellent month. I have to recover my body now before my last two races scheduled for the end of March in Chile … Bring it on! Thank you for the continued support, Shane