Hello Saipan!

It's official, I am entered and the plane ticket is booked for the Saipan Sportsfest, which includes both the XTERRA Saipan and Tagaman Triathlon events! I am excited to have this trip as my first real competitions of the season, and know they will provide me with excellent challenges and competition to prepare me for Ironman Arizona.



I was approached by the race organizers, as they were looking for an athlete who was solid in both off-road and road triathlons, and given the length of the road triathlon, could provide a competitive performance. They made me a great offer to attend, and I needed a good race event or two to sharpen for Arizona, and the timing was perfect!

Andy Noble is the defending champ for the Tagaman, and the famous double for XTERRA and Tagaman, after taking the crown from Olivier Marceau, (Olivier won XTERRA Saipan last year). I will have to bring a good level of fitness with me if I want to challenge Andy. At over 40 years of age, he doesn't seem to be slowing down, or letting his age affect him in the least.

I am also excited about the travel opportunity, as I have never been to anywhere in Asia, and I get the opportunity to stay overnight in Tokyo on the way back. Should be a lot of fun to see these places I've never been. It's cool that the trip will last about 11 days, and give me the chance to soak in the venue and see what Saipan is all about.

For those of you wondering where Saipan is, (I had to look on a map myself), this should help:


So that is the big news from my end. I am in Phoenix, for the TrainingBible Coaches Meeting, but tomorrow morning I'm doing a big workout on the Ironman course. Unfortunately, I've begun to have a left calf problem, and hope I am over it enough to do the workout tomorrow. I have not been able to workout at all the past 2 days, but that has been due to both the injury, and the meeting.

Worst case scenario, I should be fine for the swim and ride, but need to cut the run. I will see how it goes.

Vance