Branson 70.3 Report

Branson 70.3 Race Report
This past Sunday I raced the K-SWISS Branson 70.3 Ironman Triathlon in Branson, MO.

I was a little unsure of how things would go as I was in Aruba getting married the previous week before the race. I knew it would be extremely competitive as well as a hard bike ride being in the Ozark Mountains.

Swim

Being a beach start I am always at a disadvantage over some taller athlete’s as they can get an extra step or two before diving into the water. Quickly I got on James Cotter’s feet and eventually had to move around Mike Lovato and continue my push to chase the leaders. I thought Mike was swimming on Cotters feet and things were good until I looked up and realized he had let a bit of a gap go. I continued to push and eventually pulled up a big pack in the shore for the last 900m stretch. I had a super fast transition and blasted up the road to chase the leaders.

Carley's awesome camera caught the dive in!!

Bike

After a quick transition I caught T.J and James and continued to ride strong before Ben Hoffman and Cotter would pass me for the second time soon after that. I rode super strong the first loop making up some time on Brian Fleishman with Steven Hackett who were bit further up the road. I rode in 5th place most of the ride on an extremely hilly bike course in the Ozark mountain’s.

I faded a bit but still kept a really strong tempo going to hold off Tollakson and Lovado and keep Cotter and Fleishman some what in sight. At mile 50 Tollakson went ripping by me and I rode with him and eventually came in just behind him into transition 2.

Just getting on the bike!

Run

Running out of T2 I knew I had rode strong but my legs were shot. I passed T.J at the 1mile marker and kept moving forward putting time into James. On lap 2 of the run Lovato passed me and I was now in survival mode trying to finish the race. The temperature was well over 90 degrees and there was no shade. If it wasn’t for my beautiful wife taking photos and yelling at me to catch the athlete running ahead I would have faded further back.

I wish my run legs were with me on Sunday but my swim/bike was a definite step in the right direction for racing the rest of the season. I ended up finishing 5th so that was great after being on vacation the week before. I have to say the top 6 male's at Branson were some of the nicest athlete's i have had a chance to race with.

Thanks to Kiwami and HTFU for this awesome race suit!

Ironman 70.3 Branson

Branson, Missouri – September 19, 2010

1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run

Men

1. Ben Hoffman (USA) 4:02:53

2. Tom Lowe (GBR) 4:05:38

3. Michael Lovato (USA) 4:11:04

4. James Cotter (USA) 4:14:36

5. Brent Poulsen (USA) 4:15:14



I would like to thank K-SWISS, Colonels Bikes, PowerBar, HTFU, Kiwami and my coach Cliff English @ cliffenglishcoaching.com for there continued support. Next up is Augusta 70.3 this Sunday. Thanks for reading,



Brent