The Real Triathlon Squad Takes on Galveston, Texas Ironman 70.3

This past weekend, four members of The Real Triathlon Squad took on the first IRONMAN 70.3 held on North American soil since the initial COVID-19 shut downs.

Nicholas Chase, Jackson Laundry and Garrick Loewen showed up ready against a field that would mirror a typical World-Championship start-list.

Maria Teresa "Flaca" Guerrero ran a great race with a cumbersome heel blister from a prior shoe mishap. 

THE WEEKEND IN REVIEW

Words By Nicholas Chase Pro Triathlete & Coach + Podcast Host + The Real Triathlon Squad

The weekend started out with perfect weather but heavy winds picked up the second the swim cannon shot off. Jackson and Garrick came out of the water in the front pack with Nicholas Chase nearly 1 minute down but, catching within 15 minutes of the bike leg. Unfortunately, Jackson took on a flat tire to the rear and waited a short 5 minutes for neutral service to provide a new wheel…which was super old and very very slow compared to our race-day setup.

Nicholas Chase and Garrick Loewen worked their way into the top 15 with Nicholas in 8th position, but in a great spot. Eventually, Garrick noticed his glute muscle was locking up and causing severe pain, basically ending his day once the bike course hit the massive 15-20mph head wind. This meant Jackson had even more ground to make up while Nick tucked in with Michael Weiss, Bart Aernouts, Matt Hanson and Justin Metlzer. Onto the run, Nick was flying and nearly 5 minutes behind, Jackson came off the bike and was literally on fire. The 3-loop run course and endless winding turns made this course a great match for speed and fueling.


Image Via Mark L. Simmons

Nicholas and Jackson both ran PR’s and finished 11th/12th respectively with blazing fast run-splits. Against such incredibly FAST pro Men, Nick and Jackson have some amazing races ahead in 2021.

Lastly, Maria Teresa "Flaca" Guerrero wasn't feeling great due to her painful blister, and she felt she wasn't quite ready to race. So she did and managed to snag third place in her age group by running her competitors down. To this date Flaca has completed 37 half ironman races to date and there's no stopping her! 


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