Race

The Call Room

Lining up to head out to the starting line. Checking our numbers, bibs and timing chips.

Starting Line

Moments before the gun goes off, all the athletes stand motionless.

100 Meters

Into the race everyone is battling for ideal positioning.

Hurdle Jumps

On my second lap through the second set of hurdle jumps. These were not fun.

Beach Cool Down

After the race the Women's team cool downed to the beach for a refreshing swim.

Overall Leonora had a great experience and learned a lot from it. She was 86th overall, 1st New Zealand Woman to finish. She looks forward to getting another chance to represent New Zealand and perform at a higher level. Thank you for all the support.

Here is a quick recap for all the runners out there that need some more explanation.

The first lap got out quick, probably a little too quick for Leo on this course on this day. The weather was in the mid 80's with no wind and no breeze. When your coming from a New York winter that feels like 100 degrees.

Anyway she took the next to laps to try and find her rhythm over the hilly course. Unfortunately for Leo there was only one more lap to go. She finished up in 28:45 for 8k, which on this course is not a bad time. While Leo is not happy with the time and place, she was pleased that she got to represent her country and learn from this experience.

The race ends the running portion of the trip. We still have 2 more days of sight seeing which I am looking forward to. Thanks for all the support to those that gave words of encouragement, bought some t shirts and anything else. We will see everyone back on Long Island.

Food

Salad Bar

Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peppers, onions, beet root, carrots, and corn.

Antipasto Bar

Cold cuts, cheeses, and dressings.

Grill

Meats (Chicken, Steak, Fish, Pork and Beef) Pastas, Pasta sauces, potatoes and other stuff.

Sides Bar

Cole slaws, pre made salads and sandwiches, pickles, fruit, bread and much more.

Dessert

Cakes (cheese and danish) Jello, puddings (chocolate, caramel and rice) and ice cream (varied flavors).

Stuff

Thursday Day 4 was stuff day. Leo got her race numbers, credentials and invite to the after dinner party. I even got stuff too. My credentials are below. Other than that it was training as usual for the athletes with Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner mixed in there. O yeah card playing as well. Just living the dream!

Invite

Leo Bib and Credentials

My Credentials

Hotel Pics

The name of our hotel, Barcelo Punta Umbria.

Click link for more pics and info.

View from our balcony.

The Key Card controls the whole room. Without it no lights, heat/ac, and power.

The pool and spa at the hotel, little too cold for a dip.

This hotel is so flash we have a bidet.

Day 2 and More

To begin where I left off, the rest of day 2 was pretty simple. Leo and I went for a walk along the beach and then through the town. Leo then went for a second run with the rest of the New Zealand. When they returned we played some cards, which was a good time and laugh. We then headed off to dinner.

I don't know if I have mentioned how nice the food is, but it is delicious. Open buffet with all foods imaginable. Since I am not running it is hard not to dig in for seconds and thirds. I am definitely putting on some pounds being here. (I have started going for 5 mile walks out to the course and back to burn some calories)

After dinner we headed to bed.

The next morning we got up around 8AM and went for breakfast. After breakfast we chilled out a bit until we went for the training session up at the race course. Some team members had workouts, some were doing some stuff in their spikes and others just for a run. The course is really nice, well maintained and going to be tough.

The course is a 2km loop on well manicured grass surface. Along the loop there are rolling hills, man made hills and 2 sets of 3 logs jumps 8 meters apart. All made to break up rhythm and keep the runners on their toes. The course lacks flat sections to work on the rhythm and so forth. I would estimate that there is about 500 meters of broken up flat throughout the loop. This course should make for some good tactical racing.

Here is a photo of Leo doing some strides in her spikes.

After the course run everyone headed back to the hotel for showers, lunch and some down time to relax after the tough morning. The team is small so all our rooms are in the same stretch of hallway. So we alternate hanging out in each others room playing cards and just BSing. Its a good time.

The rest of day two was pretty boring, we just chilled out waiting for dinner. Some team members went for second runs, others stayed behind and played cards. Leo and I played cards. Then we headed off to dinner, where nothing exciting happened.

These blogs are pretty boring, we are not getting out and doing much. For the athletes this trip is like a business trip. All work no play. After the race some people will be down to do some sight seeing. With the race on Sunday, that only leaves us Monday, Tuesday and we fly out Wednesday to see some stuff.

I will have some blogs showing you guys the hotel, the food and some other cool stuff.

Travel and Day 1

Smooth sailing from New York to Madrid, however from there is where it gets interesting. We landed at 10 AM local time and had to board our connecting flight at 11 AM. That doesn't seem too bad until you realize you have to clear customs, take a 5 minute train ride to the next terminal, find what gate your are going to and then clear security again. Needless to say we made it to the gate with a few minutes to spare, so no big deal. Then we had to sit on the plan on the run way for an hour to take off. No delays in New York, but Madrid 1 hour.

All that just meant that we arrived an hour later then we were scheduled for. We had a VIP Shuttle waiting for us in Seville to drive us the 90 minutes to Punta Umbria. Once in Punta Umbria we got our room and hurried off to take a nap.

After the nap we went for a walk around town before heading to dinner, we were out for about 2 hours, and then back to our room to chill and get to sleep by 10 PM. The first day was pretty slow going, there were no other team members here, so nothing really to type about.

Day 2 started with Leo getting up at 8AM to go for a short jog. When she got back around 9 AM I got dressed and we met some of the other team members for breakfast. After breakfast Leo got her racing uniform and warm ups. That brings me up to typing this blog.

The rest of the day we are going to head to a supermarket to pick up some things, then go for a nap, Leo will have her second run and in between all of that we will have lunch and dinner. Today is when the rest of the New Zealand team arrives and many of the other Nations.

I will try and update this everyday with the daily happenings of the trip.