Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz

September 11, 4th place, 3:53:28, Results

Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz in California came down to a dramatic 13 mile deathmatch with some heavy hitters. After struggling throughout the swim and ride, I hit the run within seconds of Denis Chevrot, Ben Hoffman, Jesse Thomas and a few other athletes. The four of us ran in a tight pack, each testing each others’ defenses. I led the pack for the majority of the run, feeling in control until an unexpected devastating attack by Denis blew things apart within sight of the finish. Lesson learned: don’t show your hand too soon! Nevertheless, this run was easily one of my most memorable and intense racing experiences.

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Photo: Oliver Baker for Triathlete
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Photo: Oliver Baker for Triathlete
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Ouch! Photo: Oliver Baker for Triathlete

 

ITU Long Distance World Championships

September 24, 5th place, 6:08:17, Results

The ITU Long Distance World Championships in Oklahoma City was my highest priority race of the season and my first crack at a distance longer than 70.3. I arrived feeling confident in my fitness despite some low grade illness in the preceding weeks. It took a tremendous effort to salvage the day after a disastrous, worst case scenario swim. I fought my way to 5th with second fastest bike-run combo (including a 30s penalty), leading the Triathlon Canada men. This painful and rather dark race experience gave me newfound respect for long distance triathlon. I’m eager to improve upon this first attempt next year when the Wold Championships comes to Penticton, Canada.

Ironman 70.3 Los Cabos

October 30, 3rd place, 4:00:04

The real drama at Ironman 70.3 Los Cabos occurred before the race. Upon arriving on Friday and assembling my bike, I managed to snap my rear derailleur hanger in half! I foolishly forget to carry a spare and frantically exhausted every possibility to find a replacement in time. My last option was to hit to local Home Depot the day before the race and pick up some epoxy. I did my best to repair the part and went to bed while the glue was still tacky. I awoke on race morning ready to give it a go with my fingers crossed! Fortunately, my hasty repair held up during the race, allowing me to recover from a mediocre swim with the fastest bike split backed up by a solid run. As luck would have it, the part broke again right after the race!

Podium at #IM703LosCabos! ?????? What a relief after a broken derailleur hanger nearly kept me from starting! I did a last minute repair without enough time for the epoxy to fully cure, stayed calm and crossed my fingers. Somehow it held, allowing me to ride the fastest bike split aboard my #ventumone and back it up with a solid run in the #skechers #gomebspeed3. As luck would have it, the hanger broke again later that day! Honoured to share the podium with local sensation @maumendezc and the ever classy @mattchrabot. So grateful for @ventumracing’s outstanding support, for the help of @alexthetrihard & family, and for another awesome @ironmanmexico event. Video recap coming soon at facebook.com/codybealstriathlon #downtubesarefordinos #hadafastday #golikeneverbefore #powerisking #ironman703 #ironman #mexico #lucky #margaritatime @skechersperformancecanada @martinsapples @martinsapplechips @computrainer @pioneercycleusa

A photo posted by Cody Beals (@cody.beals) on

Thank you to…

 

Cover photo: Laden Yak Photography

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