Rest and Recovery in Oregon

Thanks to Addie and Jordy, I've been able to spend the last week in Beaverton, a suburb outside of Portland in Oregon recovering from the race in Calgary and preparing for my last race of my overseas adventure in Lake Stevens this weekend. I've been lucky enough to score a lane to myself most days at the pool and have enjoyed exploring the area on my bike and running. Our personal tour guide also showed us some wonderful sights including the Oregon Coast, Columbia Gorge, Mt Hood and a baseball game - thanks Penny!

I was happy with my performance at Calgary on the weekend. The lake swim was a little cool but I managed to get onto the back of the main pack of guys which also included the top girls so I exited the water with the leaders. The bike was a point to point course through the Calgary countryside finishing at a park/reserve. After a good ride at Vineman a couple of weeks ago I had a lot of confidence knowing that I could ride hard. I passed a few girls in the first section of the course and settled into 4th place. I went onto the run in 4th although a couple of strong runners passed me in the first few kilometers which moved be to 6th place. I ran hard early and went through patches of feeling good, and not so good, throughout the 21kms. After climbing the last hill with 4km to go my legs were feeling pretty dead. I pushed on running as hard as my tired legs would carry me to the cross the finish line in 6th.

A huge thanks to my home-stay hosts Carla and David who showed me around and looked after me so well - good luck for Ironman Canada guys!!

6th at Calgary 70.3, Alberta, Canada

Devonport triathlete, Amelia Pearson continued her preparation for the 2009 ITU World Long Distance Triathlon Championships in October with a solid 6^th placing in the Ironman 70.3 Calgary Triathlon today.

The Calgary event is a new race on the lucrative Ironman 70.3 international circuit and boasted a prize pool of $25,000USD.

Pearson exited the 1.9km swim in Ghost Lake with the front group of swimmers in 4^th place overall and rode strongly over the tough 94km bike course set in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies to start the 21km run still in 4^th place.

Pearson faded slightly on the hot and hilly run as the temperature climbed steadily towards 32c but managed to hold onto 6^thplace.

“I was very happy with my race today considering where I am in my training and preparation for the World Championships later in the year. I went into this race with a set race plan and in consultation with my coach experimented on a couple of things including pacing and nutrition. I did fade over the last 4km of the run but that was to be expected as I tried to really push the pace early on the bike. So all in all it was a great day and I learnt a lot!” Pearson said.

Pearson also finished in 6^th place at the Vineman 70.3 Triathlon in California two weeks ago to show her preparation for the ITU World Long Distance Triathlon Championships are right on track for October.

The race was dominated by the current Ironman 70.3 Triathlon World Champion, Mirinda Carfrae from Brisbane with Canadian athlete Magali Tisseyre 2^nd and British athlete Catriona Morrison flying home on the run to claim 3^rd place.

The men’s race was won by Tim O’Donnell from USA with Australia’s Stephen Hackett in 8^th place.

It has been a big week for Pearson after being named The Advocate - Motors Sports Star of the Year at a gala dinner on Thursday night.

Pearson attention now turns to the Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3 Triathlon in Washington State on 16^th August. Following the Lake Stevens race Pearson will then head home to prepare for the years major goal in October.

Top 10 - Women
1. Mirinda CARFRAE AUS 4:11:05
2. Magali TISSEYRE CAN 4:21:05
3. Catriona MORRISON GBR 4:21:30
4. Lisa MENSINK NED 4:25:15
5. Linsey CORBIN USA 4:26:15
6. Amelia PEARSON AUS 4:30:59
7. Danelle KABUSH CAN 4:33:26
8. Sara GROSS CAN 4:35:15
9. Rosemarie GERSPACHER CAN 4:35:45
10. Ayesha ROLLINSON CAN 4:36:23

Race Site: www.ironmancalgary.com

Race coverage: http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/calgary70.3

Thankyou Advocate and Motors!

Article from today's Advocate:

http://www.theadvocate.com.au/news/local/sport/triathlon/pearson-named-our-top-athlete/1583024.aspx

Pearson named our top athlete

SPORTS AWARD BY CHLOE HOPE

MORE THAN 100 sports star nominees, friends, family and sponsors packed the River Arms at Ulverstone to celebrate the Coast's ample sporting talent - and to hear Richmond coach and Devonport boy Jade Rawlings speak.

Rawlings delved into the world of sporting talent the North-West has produced and discussed the pathways the Coast provides for talented youngsters to do well at the highest level.

As well as Rawlings, local football legend Max Brown kept the crowd entertained as the night's MC.

Triathlete Amelia Pearson, who was selected as The Advocate-Motors Sports Star of the Year by all three judges - The Advocate's Danny Clark and Chloe Hope, and 1979 Sports Star winner and chief selector Bev Hite - had an outstanding season of competition.

Pearson made it all the way to number two in the ITU world long distance rankings on the back of a solid season of competition.

On top of that, Pearson won the Tasmanian title undefeated and was named Tasmanian Triathlete of the Year for the sixth time in a row.

Pearson had a strong 11th place at the 2009 ITU Asian Long Distance Championships in June and placed third at the ITU Oceania Championships in NSW in February.

She was selected in the Australian team that will compete in the world long course championships in Perth in October after winning a bronze medal in the Australian and Oceania championship earlier this year.

The Advocate's general manager, Rod Tremayne, said The Advocate enjoyed promoting the talented sportspeople on the Coast.

"The Advocate newspaper has a strong involvement in Coastal sport through locally focused editorial coverage and substantial sponsorship to a wide variety of clubs, leagues and associations," Mr Tremayne said.

"These awards recognise their excellence and encourage broader participation within our sporting community."

Look out Calgary!!

The past 2 weeks have flown by and it's hard to believe it's almost time to leave Penticton again,and that I won't be back - for a while anyway!

After Vineman my Dad and I enjoyed a couple of days being tourists in San Francisco. Despite a huge change from the glorious Santa Rosa weather was great fun. We then travelled back to Penticton to finish my post race recovery and prepare for Calgary 70.3. The weather has been HOT and I've been tired but things are going well. I'm looking forward to racing again and seeing how fast I can go!!

I had a great race and finished 6th in 4hr30.10

It was a non wetsuit swim so I opted to wear my 2XU "fast" suit which feels awesome in the water, and despite the slow time (29 minutes) I felt like I was swimming well. I swam along side Gina Kerr for most of the 1.9km swim and despite going slightly off course on the return journey we came out rounding out the top 10 - the leaders Pip Taylor and Joanne Zieger were about 3 minutes up the road. Onto the bike I put the hammer down. It was a course mixed with flat sections and undulating sections. I've been working hard on the bike the last few weeks so I really wanted to have a good ride today. I passed a few girls during the first half of the course and Tyler Stewart came past me around the 2 hour mark of the race so I got off the bike in 6th place having riden the 90km in 2hrs28. I found the run pretty tough, it was hot even at 9.30am and there were a few hills involved, however, I still felt my 1hr30 split was a good run. Linsey Corben came past me shortly before the run turn around and a little while later I went past Zieger who was on the side of the course looking a little worse for wear. I therefore remained in 6th place as I crossed the finish line.

My Homestay in Santa Rosa were absolutely fantastic. A big thanks to Lisa, Mark, Stuart and Nate who looked after Dad and I so well. We had an amazing weekend in a beautiful part of the world!!