Reinaldo Colucci’s Blog

Hi,
After couple weeks from my first Olympics games race, where things did not go as I expected and prepared to, I left Beijing few day after the race and I was able to put my feet on the ground and focus in my next race: Singapore 70.3.
My first days of training in Subic Bay-Philippines were very busy, my only team mate here with me ( Matt) had a bike crash on the way to the pool in the first morning after I arrived and he broke his colorbone. I went with him straight to the hospital and after few hours there to do all procedures and the exams we had a meeting with the doctor and he said Matt should do a surgery once that would make his recovery much better and quickly, only matter in this case it was the hospital it was just allowed to do bone surgeries on Tuesday and Thursday what mean we would need to wait 3 more day before Matt to get to the surgery room. Few days very hard for Matt once he was in a lot of pain and could not move at all his right arm! However on Tuesday night his surgery was over and everything went great, in 2 day he left the hospital and now he does not feel any pain anymore and he also can move already well his arm!
After this unplanned situation I finally could get my head down to the train program and make my body ready for my race.
Last year I had a very happy day over there and I was able to claim my first ever 70.3 victory, this year I am coming back with more experience in this kind of race once I won Pucon 70.3 in January of this year and also I had very good performances in other race with this same distance. The start list of this year it is very strong, many good guy are expect to be on the race what it will make the competition level very high, I am confident I can have another good day and perform on my best what it will give me a nice chance to defend my Title.
Watch up for next Sunday because it has everything to be a much exacted Triathlon race!

After almost 10 year since I start on Triathlon, I am facing just few days before the moment I always dreamed about, to race an Olympic Games! It is hard to describe how I am feeling once many different emotions come to my heard everyday; however I can say it has been the most proud moment of my carrier. I know many, many people help and believe on me in this long 10 years journey before I reach this close moment to step in the Olympian field and to be able to repay their truest with this achievement it is a very special feeling.
To have today the responsibility of represent a full nation does not scare me as many people would think so, by the other hand,I try to use this to motivate and give strength, the thought about everyone will be watching me and cheering for me it makes me fell very good, I know I have done the best preparation I possible could done, this last 3 weeks in Jeju Island has been perfect in all the aspects: very, very good training, great atmosphere and awesome moments with all the team mates specially with Mariana and Cali.
Such important moment required special clothes as well, so we have all the official national uniform and also a special bike frame with an Olympic custom colors, them everything has been already set upped for the “BIG SHOW”.
For last but not least I would like to thank everyone has contributed somehow in any time of this long way to give me this opportunity to live this magical moment. Everyone can be sure I will be giving all my best to fight for a medal, but with a podium or not I must say I enjoyed every step until now and it will be unforgettable for the rest of my Life. Thank you all!

On 13th July I was in Tiszaujvaros – Hungry for my last race event before Beijing on 19th August!
I have been training very well in Switzerland since beginning of June with all the focus to have the best performance I possible can in the Olympic Games. My race in Tis had the main reason of to make the final analyses and see where I still could get some improvement for the next final five weeks!
I had a solid swimming and with a fast transition I was in the first pack with less than 2km into the cycling. The pacing on the bike it was very easy all the good athletes just try save the legs for the run and control the race not letting any fast runner to get away.
With a very efficient T2 I was with the leader group after just few hundred meters. I was felling very strong however it seemed like I was missing my last gear and every time I try to push I did not find the legs. I lost contact with the top positions by 3km on the run. With a very good 3rd lap I could put myself closer again however it was not enough time anymore to get there and I needed to be satisfy with one more 5th place in a Word Cup.
I am quite happy by the only reason I know I still can run better than what I did what shows it just a matter of keep doing exactly the same thing I have done and I will get my performance where I want.

Last Sunday, 29th June, I was racing the Triathlon of Dijon in France.
It was a distance close to a half iron man, just with a longer swim what it just made it perfect as part of my preparation for the Olympic games once we still have 7 weeks to go and a hard solid race as that it will bring me a lot of strength in the next follow weeks.
My main plan on the race was to save my energies as much as could to the run and try to do the best aerobic pace I possible could!
With a very good start on the water I putted myself to swim side by side with the French athlete Charly Loisel for pretty much half part of the one loop swim course, after the first boils I just went little bit behind and seat in his fit until T1.
On the bike it took me a while to get unto the very strong Charly’s pacing on the flat, but as usually in the last half of the course my legs felt better and I could punch better the big gear and keep with him to the start of the run.
During the half marathon I put a solid pacing on the beginning and after 2km I was running on the leading alone than I just tried to keep my heart rate in the zone I usually train on until I hit the 16’s km mark where I just try to get home as fast as I could for the last 5km to try to get all the benefits of the long day of work.
I crossed the finish line to win the race with a time just above 4 hours, and considering it was a hard course I am very, very happy with it!
Hillary also did the race and she really gave her best as always to try to bit the local girl but she could not at this time however her effort it was very good and I am sure it will help her also in her preparation for the next big races coming up in 2 weeks time.

Resultados:
Men:
1. Reinaldo Colucci 4:00.45
2. Gilles Reboul 4:07.44
3. Charly Loisel 4:08.29

Women:
1. Audrey Cleau 4:50.07
2. Hillary Biscay 4:55.09
3. Emmanuelle Grimard 5:16.08

Hi,
For those whose still don’t know about it in January of this year I was at Rio de Janeiro to shoot an advert for the insurance company AVIVA., company between the biggest 5 in the category of the world. Aviva is also the official sponsor of Singapore Ironman 70.3, race whose I won last year.
During 5 day I was leaving beside my hard training sessions and start to live for a while few moments as an “artist” what I know it will be unforgettable in my carrier.
Unfortunately the adverting is just being showed in the countries where Aviva holds big business but if you want to take a look in the final product of this high quality work you can watch also in youtube.com in the below link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VQiaoL-aCE

Hi,
It has been around 2 weeks since I’ve arrived in Brazil, everything looks the same, but I think who use travel around the world knows how many little things can change during two months away from where you live! After couple days trying to put myself in the right jet leg, paying some late bills, and visiting my family to give that warn hug in my mom at Mother’s Day, I started to train properly. Weather here has been great with warn sun every day and quite cool nights, so the sessions has been great.
Last weekend I did a race in Brasilia. It is a stage of a big circuit of races around many states in Brazil. I did not have many worries during all day and after the first lap of the bike I was leading in a group with another five guys, because I knew there was no runner better than me I just wait for the first km on the run where I dropped everybody and just cruise to the end! However I did not have much attention of the big crowd in the race area over there, everybody just want to see “Big O” wining one more race in her home town, o.k I must say she did look great with not even a drop of sweat on her body to cross the finish line and give that smile to the cameras and chat straight away with everyone, that was the lesson of the weekend: “There is just one Triathlon Queen in Brasilia and that is our Big O”.
It is very good to know I don’t need to race against her over there, but I think I will talk with the race organizers to make a stage in “ Descalvado” the huge metropolis where I came from! I know it will be very hard to stop the intense traffic in the city but I have no doubt many thousand of people will be there just cheering for me at this time….hehehehehe

Hi,
Last weekend I was in South Africa to race one more World Cup.
After a long travel from Asia to arrive in the place of the race, I recovered fast and I was felling very good in the day of the race.
At this time my swimming it was not still as I wish but at least I was in the first pack right after T1. In a super fast bike course any change of a break away got very complicate then I decide to seat in the peloton and save my legs for the run. With a very efficient T2 I was with the leaders just after few hundred meters and by the end of the first lap I was running in a group of five athlete just with Matt Reed (USA) 20m ahead us. I was felling very strong in the second and third lap and for many times I went in front of the group and pushed the pacing however I was enable to get run away from the group whose had the world champion Daniel Unger ( GER) and the winner of the race in the year before Hendrik de Villers (RSA).
Around 1km to go when everybody start to push even more the pacing to decide the race I started to fell cramps perhaps because of tiredness of the travel and the 6 hours jet leg, so I could not keep anymore with the leaders finishing in the end in 6 place.
With this result I got mathematic qualified to the Olympic Games once it gets impossible for the athletes behind me on the ranking to over take with just couple races to go before the closing what makes me very happy and also give me more time to work focus in my race on 19th august in Beijing.

Hi everyone,
Last weekend, 26th of april it took place in Tongyeong, South Korea, the 4th Word Cup of the 2008 season.
After a bad race in Japan 2 weeks before I knew it would be very important a good result in this race, once I could drop off to a delicate zone in the ranking where I would not guarantee my Olympic spot!
In a very windy and cold day we got the information before the start that the bike course had been cutter few hundred meters per lap, because the leg in a bridge it was getting too danger because of the cross wind.
The race course became quite taught in the end with a water temperature around 15° C, few hills on the bike and many corners on the run plus the nasty wind in all the three events.
My swimming once again was not good but it was enough to put me in the first pack after few minutes on the bike, once I got there I try to keep myself in the front of the group where it is harder to get involved in accidents. Also because of my good position in the “peloton” I was able to win the second bike prime in the end of the 4th bike lap what add a little money to my pocket.
I exited T2 between top 10 positions to run, however my legs this time did not answer so well again and I was not able to hold with the leaders for long, then I took I defensive strategy to secure a nice finish position and then score the points I was looking for to the ranking.
In the end I place 11th , what I know it is still under the performance I am work to get however I think my work is in the right direction because I was just around 45 seconds behind the leader what I guess with time I will be able to get down. Also I add another 255 points to the ranking what it makes my qualification for the games pretty much save.

Hi,
It has passed little more than 2 weeks since I arrived in Subic Bay – Philipines for my first Training Camp over seas in 2008! After I got adapted to the 11 hours of jet leg time from Brazil I started to push myself into to the trainings sessions.
That is the first camp I am really having the opportunity to be with Reto Hug as my main training partner. Reto is a very experiment athlete in Olympic distances races and I have no doubt I will have a lot to learn with him at this time we are spending together at the pool, track and roads! Besides the top level triathlete Reto is also a such nice person to spend time with, all the long session it seems not last as much as should be when I can just chat a bit with him!
My main goal for this period it will be the I.T.U world cups in Ishigaki- Japan and -Tongyeong- Korea, where I hope to guarantee my Olympic spot to represent my country in Beijing –China later in August this year.
Ahhhhh….. I just would like to announce to those ones whose still don’t know that my own website is already online, please fell free to take a look whenever you want and don’t for get to register your email address in the blog’s page to get yourself into the newsletter of the updates over there!

Hi everyone!
2008 season start for me last weekend at Pucon- Chile, in one of the most popular race around the around at the distance we call today Ironman 70.3 ( 1.9km/90km/21km). Pucon with no doubt is one of the mos, to not say the most beautiful race in world, that is just because the city is locate a 25km from the bottom o active volcano, and the back view we have of mountain in all the course it is just incredible!
I have spent my last week in a running program to try to develop the skills I need to run 10km in a pace to give me chances to fight for a medal at Beijing this year, because of that I was confident I could do a very strong run split but I was little worry about my bike strength once I have not training much intensity on my cycling!
The field this year at the race was very strong, with big name of the sport as Macca ( Hawaii champion 2007) and Oscar Galindes( 2nd place at Clearwater and 4 times champion at Pucon), how ever I was confident I could do a very good performance and fight for the first position!
My swim was not bad, I just try to position myself in front and make sure I would have a nice gap to Galindes because he is not a good swimmer! That work perfectly and with my I.T.U transitions skills I could build another few second on the rest of the athletes as well by the end of T1!
I knew it would be very hard to keep myself alone on the leader on the bike, once Oscar is one of the best riders of the sport! Because of that I just concentrate in to make a solid pacing and try to give a hard time for him to chase my leading down! That again works very well and Oscar just caught me in the end of the first lap ( 45km) , when he pass by he tried to push hard but at this time he was not able to drop me anymore and I stay with him all the way until the end of the bike!
Again I had a much faster transition and I start the half marathon in front! The course it was 3 laps of a very hilly part on a peninsula around the coast, I start my running with a fast but comfortable pace for my legs, and by the end of the first lap I already had 1min ahead Galindes, what became 2min in the second lap and finish with exactly 3min in the end!
I have no words to express how happy I am with my victory at this race! In 2004 Doc ask me what race I would like to win one day, and I said Pucon!!! So in 2008 I won the race! Now if he ask me again I possible will have a list of races to answer, but in the top of it with for sure it will be Olympics and Kona! Well if take just another 4 years to win then I guess it will be not bad at all!
Cheers,