Elite triathletes in Ixtapa, Mexico awoke to the sound of massive waves crashing this morning. Arriving at the race site, they noticed that the buoys were not in the water for the Junior race, serving as the Junior Patco Championship. The seas were so rough that officials had no choice but to cancel the swim portion of the event and replace it with a 3k run for the elites.
Jones, who has a track 5k PR of 14:25, was surprisingly not too keen on the race revision, “Normally it would probably be better for me, but with the very hot weather here I would have been better off with a swim to stay cooler for the beginning of the race.”
Jones ran the first 3k in 10:04 (including first transition) and found himself in a huge lead pack. He played it smart, staying near the front and out of trouble, even attempting a break with about 5k to go that fell short. He rolled into the second transition near the back of the large pack, a positioning error he lamented after the race. “With so many people in the pack, coming in near the back translated to leaving T2 a good 30 seconds back from the leaders.”
Jones hung tough through the final 10k, fighting through 90 degree heat and extreme humidity that caused many athletes to not finish the event. He closed with a 35:47 10k, finishing in 13th place.
Unfortunately, due to the omission of the swim leg, athletes will likely not earn ITU points for their performances today.
Jones will be back in action on June 5th, at the local “Tri the Creek” sprint triathlon held at Aurora Reservoir and presented by the Denver Athletic Club.
