A huge congratulations goes out to Sanaa Cody, for an astounding performance at Ironman Santa Rosa on May 12. Cody finished 9th in her division with a finish time of 11:57:28. The road to an Ironman is always a long one. Often we wonder, at least some point during the training or racing, "what was I thinking?" For Cody, her peak training came at a time when work was at its busiest - tax season. "Countless 4 AM wake up calls, 6:00 AM Saturday bike rides, and 5 AM solo runs and before I knew it I was standing at the start line. I felt so calm the week leading up to the race and the morning of the race it freaked me out."
Cody's focus on race day was entirely on race execution. Although her goggle strap snapped right before the swim, a nearby athlete quickly tied it for her and assured her it would hold. It did, and she put it out of her mind. She positioned herself well in the swim, sighted well, and was soon off for a beautiful bike course. The bike is 2 loops around California wine country, with just over 3,900 ft of elevation gain.
"The course is absolutely gorgeous, with rolling hills at all time. I don’t remember it being flat for long ever, but the hills were not killer...they were the kind that provided just the right amount of variety for the muscles I watched my power the entire ride and when I got excited and wanted to push more I reminded myself of the little run that would follow. So I stayed in my lane and stuck with my plan; I got off the bike feeling fresh. I started running and was feeling so good I kept waiting for the moment when I just didn’t want to run anymore. It never came but i did slow down around mile 22...but with only 4 miles to go I was motivated to get to the finish line. Official finish time was 11:57:28 and I couldn't have been happier with it."
A week later, Cody feels recovered and ready for more action.
Beach to Bay Relay Marathon
Run Rascos Run! That was the name of the winning team at this year's 49th Annual Beach to Bay Relay Marathon. Team Paragon athlete Sarah Rasco and her husband Drew WON the two-person relay, for a total marathon time of 3:24:23. The marathon is divided into 6 legs (5.25 miles each), so each Rasco ran 3 legs throughout the morning in Corpus Christi, TX.
Spa Girl
There was no room for lazy women in this lazy river! A group of Paragon ladies swam-bike-ran their way to the spa at last weekend's Spa Girl Tri at the JW Marriott. Congratulations to Diana Toledo for completing her first triathlon! Nikki Cavazos, Emi Nix, and Alli Koch also completed full triathlons. Diana Mannapova and Elvia Rodriguez--The Paragon Princesses--finished as a relay team. I think we all agree that triathlons are fun...but spa treatments are pretty fun too. The combo made for an exciting and relaxing day of tri celebration.
Saturday, May 12: Ironman Santa Rosa
Sanaa Cody - 9th Female 40-44, 11:57:28
Saturday, May 12: Spa Girl Tri
Alli Koch - 1st Overall
Emi Nix - 3rd Overall
Elvia Rodriguez and Diana Mannapova - 1st Team Overall
Saturday, May 19: The 49th Annual Beach to Bay Relay Marathon
Sarah and Drew Rasco - 1st 2-Person Relay Team, 3:24:23
Make sure to send your pictures from training and racing to: racing@paragontraining.org so we can showcase all the rad stuff you guys do.
San Antonio Triathlon Team - San Antonio Triathlon Coach