Race reports, adventures, travel, fun, misc...

I was born in the former Soviet Union, now the Ukraine, in the city of Odessa. My birth name is Vichislav. My parents called me Slavik and still do in Russian but it was changed to Steven when we got our US Citizenship. To this day my wife's and my oldest and dearest friend Julia calls me Vichy. When Ironman announced a race in Vichy France it was like a calling. I just completed my 2 IM's in 1 month challenge and decided to up the anti and see if I can do 3 in 7 week. The trifecta is now complete! Fortunately my older daughter had some time in between her summer and fall semester to join me which made this a great trip. Vichy France is smack in the middle of the country. About a 4 hour drive south from Paris or a 6 hour drive north from Nice. We spent a lovely 24 hours in Paris, then rented a car and drove down.  From Ironman.com:   Nestled in a bend in the Allier River, Vichy is one of France's most luxurious locations. The peak era of this Auvergne spa town ...

Signing up for two full Ironman races in the same month seamed like a great challenge. Even though I was concerned about recovery time after IM Frankfurt it proved to be enough (for me anyway) since I was just hoping to finish each and didn't care too much about finishing time. "Not fast, but not last" is a line I heard this weekend which I will re-use to coin these two past races. Major shout out to my buddy Igor whom I joined for this race. He has 18 IM finishes around the world including Kona World Championships under his belt. Traveling and racing with him is like having your friend, tri coach, nutrition couch, logistics guru and motivational speaker with you all in one person. Thank you man for getting me to the finish line! Had a blast, and can't wait to do it again at Ironman Arizona later this year. We stayed in an AirBnB which was a 5 minute walk from Ironman Village which was super convenient. I followed his nutrition and hydration plan leadin...