DAAAAANNNNNYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

The next athlete in my IMAZ feature is Danois Montoya. I met Danny at smartasscamp and he is one of the kindest, most hard working people I know. After knowing him for a total of 10 days he sent me on my way with his race wheels to use at Cali and CdA. He lives in Las Cruces, so he lives his life under the watchful eyes of Coach Paulo! He also has a girlfriend who is a total sweetheart, and he works at the kickass pool that we used during camp. Here are the shots I got of his day:

Danny in transition at the beginning of the day. I was amazed at how relaxed and happy the entire crew was on race day. That's what happens when you have confidence in your training


I just missed seeing him on the swim. He was running by so fast I just saw a blur! He had a very solid swim of 1:05 followed by a 3:30 transition. We can all learn a lot from this crew with their smoking transition times. Keep in mind, there is a LOT of distance to cover to get through transition. At least 0.2 miles if not more.

I caught a bit of a blurry pic of Danny going by on the bike. (Damn that fire hydrant! My camera kept using it as a focal point) He had some really intense abdominal cramps on the bike ride, but maintained a positive attitude and gutted out a great ride of 5:18.50 (21.08 mph in the wind!) T2 time 2:12.


Here was the first time I saw Danny on the run. Coach Paulo is yelling some words of encouragement. He look strong and focused although his stomach cramps were persisting.

And here is the last loop. 4 miles to go and he's finishing strong. Total run time 3:31.50 (8:05 minute mile pace)


Here he is after the finish getting a hug from Sophie. Notice the man in orange in the background. He's always watching! ;-)


What a relief to be done! Here is Danny with his girlfriend Misha


Total race time 10:01.48. The amazing thing is that this was kind of an "off" day for Danny. His cramps held him back on the bike and the beginning of the run. Can you imagine being in such great shape that 10 hours is an off day??!!! Can't wait to watch his progress at Kona. His AZ performance got him a slot to the World Championships in October. I'm sure he'll do wonderful!