Madrid WCS

I arrived to Madrid right after Ixtapa and got the news that i was going to be able to start just a couple of days before. i tried to get adjust quick to the time sone and rest,  Ixtapa left me with a hamstring a bit sore and tired from all the traveling. At the race i was the last guy called to the pantoon son didnt really had a choice on where to start, and i end up right in the middle. I had a good swim for me, i came in between the 1st and 2nd bunch and got caught by the end of the first lap of the bike by the big chase pack. We ended up loosing about 90 seconds by the end of the bike  and we started the run pretty quick. i hang on with the top runners from my pack for about 6km when my hamstring started to cramp up wich means my body started to give up. I tried to push trough since i really needed  some ITU points to be elgible for our olympic trials in august but the pain was pretty bad, i got passed by 15-17 guys on the last lap of the run...ouch  and end up in 39th not a good day. I will now stay in madrid for the next week and race at the Kitzbuhel WCS.

ITU Ixtapa

hello all,

I arrived to madrid after a two day trip from ixtapa back to CR then to madrid, the first couple of days a bit jet lag but im now ready to go. It went well in Ixtapa, I finished 2nd behinde canadian Kyle Jones. On race day it was very hot and humid, one of the hottest races ive done. I came out of the water towards the front and had a little break with the other canadian brent mcmahon who finished 3rd and two mexican athletes, we got caught and after a couple of attacks no one manage to get away and we ended up together at T2. Kyle and I ran together until the last mile where he pulled away. This is my 7th career podium finish at an ITU continental cup and ive now move into the top 40 on the ITU ranking.

here is a video made by the tourism ixtapa department from the race weekend, you can watch the finish right around the 3 min mark.

Interview in La Nacion CR

hi all
this is my last week here before i leave on a long trip, next saturday i will be racing the Ixtapa continental cup in Mexico, then fly to Madrid where at the moment im 2nd on the waiting list for the WCS and that means that i have 50% chanse to get into the race since I didnt got in the initial list. I will be staying in Madrid for 3 weeks training with my good friends Ramon Ejeda, Ivan Rana & Leo Chacon to prepare the WCS in kitzbuhel.

below is a link from the newspaper here in costa rica La nacion that followed us this past weekend at some of the training sessions, its in Espanol.

http://www.nacion.com/2011-05-22/Deportes/Relacionados/Deportes2783260.aspx

http://www.nacion.com/2011-05-22/Deportes/NotasSecundarias/Deportes2783255.aspx

Monterrey World Cup

This was my 2nd world cup of the year in a very hot and humid  mexico. The swim was on a man made channel that is 2 km long so it felt like swimming in a giant pool, the bike through the fundidora park where in the past have host indy car races was very tecnical, several turns but flat and the run was very hot.  I came out of the water in the back of the first pack where i chase a bit to get back on. During the bike i tried to stay towards the front the whole time and then the run came, I pushed on the first lap running with the first pack of 7-8 guys for about 3 km and the wheels came off, falling off big time of the pace and finishing in 15th. Im now back in costa rica and this weekend im running the biggest road race of the country, its called sol y arena and its a 10k run completely on the sand at the punta arenas beach. Soon ill post some photos and videos from the monterrey race that my girlfriend took.

later

Entrevista en TV Costa Rica

Hola esta entrevista fue hecha en costa rica  sobre mi entrenado y que utilizamos, se puede ver unos de los lugares donde pedaleo a menudo en el valle orosi.

For my english speaking fans this interview was done by one of the national tv channels here in costa rica not to long ago. hopefully ESPN calls me and we can get one of those interviews here as well :)

Back in CR

i ve been back in costa rica now for a couple of weeks now, australia was tought on my body, it took me a while to recover from the jet lag. waking up at 3.30 am was not fun at all. I have a couple of weeks now until monterrey world cup and then madrid, training is going well and looking forward to get back into racing after a dissapoiting day back in sydney.
my friend omarto from miami sent me this awesome youtube video that i wanted to share with you guys.  ENJOY:

Mooloolaba World Cup Race report

Sorry for the delay guys but here in Australia the internet is very expensive and very scarce. So I was back in mooloolaba last time here was in 08 and we had pretty much the same conditions,  choppy swim, windy bike and hilly and humid run. My swim was good all the work i did during the off season paid off as i came out on the front group, this has been the most brutal swim of my life, i found myself fighting the whole time and did not have a clue where the heck i was until i came out. the bike was a Sunday group ride and the run was quite fast and hard, I didn't feel all that good on the run, i felt like i was stock in 3rd gear but had to do my best under the circumstances and dig deep. i finished 16th  on the first world cup of the year not that good not that bad now just got race harder in two weeks here in Sydney.

fotos courtesy of the ITU media

and also a youtube video of the bike from atkinson's bike

Clermont Sprint nationals report

So im back to costa rica after sprint nationals last weekend, the race didnt turn out the way I expected, didnt have quite the run I need it to have to hang on with the top runners. At least it was a good indication on where my running speed is at the moment and that i need to get back to the track for some running sessions. for now just a couple of weeks before mooloolaba and then sydney and im looking forward on getting back to australia to race.  here is a short video from sprint nationals :
 In other news I would like to let you know that I will be part of the USPROTRI team this season  you can check out their website and great sponsor at :
http://www.usprotri.com/

Transition tips

So here are some of the videos of the race this past weekend, you can see the beach start and both of my transitions. They are both quick in and out.

Beach Start:
http://vimeo.com/20160940

Swim Exit and T1
http://vimeo.com/20161469

T2:
http://vimeo.com/20166415

videos courtesy of revolution 3

REV 3 Costa Rica race report

So the race started at 6.15 in the morning in one of the nicest pacific side beaches of costa rica, calm waters and warm weather.  I had a good start right into Fleischmann's feet on the two loop swim. Out of the water i found myself in the lead pack of 4, flash,chacon, reed and I. Got to the bike and climbed the 10-18% half a mile climb right out of t1. Once on the highway i got passed by all 3 of them and hold to  flash and reed to 20 sec for the first 20 km, after that my pace slowed tons falling back all the way to 7th place. Started the run quick and i knew that on that very challenging run course i could make a lot of ground, we ran on the sand, trail, uphill, downhill and golf course and pick all of the guys except leo.  Im happy with the effort, this has been my best result at a major non draft race so far and i know that i have to work more on my time trialing in the future to get better at these events, for now the swim and run are good enough to start the season and now I'll get ready for the australian races in march/april with a quick trip to clermont in two weeks for sprint nationals.

Here are some of the links of the race write ups from the net:

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/02/news/chacon-and-williamson-win-at-rev3-costa-rica_21423

http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Chacon_Williamson_take_Rev_3_Costa_Rica_1903.html

for race results, videos and photos click here:

http://rev3tri.com/live/

Some of my favorites youtube videos

Here are some of my favorites youtube videos enjoy them and if you have a good one leave the link below in the comments.

REV 3 WEEK

So Im back in costa rica getting ready for the REV 3 Olympic distance in the Guanacaste province about 4 hour drive from where i live. Im happy to be back here, where im going to be base for the reminder of the season. The REV 3 race will be non draft and some top guys are showing up, this will be a good race for me and hopefully I have the best mechanical luck. Here is a video that my girl friend surprice me with while doing some 12 minutes intervals in the trainer today. After REV 3 i will be traveling to clermont for sprint nationals



Here is the race website link check it out : http://www.rev3tri.com/!/costaRica/race%20info/index.htm

Viedma weekend

So my last weekend in argentina was a very good one, i traveled south again to compete in 3 events, one 4km open water swim, an olympic distance non drafting tri and a mini aquathlon. all 3 events serve as a good preparation for the upcoming season. I won all 3 events and i would like to thank evryone out there who cheer for me and to the organization for inviting me for the 2nd time.

On saturday morning I did the 4000 meter river swim where i got to swim against some of the best swimmers in the country. the swim was fast as we swam downstream and i manage to get the best current. Sunday morning the olympic triathlon started with almost perfect conditions and in the afternoon the aquathlon. I slept pretty good that night :)

Im now in costa rica where I will be living here for the next couple of months. I want to thank everyone in bahia who took good care of me and ill see you guys next year.


again here are some of the race articles from the web in espanol :

http://eldepornauta.com/noticias.php?idNoticia=9256

http://atletas.info/manuel-huerta-y-nidia-kondratavicius-ganaron-en-el-tria-en-viedma/

http://www.triamax.com/2011/02/06/5-triatlon-patagones-viedma-2011/

Puerto Madryn

So I decided to drive to down to Puerto Madryn for an olympic distance race. I had a great time and i would like to thank Brian the race organizer and everyone down there that host me and i will defently be back next year. This was an olympic distance race and the weather was perfect, i led all 3 disciplines and left with a great workout. Im staying one more week here in argentina and im doing one more race before i head back to costa rica.

here are some of the article news in the net :

http://www.diariojornada.com.ar/7718/Deportes/La_aplanadora_Huerta_paso_por_Madryn_

http://www.diariodemadryn.com/vernoti.php?ID=128050

http://chubutdeportes.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/el-internacional-manuel-huerta-gano-el-triatlon-de-madryn/

http://www.elchubut.com.ar/despliegue-noticias.php?idnoticia=150320

update

So training is going well here in argentina, getting back to the routine. Im staying with the Rivas family great hospitality and they cook very good. The weather here is very warm 35-38 c and running before 6pm can become a hard challenge. The empanadas and dulce de leche for breakfast/lunch are a must down here. My next race will be on february 6th in the patagonia I will be doing an open water river race of 3700 meters and an olympic distance non-drafting race the following day. Here is a link for the spanish speakers for a press release for this next race and also the race website:

http://eldepornauta.com/noticias.php?idNoticia=9187

http://www.lapatagones-viedma.com.ar/index.php

Below is a video of the first bike lap of la paz we had a good group going until the storm arrived and you can check out this video of atletas.info of the actual storm:

http://atletas.info/video-la-paz-bajo-el-agua/

La paz race report

The race started at 5pm very hot and the whole town out came out to watch us. I had a good start and I swam right behinde the leaders coming out of the water in 4th. We had a break and it seem like we where going to stay away. Suddenly the weather changed, a strong storm with high winds and tons of rain causing many of us to crash. Right around half way my budy Barrett crash into me breaking my rear wheel at one of the turns, he hit the floor and i manage to stay up but the damage was done, I rode by myself for half a loop trying to fix my rear brake but no luck it was too damage so I had to DNF. Im very dissapointed but this things happens, now just have to keep my preparation here in Argentina for the next 3 weeks and get ready for the REV3 race in february. Below is a video from the swim exit and later on this week ill post some photos and videos from the rest of the race.

LA Paz

So I arrived to la paz on wednesday morning, after two days of traveling I arrived to the little town in the argentinean north part. The weather is hot 39-41 celcious this weekend and tons of triathletes in town. This is the 27th edition of this race and they have a junior/iron kids race on friday, a sprint and olympic age-group race on saturday and the elites on sunday. The town is full with flags, signs and music throughout the course. They are expecting about 1100 athletes in all the events. Last year I finished 4th and in 08 I won so a podium finish here will be the goal.

From here I will go to Bahia Blanca for a mini training camp and then to costa rica. I'll blog my race report next week once I have some free time. To the left is a photo of me winning the 2008 edition.

Last week at home

So this is my last week at home until i return in march for the Elite sprint championships in Clermont. On Monday I have a very long trip to La paz, Argentina a long flight to buenos aires then followed by a 9 hour bus ride. Ill be in Argentina for a month most of the time in Bahia Blanca south of buenos aires. I enjoyed this past two months here at home with my family and friends and the weather is always better here than any other place in the country. Last year I finished 4th in la paz and in 08 I won, this year I would like to podium and start the season that way. i very familiar with this race specially with the 40-42 Celsius during the run. I feel that Im in a better form than last year at this time so it should be good race. here is video from my last track session running with my good friend Omarto at the nearby track. 4.50 /mile pace looks a lot slower in a video than what it actually feels ;)

Manny's Famous Smoothie

So here you have it, here is my secret. My famous smoothie recipe:

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup of frozen blueberries

1/2 cup of frozen strawberries

1 spoon of almond butter

1 spoon of spirulina

1 spoon of chlorela

1 1/2 cup of almond milk

try it and let me know :)

Running Drills/ Training tip #2

Here are some of the drills and stretching I do once a week at the track, my running partner and local running coach Omarto Fumero its an excellent expert at these. This is a great way to warm up and get the body going before a hard running session. I will be posting more of these videos in the next couple of weeks so that you too can also add them to your weekly running routine.

Running with traffic!!!!

A couple of days ago I ran my first local run race up in Boca raton, the Boca 10k. This was a first time event for me and since it wasn't too far from home I decided to go ahead and run it. I wasn't able to do any hard workouts in 3 months due to surgery and then a bike crash that left me with an injured knee. The last km as we approach Spanish river park we started to pick up some of the 5km runners/walkers and it got a bit hectic. I end up running 31.43 for the 10km or 10.89km (in my 405 garmin) this is an ok time to have an idea of where I'm at right now when I start doing some intervals in one of my favorite running places, the Coral Gables golf course (better get there before 8pm they turn on the sprinklers at that time :) Here is a video Piri filmed from my finish with Johnathan who finished 2nd and push me the entire time.
For now I got a couple of weeks before I head down to Argentina for La PAZ ITU.

Need to get adjust ??

For those of you in the South Florida area if you need to get adjust go see Jody in Boca Raton.

Rockway Swimming

Rockway Swimming Team is a competitive swimming club based in Miami, Florida. They cater for swimmers of all ages and levels, from beginners through to national level.
This has been my swim club here in Miami since 2003 and its one of the top swimming clubs in Florida with more than 100 swimmers. I swim with them Tuesday nights at Miami dade south and Saturday mornings at FIU or Dade south. http://www.rwyswim.com/index.html

A gift from my biggest fan :)

So my girl friend piri decided to collect some of my race photos from my harddrive and make a video, most of them from costa rica and hamburg thanks to elizabeth bravo who took many of them. here it is

Chritsmas presents arrived early from OGK !!!

I got a nice set of REDIMOS helmets today from one of my sponsors OGK in the mail. I will be wearing them in 2011 again at some of the major races in the US and around the world. I started with OGK at the end of last year and fell in love with them, they have the lightest and most comfortable helmets in the market. They also make other great products check them out at : http://www.ogkhelmet.com/

Winter Arrived!!!!

So today is the first winter day of year for us here in miami, temperature in the 50's in the morning and everyone freaking out. I had a nice swim yesterday and it was 84 so imagine how it felt this morning. Now i lived in colorado and i remember if it got to the 50's during the winter i would probably run outside shirtless,but not here in miami, once you get use to this heat you can never get use to the cold again.

Training is going well already recovered from my crash and i will be probably going back to La paz ITU in January and spend some weeks training in the Bahia Blanca area about 500 km south of Buenos Aires then back to Costa Rica to prepare the summer races.

stay warm

Training Tips

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be writing here on my blog some of the training sessions I do and if you are in the area you are welcome to join me, this week I will start with tip #1 uphill repeats(running), I like to do these sets the best during the off season, it's a great interval workout and it mainly gives you lots of strength in your running. Usually I keep them short around 200 meters up and very easy down for the recovery and you pick your poison on how many you want to do :) Here in Miami the best place to do these its the Key Biscayne bridge it has around 5% inclination and its about 400 meters long. You will find me there once a week.

ciao

Swim team

So here at home I do most of my swims with a team, they have masters and high school sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning and then every afternoon down at the Kendall pool.
this is the team's website : www.rwyswim.com

Pepe Fernandez is the head coach and used to be the Cuban national team head coach back in the 80's. So if live in the area and want to join a team check them out and you'll see me around.

later

Update

So this past year I spent most of the time in costa rica, living in cartago and in a farm up in the escazu volcano at 2100 meters high. I had a great training group down there and most of the hard efforts at the track or up the hills on the bike were done with Leonardo Chacon and Rom Arkenson, the top two costa rican triathletes. Through out the season we also had some other athletes from different countries that came and trained with us ( peter & gabor from hungary, omar from puerto rico and javier cuevas from the dominican republic.) I left the country very happy tons of people helped me a lot while i was there and I cant thank them enough. Im planning on going back very soon since my coach Roberto Solano lives there and I believe that I can train a lot better over there.

Back on my feet

So Im back on a normal training schedule, after a crash a few weeks ago here in miami that left me with a concussion and a sore back Im now back on the bike. The temperature here so far have been awesome and i have started to train towards the 2011 season. My first race on next season will be probably sometime in january along with some local running races with Team Footworks.