Saturday Race Report

THANK YOU to everyone that's been following and posting comments. And of course my amazing wife for her support. I have enjoyed every minute of this experience and never felt like I was alone here in Budapest. To represent the U.S.A. on September 11th (or anytme) and have people come to me from other countries like the UK and Brazil and mention that they were thinking about it, was an unbelievable experience.

Wow what an experience! These guys were so fast it was crazy. No offense to anyone racing in California but for me this was like going from AAA to the Major Leagues. I was the top U.S. finisher in my wave but ended up 31st out of 84. I was 16th fastest from team USA among male and female of all ages.(Excluding Pros). No females were faster but one older male 45-49 was faster. I'm really happy about that as I had some of my fastest splits ever and there's just nothing more I could have done. I picked up 6 places on the bike and then lost 6 places on the run. My run just isn't back yet but that's ok. I've really only had a couple of weeks of training and I'm looking at a cross country season to help with that. That's the condensed version.

And now I eat. The Budweiser is good, the Wafelinis were great and I now have the largest soft

pretzel that I have ever seen. It has pumpkin seeds baked into it.

Then I'm going to watch Snooker on Eurosport and dry out all of my shoes and socks with the hairdryer. Everything got soaked and muddy today. The bike, clothes, wallet, phone.

So here are the results.

And here's the play by play. It's a long read and probably a bit c

hoppy since I'm exhausted, but I wanted to document everything before I forgot it. Sorry not much in the way of pics or video.

The swim.

The wave before us went off at 7:40 and about a minute later they walked us down to the platform. They lined us up and told us that if we got in the water they

would disqualify us. About 2 minutes before we went off, they allowed us to sit at the edge and splash water on our faces. I'd swam th

e course a few days earlier and it was like swimming in icy chocolate milk but with a crap taste instead of chocolate. However with three days of rain the water had warmed up considerably and was slightly less murky. I was told it was 63 degrees.

I left the platform and hit it pretty hard in an effort to get out in front of the main pack. I managed to do that but was behind a handf

ul of real swimmers. I stayed out well but when we hit the first set of buoys I started to feel guys passing me. By the second set a good group had broken away and by the time I got to the third set, they were getting out of the

water. Some of them a good two minutes ahead of me. I hit the beach

at probably 12:10 as it was a good 20 second run up to the timing mat and my official split was 12:30. I'll have to check but there were probably 20 guys that did it at around 10:00 or so and a handful around 11:00. At home I can usually make up for the slower swim time on the bike, but not here.

Transition (T1) and the Yellow card.

I had an absolutely flawless T1. As good as anyone. However my fingers were cold and it was extremely wet so I wasn't sure if my helmet buckle had clicked. As I ne

ared the exit of the transition area, I reached up and fiddled with it just to make sure. ITU rules state you must have your helmet on buckled before you touch your bike. Unfortunately I double checked it right in front of

the official stationed at the end of T1. She blew her whistle and flashed the yellow and screamed "1847 15 seconds". She thought I was buckling it. My first inclination was to argue with her but she had a demeanor like someone had taken her doll when she was 5 and she never forgot it so I realized it would be faster just to bend over and take it. The penalty box was right there and I wasn't on the bike yet so I got lucky. All in all it probably cost me 20-25 seconds in T1.

The bike was gnarly.

It was wet and rainy and tons of peopl

e. I was in the 11th wave so there were plenty of slower people to get in the way on the turns. Given the conditions this was probably my fastest bike split ever. I averaged over 25 at Treasure Island but that was dry and with plenty of room to pass and corner. Had it been dry here I felt like I could have easily pulled 26 or 27. It was that fast. Right out of the transition I tucked in with a German named Peterson and a pack of Britts. (All of whom passed me on the run.) I had to make the decision to play it safe or ride in the draft. Just as I decided to play it safe, another option came about. We came into the second turn and I was off the back left. Prime penalty position since the officials were primarily towards the center divide(which was always on the left of the riders). We went through the turn pretty hot and as we came out of it, I just brought it. I figured I usually own the bike and if any of these guys could hang with me t

hey'd have to pay for it. We hit 34mph on t

he straight

away before I glanced back and realized every one of them was right there and we'd picked up a couple of younger guys who were on there second lap. So I moved right and dropped to the back. I figured I'd hide off the back there and let someone else do all the work. Well, the whole bunch slowed up. Soon after, we hit the turn around which required us to almost stop. So I hammered it again. I stood up out of that turn and shot off the front harder than I've ever done before. That time I dropped 4 or 5 but the German and a couple of the Britts were able to hang on. This time slightly uphill and into a very light headwind so I only ever

say 29mph on the Garmin.

That was only lap one. I just ke

pt thinking to myself that the Brits seemed organized and there to win. Unlike most others they were racing as a team. By lap two we'd chatted a bit and pretty much decided to work together and spread out just enough to evade any penalties. Drafting was rampant and not really enforced but we did get a couple warnings and one of the Brits mentioned we might be pushing it if we came through a second time in the same manner. It was fine with me as I needed to recover for the run and the course was slick. I figured I'd used up all of my luck on that first lap and it was time to race safe and legal. In the end my bike split was 30:14 or 24.6 mph/avg which was great for the crowded roads and gnarly wet turns. And I managed to pick up 6 places on the bike.

Transition(T2)

I came into T2 with Peterson(Germany) and a couple of the Brits. I can't remember their names. But we were already talking about what an epic ride we'd just had. Age groupers never get to draft and it's just a whole different way of riding. We moved really fast into T2 to rack the bikes but towards the end of it, I got stuck behind some congestion which cost valuable time and a place. After I racked and got into my shoes, I took it a bit easier getting out of transition to recover a little bit and keep my footing. Other than that I again had a great transition. Nothing I could do about the crowds. The ground was soaked and muddy and my yellow shoes we're brown and sloppy in maybe 10 steps.

Run Course was long.

Over the last few days, I'd been questioning whether or not I'd have the stamina on the run I'd had before. I did some mile repeats a week or so ago and the last one I did with coach Marty at 5:54 and it hurt. Real bad. I need more of that. But I felt so good on the swim and bike that I decided I was going to go out fast and see if I could hold it. My goal was 6min/mile. I carried my Garmin (GPS), it's like a big wristwatch. I ran a total of 3.41 mi fr

om transition exit to finish and my first mile split was 5:48. Probably a bit too fast but still a lot of adrenaline pumping from the crazy bike ride. And I figure all or nothing at this point. I was going to stay under 6 minutes

as long as I could even if it meant I'd bonk and have to walk it home. But it's Worlds, one shot. My second mile split slowed quite a bit as I hit a bit of a wall, but the third and the kick were respectable. I ended up at about a 6:14 pace on a flat course in good running conditions. It had stopped raining and was wet but not slippery at all and no major standing water. Looking back I might have had a little more over the length of the course had I eased into it, but not much. I still lost 6 places on the run but again a 21:15 over that distance made me happy after the short training time. My goal however lofty is to eventually knock a a good 45 seconds off of that pace.

What next.

So I'm going to skip Nationals in Alabama and going to Beijing. I don't really have an interest in going to Beijing anyways, and with a little one on the way, it's not

in the cards. I will be on the SCE mixed relay team for the Santa Cruz Triathlon on the 26th and that will probably be it for this tri season. We're defending our title so hopefully the season will end with a win. Then it's full on cross-country season and I honestly can't wait to focus just on the run. I'll still hit the pool and ride but SCE is going to domin

ate the 2010 PA XC Grand Prix!

Friday Rain

Live Finish coverage of my race is at:

http://live.triathlon.org/2010_dextro_energy_triathlon_-_itu_triathlon_world_championship_grand_final/

I expect you all to have popcorn. I hope to get through by 8:50am Budapest time. That's 11:50 Pacific.

Man what an absolutely miserable day weather wise. Cold and rain all day. So a more serious post. Night before the race time to suck it up and pay attention. The ITU has a ridiculous amount of rules and is about as organized as the DMV. Actually checking the bikes in today was a bit like going to the DMV only with rain and cranky europeans. My favorite rule is that if you have a zipper on the front of your uniform and it comes down at all, even by accident, it's a red card. Yes the ITU wants to be professional football (soccer for you yanks) so they have red and yellow cards and a penalty box that you go sit in during the race to serve your penalty. The kicker, showing a little belly or chest hair is an immediate DQ, where drafting on the bike is a 1 minute penalty. Have you ever seen German television? And they say Americans are uptight about nudity.

A few of us rode over from the hotel and then stood in the poring rain for 45 minutes to check in. Yep the bike made it yesterday. Here's what it looks like. It's kind of an odd looking thing, but I love it. And I get lots of compliments on it. I think the ratio is 1 Wilier to every 8.5 million Cervelos.

So the DMV checked our bikes, inspected our uniforms and helmets, and asked us if we understood all of the rules. (When will the rest of the world learn that most Americans only speak English. And not very well. )

After that fiasco, we racked the bikes and headed for the bus, but I decided that I was soaked already and went through the transition as best I could even though it was still raining. The transition area is grass and and average of two inches of water. If you listen closely to the video you can hear my feet squishing.

It's still absolutely miserable out right now but I'm hoping it clears up by morning. I have a 7:45 start and it looks like a 30% chance of rain for but either way it will be wet. The course is really fast and narrow with 3 turns on each lap. Fortunately two are 180 degree turn-arounds and not something someone should miss and crash on. I'm just worried about being in the eleventh wave on a two lap course. It will most likely get congested especially when it's wet. I'm told in these amateur ITU races that drafting is illegal but somewhat tolerated so you either ride with a pack and draft, risking the aforementioned yellow card, or forget the podium. We'll see how it goes and I tend to be a draft kind of guy but it will be wet and my recent medical issues may come into play.

My typical race happens like this. I lay low on the swim and see if I can stay within a minute of the leaders, then hammer them on the bike course and hope to either get a bit lead or fight people off on the run. I have a feeling that's not gonna work. :) This will be the fastest race I've ever done and the best competition.

I look OK by the rankings, but It's hard to tell because although the bike and run are consistent distances for these races, the swim is often anything from 400-800m in varying conditions. And of course you could be comparing a flat bike course with wind and hills. They take your pace and calculate what you would do on this course based on the qualifying performance. So it's fun to look at but just about worthless.

So off to bed and my next post will be post race. With the inability to really train until two weeks ago, I'm not expecting or hoping for anything other than a solid well run race but I still feel I have as good a chance as anyone in my age group.

Good night! Here are some extra clips:

Thursday Sept 9th-Watch me LIVE!

I found out today that my race will be televised. Both online and on TV. It's listed as being on Universal Sports in the U.S. but I can't tell if it's really going to be televised or if just teh elite race will be. However to watch it online you can go here. California is 9 hours behind and Ohio is 6 hours behind. I start at 7:45am Saturday morning here. If you look at the above link and look at the results section at the bottom of the page, then select m40-44 for the category and hit the results button, you see us ranked by our qualifying times.
I'm ranked 24th. Which is fine by me because I was sick just before the qualifier and actually did not have a good race. I wasn't feeling good, the bike course was windy and the run course was hot and muddy. I'm way beyond that at this point.

Today was jam packed. Team Doctor at 8:30am, Team run at 10am, swam the course at 11:30am, race check-in at noon, team ride at 2pm, team meeting at 4pm, team photo at 5:40pm and opening ceremonies at 6pm.

The team ride was crazy. We did 9.34 miles in 1 hour and 6 minutes. I run faster than that. But we had a group of about 60 of mixed ages and abilities in downtown Budapest in traffic. Triathletes are NOT cyclists. I had one woman ask me why I kept pointing at the ground. I told here I was pointing out hazards on the road and she said "that's so sweet, everyone should do that". So I feel unfulfilled. I was on a bike but really didn't ride it. I watched other non-group people riding and enjoying the views and getting a decent workout in. It's kind of like not being able to eat your birthday cake. I would imagine. I've always made it a point to get lots of extra cake whenever cake is around. i'll need to get out tomorrow and do some quick sprints before I have to check the bike in.

The swim was great. It was overcast and probably about 65 degrees. The water temp was about 62. Just like home. Only things missing were Nick, Dave, James, and the other Friday night warf swimmers. Oh and the seal poop salt water. Here's what my swim start will look like but with 700 more people. And then a view of the course.


The opening ceremonies however were fantastic. They did sort of a parade of nations. They had a representative from each country carry a sign with the countries name and another carry the countries flag. Music from each country played as that countries flag went by. Our song was "Surfin USA" from the beach boys. Obviously I didn't get to pick. For me New Zealand was the highlight. They didn't have a song but some Kiwi's came out and did a quick dance. Here's a really bad clip.


It was packed and I was really far away so the video is lame but I always have a good time with the Japanese. My 3rd favorite people behind Canadians and grade school teachers. They wanted to trade one of their shirts for my team USA shirt. Great idea, but we Americans are a relatively a large bunch and I wasn't about to squeeze into Size XS. I did suggest that based on quantity of material used that a 2 for 1 deal might interest me, but they very politely declined.

Pastries are awesome here and normally I would refuse to post pics of my food. Maybe you've heard me make fun of friends for this (Cooper)? But I've decided that my post race meal will be a Budweiser and two Wafelini. One chocolate and one vanilla.

Not the American Budweiser, that stuff is garbage, but a tasty Czechoslovakian pilsner with which to wash down the tasty Wafelini bars. American innovation has provided the world with many great things, flight, triathlon, ATM's, silicon chips (and breasts), the iPad...... And some not so great. Bob Saget, Fast Food, private mortgage insurance, the list goes on. The Wafelini, courtesy of Kraft, is not widely available in the U.S. but here in Hungary, they're everywhere. I'll need to experience this engineered cake like marvel before officially amending either list.

But that's later, Yesterday(I know I'm confused as to which day it is also) I went down to watch the Aquathlon. They had to change the event from a run/swim/run to just a swim/run due to the fact that the water was so cold that the ITU made wetsuits mandatory. I actually helped out a guy from Brazil. He didn't have a wetsuit and had to buy one on the spot, 15 minutes before his wave. I let him cut in line and then ran his credit card and held his receipt for him until he was done. Funny he didn't trust the merchant but had no problem trusting a strange American. Brazilians love us. Maybe it's our toned and tanned American bodies. I should have asked.

Dan Wirls fellow old guy, Santa Cruz resident, and Santa Cruz Endurance team member took 2nd in his AG and was I believe 15th overall. Not bad at all. Here's an exciting video of his finish. I took more but that's just for me and Dan. And I don't have a way to edit out all of my embarrassing play-by-play babble until I get home. At which point I'll already have lost interest.

Another great day and it's off to bed soon. Real soon.

So Far - Wed Sept 8th-ish

It's different here. I mean not just different country different, really different. I mean I had an hour ride to the hotel, and did not see one Starbucks, KFC, or McDonalds. I've been on almost every continent and to probably 20 countries and that is highly unusual.

But the first day has been good although it's early. I arrived at the hotel about 9pm. My bike did not. Last known location = SFO. Apparently on the direct flight from SFO to London someone opened the cargo bay and through it into the Atlantic. Fortunately I had the experience to pack everything else I would need to race, right down to the pedals in my carry on, so if it doesn't show, I still have the possibility of borrowing or maybe renting a bike.

The hotel peeps have been great with the exception of the restaurant. The host and waiter were all business last night, no smile, no pleasantries. Until I very pleasantly asked the waiter if he'd been trained in Paris. I was implying that he was a rude bastard, but his ego assumed it was a compliment and his demeanor changed instantly. The family next to me (Canadians) enjoyed that immensely. By now he's gone home and told his girlfriend, she's let him in on it, and he's plotting my demise.

I actually have a great room. I've attached some video. And- Free Wifi! There's not much you can't do with free WiFi other than locate lost luggage. I've already downloaded the 2nd season of Arrested Development. I watched the first on the plane and in the airport.

The highlight of the stay so far (it's only the first morning) is the balcony. Very nice to have the fresh air and to people watch. I'm planning on heading over to watch the Aquathalon championship today. I'm not even sure what that is but I assume they swim and run. Or maybe swim and bike. But I'm heading over to support a bunch of old people I don't really know. :) I'm also hoping to get to the pool after but I guess it's pretty far away.

Hope all is well in the states, thank you all for your best wishes and support!

Momentum Is King

I'm now in the San Francisco airport awaiting departure and reflecting on the past two weeks. I realized how sore my legs are. The workouts have been great, actually really tough, and I feel like it's really brought me back and I'm looking forward to a little recover and hammering the race.

I once had a guy that rides only single-speed bicycles say to me "momentum is king". He told me he learned this early in his cycling career and that he now applied it to almost everything in his life. It's incredibly more difficult to climb a hill on a single-speed bicycle than it is on a bicycle with gears. You need to hit the hill with as much momentum as possible and hope it will carry you over the top.

This wise man of then 24 years old told me that whenever he has something big coming up, he looks for something positive, something moving his life forward, focuses on that and uses it as his forward momentum. Whatever hill he has to climb is made that much easier through positive visualization, relaxation, and the ability to meld with the bike and maintain that momentum. The Zen of Single-Speed I suppose, and I'm trying to apply that positive workout momentum of the last 10 days to next Saturday. Looking good.

So 16 hours of travel now, no pictures yet as SFO is pretty drab at the moment. Looks like a lot of team members are on this flight. I don't know any of them but hope to soon.

Next stop London.

Off to Budapest for the World Championships

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Well it's been a long road but tomorrow I finally leave for Team USA and the World Championships in Budapest. I'll be blogging daily unless I just don't have time. Some pics some video and hopefully some great stories. I want to thank a few people before anything else and while this little accomplishment pales in comparison to so many things so many people must endure, it's been tough and required some sacrifice. I'd often thought I'd have taken the opportunity to be a professional athlete if ever given the chance but honestly, I have learned that it takes an incredible amount of dedication and an obsession. I only train maybe 15 hours a week. I think I had a couple of 20 hour weeks throughout the past year but that's extreme for me. And that 15 hours, many times less, has required me to be selfish at times and forgo other activities at the expense of friends, family, and occasionally my employer.

SO, a huge thank you to my wife Jen who has never questioned my desire and always supported my goals. Even through countless Saturday and Sunday mornings. My son Ben who also missed out on some dad time and the rest of the family Mom, Tim, Sue, who always ask.

My boss Jon has also been extremely cool, and my coworkers have also been very supportive. Although lunchtime runs in my compression tights have been the object a few jokes.

Coach Marty has been great with putting together workouts and building the Santa Cruz Endurance team up to over 40 members from nothing. And for getting me into the local paper:

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/sports/ci_15980913

For those of you that don't know, (assuming someone other than Jen reads this) I recently spent five days in the hospital and two plus weeks completely out of it recovering. I had a kidney infarct that was fairly devastating and am now on blood thinners for life. So I'm just happy to be walking around. I've bounced back pretty well and feel like I'm ready to compete. I don't think I will be where I could have been without three weeks of hell, but I do think I'm close to being back to where I was and if nothing else, I won't be embarrassed.

My goal as always is to win my Age Group and we'll see. I think had I stayed healthy, I would have had as good a shot as anyone. Now I just don't know. Either way you go, and you leave it all on the course, and everything else is out of your control.

Here are some links if anyone would like more info about the event:

Main web site http://budapest.triathlon.org/

Course maps http://budapest.triathlon.org/en/athlete_info/age_group/courses/

My group Start list http://budapest.triathlon.org/start_lists/program/5082/

I heard there would be live coverage on ESPN Ocho. But somehow I doubt even they would bother. :)