October 7th, 2008 - “It is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest.” - Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Several quick updates as well as a resolution to the end of my 2008 season. It's been quite some time since I've written, but hopefully I can properly sum up the last 1/3 of my season.
At the end of August, my friend and teammate, Cyrus, and I competed in the Muddy Buddy Ride/Run series race in Boulder, CO. I have done this race with my roommate Branden in the past, but he had a conflicting race to attend. Cyrus was more than a worthy partner as we rolled through the course with the fastest time and an overall victory. The kicker is that we dressed up as punk rockers, with mohawks on our helmets, fake arm tattoos and punk band t-shirts. It was a blast, as always and hopefully we get another shot it it next year!
The most recent two races came on back-to-back weekends in Pacific Grove, CA and Portland, OR. The trip started with a short flight out to San Francisco and then a drive down to Pacific Grove. It is an absolutely beautiful part of the country. The surrounding areas contain such famous golf courses as Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, Spanish Bay and Poppy Hills. The riding and running is amazing! The town is quite small and houses mostly older, retired folks. What a place!
The race begins with a swim called the "kelp crawl". This is a great description as it is much more of a glide across the deep kelp than a swim. Last year I did very well in the swim so my confidence was high going in. Should have thought twice about that one as I had one of the worst swims of my life and put myself in a serious hole for the rest of the race. The swim was so bad that I began to "cool-down" with about 300 meters to go and was planning on calling it a day. However, I got out of the water with one athlete behind me that encouraged me to ride and finish. Walking to transition area was not the way I wanted to end this race so I threw my helmet on and joined him on the 40k bike ride! We lost a ton of time but managed to hang just close enough for me to have a decent run and pull myself back up to 14th place. I would have loved to have a better day, as it put a damper on my confidence going into Pro Nationals in Portland the next weekend.
After Pacific Grove my friend Dave and I stayed in CA for a couple extra days and then took the hour and a half flight up to Portland from there. I have never been to Oregon so I was looking forward to the experience. We arrived in the afternoon on Tuesday and drove the 45 minutes West of Portland to our hotel, which was still another 15 minutes from the race site. It was a perfect hotel for us to stay for 5 days and train right out the door. We were able to drive out to the race site every day and swim, bike and run the course as much as we wanted. It was great to get a feel for the area and build my confidence back. Beth flew out on Thursday night to share in the experience of Oregon.
On race day it was cool and cloudy and the water temperature had dropped to a level that nearly allows us to wear wetsuits. After the previous weeks wetsuit swim not turning out so well, I was hoping for a non-wetsuit swim. Luckily the water was about a half a degree high enough and we did not wear wetsuits. I knew my race was going to be played out on the swim. If I had a swim like the previous race, I would have no chance of a good finish. If I could swim like I had been in the pool for the last 4 weeks, I would be fine. Luckily it was the latter and I exited the water in a good position. I was in a solid second pack with some great triathletes. The bike and run courses were very tough and I knew that being in a strong bike pack would give me the help I needed to perform well. I had enough in my legs to hang on the bike pack, although the pace was fast. I went onto the run in about 20th position and ran my way up through some of the first pack, although some in my pack outran me, and finished 14th. My best finish at Pro Nationals is 13th, so this was a good finish for me and I am satisfied.
My plan as of Pro Nationals has been to race a half ironman in Tempe, AZ on the 26th of October and then Treasure Island in San Francisco, CA but I have recently come down with a sickness that has done a real number on my equilibrium and I have been struggling, unfortunately through a key training block, and have advised myself to end my season today. I have some big plans for next season and have found it more beneficial to stop training now, get some rest, and then begin training again for next season. This break is needed not only physically but also mentally/
For next season I am looking at two big races. One is the Alp D'Huez Triathlon in France, immediately following the Tour De France that I will have the opportunity to watch! Also, the Survival of the Shawangunks in upstate NY in September. This race takes you through the trails and lakes of upstate NY in a point-to-point bike-swim-run-swim-run-swim-run and you have to swim with your shoes and run with your swim stuff. Should be fantastic. There are other races on the calendar as well and I look forward to testing myself next year with some new challenges!
I hope everyone is happy, healthy and excited about our upcoming election! Get out there and vote!!!
