Palamos rundown:
I had a so-so swim, and for the first time I was able to unzip my race kit. Unfortunately I didn't actually do it, someone else did halfway through the swim. I had a very enjoyable flow of water through my suit for lap #2 as I worked through some slower swimmers who had had better starts than me. I got out of the water right at the back of the lead pack (with the exception of two athletes off the front) and after a long run up the beach I was chasing back to the lead group with Jason Wilson of Barbados. After a few miles on the bike, all the packs came together and the ride was fast but manageable until lap 6 of 7 when I got a flat and had to stop for a change. I found out later I had a large safety pin straight through my tire. I rode very hard for the remaining 4 miles and came into T2 pretty far down from the huge main pack. I ran a couple laps to see if I could catch some people, but after a working hard in 90deg heat, I stepped off the course to save myself for the next weekend's race in Geneva, with the hopes of capturing some points there.
Geneva rundown:
Another less than ideal swim start put me in some serious traffic on the way to the first buoy. I fought through it and made my way to the chase group, which was in pursuit of Raoul Shaw (14:55 1500M pool swimmer) and my USA teammate, Luke Farkas, who had managed to get on his feet. The run to transition was long, included a trip up and down a flight of stairs, and a 90degree turn that I slipped and almost fell on. I made it into the lead group after about a minute all-out sprint and made it to the bottom of the steep, 1k long hill near the front. I slid slowly backwards up the climb, gassed from the effort to catch, and near the top, the rider in front of me let a gap open while I was just looking at his rear wheel, in the pain cave. I sprinted around him and chased after the group with everything I had, but the pack was going full out, and after over-cooking a hard right turn, I was just out of reach and loosing time. I rode steady and waited about 20 seconds for the chase group to come and finished out the ride there. This was one of the hardest bike courses I have ever raced, with the exception being Huatulco, which I did not finish. My legs were pretty fried by the time the run came, and the heat was getting to me, but I focused on running to the next water station and managed to fight through the fatigue and have a better second 5k. I finished 31st place, definitely not where I had hoped to be, but it was another very very hard bike ride and the sting of loosing a pack over a lapse in focus is enough to make sure it never happens again.
We have now moved to Vitoria, Spain, where we will finish out our training leading into the Tizsavuaros World Cup in Hungary in a couple weeks. The environment here is top notch, with great pool and track facilities, and endless miles of beautiful roads to ride. I'll get out another blog very soon with some specifics on the training and locale we've been experiencing.
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| Running through T1 |
Geneva rundown:
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| Run course the day before |
Another less than ideal swim start put me in some serious traffic on the way to the first buoy. I fought through it and made my way to the chase group, which was in pursuit of Raoul Shaw (14:55 1500M pool swimmer) and my USA teammate, Luke Farkas, who had managed to get on his feet. The run to transition was long, included a trip up and down a flight of stairs, and a 90degree turn that I slipped and almost fell on. I made it into the lead group after about a minute all-out sprint and made it to the bottom of the steep, 1k long hill near the front. I slid slowly backwards up the climb, gassed from the effort to catch, and near the top, the rider in front of me let a gap open while I was just looking at his rear wheel, in the pain cave. I sprinted around him and chased after the group with everything I had, but the pack was going full out, and after over-cooking a hard right turn, I was just out of reach and loosing time. I rode steady and waited about 20 seconds for the chase group to come and finished out the ride there. This was one of the hardest bike courses I have ever raced, with the exception being Huatulco, which I did not finish. My legs were pretty fried by the time the run came, and the heat was getting to me, but I focused on running to the next water station and managed to fight through the fatigue and have a better second 5k. I finished 31st place, definitely not where I had hoped to be, but it was another very very hard bike ride and the sting of loosing a pack over a lapse in focus is enough to make sure it never happens again.
We have now moved to Vitoria, Spain, where we will finish out our training leading into the Tizsavuaros World Cup in Hungary in a couple weeks. The environment here is top notch, with great pool and track facilities, and endless miles of beautiful roads to ride. I'll get out another blog very soon with some specifics on the training and locale we've been experiencing.
