So, I thought I was over my bad luck when I got hit by a car on New Year's Eve. 2009 had to be better, it really could not get too much worse, I mean 5 crashes - come on!!! But no, I am back in the grove of having a very unpleasant blind date with the pavement!
After a dismal showing at my first race at the Stanford triathlon, I rallied and survived the death march of the Golden Bear triathlon winning the overall title. Cal took home the team title as well! So, when I said it was a death march, I was not kidding. The water temp was a balmy 52 and the air temp was a pleasant 44. That water literally took my breath away! I was absolutely petrified going down Wildcat –a super technical decent considering the wet pavement, pine needles and completely numb figures. In fact, I just kept my fingers clutching the brakes the entire decent because the one time I let go, I could barely squeeze them again. As I made the left hand turn onto San Pablo, my teammate Kenny Rakestraw passed me like I was standing still. He was on a tear that day and it was unfortunate that he got a flat tire about a mile out from transition. He decided to then run barefoot into transition and still pulled off a second place finish. He is absolutely a freak! Mad props to him! The run was so muddy that it actually was comical and marginally fun once I warmed up. It felt as if I was trying to walk in the snow in tennis shoes. Nevertheless, I was happy with my second fastest run of the day, which gave me a little confidence going into our Conference championships in Santa Barbara the following week.
So, last week, I was really more happen that I did not crash biking down wildcat canyon than anything. However, I guess I only managed to cheat the bad luck for a week. Miss Pavement was pissed at me that I stood her up in Berkeley and showed me her wrath at the race in Santa Barbara over the past weekend.
The swim felt really easy despite the fact that we were swimming into the current the entire way. This was at least partly due to the fact that my new wetsuit sponsor Xterra sent me a Vendetta a couple days before the race. I thought that my Xterra Vector Pro 2 was flexible, but the Vendetta put that to shame. Coming from a guy with a chronic history of shoulder problems, flexibility is my main focus in choosing a wetsuit. The Vector Pro was the best suit that eliminated almost all shoulder fatigue. The Vendetta has completely eliminated all of that fatigue. It truly is a gem! Not just that but the #40 yamamoto rubber in the Vendetta is also the most buoyant. I normally kick a lot in my races, but there was really no need, the wetsuit just carried me along.
So, with the aid of my new wetsuit I exited the swim in 3rd, swimming in the main pack and completely fresh. I had a quick T1 transition and exited my bike 2nd. I had literally gone 100 yards and was strapping my right shoe down when BAM! … I hit a pothole and my hand slipped off of the bar. My chest was now on my aerobars and I knew I was screwed. Thankfully, I was still cold from the swim and the rush of adrenaline masked all of the pain. I tried to get back on my bike and keep on riding, but my right aerobar was turned in and would not shift. That’s when I told myself that it was not worth continuing to race. I headed back to the transition area. It’s kinda funny watching the horrid looks of people’s faces when you have blood dripping all over you. Most people just stared at me, but my buddy Reto, a very fine professional triathlete and the coach of Stanford, and the Rakestraw family came to my aid and found me some medical support. Thanks for all of your help guys! After the medical team looked at my cuts, they said I needed to go to the hospital to get some x –rays and stitches. So, it was off to the er in an ambulance again! Luckily I had no broken bones, just some bruised ribs(the sucky part it is the same side as the ones I cracked on New Year’s Eve) and stitches in both my elbows, hand and hip. The unfortunate part of all this is that this was my last tune up race before Collegiate Nationals – my last collegiate nationals. I am pretty heartbroken about all of this, but I am going to be at the start line in Lubbock no matter what. I am also trying the new, highly touted tapering method of complete rest, with a mini triathlon as activation the day before and then the race. I will have very fresh legs for Col Nats! The good news was after UCSB messed up on the scoring with the preliminary scores, we were announced the champions the following day. Congrats to my teammate Kenny, the overall WCCTC champion and Daniela, who was runner up. Go Bears!!!
After a dismal showing at my first race at the Stanford triathlon, I rallied and survived the death march of the Golden Bear triathlon winning the overall title. Cal took home the team title as well! So, when I said it was a death march, I was not kidding. The water temp was a balmy 52 and the air temp was a pleasant 44. That water literally took my breath away! I was absolutely petrified going down Wildcat –a super technical decent considering the wet pavement, pine needles and completely numb figures. In fact, I just kept my fingers clutching the brakes the entire decent because the one time I let go, I could barely squeeze them again. As I made the left hand turn onto San Pablo, my teammate Kenny Rakestraw passed me like I was standing still. He was on a tear that day and it was unfortunate that he got a flat tire about a mile out from transition. He decided to then run barefoot into transition and still pulled off a second place finish. He is absolutely a freak! Mad props to him! The run was so muddy that it actually was comical and marginally fun once I warmed up. It felt as if I was trying to walk in the snow in tennis shoes. Nevertheless, I was happy with my second fastest run of the day, which gave me a little confidence going into our Conference championships in Santa Barbara the following week.
So, last week, I was really more happen that I did not crash biking down wildcat canyon than anything. However, I guess I only managed to cheat the bad luck for a week. Miss Pavement was pissed at me that I stood her up in Berkeley and showed me her wrath at the race in Santa Barbara over the past weekend.
The swim felt really easy despite the fact that we were swimming into the current the entire way. This was at least partly due to the fact that my new wetsuit sponsor Xterra sent me a Vendetta a couple days before the race. I thought that my Xterra Vector Pro 2 was flexible, but the Vendetta put that to shame. Coming from a guy with a chronic history of shoulder problems, flexibility is my main focus in choosing a wetsuit. The Vector Pro was the best suit that eliminated almost all shoulder fatigue. The Vendetta has completely eliminated all of that fatigue. It truly is a gem! Not just that but the #40 yamamoto rubber in the Vendetta is also the most buoyant. I normally kick a lot in my races, but there was really no need, the wetsuit just carried me along.
So, with the aid of my new wetsuit I exited the swim in 3rd, swimming in the main pack and completely fresh. I had a quick T1 transition and exited my bike 2nd. I had literally gone 100 yards and was strapping my right shoe down when BAM! … I hit a pothole and my hand slipped off of the bar. My chest was now on my aerobars and I knew I was screwed. Thankfully, I was still cold from the swim and the rush of adrenaline masked all of the pain. I tried to get back on my bike and keep on riding, but my right aerobar was turned in and would not shift. That’s when I told myself that it was not worth continuing to race. I headed back to the transition area. It’s kinda funny watching the horrid looks of people’s faces when you have blood dripping all over you. Most people just stared at me, but my buddy Reto, a very fine professional triathlete and the coach of Stanford, and the Rakestraw family came to my aid and found me some medical support. Thanks for all of your help guys! After the medical team looked at my cuts, they said I needed to go to the hospital to get some x –rays and stitches. So, it was off to the er in an ambulance again! Luckily I had no broken bones, just some bruised ribs(the sucky part it is the same side as the ones I cracked on New Year’s Eve) and stitches in both my elbows, hand and hip. The unfortunate part of all this is that this was my last tune up race before Collegiate Nationals – my last collegiate nationals. I am pretty heartbroken about all of this, but I am going to be at the start line in Lubbock no matter what. I am also trying the new, highly touted tapering method of complete rest, with a mini triathlon as activation the day before and then the race. I will have very fresh legs for Col Nats! The good news was after UCSB messed up on the scoring with the preliminary scores, we were announced the champions the following day. Congrats to my teammate Kenny, the overall WCCTC champion and Daniela, who was runner up. Go Bears!!!
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