Last two trical races

Terry Davis’ tricalifornia series of races are by far my favorite races to attend. He and his staff do an amazing job and you know you can rely on a professionally run event. I really looked forward to the last two races of the year: Pacific Grove and Scott Tinely’s.

As PG is a draft-legal affair, the swim was crucial and I exited the water with two other strong athletes, Brian Fleishmann and Kyle Leto. We really pushed the pace on the bike and opened up a 1 min 30 sec gap on the chasers. Although I had felt comfortable on the swim, I was really suffering on the bike around the half way point. It felt as though I had a flat, but I thought that my legs were just having an “off day.” After the race I did find out that I had a slow leak in my rear. Thank goodness it did not go completely flat during the bike, otherwise that would have been a real costly flat. Anyway, I ran in second place until the 4th mile before the wheels really came off and I faded to third. Brian was truly the class of the field and deserved the win!

Anyway, I was hoping that I had got my bad luck out of the way for Scott Tinely’s, the finale of the trical series, as this would be my last race before Clearwater. This year Scott Tinley’s was not the usual Olympic Distance affair. It was a 1.5 mile swim, 49 mile bike and 9.3 mile run. I knew it was going to be a tough day as the Olympic run is one of the harder 10ks I have ever done and this Long Course made us do another lap on that hilly route. Not to mention the bike is pretty hilly as well! Hills and I have a love/hate relationship, well mostly HATE!!! However, the race could not have gone any better! My partner in crime Kyle Leto and I put a minute and a half on the field on the 1.5 mile swim. We then stretched our lead to about 5 minutes on the bike. I immediately took over the lead on the run and opened up a minute gap after the first lap of three and maintained it during the second lap. However, Leto dug deep and caught me with one mile to go on the third round. After 3.5 hours of racing, it came down to a sprint finish which I was fortunate enough to win by a mere 4 seconds! This result is going to give me good motivation for my build up to Clearwater, which will be my last race of the year.

Thanks to Marlene for the pic from Tinley's!

Unbelievable

I know that cyclists and motorists have a tumultuous relationship over sharing the road. However, this story takes it to a whole new level. I cannot fathom how someone can get so enraged during a heated discussion that he could kill another man. What Michael Bryant did is reprehensible and inexcusable! It also reminds cyclists that you will always lose a fight with a car and sometimes it is better to ride away than try to express your opinion. It really is a sad story.

The horrific Michael Bryant case, in which the former Ontario attorney-general has been charged in the death of a bicycle courier in Toronto, has been tidily summed up just about everywhere as our own Bonfire of the Vanities . It's an apt comparison, because beneath the facts lies a bubbling cauldron of social resentments, mistrust of authority and other prejudices that may well tell us more about ourselves than about anything else.
Here are those facts: Mr. Bryant, 43, Ontario's former attorney-general and a political golden boy, has been charged with criminal negligence causing death, and dangerous driving following the death of Darcy Allan Sheppard, 33, a bicycle courier with whom he had an altercation Monday evening along a tony stretch of Toronto's Bloor Street. Mr. Sheppard was seen clinging to Mr. Bryant's car and eventually died after he fell off.
The full story can be read at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/michael-bryant-the-story-none-of-us-can-stop-talking-about/article1274909/

SB and Folsom

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I had a couple good low key races at Santa Barbara and Folsom. Both races were nearly mirror images of each other: I got a solid lead on the swim, extended it on the bike and got to enjoy the run(didn't think I would ever say that!) Although I did get lost on the run course at both races...I really need to stop day dreaming when I race! I know I wanted to get in a solid workout at the races, but I especially cut it close at SB. All counting SB and Folsom were the 6th and 7th time I have gotten lost on the run course. I figure one day that Berkeley education of mine will kick in and I will get some common sense. For example, when you start running next to a woman in the race riding a mountain bike and you realize you are on the bike course instead of the run course, it’s time to turn around!

As a side note, Sb was my first tri every back in 1999. I don’t know what I was thinking attempting a long course triathlon at 14. All I remember was that it was the most miserable run on my life... yes even worse than wildflower this year. I probably trained about 1/10th of the total volume I do today and my body was cramping up everywhere. More than one person was kind enough to ask me how I was doing and/or offer me some salt tablets/gels on the run. I probably walked 6 of the 10 miles that day. I can tell you that the run this time around was a whole lot more fun(minus the 5 or so minutes I was inadvertently off course). Thanks to my buddy Chris for the pic from SB.

Also, August was officially my biggest training block of the year, hopefully setting me up nicely for my last three races of the year. I am happy that I got through it injury free and am currently enjoying my taper for Pacific Grove. I do love tapers!

Vineman 70.3

Last weekend was by far my best result as a professional to date when I placed 4th at the Vineman 70.3. To my surprise at the pre-race meeting the water in Napa was unseasonably warm and therefore, it was going to be a non-wetsuit swim. Lucky for me I had my Kiwami Kameleon and was able to latch on to Clayton’s feet, who in my opinion is the best swimmer in the sport of triathlon. I am just lucky that he hadn't swam all week due to a bike crash, otherwise trying to go with him would have been a lost cause - hope he's all healed up by now. So, I exited the water in second place and tried to find my own rhythm on the bike. I actually led the bike leg for about the first 10 miles before getting passed by Joe and Reinaldo at warp speed. The next group to pass me was lead by Craig and included Brian, Clayton and Simon. I did everything I could to just keep them from riding away from me for the next 40 miles. Onto the run, Simon, Craig and Clayton were out like bats out of hell. I just tried to run my own race and was able to eventually reel in Clayton and Craig, although Leon passed me around mile 8. Anyway, I was stoked to get 4th and I achieved my main goal of qualifying for the 70.3 world championships in Clearwater - yeah!
Here's the article about the race from slowtwitch: http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Pip_Taylor_Joe_Gambles_win_Vineman_70.3_922.html

On another note, it was very sad to hear that an athlete on the course was seriously injured when a rotting tree literally fell on top of him and his bike. From what I hear he is recovering well from his two surgeries and I hope that he has a very speedy recovery. I know that everyone in the triathlon community is wishing him the best. This is one of the craziest freak occurrences that I have ever heard happen to someone in a triathlon.
An article on the accident: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090719/ARTICLES/907199983/1031/SPORTS07?Title=Freak-crash-during-Vineman-when-tree-falls-on-cyclists

TI

So, I normally have an awesome swim at TI and love in-water starts. However, this year, trical decided to start the race further back and we basically got a push start from the mud of the shoreline. As a result of corralling 45 athletes in a 20 yard area, the swim was more like a boxing match from the start. I got a steady dose of jabs to the head over the course of the swim, as we were swimming 5 abreast for most of it. Exited the water at the tail end of the front pack, and hauled ass in transition, mounted my bike and took off after the leaders. So, the past two times I have made the front pack at TI, I have been badly dropped on the bike and end up in the large chase pack, but this year I was gonna turn myself inside out and not let that happen again. I was the last guy to pack the front pack. At the start of the bike, our pack steadily gained time over the leading trio of 3 powered by simon whitfield and was just 30 seconds down by lap 2. However, over the course of the last 4 laps we managed to lose 2 minutes plus to that lead breakaway and the chase pack almost caught us from behind, getting into T2 20 seconds down. I knew I had to start out the run conservatively and not pace off the others in my pack who were all really good runners. I settled into a nice rhythm and was running in 9th place until about the 6k mark, when the wheels really stating coming off. The last 4k was more like swimming on land with my arms flailing around. With just 400m to go I got caught by 2 other athletes and had to use an all out kick to beat them. Luckily for me, that’s my specialty – I’m money for the last .2 mile, it’s the first 6 that’s the problem. Anyway got some much needed ITU points.

Bad economy = more time to train

Just read this in the wall street journal. So if someone beats you in your next race, just blame it on the economy!
As Unemployed Amp Up Their Training, Marathon Results and Participation Rise
By REED ALBERGOTTI

Longtime runner Ray Gobis posted a 3:09 at the Boston Marathon in April—his personal best. The cause wasn’t a new training technique or the perfect weather. It was because Mr. Gobis got laid off.
“Other people might go into a cocoon or something. Me, I’ve done the opposite,” says the 47-year-old Mr. Gobis, who lost his job in November as director of operations for a printing company. With his new-found leisure time, he has amped up his regimen to 60 miles a week and joined a competitive running group.
Americans might be poorer, but they certainly aren’t slower. With the economy in the doldrums, more people are discovering that without those 12-hour workdays, they’re able to pursue fitness goals like never before. Marathons, triathlons and road races are filling up in record time.
Some evidence suggests that laid-off marathon runners are actually helping push up the level of competition within their age groups. Olympic-level competition could even go up because more elite athletes coming out of college are opting to pursue their athletic goals rather than look for work in a dismal job market.
Read the rest of the article at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204261704574274070492669550.html

The sickest sprint finish ever

Over the past weekend at the Hyvee World Cup race, 6 athletes finished within 5 seconds of the winner's time. Simon Whitfield won with an absolutely vicious kick and took the $200,000 first prize check by tenths of a second. He's still got the best kick in the business!