Gettin Ready...

Nationals are this coming weekend (Aug 5th). I've had some decent training in the past week, and now we'll drop it down, and get ready to race this weekend.

Last weekend we did the Sooke triathlon as a training race. I had a good swim in my new 2XU wetsuit, rode strong on the bike, until Andrew Mac dropped AP and I on a steady long climb, and I came off the bike 1 min down on A Mac, and 20" down on AP. The run was alright, cruised the last bit coming in 3rd overall. We ended the day with a 3km swim at Thetis later in the afternoon for a solid day of training.

Most of our group has been away this week for the World Cup in Salford England, so workouts were small in numbers. Here are a few more workout highlights from the past week.

A great hill workout on the bike, 3 full times up the Durrance Lake road, 3 half climbs, and 3 flat efforts. We've done this workout before, its a good one. I had a couple of really crappy days in the pool, but felt a lot better yesterday when we swam in the morning at Durrance. Good thing we race in the open water :)

Yesterday we also did a good run workout on Lochside trail. A 20' warm-up, followed by 6 X 1km on 5:00. I was trying to run a bit faster than race pace, which I was able to do, but fell off a bit on the last 2 intervals a bit. Still a solid run for me, and the first hard hard run since Geneva two weeks ago. Now my legs remember the hard run feeling, and should be good to go this weekend at Drummondville.

Run Times: 3:06, 3:11, 3:06, 3:16, 3:09, 3:19
It's a bit quicker on the odd numbered ones (its a slight downhill)

The rest of this week is really busy, doing some stuff for 2XU, and getting ready to travel to Nationals.

Finally a good run

Musselman ITU Pan American Cup
July 14th, Geneva NY

I got to Geneva Thursday evening after spending the day at my buddy Greg Danner's place. Check into the free athlete accommodations I had, and then Greg and I grabbed some food before he headed back to Rochester.

I was roomed with Eric Limkemann who I used to swim against while I was at St John's. He was a 4 time Big East Champion in the 1650yd Fr. This is Eric's first year racing as an elite, and he is doing real well.

Race Day:

finally woke up around 8:30, and headed out for a short morning jog to wake the body up. Back to breakfast, and gather around the communal TV to watch the Tour. My dad, sister and her bf showed up around 11am, and I loaded my bike box onto the roof of the car before they headed out for a wine tour before the start of our race at 315pm.

We ended up with 50 men on the start line for the race. It was an in-water start, and we all were lined up on the dock according to race number before jumping in the water and making our way over to choose our start spot. I used stealth like maneuvers and rather than jumping in where I was on the dock and swimming over, I ran down the dock and jumped in beside Doug Friman who had #1.

As a result, I had a good line to the first buoy, and was leading the group coming from the right side after the gun. I came across, saw the feet I was looking for (Limkemann) and settled in for the swim. I knew Eric would set a great pace on the swim, and decided to let him (and later John Kenny) break through the choppy water in Seneca Lake.

A group of 5 of us had roughly 15" out of the water on the main part of the field. I had a quick T1, and jumped on the bike ready to go. Cameron Dye got away at the start of the bike, and Doug Friman and I started to work together to try and bridge, but I soon sat up as we had other riders coming up from behind and I figured it would be easier to go with a larger group. Ultimately we caught Friman and Dye, and we were joined by other groups from behind. By lap 6 of 8, our group numbered roughly 20-25 I'd guess.

A small break by Sean Bechtel and 4 others happened at the start of the last loop, which resulted in them having 10-15 sec on us off the bike. I was starting to worry on the bike when our group was so large, as I knew there were a bunch of guys that I would have a hard time running with if I wanted to score some decent ITU ranking points.

I managed to work my way up to the front of our group as we entered T2, and had a quick transition, heading out onto the run in the top 5 of our group (top 10 overall). I was able to hang with Chrabot, Orton and Green, and Collington for the first mile, but then contact with them, running about 10 seconds behind Collington the whole way. I faded slightly in the last half mile of the run, getting caught for 9th place by Yoni Doron.

I ended up in 10th place overall, earning some valuable ITU points in the process. The race was a good confidence booster for me coming off of the Edmonton WC, as I was able to have a solid run split here in Geneva. I was randomly chosen for drug testing after the race, which was a bit unlucky, as my dad wanted to get on the road ASAP to drive 4.5 hrs back to our house that night. I headed over to Doping Control, where I proceeded to drink water, water, and more water.

After 2.5 L, I thought that I would be able to provide the necessary 80 mL sample, but I could only muster 50 mL. I went back downstairs, and proceeded to drink another 1.5 L. Finally I produced enough urine, and hustled out to the car, back to the dorm for a lightning quick change, and onto the road heading home. It ended up taking me 2 hrs to pee after the race and 4L of water!! Needless to say, we had to pull over on the side of the Hwy a couple times on the way home......

1	Plata	Victor	USA	01:50:21	00:18:08	00:01:01	00:58:27	00:00:24	00:32:20
2	Friman	Doug	USA	01:50:29	00:17:38	00:01:00	00:58:57	00:00:27	00:32:25
3	Fretta	Mark	USA	01:51:10	00:18:08	00:01:01	00:58:25	00:00:24	00:33:12
4	Messenheimer	Dave	USA	01:51:22	00:17:56	00:00:58	00:58:18	00:00:24	00:33:43
5	Orton	Michael	USA	01:51:36	00:17:51	00:00:59	00:58:45	00:00:28	00:33:30
6	Green	Will	NZL	01:52:19	00:17:49	00:00:58	00:58:45	00:00:30	00:34:13
7	Chrabot	Matt	USA	01:52:45	00:18:09	00:01:01	00:58:26	00:00:33	00:34:37
8	Collington	Kevin	USA	01:53:10	00:18:05	00:01:01	00:58:30	00:00:25	00:35:05
9	Doron	Yoni	USA	01:53:25	00:17:52	00:01:01	00:58:41	00:00:26	00:35:23
10	Wells	Daniel	CAN	01:53:36	00:17:36	00:01:00	00:58:59	00:00:26	00:35:33

The swim start
I am on the far right hand side, the first buoy you see if a slight left hand turn

Runnin to T1 in 3rd place

Bike group on lap 2 I believe

On the run, lap 1 of 6

I'm done

Geneva Continental Cup

10th place overall, Top Canadian

full results can be found on triathlon.org

I'm home for until Friday morning, when I fly back to Victoria. I will post a race report soon,thanks to Mr and Mrs Jenkins who cheered me on at Geneva. I'll be doing some easy recovery training while at home, as well as 4 days of golfing!!

Blogging in Rochester

I'm currently in Rochester NY, on my way to Geneva NY for the ITU Musselman Continental Cup this Saturday afternoon. I flew in this morning, and my former St John's teammate Greg Danner picked me up from the airport. I'm relaxing at his place while he's at work, and he's been kind enough to give me a lift to Geneva later on tonite.

This past week has been the usual race week type of training. Monday was a 4500m swim workout, and a legs off day. I took the opportunity to drop my bike off at Fort Street for a tune up before leaving for the race this weekend. Tuesday was a race prep swim workout, main set 2 X (3 X 200, 3 X 50, 150 ez), and a 60 spin on the bike. Wednesday was an open water swim at Thetis, followed by a 90' neg split ride, with a 30' run off of the bike. Pack the bike, and head on up to the airport for my flight later that evening to Rochester (via Vancouver and Toronto).

The course for the race looks fairly interesting, I'll have more to report after the pre-race meeting Friday afternoon.

Some solid training...

I've managed to put together some solid training sessions this week. Here's a brief breakdown since Wednesday.

Wed:

We started the day off at Thetis for an open water swim. Main efforts were a couple of big loops around the island, I took my wetsuit off for the 2nd loop (and was given 15 seconds headstart) and tried to stay away from the group. I got caught at the turn around the island, ended up going 15:55 with no wetsuit.

From there we had a good hard treadmill workout in the afternoon.

15' warm-up with a few strides
5 X (3' @ 11 mph/2%, 3' ez @ 6.5 mph)
5 X (2' @ 11 mph/3%, 2' ez @ 6.5 mph)
5 X (1' @ 11.3 mph/4%, 1' off)

Goal is to maintain the same speed (which was our 10km tri race pace) while increasing the incline as we went through it.

Thurs:
A easy 40' run in the morning from my place, then a good motor pacing workout in the afternoon. 2 X 2 loops (17.4km) motorpace, with 5' ez riding in between.

Round 1: 23:33, 294 W, 44.5km/hr
Round 2: 23:30, 292 W, 44.5km/hr

Happy with the efforts today following the treadmill workout yesterday.

Fri:
Open water swim at Durrance Lake, 9 X 300 (1 start speed, 1 moderate, 1 ez) and a 60' easy spin w. 6 X 30" sprints interspersed .

Sat:
Two great workouts today. We met at the Starbucks for our bike workout. Broadmead loops today. 3 X (2 loops hard w. 1 loop ez). I was able to hold some decent wattage today, good group effort from everyone.

Round 1: 12:47, 336 W
Round 2: 13:04, 357 W
Round 3: 13:04, 336 W

Jones and I went solo off the front for the 2nd interval, and held off the group for 1 loop (though they say they were letting us sit out there before reeling us in.....but Jones and I are going with the story that we were holding them off).

From there we rode over to the Lochside trail, got changed into our running gear and got ready for the run workout.

15' warm-up
6 X 1 km on 5:30 (3;19, 3:18, 3:09, 3:15, 3:09, 3:18)

Pleased with the run efforts, the odd numbered intervals were slightly faster (net downhill) and everyone ran really well. Kyle, Simon and AP were setting the pace on the front, holding below 3:00 for 5 of the 6 intervals.




The Tour de France started today, this year should be interesting for a number of reasons...the cloud of drug accusations hanging over teams/individuals, and the fact that all starters of the tour this year have signed the UCI charter agaisnt doping.

"All 189 Tour de France riders signed the UCI's anti-doping charter in time for Saturday's opening prologue stage. The International Cycling Union requested that all cyclists sign a charter saying they are not involved in doping and promising to submit DNA samples to Spanish authorities for the Operation Puerto probe. Cyclists also had to agree to pay a year's salary on top of a two-year ban if caught doping."

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to all my friends south of the border

Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest

Tomorrow, July 4th, marks the 91st annual Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest from Coney Island NY. The event will be broadcast live on ESPN starting at 12 noon EST. In 2006, over 30,000 spectators attended the event, and an additional 1.5 million households watched it live on ESPN.

The two heavy-weights going into the contest are the 6 time defending Coney Island Champion Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi (53 3/4 hot dogs last year) and the new World Record holder Joey "Jaws" Chestnut (59 1/2 hot dogs earlier this year). It should be quite the battle, assuming Kobayashi is able to compete, as he's been battling a jaw injury.

Last years Champ Takeru Kabayashi who ate 53 3/4 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes

The Rules:
During the event, the field of about 20 contestants stands on a raised platform behind a 30-foot-long table with drinks and Nathan's Famous hot dogs in buns. Most contestants drink water, but other kinds of drinks can and have been used. Condiments are allowed, but are usually not used. The hot dogs themselves are allowed to cool slightly after grilling to prevent possible mouth burns. Whomever consumes (and keeps down) the most hot dogs and buns ("HDBs") in twelve minutes is declared the winner. A designated scorekeeper is paired with each contestant who flips a number board counting the hot dogs consumed. Partially eaten hot dogs count and the granularity of measurement is eighths of a length. Hot dogs still in the mouth at the end of the 12 minutes count only if they are swallowed. There can be deductions in score for excess HDB debris. Both hands may be used. After the winner is declared, a plate with the number of hot dogs eaten by the winner is brought out.

Prizes:
For the first time this year, there is actual cold hard cash for the top 5 eaters:
1st: $10,000
2nd: $5,000
3rd: $2,500
4th: $1,500
5th: $1,000

2006 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Tuesday July 4, 2006
No.	Name	Hot Dogs
1	Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi (World Record)	53¾
2	Joey "Jaws" Chestnut (U.S. Record)	52
3	Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas (Women's Record)	37
4	Patrick Bertoletti	34¼
5	Tim "Eater X" Janus	34
6	Chip "The Phenom" Simpson	33
7	"Humble" Bob Shoudt	30
8	Rich "The Locust" LeFevre	28
9	Eric "Badlands" Booker	24
10	Patrick "from Moonachie" Philbin	23
11	Eric Denmark	22
12	Seaver Miller	22
13	Brian Subich	22
14	Crazy Legs Conti	21⅓
15	Allen Davis	20½
16	Robert Andersson	20
17	Hall Hunt	19
18	Kamil "The Camel" Hamersky	18
19	Kenji Oguni	16
20	Jed Donahue	1

A short highlight of Joey "Jaws" Chestnut breaking the World Record earlier this year

Back to Training...

The last week or so has been a recovery week following the race in Edmonton. We arrived back in Vic on Monday morning, unpacked, did some laundry and a bit of light training. The week was generally aerobic activity, with a few more efforts towards the end of the week.

Thursday was a 2.5 hr ride through some hills, and the legs didn't like that much at all. To top it off, it rained pretty hard on the back half of the ride.

Saturday we did a 13km SS effort in a group, followed by 6 climbs up the observatory. We did a similar workout two weeks ago, and the effort was there today, but the legs just weren't quite there. The rest of the guys rode really well today, lots of good climbs up the observatory. We had a group BBQ at Coach Joel's later on that night, which was good times.

On Sunday, Andrew, Jordan and I headed just north of Victoria to run the Sidney Days 5km road race. It was going to be an opportunity to get in a good solid run, not expecting fast times.

Remarkably I felt great on Sunday, running a PB of 15:55 (2:56, 3:14, 3:15, 3:15, 3:11) Jordan and Andrew both ran strong races as well, all of us finishing at 16:30 or faster.

We're back to some solid training this week, and then I'm racing again the weekend after in Geneva NY. Hopefully I can translate my straight up 5km into a solid run off the bike. I know it's there, I just have to pull it out on race day.

Happy Canada Day!