super sprint tri grand prix - oceanside, ca

Triathlon rarely gets credit for being a spectator friendly sport. And for good reason. Besides a few of us hard core tri fans, who else really enjoys watching long distance racing where athletes disappear out of sight for hours at a time, only to return and then disappear again? Is this racing fun for anyone other than the athletes participating in the event?

Back in the 1990's, a race series was conceptualized and developed by the Australians called the Formula One (F1) Series. This was fast and furious racing and was made to be spectator and television friendly triathlon. It created the triathlon stars of today including the likes of Greg Bennett, Chris McCormack, Matt Reed, Craig Alexander, Simon Whitfield and others. It was also the impetus for the ITU's creation of draft-legal Olympic distance racing.

On Sunday, in Oceanside, a sleepy beach town 40 miles north of downtown San Diego, former F1 racer Marc Lees, organized the Super Sprint Triathlon Grand Prix with an invitation only professional field. The event was considered a trial although Lees took every step necessary to cater to both athletes and spectators alike with a top notch production.

Lees' course design was well-conceived. Using the Pacific Ocean by the Oceanside Pier as the course backdrop, Lees used one of three racing formats used in F1 racing, the Enduro format which includes a 300-meter swim, 5-mile bike and 1.5-mile run completed twice through. The swim took place in the chilled and choppy Pacific, the bike over a half-mile stretch of the Strand, and the run over the same Strand roads with a short hill zig-zagging up onto the Pier.

Many of triathlon's top pro stars flew in for the event - a sign they are committed to spurring on growth and excitement for this kind of racing in the US. And the timing couldn't be better for our ADHD riddled society. All of the action happens right in front of your face, leaving no time to imagine, only time to participate. As spectators, this is exactly what we needed.

Who wouldn't want to watch the likes of current Ironman world champion Macca toe the line against short course studs like American national champion Jarrod Shoemaker or Matt?

I contacted Lees race week and inquired about an opening on the starting line. He agreed due to another athlete canceling last minute, and like that, I was embedded in the race day battle. I was one of few athletes without a short course, draft legal racing background, and it showed.

From the word "GO" I was shed to the back of the line of athletes sprinting into the 60-degree water. In this furious racing, there is no time for wetsuits but also no time to even think about whether you feel cold or not. We were immediately confronted with a series of breakers and had to duck dive under set after set for what seemed like an eternity before even having the opportunity to start swimming. Swimming is a generous term for what I was doing myself. I was flailing and swinging my arms as fast as possible firmly locked onto the calves of Matt who had a poor start himself. I knew it would be the end of my race if I let go of his legs. So I stayed locked in.

Near the turn around buoy, he had enough of me pestering him and turned around and kicked my hands off his legs. I don't blame him. I had crossed the unspoken line in drafting etiquette during the swim. However, I quickly located my next tow, Richie Cunningham and Paul Amey. Heading back in towards shore, my arms started to feel like lead and both Richie and Paul caught a wave that sent them flying into shore. I arrived a few seconds later, but any time lost can mean the end of your race.

It was evident by the speed they ran out of the water and into transition compared to me that I was out of my league! I chased hard and tore out of transition believing my cycling was good enough to bridge up to one of the chase groups. I rode with my feet set on top of my cycling shoes and time-trialed with my head down until I locked onto the back of a small group including Richie, Paul and another rider my impaired vision was too blurred to recognize. I still had not dared reach down and slip my feet into my shoes for fear I would lose contact with the draft created when you ride behind other cyclists.

The bike course was flat as an ironing board with only two 180-degree roundabout turns on each end of the road. As we neared the completion of the second lap and started around the roundabout again, my rear tubular tire rolled off the rim and I crashed. I got up quickly, did a quick check and got back on my bike before I noticed the exposed rim. I recognized Paul Huddle standing nearby and he yelled that neutral support was a few hundred meters up the road. So, I yanked off my new and now heavily scraped up Bont cycling shoes, picked up my bike and took off running towards the support station. Word passed quickly to them about the crash and one of the volunteers came sprinting my way to help with the wheel change (I found out after the race, the volunteer holds a sub 4-minute mile PR to his name!). It must have been a bit odd for the cyclists zooming down the road to see me running from one side of the road to the next in order to get closer to the support station while staying out of their way.

Once the wheel was replaced, I was nearly a lap behind the entire field but decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and pushed on. Luckily the course was so chaotic with racers spread across the entire road that it was hard to tell how far behind I really was!

I ran as hard as I could but still entered the second rotation through the swim with only a handful or swimmers still heading out to the turnaround buoy. Because I was alone, and out of the race, I was able to focus on taking long strokes and had a decent swim. I missed a big wave that may have taken me in close to shore but did hit a few smaller sets once I was in closer to the beach. As I ran into transition Marc reminded me to watch out for the group once they started running. I ended up being the last one off the bike and to finish the race but Greg Welch was still cool and announced me over the line. A bunch of the guys stayed at the finish too which I thought was a cool gesture.

Despite the less than ideal circumstances, I had a blast out there and knew I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be a part of a race that is going to catch on here in the US and go on to be a great series. I fully expect a few big sponsors to step up and put this series in a few major US markets in 2011. It will draw the biggest name pros in the sport and will be the most talked about series on US soil.

There are a bunch of photos and a race recap up on Triathlete.com. Aaron Hersh was out on the course for the men's and women's races and snapped photos, grabbed interviews and wrote up a great report.

Til next time -- keep the rubber side down (and firmly glued)!

LF

babaganoush update

Em had a visit to the doc yesterday - week 38 - and both she and our baby girl are happy and healthy. it could be any day now. i wonder what Em thinks of having a Halloween baby?

colnago gran fondo

after spending one week in markdorf, germany, our home base during the annual eurobike tradeshow, five of us drove down through the lake district of switzerland and into northern italy for the colnago gran fondo cycling event.

because riding a bike for 100-miles isn't the brightest idea after spending six days in a row off the bike, the other guys (kb, walker, vestal and hersh) decided to ride the medio fondo - which consisted of 75-miles including two mountain passes. i'm not too bright and committed myself to the longer route - with one extra massive 15-mile mountain ascent.

colnago hooked us up with everything we needed: properly sized - and very high end - carbon bikes, water bottles and even a colnago logo'd pump to carry with us.

with over 4,000 crazy italians - and many foreigners - lined up in the start corral, the line was nearly a half-mile long and wrapped around an entire parking lot of a rectangular shaped expo hall.

the first 40k were flat and the peloton raced full throttle as if they were not aware three mountain passes loomed ahead. i took the bait though and took more than my fair share of pulls on the front of the pack and hit the slopes of the first climb in the front.

this first climb, mezzano scotti, was the shortest of the three on the day and resembled the steepness of the climbs seen in the Belgian Classic races on tv. by that, i mean, if a rider chose to unclip from their pedals, it set off a domino effect of all other riders unclipping.

it became obvious i rode the early flat miles too hard, and took too many pulls for my current state-of-fitness, and i quickly bonked within the first quarter-mile. i was forced to lay off the gas and went into survival mode over the five or six miles of that climb.

after loading up with goodies at a buffet-like aid station, i stupidly committed to the "LUNGA" route at the junction where the medio and gran fondo races split. within a few hundred meters, i was staring at the bottom of the day's big climb, santa barbara, which took over an hour to climb. pitches were insanely steep, others leveled off, and there were even a few downhill reprieves, but overall it went UP! at one point, near the top of the climb, i was forced to get off my bike and stretch out two severely cramped up legs, that more closely resembled two blocks of wood.

the final climb, described by one of my colleagues as "false flat", was nothing of the sort and i crawled up it at a snails pace, and with only the thought of getting back to the food tent at the expo for the italian buffet that awaited. the final climb, passo del cerro, was the nail in the coffin and it was obvious i had left my climbing legs back in california (or back in colorado). i was bonked, cramped, and left to figure out how to get my body back to the finish.

i found a nice group of twenty riders to ride in the final 40k of flat roads back to the finish, and was content to sit in the group so as not to bonk again.

as luck would have it, upon crossing the finish line completely spent, i wiped out on a thick black hose that was stretched out across the road. no scratches on the bike and only minor wounds to my ego.

the flight the next day back to the states was rough and having worn my compression socks nearly each day of the eurobike show, i opted to buy a set of travel socks at the milan airport which helped relieve some of the soreness and blood pooling.

a final shout out to my colleague nate forbes who organized beautiful Colnagos for us to ride! if you ever find yourself in europe in the summertime or fall, look for a gran fondo race near you. we met a few cycling fans who were spending their summer traveling throughout europe and racing gran fondos in different cities and countries every weekend. i can't say i can argue with their thought process -- these rides allow you to see a part of the countryside usually reserved for picture books.

shark week -- can i have my life back?

discovery channel has managed to trick me into racing home from work every night so as not to miss a minute of the latest shows during this special week dedicated to sharks.

i am intrigued by these creatures because one of my favorite pastimes is playing in their backyard and each time i walk down the stairs to swim at la jolla cove, i feel extremely alive yet extremely scared shitless.

i know i am afraid, like most people, of the unknown - that knowledge that it is their habitat and they are down there but that i can't see them. last year in hawaii, i woke up early one morning and swam in kailua bay along the ironman hawaii swim course. on the way back to shore, about 800 meters out, i stopped a few meters from the Coffees of Hawaii catamaran and approached a couple of kayakers who were out enjoying their morning. the water was clear and visibility below was good down to the ocean floor. swimming gracefully below were a handful of reef sharks, minding their own business, yet in close proximity to a few dozen swimmers. i was initially surprised with how little it bothered me and then i realized how uninterested they were in us, and how being able to physically see them was far more calming then the anticipation and fear the mind is able to conjure up.

watching the episodes throughout the week, one thing in particular strikes me about the people who have been victims to shark attacks. not one of them put blame on the shark for the attack and noted it was likely a case of mistaken identity and they understood they were in their backyard and natural habitat.

i respect these animals for their beauty, mysteriousness, and their raw power and i also know the lifestyle i willingly choose to participate in puts me in their playground. it is an amazing spectacle on friday nights down at la jolla cove to see the tri club of san diego members and other open water swimmers, numbering in the hundreds, flock down for their half-mile, mile and two-mile swims in the 60-odd degree water, enjoying the ocean and it's habitat, while holding ultimate respect for what dwells beneath.

Big News

We're having a baby! We had our 20-wk ultrasound two weeks ago and so far everything looks great. We are both very excited are looking forward to mid-November when we expect baby girl Finanger to join us.



We found the perfect onesie for our baby to wear:





I am finished working in Boulder and am ready to head back to SD full time. It will be very nice to get settled and begin preparing for our new adventure into parenthood.

Ocean Beach

Thor really is a water dog. He loves the ocean in San Diego and isn't afraid of the crashing waves. Izzy, on the other hand, will only get her paws wet.

SD Update

A few highlights from the past month out here in San Diego. Back in May, my colleagues from the VeloNews office in Boulder flew out to ride the Gran Fondo. The ride started in Little Italy, went over the SD-Coronado Bridge and then completed an out-and-back loop around the Cleveland National Forest for just over 100 miles. It rained 100% of the time! The photo is from the night before the race where I defied all odds and parked in the smallest parallel parking spot possible in Emily's VW.




Italian World Champion and Athens road race gold medal winner, Paolo Bettini, was at Mission Bay Park the morning before the Gran Fondo for a photo shoot with Briko. He was very gracious and had his manager snap a photo of us.




I've been living with Emily's sister in Mission Valley and last week we went to the Padres second home game of the season at Petco Park downtown. It was military appreciation night and Kendra's service in the Navy allowed us to get within sniffing distance of the field.




Last weekend I raced at the Superfrog Half Ironman, the longest running half distance triathlon in the world at 32 years straight. Emily and I have competed in this one since 2006 and besides being one of the toughest run courses around (80% of the race is on the beach and soft sand pits), we have made some great friends with the organizers including race director Moki Martin (right). Moki was one of the original triathletes with Tom Warren, completed Ironman Hawaii numerous times, is a retired Navy Seal, and puts on one hell of a great race.

More in the future, I promise...

LF