2 x IronMan – 2 x Around the World in 5 weeks…..

It seems as if the only time I have time to update my blog these days is from 35,000 ft above the Pacific Ocean on Thai Airways…. Yet again, I’m struggling to keep my body clock in sync, wondering what the heck happened to it and why I’m treating the world as if it were my front yard sand box. I’m headed back to ‘Paradise City’ from a crazy 8 day tour of the Middle East....second time in less than five weeks with two IronMans inbetwenn...

Having let my friend and Mayor of Washington DC, Adrian Fenty (photo in the gallery portion of my website), convince me to compete at the Kinetic Half IronMan in Virginia on April 20th, I jumped another United flight to Munich on Sunday the 21st. By the way, I am starting to love United Airlines! They’re treating me extremely nicely these days…. I even got a beautiful bottle of Argentinean red wine before I disembarked. Don’t ask me what I did to deserve that but I must have had an impact on somebody…..Like I said, I’ve always been treated nicely by the staff of United Airlines. Rock on, United. Now all you need to do is stop charging Triathletes and Cyclists and arm and a leg for bringing their bike on trips (whatever happened to the US Cycling Voucher Program…? Got to bring that back, please)...

While I am always glad to feel the wheels of the air plan touch down, I have never been a big fan of Germany – especially the Munich airport (it’s a damn nightmare to transfer there. Whatever happened to German efficiency…?) Anyways, I spent 8(!) useless hours waiting for my flight on Emirates to Dubai while in Munich. I wasn’t’ able to sleep but took a shower in the frequent travelers’ lounge, which was quite refreshing. I then caught the Emirates flight to Dubai where I arrived the morning of April 22nd – a grueling 36 hours since I parked my car at Dulles and literally ran to the gate. Thanks again to my friends at United for ushering my through the ‘privileged line’. I felt very special, indeed....:) Anyways, after all that, I hit the sack at the SAS Radisson Hotel, Media City, around 3:30am local time. The scary thing is, the staff there actually calls me by my first name now….

No, I didn’t look forward to the 8:30AM breakfast meeting 5 hours later. As the wake-up-call chimed in what seemed like ‘minutes’ later, I admittedly wondered where the hell I found myself this time…..to be honest, I spoke to myself that morning….questions about ‘why’ I do this and ‘what’ is the point, really….? But in a strange way, I downed a bottle of water and off I went into the Arab street with my Rudy Projects on. Yeah! My future’s so damn bright; I got to wear them shades wherever I go. You hear that, Rudy Project? I’m promoting you all over the damn place – and I know that bald head of mine really does the trick to attract the right attention….

I’ve always liked challenges, and this trip was no different. I doubt many of the other age groupers from the Kinetic Half in Virginia less than 48 hrs later would volunteer for this second ‘recovery’ ride…If nothing else, I felt good about that, and even though I knew this trip would be pretty hectic (I went to Pakistan, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Thailand as well), I knew the prize at the finish line would be all worth it; seeing my wife Jean and our precious little daughter Tuva-Helene Yanli again as I wake up in Long Beach, CA, the morning of April 30th. That right there is why I work so hard - pure and simple.

I don’t know how many ‘miles’ I’ve covered this year - both off and on the bike –but I sure as heck wiped out any ‘carbon credits’ I may have earned the first 4 months of 2008. The good news is I’m still lagging way behind Al Gore. That might change once I start flying the private jet around, though.

Anyways, most of my friends probably think I’m completely ‘nuts’ doing all this. My family likely more so, but I guess I’ve ‘come home to roost’ – this is who I am; a crazy Type A Triathlete finding joy and mental challenge in keeping health, family, sport and family in a delicate balance without pushing the envelope too far. But nothing is without sacrifice and I really couldn’t do this unless I knew it wasn’t going to last. In fact, I don’t think I could do this unless I had such a strong physical and mental base to do it from. Again, thanks to Triathlon and leading and active life style. But, there’s simply no way it’s sustainable at this rate and I’ve learned to ‘listen to my body’ before it’s too late. Right now, I know I need to slow down a notch if I want to stay sane, happy and, importantly, competitive on 2008 the triathlon circuit. The Kinetic Half probably was a little ‘too much’ but I wanted to catch one last ½ before this long trip (my conscience felt better about it) and the Cherry Blossom 10-miler from the middle of April has given me a fairly good foundation for the longer distance stuff. While I felt good in both races, I only finished 4th in my age group in Virginia and 13th overall. Unfortunately, I had stomach issues on the run and figure I easily lost 12 minutes to 4(!) unexpected stops at the ‘bathroom.’ Other than that, I had a great bike and my swim has indeed improved this year (I swam the 1.2 miles in 31 mins). So no excuses! The Kinetic Half was all good fun – especially since I spent it with my newfound triathlon friends from Washington DC. Now, it’s time to do some ‘shorter’ competitions and enjoy a few bike races during the spring with my friends from DC Velo – in-between a few more trips to Europe and the Middle East, of course…..

I’ve got the Age Grouper World Championships coming up in Vancouver in about 5 weeks. I find that hard to believe but it’s time to fine tune the Olympic Distance ‘clock’ to make sure I’m ready to kick butt in Canada – my third Worlds for Team USA (as a Norwegian citizen mind you!) Yeah, I know that sounds strange but you don’t have to be a US citizen to compete for the US Team. Permanent residency is sufficient. I’ve got one ‘trial’ race on May 18th to test my form on; the Columbia Triathlon in Maryland, USA. I’ve done that race once before (I think it was in 2005 and I actually won my age group then) but I injured my right Achilles tendon to the point my season was cut short by about 6 months. I don’t plan on repeating that this year. As I said, experience comes with age and I’ve had to learn to ‘listen to my body’ – both mentally and physically. As the saying goes: “old is gold.” Let’s hope that stays true for my performance in Columbia and Vancouver (and beyond because I"m not hanging up the bike in a looong time yet).

So there’s a quick update for you all. I look forward to sharing more as the 2008 season ramps up. I haven’t gotten my new Jamis Carbon T1 bike yet but I’m told I should have it by the end of May, early June. Hopefully in time for Worlds on June 5th. Take care for now and see you at the races – or at some airport between here and Abu Dhabi 

PS: my condolences go to the family and friends of the Triathlete in San Diego who was taken out by the Great White last week. At least he went doing something he loved. I think it will be hard not to think of for those of us who plan on doing Oceanside again next year…..

In sports,
Espen