Age Group Worlds 2008, Vancouver
Greetings from "Uptown Espresso" in West Seattle, WA. It's at the intersection between Edmunds St. and California Avenue. They have the best darn coffee in the world here! Plus free wireless access, mellow music and big tables with the latest news fit for print to read.
I just arrived my old college stamping grounds here in the beautiful Northwest; Seattle, WA. I usually call this 'Paradise City.' Lots of old memories from 1988/90 that come back when I am here (I did my college degree at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma Washington, back then). Then only problem with this place....it rains to much! Other than that, it's a pretty cool place still. I'm waiting for my flight back to Long Beach, CA, where I'll get to spend the evening with my daughter before I head back East to the Capitol of the Free World again.
Oh, yeah, almost forgot. I did my 3rd Age Grouper Triathlon World Championships in Vancouver, Canada, yesterday. I drove up there on Friday from Seattle - only a 3 hr ride or so - so that explains why I am here now.
I wish I could say this was a great race but, we actually ended up doing a Duathlon instead of a Triathlon.....The water temperature in the Vancouver bay, the white caps and the wind, made them cancel the swim portion for most of us (they let the older classes go but then got worried when one of the support 'vessels' cap sized.....). In short, it was a poorly organized event (sorry Canada!) from A to Z. Perhaps, I was spoiled from the Lausanne and Hamburg experiences - even the local US races are so much more organized.....Oh well, better luck next time - but I doubt Worlds will be back in Canada any time soon. As one former US Olympian said in his frustration when he realized the swim had been canceled and replaced by a 3km run: "If they [referring to the older age groupers] cannot make this swim, they should not be here in the first place....." I couldn't agree more. It was the World Championships for Goodness' sakes!"
I couldn't remember last time I did a Duathlon....I think it was Brandywine back in 2003....I actually won that one....While my swim isn't the best leg, I have improved quite a bit this year...cutting some 3 minutes off my time from previous years. My bike is till my strongest while my run hasn't improved much at all....Anyways, here's how it all went down.
We were 101 athletes at the start line of the run. I think a total of 13 US athletes were there. My friend Chris John Thomas from Connecticut included. He's such a quality guy all-around and this year, his form is unreal! I used to be able to keep up with him (actually beat him in Hamburg) but those days seem to be over...I'll be doing NYC Triathlon on July 20th with him and hope I can get a little closer then...:)
I covered the first run in 7 minutes and 40 seconds. That was good for 14th place, 32 seconds behind the leader.
I made up four spots on the first bike lap, which I covered in 9 minutes, 7 seconds, 43 seconds behind the leader.
We were doing an 'up and down' course which I would call quite demanding for most Triathletes. In retrospect, I probably should have used my 'road bicycle' with clip-on bars and not my Jamis Trilogy, with the extreme aero setup and disc wheel. My seat actually came lose due to the bumpy road and I had to force it back up with my right hand on every lap....note to self: 'make sure to tighten the seat post a little extra if the bike course is hilly and bumpy.....'
I don't quite understand why the organizers had to put the course on a 4 lap circuit with age groupers of all kinds literally all over the map. It's very dangerous and not very spectator friendly after all. But hey, this is what they did.
After the second bike lap I was in 7th place, about 1 minute behind the leader. The third bike lap put me back in 8th place, about 1:30 behind and at the end of the 4th lap I was in 12th place with a T2 exit for the run in 14th place, 3 minutes and 4 seconds behind leader.
I didn't feel all that good on the bike yesterday....Not quite sure why but I didn't have the normal 'push' - at least not relative to the other guys from the US. I normally bike stronger than most of them.
My first run lap put me back another 2 slots to 15th place with a cumulative time of 1:12:27, some +3 minutes and 44 seconds behind the leader. My second run lap put me back another slot to 16th and I knew I wasn't having a stellar day....My stomach started cramping and I just didn't have enough energy to 'push through.' I lost another 11(!) spots on the last lap and ended up in 27th place. I guess that still leaves me in the top 1/3 of the starting athletes but I honestly do think I would have fared better had we had a real triathlon and not the duathlon we did have....But, it was a darn good work-out and I can look forward to doing better at US Nationals in Oregon in September. My hope is to qualify for Worlds in Australia next year. I will have my new Jamis bike by then (all carbon :) so that will hopefully help a minute or two on the bike....
While this World Championships wasn't what I had hoped it to be, it was REALLY a lot of fun to see all my Team USA buddies again. Since I came in late and had to leave early, I didn't get to see all of them this time. Even more reason for me to get back in focus so I can join the team again next year. By the way, I'll be 'aging up' to the 40-44 year age group then.....Let's hope I can still age gracefully like good California red wine and get even better with a few more years on my back...;)
OK, time for another 'Uptown Espresso' and then back to SeaTac Airport. Then, God willing, I'll be able to hug my little Gem daugher, Tuva-Helene, when I'm back in Southern California later this afternoon. Yeah, that's what it's really all about. Oh, and the sun just came out here in Seattle...."Paradise City" - just like I remember it.
Be well, folks. See you at the races soon!
In sports,
Espen
I just arrived my old college stamping grounds here in the beautiful Northwest; Seattle, WA. I usually call this 'Paradise City.' Lots of old memories from 1988/90 that come back when I am here (I did my college degree at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma Washington, back then). Then only problem with this place....it rains to much! Other than that, it's a pretty cool place still. I'm waiting for my flight back to Long Beach, CA, where I'll get to spend the evening with my daughter before I head back East to the Capitol of the Free World again.
Oh, yeah, almost forgot. I did my 3rd Age Grouper Triathlon World Championships in Vancouver, Canada, yesterday. I drove up there on Friday from Seattle - only a 3 hr ride or so - so that explains why I am here now.
I wish I could say this was a great race but, we actually ended up doing a Duathlon instead of a Triathlon.....The water temperature in the Vancouver bay, the white caps and the wind, made them cancel the swim portion for most of us (they let the older classes go but then got worried when one of the support 'vessels' cap sized.....). In short, it was a poorly organized event (sorry Canada!) from A to Z. Perhaps, I was spoiled from the Lausanne and Hamburg experiences - even the local US races are so much more organized.....Oh well, better luck next time - but I doubt Worlds will be back in Canada any time soon. As one former US Olympian said in his frustration when he realized the swim had been canceled and replaced by a 3km run: "If they [referring to the older age groupers] cannot make this swim, they should not be here in the first place....." I couldn't agree more. It was the World Championships for Goodness' sakes!"
I couldn't remember last time I did a Duathlon....I think it was Brandywine back in 2003....I actually won that one....While my swim isn't the best leg, I have improved quite a bit this year...cutting some 3 minutes off my time from previous years. My bike is till my strongest while my run hasn't improved much at all....Anyways, here's how it all went down.
We were 101 athletes at the start line of the run. I think a total of 13 US athletes were there. My friend Chris John Thomas from Connecticut included. He's such a quality guy all-around and this year, his form is unreal! I used to be able to keep up with him (actually beat him in Hamburg) but those days seem to be over...I'll be doing NYC Triathlon on July 20th with him and hope I can get a little closer then...:)
I covered the first run in 7 minutes and 40 seconds. That was good for 14th place, 32 seconds behind the leader.
I made up four spots on the first bike lap, which I covered in 9 minutes, 7 seconds, 43 seconds behind the leader.
We were doing an 'up and down' course which I would call quite demanding for most Triathletes. In retrospect, I probably should have used my 'road bicycle' with clip-on bars and not my Jamis Trilogy, with the extreme aero setup and disc wheel. My seat actually came lose due to the bumpy road and I had to force it back up with my right hand on every lap....note to self: 'make sure to tighten the seat post a little extra if the bike course is hilly and bumpy.....'
I don't quite understand why the organizers had to put the course on a 4 lap circuit with age groupers of all kinds literally all over the map. It's very dangerous and not very spectator friendly after all. But hey, this is what they did.
After the second bike lap I was in 7th place, about 1 minute behind the leader. The third bike lap put me back in 8th place, about 1:30 behind and at the end of the 4th lap I was in 12th place with a T2 exit for the run in 14th place, 3 minutes and 4 seconds behind leader.
I didn't feel all that good on the bike yesterday....Not quite sure why but I didn't have the normal 'push' - at least not relative to the other guys from the US. I normally bike stronger than most of them.
My first run lap put me back another 2 slots to 15th place with a cumulative time of 1:12:27, some +3 minutes and 44 seconds behind the leader. My second run lap put me back another slot to 16th and I knew I wasn't having a stellar day....My stomach started cramping and I just didn't have enough energy to 'push through.' I lost another 11(!) spots on the last lap and ended up in 27th place. I guess that still leaves me in the top 1/3 of the starting athletes but I honestly do think I would have fared better had we had a real triathlon and not the duathlon we did have....But, it was a darn good work-out and I can look forward to doing better at US Nationals in Oregon in September. My hope is to qualify for Worlds in Australia next year. I will have my new Jamis bike by then (all carbon :) so that will hopefully help a minute or two on the bike....
While this World Championships wasn't what I had hoped it to be, it was REALLY a lot of fun to see all my Team USA buddies again. Since I came in late and had to leave early, I didn't get to see all of them this time. Even more reason for me to get back in focus so I can join the team again next year. By the way, I'll be 'aging up' to the 40-44 year age group then.....Let's hope I can still age gracefully like good California red wine and get even better with a few more years on my back...;)
OK, time for another 'Uptown Espresso' and then back to SeaTac Airport. Then, God willing, I'll be able to hug my little Gem daugher, Tuva-Helene, when I'm back in Southern California later this afternoon. Yeah, that's what it's really all about. Oh, and the sun just came out here in Seattle...."Paradise City" - just like I remember it.
Be well, folks. See you at the races soon!
In sports,
Espen
posted by ESPENUSA at
1:57 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home