Abu Dhabi Triathlon...

Well, everyone is all a buzz about the new Abu Dhabi Triathlon.

The money is pretty good: $230k in the pro's and $20k in the Age groups. $50k to the pro winners.

But the big story is the race format: 3k swim, 200K Bike!!!, 20k run (and there is a 1.5k, 100k,10k but no one really cares since there is no money in it and all the focus is on the long race)

200k Really!?! Are you freaking kidding? That's 20k or 12 miles farther than IM distance. While the 20k run is less than half of IM distance. The only reference whatsoever to the "why" of the distance was Faris Al Sultan (a well known swim, biker and member of the Abu Dhabi pro tri team) who said "the shorter run of the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon will allow the participating athletes to recover faster for whatever event might be next on their calendar". Like anyone is going to be doing another event in close succession of a 7 hour + event with big money, even if the run is shorter. It's a lame ass cover up of a blatant concession to the cyclists.

Nobody has said it, but I will. This is ridiculous.

This race format is an obvious pander toward the so called uber-bikers of our sport, and it's pathetic. The fact is, if you have to alter the distance dramatically and all but eliminate the run, why don't you just do a damn bike race? While the grand tours do change their course every year do we ever see them eliminate all the mountains so a sprinter can bring home the maillot jaune? Or, does the Boston Marathon stop at the Newton hills so the 10k specialists can have a shot at winning? NO! Of course not, that would just be stupid and a bastardization of the events.

Seriously, the swim is 25% shorter than and IM. The run is more than 50% shorter than IM. While the bike is a bit more than 10% LONGER. So, basically you have 70.3 (aka Half IronMan) with a full IM+ bike. Could you imagine a 4k, 40k, 10k format or a 2k, 80k, Marathon?

Look, triathlon has no set rule for distance, and I suppose that is fine. However, we do have some inkling of "balance". The whole reason triathlon was created was to find the best OVER ALL endurance athlete. The Abu Dhabi distance blatantly disregards any concept of tradition and history and creates a format which will allow the host country's pro team's start athlete his best chance to win.

But, that's BS as well. While Faris is very good, everyone knows Chris Lieto is better at the swim/bike game. However, in the Lieto vs. Faris analogy Faris is the stronger runner. So...why create a format with a shorter run when Lieto is your obvious competition? OOPS.

My point is, the Abu Dhabi race is awesome for Triathlon. There is a ton of money. It's a new event in a new area. It's great!.

But will someone please stand up and say this is a blatant nod to the cyclists of our sport? And then tell me why. Why do we need such a silly format?

Hey, I like the bike, and the run is my strength. Maybe I can find an Emirate state willing to finance a $300k race that is a 5oom swim, 40k cyclo-cross, 15k run.

Jimmy

Damn swimmers...

I started 5 am swims again this week.

I've been building up my volume for about a month now and was planning to start swimming with the Rally Sport swim club again beginning in November. That means M and W 5am swims, and a big Th set of up to about 8500m.

Yeah, yeah. I know it's only two days of 5 am. How hard can it be? And it's not all that bad. It's just that damn 30 min from the 4:30 alarm to the 5am get in. It's just so dark, so early (or late depending on how you look at 5am), cold, quiet, etc. Going to the pool I always notice how uber-dead the town is. I guess it's nice to think I'm up and getting it done.

However, I only really work well off a solid 8 hours sleep. So, to get up at 4:30 the means going to sleep at 8:30 which just isn't happening. For one thing I have plyos on Tuesday night and by the time I'm done there and eat it's already 8pm at least.

Everyone tells me I just need to keep doing it and it will get easier. But man, there is just such a huge difference from 4:30am to the 6am workouts I've been doing since High School.

Anyway, blah, blah, blah. Whatever. The point is I'm back to swimming pretty much full volume. Now it's down to 12 weeks of at least 30k per week (probably with a build cycle up to 40k). This will be interesting. I've never really fully committed to swimming. Something has either got in the way or I had all the little voices (both my conscience and outside influencers) telling me how I didn't need to do 30k, I didn't need to swim 6 days a week, I didn't need to swim that much since I was an XTERRA guy, etc, etc. But, considering I'm off to Germany next summer and focusing on ITU and Olympic distance racing I simply MUST get my swim up to par.

I don't hate swimming, I just don't like the process. I want to see improvement now. But, on the upside, it does make me really look forward to running.

More to come.

Also...My new Team, Hudz-Subaru

I forgot to mention in the previous post that yesterday was my first race fully kitted out and flying the flag for my new (as of 09) cross team, Hudz-Subaru.

It's a pretty hos team of many of the best riders in CO. I'm kind of the odd man out being a triathlete and all, but I think I will be holding my own in the next month and at US nationals at the end of December.

Check out the new kits, they're pretty sick. And if you're a CO racer looking for a club check out the site for info on the grass roots team.

Boulder Cup UCI Cyclocross Race Report

Below is a pic of me with Geoff Kabusch. Unfortunately that is me getting lapped rather than me riding with him. Of course the laps were about 5 min so I wasn't totally sucking, but you still, getting lapped isn't good.

Actually my cross racing is getting better every week. This week I felt strong, my back never got tired and crampy, and I had good power most of the race. So the fitness is coming around. That's the good.

The bad? Well I had a crap start...again. It is really hard to get used to going out like a bat out of hell. I mean really fast, like all you can do fast. I still need to work on that. Then about 5 laps in I hit a corner of sidewalk and burped my tires, or something. I had tubes with clinchers so I couldn't really burp them. I don't know what happened but I lost a good 1/2 of my psi. I finished with less then 20 in both tires. Things were very splashy in the corners. I was pretty sure I would go down but I didn't. There was a neutral tire pit, but I didn't stop. I figured I was close to getting lapped so I would just hammer as long as I could for survival. Add to that the fact that crank bros. pedals are awesome at everything but sand, which Sunday was about 50%. I couldn't get in or out of my pedals and had two stupid crashes because of it.

So, there are the excuses. That is the thing that is galling about cyclocross, there is actual performance value in having the right equipment, ie. deep wheels in sand (they track better and are easier to ride since you're spokes aren't having to cut through the sand), tubular tires (have a lager footprint, roll quicker, and are harder to pinch flat), proper tire file.

But, hey, who cares. I know that I am about 1 1/2 laps down or about 7 min slower than some of the best guys in the world when not everything goes my way in a race. And, I'm a triathlete who is racing for fun and fitness.

It was a really fun race, although the sand running was rough. I can feel my fitness coming around so its exciting to see and I find I am already excited to race next week.

Here are some pics. I don't know what place I was. Not too good, I know that.

Today's Run

Help bring Boondock Saints II to Boulder...or your area!!

Wed there were 476 people demanding it, yesterday there was 24,455, today it is over 29,500. We got to get this number up. Come on people, I want this movie in CO. Lie if you have to just keep demanding it.

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Metro-Brokers Triathlon video

I just found this little interview from this summer. I gotta try not to repeat myself so much. In my defense he did just grab me like 20m after crossing the finish.