BlogJune 26, 2007 San Diego International Triathlon Summer has officially begun and so a few of my best friends and I decided it was time to spend a weekend in San Diego. A couple of 113 degree days last week in Arizona were enough to get us packing and motivated to hit the road! The San Diego International Triathlon provided us with an optimum excuse to get over there and enjoy ourselves with a little race to keep us occupied and out of trouble. I've done this event a few times and it's definitely in my top three favorite all-time races. The nice 1000 meter swim, hilly 18 mile bike, and pancake flat 10k run suit my strengths perfectly. The event finishes downtown too, which is amazingly cool! In 2004 I battled with Craig Alexander and Luke McKenzie on the run to eventually be beaten and end up third. Last year, I finished up second after I ran out of real estate chasing New Zealander Peter Clode for the win. Perhaps this would be my year! After a bad month of races and a couple of minor health problems (colds) I was really hoping for a solid race more than anything else. The weather and atmosphere was chill race morning and as always in So-Cal races some tough competitors showed up. As is typical for this event, I entered the water at the last minute and didn't get any warm-up. Out at the start buoy there were twenty pro men and about ten women awaiting the sound of the starting horn. Thankfully, I found Clode's feet early and got off to a hectic but fairly good start. I found myself in the lead group rounding the far turn-around buoys. This race actually had some pretty excellent swimmers so I was happy to be here, and I was working hard! On the way back the intensity was incredibly high as most sprint triathlons are. The lead group was breaking up and I was toward the back of it. Knowing that we had only a couple of hundred meters to go I decided to draft my way in rather than make a HUGE effort to lose a couple fewer seconds. This was a rare moment in triathlon where the decision to cut my losses was a good one. In a simple twist of serendipity the leaders forgot to round the last buoy and ended up going about 20 meters off course. Having done this race before, I found myself on course, and at the very front exiting the water. This is the third time I've been on the positive end of a pro-lead-swimpack-error this year and I'm enjoying this swing of fantastic luck. Perhaps my choice of a bad line at Alcatraz was my personal bad luck, or more-likely user error, for the year, let's hope so... Through transition I felt a little overwhelmed with lactic acid and didn't feel my normal excited self hopping onto my bike. I made a couple of mistakes, typical of being overly tired, and ended up getting out about tenth, just behind Michellie Jones. As the gaps started to grow I figured it was time to throw down and, unfortunately, was struggling to find my rhythm. On the first hill I rode past all but Clode, a Brazilian dude, Canadian Michael Simpson, and Swiss-guy Ian Pyott. Soon after I caught Pyott and went by Brazilian Suplicy. Next, I found myself passing ex-New Zealander, defending champ, and soon-to-be-American, Peter Clode. Now I had to catch Simpson and I could see him ahead in the distance with the lead vehicle. This bike course winds quite a bit up on Point Loma and it was rare at this point that I was getting much of a glimpse of him. I knew I wanted to catch Michael before the run, as he's a very quick runner and I wanted a buffer against him going into the 10k. I haven't been running enough lately and I was trying to be optimistic, while also remaining realistic, as to what strategy could most likely help me win the event. I think this way of thinking actually hurt me. My fear of going head-to-head on the run with Michael translated into me not putting the emergency effort I needed to catch him on the bike. Had I relished the opportunity to race him on foot, exhausted or not, perhaps I'd have made the required effort to close the final 30 or so seconds up to him. An opportunity lost, I started the run in second chasing Simpson. I wasn't finding myself exactly where I wanted to be, but for the first time in a while I could at least SEE where I wanted to be, in a decent-sized pro event. Simpson was with a lead vehicle maybe 200 meters ahead and I went to work hoping to dent and eventually eliminate his lead. The first mile I was surprised at the snappiness (is that a word?) in my legs and the possibility of running him down seemed to increase. Around mile two I think the lead was about the same and I was running a good race. At this point my plan was to keep serious pressure on him all the way to the finish, wait for him to falter, then make my move with all I had left for the win. I saw him look back a few times, which helped to motivate me. It seemed like the right idea until young Chris Foster came FLYING past me out of nowhere. I've been watching this guy for a couple years. He's from Venice Beach, California, and he ran in college. Usually his horrendous swim has kept him out of the hunt, but obviously things are changing for him, and us. I stayed with Foster for all of 50 meters and that was it, the possibility of winning the race was gone. If anything, Simpson pulled away from me slightly by the finish and Foster flew by Simpson with about a mile to go. Ath that point I was just trying to run solid and hold onto the final prize money position and podium, which I did. I think Foster ran around 30 minutes for the 10k, ridiculously fast. All in all, not a bad race! My form is on the upswing and I'm starting to feel decent sensations again. Next week I'm doing the BAM Triathlon near Salt Lake City, then the Carlsbad Sprint Triathlon, followed by Long Course World's in L'Orient, France. I hope I keep progressing each week to reach a peak on July 15th in France, that's the plan anyway. After that, I'm going to back everything down for 2-3 weeks then start a serious aerobic-base/weight room build-up for Ironman Hawaii. Michellie Jones ended up winning the women's race fairly easily, as usually happens. Her tremendous abilities and professionalism have always left me in awe, and I will continue to try and emulate them well into the future. I talked to Foster for a minute after the race and I had to geek-out and ask him about his running history and times. He's run a 4:01 mile, recently. Now that's speed! I offered my condolences (like he needed them) to Michael Simpson with that inside Foster-information and he informed me that he himself has run sub 14:15 for 5000 meters. Wow. Paired with the fact that he was a Canadian Junior National Team cyclist, Simpson is proving to be a darn talented triathlete. All of a sudden I didn't feel so bad and a bit re-motivated to continue to work hard as triathlon is being invaded by incredible athletes! After the race I spent a relaxing evening in La Jolla and then drove back to Arizona the next morning. Thanks to my sponsors Right-Toyota, Wellements, Vemma, and of course Tri-Scottsdale. You guys play a huge part in what keeps me going! Thanks for reading, wear sunscreen! Cheers, Lewis « Back to Blogs |
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