The surprise question of the day, ‘wetsuits allowed or no?’. I try not to fret about things out of my control but this had me worried. It was so hot outside for this 2:30 start and the water so reviving. It was the difference between going all out in the Australian style (2 laps with run on the beach) swim and having to hold back for fear of over-heating. Phillip the race director informed me, ‘wetsuits allowed’, I snapped my fingers and sighed, disappointed. Then, grabbed my wetsuit and started the long walk down to the beach. It happened to be low tide, meaning a good 400m run up to T1. Having my wetsuit on it was too hot to be standing around in the sun and headed straight for the water.
Barely a minute into my cool up I hear whistles and see the referee waving me in furiously. I come in and he is shouting at me in French. “Je ne pas compre” , I say , “je ne parle pad frances”. Undeterred, he pulls out his card rouge (red card) and yells more while pointing me back to T1. I have no idea what just transpired but head back to T1 and listen to the ‘all French’ race briefing.
Luckily, Dan, a local who I had met the day before saw everything and conferred with said referee and two other refs. Not understanding the race briefing and heating up in the sun I head back to the little conference hoping to not be yelled at again. Dan had smoothed things over, “pad problem”. “It’s OK’. Apparently getting a red card is a DQ. Because I was not listening to the mandatory race briefing the ref kicked me out before it even started. Thank you Dan for changing his mind!
We lined up on the beach packed in tight ready to crash the seas on a moment’s notice. The moment did not come. We waited for a few minutes, a ref blew his whistle and I jumped. Oops false alarm. One of the refs was standing right in front of me and I said, “pardon si’l vou pliat”. He did not like that. He said something to the effect that he would move when he was good and ready. Finally, the race started and I was barely in the top 20 starting the swim after the jump and dive.
By the first buoy I managed to get into the top 10 and by the second was in the top 5 where I stayed for the run up on the beach. The second lap was smooth and I was able to hold back to avoid over-heating while swimming in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. The 4 of us had a slight gap on the next few guys.
We were tight coming into the beach but I lost some time doing the jump and dive to the shore and then stumbled getting my wetsuit off. Those 10 seconds would prove hurtful. T1 was smooth and the 3 lead riders were within reach with a good surge. With the help of 2 riders behind me we bridged the gap and the 6 of us had a good chance of staying away.
My riding tactics were awful though. Five or six times my line was bad and I even hit the brakes forcing unnecessary accelerations. And accelerating is definitely a weak point in my racing right now. I closed the gap 5 or 6 times but then it happened again and was unable to bridge the gap. Ouch, I was riding solo and looking back saw nobody. It was then that I realized I had been sprinting since the moment I left the water. 20 seconds later, I felt recovered but the gap was now substantial.
Rather than blow my race trying to catch back up I did the smart thing and waited for the second group to catch up. It wasn’t until the start of the 2nd lap (3 lap bike) that the second pack of about 15 riders engulfed me.
A few instants later and I was attacking hoping to break up the group. I tried a couple more times as did a few other riders but none were successful. By the end of the third lap my lines were much better but it was too late to pay off. I feel fortunate to have not crashed considering we were passing swarms of other riders starting the 2nd and 3rd laps. Very interesting with an all draft legal race.
T2 was horrible. I left a GU in my shoe and forgot about it. The little prank cost me time and the GU was way too hot for consumption. The referee seemed to be yelling at me but I ignored him ‘knowing’ I had done nothing to deserve his attention. He tackled me. He was giving me a stop and go penalty. I looked on bemused. Then someone yelled at me in English that my race belt number had to be in the front. I simply moved it to the front and voila, my confrontations with the refs were over. The damage had been done, now running 10 seconds behind the entire group.
Feeling good but wary of the heat and humidity I charged ahead. The people of Saint Jean de Monts kept me going with their cheers. I ran not wanting to let them down. The run was 4 laps with each one having a 300 meter run on the soft sand part of the beach. Ouch! Dede and Pat, among the volunteers saved the day by providing lots of water. Thank You! I drank a ton and poured even more on my head. All of it was needed to get me through to the end.
I was thrilled with my 35:23 10k run considering the course and the conditions. Finishing 14th was disappointing but the field was strong and some small mistakes really cost me. Dialing in some speed and adjusting to the climate will help a lot. It’s only been 6 days since we left Boise.
Reflecting on the last six days, three times that much seems to have passed by. It feels like we’ve been in France for months. It’s tremendous to be having so much fun without the time flying by.
Results
Since the ITU circuit was in my neck of the woods (sort of..), I made the trek down to our nation’s capital to watch the third leg of the ITU World Championship Series (WCS). And it was well worth the trip because I got to watch two amazing races.
The first thing you notice is the atmosphere that surrounds the event. Everything about it breathes elite racing. The start line is not composed of a few elite athletes with a lot of part-time “pros”. It is entirely composed of elite, professional athletes. Athletes with Olympic aspirations, competing for very good (for our sport…) prize-money. Because of the level of the athletes, everyone watching either at the race site or at home through the Internet were treated to two very competitive races, with constant changes in the dynamics of the race, which made them both interesting and very fun to watch.
When I got back home at the end of the day, I checked how Ironman Coeur d’Alene was going. And the contrast with the ITU WCS race was evident. With extremely weak fields, both men’s and women’s race were far from exciting, with second place for the men being 10 minutes behind the winner and third place almost 20 minutes down (!). The women’s race was a little more “exciting”, but just for the battle for second place. All this for the first Ironman race of the year in US soil.
The writing is on the wall: professional Ironman racing is dying. This is not new, it’s been a slow death, brought on by stagnating prize-money purses and the increased number of races, causing a watering down of the competition. But this slow death is somewhat puzzling given the growth of the sport in the last years. With its logic of maximizing the profit out of the events that runs, the WTC is showing an incredibly narrow focus that is hurting the sport as a whole. This effect might not be noticeable right now, but it will be in the future.
Going back to the ITU World Championship Series, it seems to be a risky bet that is paying off. Having the best athletes perform in great stages around the World is a great idea, and one that is advancing triathlon more and more into being a worldwide sport. The race in DC is a perfect example. Just like having the Tour de France ending in the Champs Elysees, the streets of downtown DC were the perfect backdrop to bring triathlon into the mainstream. Big kudos to the ITU and the local organizing committee.
http://thetriathlonbook.blogspot.com/2009/06/contrasts.html
Exploration is an activity that awakens my soul. Two things happen that fill me with joy; it involves traversing new space. The physical act of moving brings delight while encountering new terrain engages the mind. The action being one of heart rate inducing endorphins whereby one is biking, hiking, swimming, kayaking, running, skiing, walking or any other way to scamper over land and sea. Add to this a new environment and presto…mind, body, and soul bliss.
With traveling comes this opportunity to explore. Harmony ensues.
Awaking early on our first morning in Saint Jean de Monts, Hortense and I don simple running attire and turn left onto the small road in front of the house. The break of day rays pleasant on our skin with sea breeze air refreshing in our lungs alerts the senses. Minutes into the run we cross a road and start on a dirt trail intimately woven with the forest. The closeness in the trees is calming and quiet. Several rabbits scurry into thick brush hoping not to be followed. A favorite dish around these parts; there instincts serve them well.
The flatness of the area as a whole gives way to rolling landscape and stunning cypress trees. Parts of the trail feel like running through a cave, ducking branches to stay untouched. We are motivated to make our way to the beach, knowing it could be around any corner. The trails wander this way and that, down little valleys, up hillsides, and into clearings. We zig zag through the forest.
Running into a quaint meadow our footsteps startle two deer. Startled too, my senses focus on their fluid, supple, agile, and elegant movement. I’m envious of their athleticism. It appears nature is victorious in flourishing the deer’s skill for survival. Within seconds they are out of sight, seconds more out of ear shot. I run on hoping nature victorious in flourishing my skills.
Nicolas Alliot (Saint-Jean-de-Monts). : Stéphane May
Saint-Jean-de-Monts. Les meilleures chances locales de podium reposeront, dimanche, sur l’Américain Kévin Everett, et le Français Nicolas Alliot.
Après Les Sables et Jard, Saint-Jean-de-Monts organise son épreuve internationale, ce week-end. Au programme, samedi, le championnat de France par équipes D2. Les étrangers les plus connus présents ? Kristian Mac Cartney (Cesson-Sévigné) et le Belge Axel Zeebroek (Besançon).
Axel Zeebroek s’est fait remarquer lors des derniers Jeux, en posant le vélo seul en tête, avec le Luxembourgeois Dirk Bockel. Tous deux pourraient doubler, dimanche, et se mesurer au favori, le Français Stéphane Poulat. Les Montois, eux, évolueront à domicile, avec l’envie de bien faire. A l’image du Luçonnais Nicolas Alliot et de l’Américain Kévin Everett, pour qui ce sera sa première course en France.
Formé à Luçon, le jeune lycéen de Mendès-France, à La Roche, a rejoint le 2e club vendéen (derrière Les Sables), il y a trois saisons. Une première année pour voir et progresser, une deuxième pour aider l’équipe élite à rejoindre la D1 (chose faite), et une troisième pour faire sa place.
En début de saison, il a tenté de se qualifier pour les championnats d’Europe juniors. Mais, blessé, la barre était trop haute. Depuis, il a pris la 2e place de son équipe, lors du Grand Prix, à Beauvais (66e), et une 3e place, le week-end dernier, à Jard, derrière son coéquipier, Torok (2e). Après un Hongrois, Nicolas Alliot fera donc équipe, dimanche, avec un Américain de 34 ans.
L’équipe de Saint-Jean-de-Monts : Nicolas Alliot, Julien Leroy, Mathieu Agnus, Alfred Torok (Hongrie), Adam Fitzakerley (Australie), Ruben Bravo, Andrès Del Castillo-Carnevalli, Anton Ruanova-Fernandez (Espagne), Ethan Brown et Kévin Everett (Etats-Unis).
Le programme. Samedi : 14 h, Grand Prix D2 femmes ; 15 h 30, Grand Prix D2 hommes ; 17 h, avenirs (7-14 ans). Dimanche : 10 h, découverte et relais ; 10 h 30, triathlon féminin ; 14 h 30, international courte distance.
