One last update before the race: Nations Parade: √ Triathlon Expo: √ Underpants Run: √ Pasta Party: √ Bike Check-In: – How I’m feeling about the race: getting better by the hour, excitement is building fast What I expect from the race: it’s going to be hard My goal for the race: have as much fun as possible
After yesterday’s rest day (= watching fish at the pier for a bit), today’s last longer session was on the schedule. At 7am we headed out together with the rest of the crew toward Hawi — bikes loaded into trucks, athletes loaded into yellow school buses. Those were unbelievably cramped with zero legroom — even flying budget airline economy class feels like luxury by comparison. Oh well, it was only 1.5 hours. Once in Hawi everything was unloaded and we rode back to Kailua-Kona on the bikes. The first few kilometers were more about “how do I stay on the bike at all” — it felt unbelievably windy to me — but more experienced Hawaii athletes and even the bus drivers were of the opinion that it was calm 🙁 You can only hope it’ll be that way on race day too. ...
The days in Vegas went by faster than expected — a few more impressions to close out the chapter: Since yesterday I’m in Kona — the view from the bedroom is stunning: The first training session was on the agenda today. Together with the HHT crew, we rode out along the Kona Coffee Road to Kealakekua Bay, then continued in the water to the Captain Cook Monument and back the same way. ...
The first leg of my US trip takes me straight into the Nevada desert, to the gambler’s paradise of Las Vegas. Here are a few impressions: On training: Short version: more bad than good — things aren’t really flowing anymore. The schedule this year was pretty packed, it’s cost a lot of energy that I’m now missing. Well, the next two weeks will pass somehow too, and then it’s time for a break. ...
… see you in 2013 … Season’s end 2012 — somewhat unplanned and unexpected, but the alternative was too tempting. I had originally planned to race at the Breisgau Triathlon in Malterdingen, and then take one last shot at Ironman Wales to close out the season. But things don’t always go as planned … The opportunity that came up was simply too good to pass up. So I’ll be heading into a somewhat extended off-season and then throwing myself into prep for Challenge Roth starting in October/November.
… Your registration for Challenge Roth 2013 was successful. We look forward to welcoming you on July 14, 2013 in Roth. See you at the finish line. First hurdle cleared … and to raise the bar right away I checked the “Sub9” box 😉
Two days to go until the first race of the season, the Challenge Kraichgau. It’s always been a preparation race leading up to the season highlight — this year even more so than in previous years. Training under race conditions, essentially. Why? I was injured for a long stretch this year — almost 4 weeks out during the crucial base phase in February/March. During that time I ran exactly 20 kilometers. Cycling only worked with pain. Swimming was at least possible. In running I’ve probably made up the deficit — the recent training results at least suggest so. On the bike there’s still something missing; the long sessions aren’t quite where I want them yet. Of course I’d be further along without the injury, but for the Challenge that shouldn’t really matter. ...
Early this year I got a new wheelset from Zipp — the Firecrest 808 Carbon Clincher. The main reason was that I wanted to go back to clincher tires. OK, aerodynamics also played a significant role in choosing exactly this model. What’s typical for the Firecrest profile from Zipp is the width of the rim — at 27mm it’s considerably wider than other rims on the market. And that was ultimately my problem, and also the reason I hadn’t mounted them yet, let alone test-ridden them. ...