ITU LD World Championships Down Under!

http://www.triathlon.org/news/article/2009_ld_triathlon_champs_results/
Hi all! Above is the website link for the race results from Sunday's ITU Long Distance World Championships here in Perth.

I just wanted to give a brief synopses of the race. It was a pretty brutal day, for everyone. Very choppy 3km swim, we were all pretty spread out. Thanks goodness for all the years I have put in in the water. I got tossed around a bit but fought the entire way and survived coming out of the water 5th. With all of the jelly fish and slim in the river I came out actually not in bad shape. Transitions were good. The bike felt very solid. It was the best bike I have had in a long time, and it finally felt like everything came together. I felt like I was ridding my bike as opposed to it ridding me. My Orbea felt very solid and as always I feel very fortunate to be on it and not just smoking fast, but looking smoking hot out there as well! All of the 4, 20km loops were very consistent. Again, the bike was very windy. It was an X shape of 4 laps. About the first 4km was great wind at the back, then a 4km directly in your face, then a pretty good cross wind. So glad I went with my trust Zipp 404 wheels as opposed to using my new Zipp 808's that I'm not yet that comfortable with, I believe it would have been nerve racing out there had I. Though it was hot and dry, my nutrition went well. I had 3 water bottles and about 1/2 of my electrolyte drink, along with 4 GU's (2 Chocolate and 2 Latte). Coming onto the run I knew that my legs and body were tired and it was very, very hot. But my stomach felt well and I gave it my all and laid it all out there. It was again consistent in terms of the 4 laps. Running is my weakest link and it has a ways to go, this is exciting, but also frustrating as 2 or 3 girls passed me. But I am remaining consistent and patient, I know over the next year or so it will come along. As my friend, and the male champion on the day shared with me, it is all about the patience. "Decide what you want, then make the sacrifices to make it happen." Thanks TO and congrats!

All and all I'm really happy with the day. 10th overall, at my first World Championships race, and the first female American! Yeah!

Thank you so much to all of my family and friends and coach for your incredible support and making this possible! Thanks as well to my sponsors for their continued support and incredible products and equipment. First Endurance, Zoot/Zoot Ultra Team, Fuel Belt, GU, Suunto, Orbea, Zipp, ALCiS, Somerset Farms and USAT.

A proud day to be an American!

Many hugs! I'm off to enjoy this country! I'll explore Perth, going to Rottness Island today and then over to Brisbane. I may actually do a triathlon in Noosa next Sunday! Or just enjon the town and have a few days off b4 hitting the winter training!

Chat soon and all of the best with the rest of your seasons!
Becky

Augusta 70.3: Sprint Finish?!

Augusta was a bit of a 'last minute' race. I knew when I did not finish Canada that I would want to do something else. Ironman Wisconsin was just too soon, and the timing for this seemed pretty perfect. The bonus was that Derick's parents live in Greenwood, SC, only 1 hour from Augusta, so I could wrap a visit in with them along with doing a 70.3 race. Always a plus! I flew in on Friday, and had a very smooth day of travel. I arrived to Augusta early afternoon, got my little Kia Rio rental car (note: bike boxes DO fit into the back seat of tiny cars!) and headed to my hotel. The rest of the day really consisted of nothing more than building my bike and laying around my hotel room. It was awesome. I had dinner with some friends at Nacho Mama, a great little mexican place in downtown, enjoying a tasty margarita to wash it down with.

Saturday I awoke to some gloomy, rainy weather, so I opted to do a short run then eat breakfast. It cleared up by about 10, so I headed out on my bike for 20-30 minutes just to loosen up the legs and make sure the bike was in working order. All felt great. I then found myself with about 6 hours to spare! Lovely! I again proceeded to lounge in the room for awhile. Watched TV, computed, snacked for lunch. I went to the pro meeting at 4:00, but opted to not rack my bike; we had an 'option' to do this. There were thunderstorms predicted overnight, which hit us VERY hard, so I am very glad I kept the Orbea safe in my room until race morning. I had dinner with Fred and Donna (Derick's parents) at Macaroni Grill (salmon, orzo, and a Peroni... same meal I had before Redman in 2007! superstitious? maybe...) and was back in the room by 7:00 or so. Feeling very relaxed and excited to race!

Sunday morning I woke pretty easily and headed to transition area VERY early. Transporting myself, I wanted to be safe with my time. I frequently have a 'transporter', that being my parents, Derick, or a friend not racing. I had to be responsible for ME! Oh so stressful. But, I made it there by 5:30 or so and got everything set up. We had a 1-mile walk or shuttle to the swim start. I waited for the shuttle at about 6:30 but it was not coming, so I opted to walk the 1-mile. BAREFOOT! I had my swim gear with me and nothing else (goggles, cap, and Zoot speedsuit) so away I went walking, in the dark, towards the start, some on dirt, some on rocks. I used to like to walk barefoot as a child; I believed it made me 'tough'. I guess I have not changed much since then.

The start was quite a scene! There was some jazz music playing, and it was very lit up and had a 'festive' feeling. They had a large dock jutting out into the Savannah River for us to start on, and the pros had a 'dive start' for the swim. How unique! When we wandered down, I tried to position myself right next to Pip Taylor and Laura Bennett, as I knew they would be the 2 fastest swimmers. We were off promptly 4 min after the men. We had a favorable current, so all you had to do was keep up with it! I was able to stay with them for a few minutes, then they gapped me a bit. I exited the swim in a comfortable 3rd place, just 20 seconds behind Laura, which pleased me considering she is an ITU specialist. Onto the bike...

I have been on a new Orbea Ordu for only 2 weeks, and I was excited to try this out in a race. I felt very strong from the start, but I did make a mistake which I knew going into it; I did not take enough gels with me. I had a Gu flask filled with 4 gels, and I had one stashed in a pocket. This is only 500 calories, and I can often take up to 700 on the bike. Stupid mistake. But, thankfully the aid stations had PowerGels, so I grabbed 2 of them about halfway through and was good to go. I held my position for awhile, but got passed by 2 women on the bike. I tried to keep them in sight, but for the majority of this 56 miles, we were all quite spread out. The course was deceivingly a bit tough, as it was not 'hilly' but not 'flat' and the wind picked up as we progressed. I really enjoyed it. There were quite a few false flats, which entailed a lot of gradual uphill work. On the fast sections, I got as low and little as possible and tried to conserve. By the time we headed back towards transition, I was (as usual) READY to get off the bike! But, the Orbea (and my legs) served me well, as I was right in the mix (5th place) coming off the bike.

I flew through T2 and was off on the run. They had a great transition area, with blue carpeting over much of it for us to run on. I came out feeling very strong, and I could see women in sight right off the bat. Yay! I had my 4 gels in hand and was ready to try to run some people down. My legs felt quite strong, but I try not to get too wrapped up in this the first mile or so...I just try to find a steady rhythm. One key thing in races is to keep your composure. (this lesson I'll learn fully in a few more miles). I plugged along the streets of downtown Augusta, which were lined with spectators; it was awesome! Great job to the crew at Premier Events Management on this run course. We did 2 loops whereby the fans could see us multiple times. By mile 6, I had moved into 3rd place. I saw Derick's father Fred at this point, which was nice to hear his encouragement. By about mile 8 or 9, I finally closed the gap on Laura Bennett. It seemed I was able to pass her feeling strong, but she is one tough girl and as I looked back, she was sticking right to me! I joked to her about 'loving sprint finishes' (but in my mind was like 'shit, she does those all the time!'). She is an awesome person and great competitor. We ran shoulder to shoulder for a few miles, which started to become rather painful. At mile 12, a small group cheered loudly for me. I have to admit, I got excited and surged. I believed that I had a 1-mile 'sprint' in me, and this was a not-so-smart move. At about mile 12.5, Laura passed me back and I thought 'damn...I went too early'. I did not give up, but by the time we turned the last corner, about 100 yds from the finish, she had a good gap on me and I was pretty waxed. I ran into the wonderful finish area, greeted by so many spectators, and despite being 6 seconds too slow today, I have to say I was one happy camper.

Final thoughts? I noticed that the week of the event, a few 'big names' popped onto the list. I will not say this makes me more nervous, but it makes me realize that I will have to up my game to really be a top contender. In all honesty, I love it. I love knowing that there are some bad-ass women stepping up to the start line, and it will take a great performance to be at the top that day. I fully believe that on any day, anyone is beatable. I went into this event with my game face on, and I think the bad luck in Canada contributed to some added fire in my belly. And while the finish is awesome, and the PR is a huge accomplishment, there is nothing better than walking away knowing that I am finally seeing results from the years of work I have put in. Today, finally, I found myself in CONTENTION off of the bike. A strong run split put me in the mix for first... not the frequent 4th or 5th, due to a weak bike. I have to give a huge thanks to the other women out there racing, notably to Laura, for being a damn tough competitor who never gave up; and also good friend Desiree, as I am always trying hard to keep her behind me on the bike! We have to appreciate our competition, because if not for them, we would not have the motivation to constantly be upping our own game.

Take home lesson... TAKE WHAT THE DAY GIVES YOU and enjoy every minute. Those spectacular days of racing are sometimes few and far between, so take them, run with them and let them propel you forward. Oh, and, learn some strategy for a sprint finish; just in case you are in my position. Sit on their heels and wait for them to make a move! Don't get too anxious, like I did!

-Kelly Williamson-

Catching up

Hi everyone! I’ve been meaning to write a season update ever since July now. I’m terrible at sitting down at the computer... Anyway, now that my season is over I have much more free time. This season flew by, as it always does…My last race of the year was Augusta 70.3 which was a new 70.3 this year. I was a little hesitant to do a first year race but it fit nicely into my schedule so I decided just to go for it. While I was pretty disappointed with the town of Augusta, I was pleasantly surprised with the race itself. Everything seemed pretty organized and I loved the race course. The swim in the Savannah River was fast due to a strong current and I actually managed to stay with the main pack (a huge accomplishment for me!) despite getting constantly tangled in weeds. At least I didn’t see any alligators (there were rumors of alligators in the river)! The bike course had rolling hills and was pretty windy but I felt great and pulled off a new PR (thanks Orbea!). The wheels came off after that thanks to some awful quad cramps and my run turned into a survival just to finish. The run would have been awesome. It was a 2 loop run course up and down the main street of Augusta and was lined with spectators. Had I been feeling good, I would have had plenty of encouragement and would have loved the motivation and cheers along the way. However, I felt too awful to care at that point and just wanted the race to end. I did finish, pretty frustrated with my run, especially since I had such a good swim and bike. I am encouraged by the progress I made this year even though I left most of my races pretty disappointed. Lots of improvements happened all around and hopefully next year I will be able to pull it all together. I can’t believe I am mostly done racing for the year except for maybe a few small local tri’s and road races. For the first time ever I can actually say I wish I was still racing. I’m sure once the weather gets colder though I’ll be happy to be done :) Good luck to everyone still racing this year and a big congrats to Kelly on her 2nd place at Augusta!!! -Heather

Season Update #2...

Hey Zooter! First of all a huge congrats to my fellow team mates and their awesome performance's this year. A special shout out to Kim and Megumi for their conquest at Worlds. Way to go representing the "older" members of the team, like me. :) Summer is a short off season from racing here in Arizona due to the heat but training continued. Last weekend I had a solid Olympic effort at the Nathans Triathlon in Tempe, AZ., and placed 5th overall with my first 59min bike split thanks to Orbea. :) Next up is IMAZ in Novemeber and a ticket back to the Big Island for 2010.

Good luck to all ZOOT team mates in Kona next weekend!

Updates. Sorry I've been away so long! All the best as everyone ends up their 2009 season!

Hello hello! Hope everyone is well and depending on where you live enjoying the weather. Mother nature brought in a cold front with the first official day of fall here in CO and most of us outdoor junkies frowned at the inclination of summer coming to a close. I personally was put to the test when I debated a mountain ride in snow and below zero temps, and gave into a bit warmer flat ride in town when the settled. Time has flown since my last race here in town, the 5430 1/2. It was an amazing experience to race with many of my peers and women I often meet out on the roads or in the pool at FAC. I was thankful for their support and that of all the volunteers, friends and sponsors who cheer from near and far. I had a very successful swim, wearing my Zoot Speed Suit which has a great fit and always feels fast in the water and transition. Thanks so much Zoot for keeping me in snazzy and functional attire from head to toe every day in training and on race day! My bike was the best yet for the season. I cannot help but feel fast, and continue to improve my ridding on my awesome light, comfortable and aero Orbea Ordu and Zipp racing wheels! As the season has progressed, I have become more and more comfortable, and the guys here in Boulder at Retule are so right when they said that your TT bike should be your most comfortable bike and position. Thanks so much to Orbea and Zipp who have been wonderful support and additions to my team. My nutrition felt great. 30minutes b4 the swim I took a chocolate GU with water. On the bike I sip water from my aero bottle and take a mixture of GU gels (in my Fuel Belt bike box) and my mixed drink re-evaluating every 15minutes how I'm feeling and what I need. Typically I feel that the combination of sugar, electrolytes, sodium and caffeine take very well to my body and hit the spot without any GI trouble. When I got off the bike in transition I felt strong and took off on the run. The course is very open and on a hot day, although not that hot for 5430 1/2 history I heard, it was still hot. In a 2 lap course I had a successful first lap. My body died on the second lap and with 3 miles to go it felt like little more than a shuffle. It was frustrating and disheartening to have 4 women pass me in the last 2 miles, but on this day I had left it all out on the course and did my best to make it to the finish with all I had left. I ran through the finish to a cheering home crowd and was among many greats in the sport. It was my best performance of the season so far, and though many minutes from my PR, I was happy with the effort and the continuous improvement. Thanks so much to all of my friends, support and sponsors. Especially to Zoot Ultra Team and Team Sports including Zoot, Orbea USA, GU Energy, FuelBelt, Suunto, Zipp, and ALCiS for helping to keep me healthy and able to race in the best gear and on the best equiptment, I would not be able to be the athlete I am and continue to grown into without each of you and your amazing products. A big thanks as well to my coach Susan with C2Ecoaching for keeping me on track.

Onto more interesting news. I found out 2 days ago that I was in the top 3 with my 2 less than stunning 70.3 performances at Buffalo Springs and Vineman and could have the honor of represent the USA as part of the ITU (International Triathlon Union) Long Distance Worlds Team in Perth, Australia October 25. I'm in the process of deciding if I can financially swing it with the bit of assistance I will receive and be able to take the honor. Although I do not feel in the best shape of my life, as I've been working a lot lately and trying to fit in the best and most quality training I can. I know that I deserve the spot and hope I can make it work. I suppose we must always live in the moments and embrace what life presents us with without fear or judgement. Cheers and all the best to everyone as the wind down an amazing 2009 season! Hope to be winding mine down in Perth;)! Hugs Becky

World Championships- Gold Coast

Great job team Zoot at the World Championships!
Congrats to Kim McDonald, Mark Harms and Megumi Matsuda!

next up is Adam Jensen in the long course championships.
Good luck!

Ironman Canada

Ironman Canada is a race that I have wanted to do for a long time - it's 4.5 hours away from my house, the altitude and climate are identical to home, and I've been regaled with epic stories of the course and the support that Pentictonites lend to the event. Unfortunately, it's only 6 weeks before Kona and it is therefore a race that I haven't been historically able to justify doing. This year, without the burden of training for Kona on my horizon, it was the perfect opportunity to pack up the Suabaru and head north of the border. My prep going into the race wasn't exactly ideal, as I raced 6 consecutive weekends in the 8 weeks between IM Coeur d'Alene and IM Canada. The racing was fun, but it meant that I wasn't doing the volume that would ordinarily make me feel prepared going into an Ironman. I trusted that I had some residual endurance from my training for Coeur d'Alene, however, and felt confident that I could have a solid race.

The travel and pre-race obligations went well. I drove from Spokane with fellow pro triathletes Katya Meyers and Mark Van Akkeren, and we found a little downstairs apartment in a duplex in Skaha to call home base. My training in the days before the race never felt great, but I'm convinced that's always the case before a big race. The only thing I knew that I could count on for race day was heat - it was predicted to be in the mid-90s and the preceding days were certainly uncomfortably warm. Mark, Katya, and I did our best to avoid the heat and we calmed our nerves with nightly screenings of Da Ali G Show whilst fully decked out in our compression wear (I think I had the edge because mine was Zoot).

I was surprisingly calm on race morning, because I knew that the day would take up to 10 hours and nerves are useless in a day with so many ups and downs that most tribulations can be remedied. It's certainly not like an ITU race when the smallest misstep can take you from 2nd to 20th place. I had a good swim warm up and that's when I became eager to get things going. With 71 pro athletes on the line, the swim start was rough. Nonetheless, I found some great feet to jump onto for 2/3 of the swim. Swim conditions were perfect - wetsuit legal but not too warm, and relatively flat. I PR'ed with a 1:01:12. I had a similar swim in Arizona, but in this race I started the bike leg with women who it usually takes me a while to catch. This suggests to me that I swam relatively better than I did in AZ.

The first 30 miles of the bike to Osooyos were just as fast and windless as everyone promised they would be. I was careful to soft pedal and I actually saw my heart rate dipping into the 130s for sections of the ride. It was a little mentally tough to be so conservative, but I knew that I would need to save my energy for the two mountain passes on the course. I've also come to learn that I really have to dial back my effort on the bike in hot races to ensure that my digestive system can continue to absorb water and calories. Richter Pass was the first sustained climb, and it actually wasn't very hard. I tried not to let it zap too much of my energy though, so I sat up, spun, and kept the effort in check.

Then the badness began. The wind started blowing. Hard. The rollers after Richter were at least a little protected by virtue of it being hilly, but the flat section before Yellow Lake was mind-numbing. The winds were by no means Kona-esque, but they aren't supposed to be and I had assailed with tale after tale of being blown home for the last 20 miles after Yellow Lake. The wind would offer us no such assistence on this day, with one glaring exception -it brought in a thick layer of smoke from wildfires to the north. It was a bit gross thinking of my lungs turning black, but it did screen the sun's direct rays. I suppose I'm lucky that I don't have asthma. The wind continued to blow in our faces for the remainder of the ride and the last 4 mile false flat back into town was downright demoralizing. I certainly didn't have the bike split I expected based on previous years' times, but it doesn't look like anybody did really. I think my split was a 5:22, but I'll have to check.

I always get a little daunted in T2. Marathon time. Just a marathon. After a 112 mile bike ride. That's all. Here we go. Surprisingly, despite the heat, winds, and smoke, I felt really good starting the run. My goal was to start at 7:40 pace and to build from there, but I got caught up in it all.

I feel so good right now . . . I should go with it. . . after all, I have a tail wind . . . and I think I'm going downhill . . .

So I ran a few miles at 7:00/mi pace before settling into a more realistic speed. Around mile 5 I caught Kat just as Janelle caught me. Janelle was hauling and I didn't try to go with her in the hope that she would fade. There are some pretty substantial hills on the course, especially towards the turn-around at Okanagan Falls and, as on the bike, I backed way off of the pace and tried to conserve energy for the final stretch.

I suspected that fellow Zooter Sara Gross might catch me on the run, as I didn't get quite a very comfortable lead on her after the bike, and the girl can run. Just after the turn, she did just that and passed me with assertion. At that point, there was no going with her. It was survival mode all the way back to town and with some steep hills and headwinds, my pace slowed slowed substantially. I was nervous that the group of girls behind me would catch up as I watched my pace get slower and slower, but apparently the carnage back there was even uglier. I also got occasional snippets of information about a few girls ahead who were falling apart, and I chugged my way back into 4th after falling to 6th at one point. Apparently, I had the 3rd fastest female marathon split, which astounds me because I felt like a snail out there. It just goes to show what a hot, windy day with high stakes can do to a high caliber field of competitors. I'll take that as a learning day for Kona (yes, I'm crazy and I'm going).

In the end, it didn't feel like a very fast race, but I had one of my better executed Ironmans in terms of patience and energy conservation. It's frustrating to spend a day going so slowly, but when the last few miles of a marathon feel that bad, it suggests to me that my new laid back approach to the bike and early stages of the run is working. That being said, I have a LOT of work to do fitness-wise before Kona. I suppose I can only accomplish so much in 6 weeks and I am getting married next weekend, which means I won't be 100% dedicated to training until after the friends and family have departed. It's not an ideal build towards a world championships, but once I figure out how to get my bike and me affordably to Kona, I plan to enjoy it thoroughly. This season has been a blast so far, and I don't regret a single day of it.

Of course I have to thank my awesome support network for getting me to and through the race. Special thanks to Zoot and the ULTRA team sponsors: Orbea, GU, Zipp, Suunto, Alcis, and Fuelbelt. Except for the final 9 coke-fueled miles of the marathon, I subsisted entirely on GU20 and the new uncaffeinated pineapple Roctane. Yum yum! I also want to thank Lifesport for providing on-site assistance, and especially to Coach Dan for listening to me prattle on about whether or not to take a Kona slot before it was even an issue. I'm so lucky to have such a fun job!

happy training,
Haley Cooper