ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championship - TriathlonLong Course

I managed to get up front which I think minimized getting bounced around. Got my goggles knocked off in the first two hundred meters, but after about 400m there was limited contact. The course was alledgedly 4km. However, everyone swam about 15 to 20 min slower than expected. Suspect the course was longer than advertized + plus the conditions were difficult. There was quite a bit of chop and we were swimming into a current. Oh yea, the course swam directly into the sun so sighting was a little interesting. On a couple of occasions I popped up my head and saw no one (uh-oh). Then I spotted swimmers - usually to my left and then got back on course.

All in all, it was a decent swim. I was the third US swimmer out of the water. Would have liked to have been in the top 10% - but considering this was the world championships I was still competitive, just outside of the top 10%.

course details: http://www.triathlon-almere-2008.org/assets/images/parcourskaarten/...

I could have pushed it harder along the long swim to the harbor, but opted to swim a comfortable pace.

There was a long run to T1. Once I got to my bike, I took my time to put on some socks, eat a gel and get organized. This being said 5 minutes in T1 is a little too long.

Hussel alittle more.

The bike course was totally flat and was comprised of a series of right angle turns through the Dutch flatlands. There was a surreal science fiction atmosphere as the course went through a series of massive wind farms with 100' wind turbines that had 30' blades - actually it was quite cool to see up close.

Yes, as noted above, the fact we were biking through wind farms meant - sustained winds. The good news was that the course always changed directions via right angle turns. So, you were either going full into the wind, wind at 90 degrees or wind at your back.

My goal was to keep it above 30kph while biking into the wind. In a couple of sections, when the wind was at our backs, I would reach 42 to 45 kph (fast for me).

I was very please with my bike. I had figured on a 3:55-ish time, so 3:34 was very good - espically considering the wind. This being said, when you bike faster than you trained, you are going to pay the price on the run.

Course details: http://www.triathlon-almere-2008.org/assets/images/parcourskaarten/...

The experience of biking hard for an extended time was excellent. Need to do more intervals and 20km / 40km time trials. If you want to bike faster, you have to train faster.

Towards the end of my bike ride I had figured that I had over done it. I entered into T2 and started cramping up. I hobbled off the bike, went to the bathroom and tried to stretch. Moving gingerly, so as not to cramp-up, I hobbled off onto the run.

Not too sure I could have done much more. Was pretty tired after the bike. My T1 and T2 combined time was close to 12 miuntes. Should have been about half that time.

Three steps into the run and I started cramping up. The run became a battle of running up to the point of cramping up, but not beyond. If I had cramped up the run would have been over. This was a true mental run, counting down the kms one at a time.

I had planned to run about a 2:20. I was about 20 minutes faster than expected on the bike and then 25 minutes slower on the run - basically a wash.

The crowd support was great with lots of cheering Dutch fans.

course details: http://www.triathlon-almere-2008.org/assets/images/parcourskaarten/...

More interval work on the bike as preparation.

Not much of a warm down. Had to rush to get the bike out of T2 and onto the transport bus. Ironman and ITU world Champion Chrissie Wellington was waiting in the finish area cheering on all of the finishers - an hour plus after she finished. She was all smiles signing autographs and posing for pictures - a true class act :)


Need to do some more work on the bike.


A truly unique experience and privilege to race as part of Team USA. Would love to do it again. A big 'thanks' to my family for supporting me during my training - especially as we were in the midst of moving to Thailand. Thanks!