TriStar Germany 2011

First big race of the season done...
TriStar Germany in the Town of Worms just 50k away from Mainz.


The TriStar format races over the distance of: 1k Swim, 100k Bike, 10k Run, so good for me with the short swim but not so much with the shorter run... and the bike? Well we'll see?
As the bike course isn't too far from my house I was able to check out the course a couple of times... OK the first time was in the week of the Mainz Half Marathon (I haven't had a chance to blog about this yet) which was bad prep for the half marathon... getting lost on a number of occasions and cycling almost 200k?? Nicht so gut!
However if you have the possibility to ride the course do so, it will help your performance significantly... and I've written a few reasons why at the end of this Blog.
The build up to this first big race has been good. Training hasn't been excessive... I'm too partial to sitting in cafes with good company for that ;-)...  but consistent (90 hours logged for April); I have been reducing my carb intake (though I have never been a fan of pasta... I hate it when you go to someone's house and they say: "You're an athlete right? Cool, I've cooked you a bucket of pasta... get stuck in!"); a new bike set up and shoe insoles (thanks SMIT and CycleFit.de); new Blue 70 wetsuit; some super fast tires and a few other things I will try and go over in another blog... may be at the end of the season?
On the downside as I'm building up to Ironman Austria in the beginning of July I had no time for a real taper leading into Worms.
But onto the race... bike racked, no drama's apart from the nice little 'oldish' German lady who wanted to use my pump... "no probs of course you can"... but then of course like a real woman she couldn't use it ;-)... so of course I had to do it for her... lucky I'm such a Gentleman and not a Precious Pro I mean I've never seen Rasmus Henning pumping up old ladies tires?? Pumped them up to 8 bar... "no, 15 she said"... "What?"... "ja 15, Ich brauche 15!!"... I was just about to argue with her that 8-9 bar would be a much better idea... but I could see she was beyond reason...
There are 3 types of people in the World who think they know everything about Life and the Universe... these are: Doctors (or was it real estate agents??), Germans and Women... ;-) she was at least 2 of these. So up to 15 the tires went, she was also lucky that my Guns are so ripped at the moment?? As I left the transition later I heard at least 3 tires exploding... why do people ride around in training on 6 bar and then think 15 is the way to go in a race??? Of course I couldn't help secretly hoping one of them was hers... I think actually it was my use of the Dark Side which probably caused them to explode... but hey I'm actually evil to the core.

Your 'pumping up tire powers' are weak Old Lady now you will feel the real power of my Guns...!!!

There were about 20 pro's on the start line... didn't really know any of them me being the only Kiwi guy... mainly German uber bikers?? Swim start into the river... planning to swim as strong as I could to the first bouy then find some feet and stay there. Mann it is so hard yet so crucial to concentrate in this first 200m... if you lose the feet you will see a nice little pack just disappear into the distance... but RESULT! I kept my focus and found myself at the back of the chase pack... perfect! I grew up in a city where the only things you did at the local pool were play Space Invaders, Bombing and Petting... my swimming used to be complete shit... now it's only a bit shit.

There was a 400m run to the Transition... sweet... I virtually sprinted it and got the fastest T1 split... at least I won something :-)


So onto the bike... Fabach and a couple of others were off ahead and we formed the chase pack which grew to about 10 riders at one point. The first hill I thought I'd test the legs... man I felt good! Seemed to be cruising up the hill passing most of the others in the group even having a little chat to Andy my team mate as I passed him... he didn't look so happy.
Went on like this for most of the ride with me and Jens Kaiser trying to lose the group to no avail on a number of occasions. Until with about 30k to go Jens got a gap going up a hill... I saw the chance and attacked to join him and we managed to lose everyone... Schoen!!!

Attacking on the bike... losing those Germans at last!

We rode well together until the last 10k where I slowed to take a bottle from a station... he was gone and I couldn't catch him dam and blast! Taking that bottle was a mistake! I was even more pissed because I didn't need the bottle I just took it because I went back into old bad habits. I've been studying a lot on fluid intake in racing recently and as a result I have been drinking a lot less... in fact for the whole 100k bike (temp around 24 degrees) I just had about 700ml of concentrated electrolyte and two gels. For the 10k run I had 3 gels and no fluid. 
I was very pleased with my run finishing the race strong I caught Jens with about 2k to go though I couldn't catch the Alun Brit in 3rd place... well at least this was all my central governor would allow me to do?? I crossed the line in 4th (Pro) and my thirst systems kicked in 'Where's the freekin Vasser??' I rather rudely announced.


So a great race... I swam, biked and ran well beating some strong competition... may be one of the best races I have done...?? But if your training well and always willing to learn and achieve more then you should always be improving.
Congrats to Team Captain Phil Mund... 1st in his AgeGroup! Gut Gemacht Bro!
Full results can be found here: TriStar Germany 2011 Results
Now I have a cafe date... sorry, I mean I need to go and swim 6k and drink an egg white and wheatgrass smoothie... so I've gotta dash :-)


Catch me at my next race:
12th June Maxdorf Middle Distance Tirathlon (Half Ironman), Germany.
3rd July IRONMAN Austria, ermm Austria.


Sweet as,


Westy xxx

Lowering my Cortisol levels mid long ride is very important AND teaching my body how to process fats while exercising at the same time... always thinking me!

Reasons to be cheerful... know the course:

• The main reason to go around the course is to 'please' your Central Governor. If your brain is not familiar with something it will always hold more in reserve by making your 'perceived effort' a lot more than it should be for the speed you are going. It is not obvious that because you know the course you are going faster because perceived effort is the same... but you will be... thats the reason why Soccer Teams always play better at home.
• Obviously knowing the turns and the best lines to take means you can take them faster.
• On all the hills you will know which gear you can use... this especially means you won't unnecessarily have to change the front gear... which at best is inefficient or at worse can lead to a dropped or broken chain. Lance Armstrong in the TT stages of the tour used to get his team mates heading off before him to ride the hills in their big ring and tell him if it was possible... didn't matter if they struggled or dropped a chain.

10k Racing, Pacing Strategies and the First Race of the Season

Triathlon Team Rhein Main, at the Mainzspitzlauf 10k. Benny, Pantani and Me... finishing 5th, 6th and 1st... Gut Gemacht Team!

So like Super Hans I ran a 10k not so long ago... it wasn't quite as 'Easy like a Sonntag Morgen' though I was a bit of a jelly afterwards, however it was good to get a race into the body and mind.
The race was a flat though technical course through the countryside near Mainz. A good test to see how the winter base training had gone. Races are the best way to practice... ermmmm... racing. It doesn't matter how many 'simulation races' and 'race pace sessions' you do in training they can't replace the real thing. Racing brings a whole different spectrum of experiences: pre-race nerves; getting up early in the morning; travel; friendly or not so friendly competition; new equipment; performance anxiety; spectators; eating Bratwurst; having a poo 4 times before 10 am... all these are things you can't experience and therefore get used to and learn from unless you race. A small 10k race like this enables you to experience the complexities of racing so that you can be more prepared come the important races in your season... Benny now knows not to drink Hefeweizen und Flammkuchen the night before a race ;-) 


So I went into this wanting a full all out effort (nothing can push you more than racing) and may be get on the podium so I intended to race it a bit tactically... depending on how many skinny ass runners showed up.


Looking on the start line there didn't appear to be too many fast runners... I can tell just by looking at their legs... paying particular attention to anyone with a milk bottle for shoulders and a distinct lack of 'Guns' where the biceps should be... these are the enemy... the guys who only run. Quite a few triathletes there... in one piece tri-kit... you wouldn't get that in NZ???
So I thought I'd sprint the first 100m and see who follows... hopefully I'll be able to force any fast guys to set off too fast and hopefully they'll blow up later.... hahahahaha... what a cunning plan! Seemed to work... I heard one guy say 'Ach! Das ist zu schnell!'... two guys went with me and I let one of them take the lead... mwhahahaha... ;-)
The guy who took the lead was an obvious runner... he kept checking his watch every 1K to see that he was running at his target pace (or so I thought). Now although I hated to be beaten by this skinny guy with green compression socks on... yes bad fashion, I had to let him go. He was pushing me out of my comfort zone and he gained a 20m advantage :-(. 
But then at about the 4k mark he slowed and all of a sudden I was on his shoulder :-). OK I thought, I'll sit here, make it look as though I'm cruising and break him... I don't want to have to fight for the next 6k. Trouble was I nearly tripped him up as I kept catching his legs... jeez I would of been well pissed if I was him... I think he was struggling though. Well at 5k I thought I'm going to trip him up if I carry on like this so I'd better go and I moved into my final gear and left him... I was a bit pissed with that as it meant I had a suffer fest for the rest of the run but once you look into 'The Heart of Darkness' there's no turning back. 
I crossed the line in first place in 33:23 he was 50 seconds behind which meant I didn't have to hurt myself so bad but I wasn't looking back to see where he was. Funnily enough he asked me what my 10k PB time was... I said I don't know as I'm a triathlete from New Zealand and I can't remember when I last ran a 10k... so I told him this was it... couldn't make out whether this made him happier or not???

In the Heart of Darkness but thankfully with the finish line ahead :-)

Now a word on Pacing...


If you want to run a fast time then 'even or negatively split' your race... i.e. finish the first half of the race the same or faster than the second half... don't set off too freekin FAST! The guy who was second ran the same pace as me for the first 5k and then 50 seconds slower in the final 5k... this is BAD pacing... especially as he was checking his splits every K... what was he thinking??

For most races I don't race with a watch, HRM, GPS, Garmin or whatever... I think it's important to learn to race on feel, everything else is just a distraction. I tend to have 3 pacing Zones... the 'feelings' are generally the same whatever the distance you just spend longer in each zone:

1. "Right yes, this is fast, I'm working but I'm just under what I am capable of running". I was running this pace when I was sitting on the guys shoulder in the 10k... it kind of gives you a bit of recovery mid race if you need it.
2. "OK this is IT! This is freekin painful, but under control, this is my race pace, just need to focus on staying relaxed, control breathing, just keep flowing, forget about any pain or negative thoughts that pops into the brain". This was my pace over the first few k of the race when I didn't want to be sucked into going any faster which would've caused me to blow later.
3. "Now I'm looking into The Heart of Darkness... this is so so painful... all I can do is try and ignore that pain and stay as relaxed as possible... why won't it stop... make it go away ;-( ahhh Thank FFT... The finish". You can't keep this pace up for long during a race, 10 minutes, a few k before you have to drop the pace or finish... so try to avoid this feeling as best as you can when racing.

During a race you should aim to spend most of the time in Zone 2... using zone 1 as mid race recovery and Zone 3 as your turbo booster only to be used when really necessary... the last 5 - 10k of an IM I am in this zone.

So don't get too hung up on HR, speed, power when racing... there are too many factors at play when it comes to a race: inaccuracy in course measurements; hills; wind; cobble stones (???); 180 degree turns; temperature; weather; your fitness on the day; other competitors; drafting; emotions; nerves; equipment malfunction (my HRM never works in a race anyway!); coffee; bad pizza the night before.

I'll be doing the Mainz Half Marathon on the 9th May. As it's a flat and supposedly accurately measured course I will be using a watch to pace my 1K splits... even though I haven't run a half marathon for years so only have a vague idea of what time I can run. In the end I'll be focusing on my breathing and pain levels and just trying to go as fast as I can :-).

You can see the full results here: Mainzspitz 10k race results

And I hope you all like the new website... still a few things to do but nearly there.


Wherever you are in the World enjoy your racing or your resting... sweet as!


Westy xxx

Cycle Fit.de bike fit for Triathlon Team Rhein Main

Pissing, Scheisse Hund! Man I forgot how hard it was to make a snow man... how did I manage to roll a ton of snow when I was a kid!? The dogs didn't really appreciate my hard work and effort.

Just got back from the Bat Cave with fellow Team Member Jenny Schulz. Well actually we went to visit Cycle Fit.de to have our bikes set up for the coming season.

Lloyd doing his Bike Fitting Jiggery Pokery Magic in the Bat Cave

Cycle Fit is run by Lloyd and Britta who work with some of the best names in the Cycling and Triathlon business, for example they are the Official Bike Fitting Partners of HTC - High Road... so if it's good enough for Mark Cavendish it's good enough for me I reckon ;-)

Cycle Fit headquarters is like the Bat Cave... with computers, TV monitors, machines and gadgets everywhere. Of course all this equipment has a purpose: I went to find out what the ideal bike size and body position would be, using a stationary bike that can be set up to duplicate all manner of frame sizes and bike positions... as well efficiency, power distribution and lots of other technical stuff which I'm sure Lloyd knows lots about because a lot of it was going over my head ;-).

It was weird watching yourself biking on the video analysis... while biking... man you should have seen how stable my core was, legs going like pistons! Especially stable when Lloyd put me into a higher position... but we won't let him take credit for that... it's all because of my 'upper body core work-outs'... right kids ;-)??

Anyway I learnt what frame would suit me most but also my position and that raising the seat just a cm gave me about 10 extra Watts... choice! But also raising my aero-position made similar gains without altering aerodynamics... now that is certainly a Boon and a Bonus!

See all the Bat Cave is, is a bunch of 'Wheely Trolley' things!

Jenny was retro fitted onto her bike. She already had her bike position... but wanted to 'check' it was optimum... well it wasn't. I don't have before and after pics here but a few changes were made which made significant changes to her power output, comfort and aerodynamics... hopefully she'll be able to run off the bike better too!!

So if you haven't had a bike fit done GO AND GET ONE! For a fraction of the cost of a pair of fancy aero-wheels you could save yourself a lot more speed on the bike AND the run. Cycle Fit isn't just for the pro's in fact age-groupers can get a lot more from utilizing the expertise of Lloyd and Britta

Go to Cycle Fit for more information. They are based in Bensheim near Frankfurt Germany... thanks guys love your work!

Jen Meister with a much better bike postion than the BMX stylee way she way riding before hand.

So I'm off to the Canary Islands soon to live out the rest of the Winter there which will be nice :-) see you there.

But finally great work to everyone down at Challenge Wanaka! I missed not being there... that race is getting bigger and bigger, looks like a very tough day... that race has to be one of the toughest over the Ironman Distance... Kudos to all those who finished it!

Westy xxx

My niece Honor taking me out for some hardcore pacing / chatting about 'what's hot and what's not?' when it comes to 5 year old girls fashion.

Triathlon Team Rhein Main... 'Happy Bike Riding Times' and the last time in the 'Old Kit'???

Non-Conventional Triathlon Training, and Christmas Time

Happy Christmas all, I hope you all have something to play with come Christmas day... I remember getting a Scaletrix 'Minis' one Christmas and going into a total depression because I didn't have a spare plug for the adaptor... even though like a ZX81, Scaletrix is actually completely rubbish.

Had to get this post in before the craziness of Christmas starts.

I'd like to draw your attention to an excellent interview of Brett Sutton from the Boyz at www.imtalk.me Love your work guys.

You can get it here: Brett Sutton Interview it's at 00:40 and the second part is on the show after.

Answers a few questions that I often get when I coach athletes: "When do I start the speed work?"... "How will I get strength if I don't do weights"... "How do I ride at 120 rpm like Lance"... "I need to work on my core"

The methods used by Brett, which are similar to those used by Mark Allen, Gordo Byrn, Arthur Lydiard, but are very different from the conventional methods that are dictated to us by the Sport Science, Triathlete Magazines and Mens Fitness communities. It includes:

• Very little (if any) speed work. I've known pro athletes have their best results when doing only aerobic training... then they start doing the fast stuff... they fall apart / get injured / overtrained and guess what they start having bad results.
• A KEY phrase Brett uses: we are "Training to be EFFICIENT at LOW heart rates".
• Train to be a Triathlete... the amount of times I hear people say you need to train like a swimmer, train like a cyclist and train like a runner... as Brett says "It's Bullshit". Have you ever seen a Kenyan Runner ride a bike?... but sure go and train like them... or imagine Ian Thorpe running... having hyper-mobile knees and ankles is perfect for running.
• No weights / strength training.
• No core training... unless you have a particular area of weakness and have specific and individual exercises for this. Core training was just developed so that all these 'sport studies' students coming out of Uni would have something to do... if you want to get good at balancing on balls then go for it... if you want to get good at triathlon do something else.
• No swimming drills. It is actually a source of great amusement to me these days when I see age-groupers who claim they only have time to swim about 2-3k 2-3 times per week, get in the pool and do drills!?!? And breast stroke, butterfly etc. If you told them to swim 500m x 2 pull buoy, 500m x 2 paddles, 500m x 2 pull buoy and band they'd think you were crazy? "I get tired / bored / my arms ache if I swim for longer than 200m without a rest... where's the '50m sprint... 3 minutes chatting at the end of the pool x 5 set', as this is vital to improve my 1500m to 3800m swim time?"
• In fact no drills for cycling or running for that matter.
• UNLESS! That particular individual has something that may need working on such as a poor knee drive.
• No mega long bike rides and runs.
• No classic periodisation. The training program should be implemented according to the individual needs of the athlete especially age groupers who have a life outside Triathlon.
  
  

Pure Evil at the Weihnachtsmarkt

So why do people not want to train like this... many reasons really but this sort of training doesn't sell magazines and doesn't tell people what they want to hear... they want to get fast quick. People find it difficult to control their ego and slow down, they need to...

"Beat that Bitch who's started coming to squad, in ALL my 100m split times by at least a second each time because she thinks she's better than me... but she's not... I mean I am so much faster than her doing 'Chicken Wing' drills. But she seems to be improving more than I am... in fact I haven't improved since I can remember..? BUT if I just keep pushing as hard as I can I think I'll get an extra second and I'll do more drills and technique yes swimming is about technique because I read about these drills you can do in Triathlete Mag... written by a Pro Swimmer as well! My coach said I should do another 3k swim a week but I don't have time for that... I need to do my core work and someone told me that you have to have a strong core to be a good swimmer... As long as I don't enter any races that she does I'll be fine then she won't be able to beat me... but I mean she shouldn't beat me because I'm faster than her... well in the Squad sessions I am??"

Yes coaching athletes is a challenge at times... but that's often one reason why we need a coach.

"Errrmmm.... Help... Coach??"

We all make mistakes though I have made plenty in my athletic career I remember doing heaps of Drills and Total Immersion... my swimming was bad before and after it was totally rubbish! It's ironic but the person you see doing the most drills is often the person who is the worse at swimming... and of course I've done those Killer Track sessions and broken myself just to beat some young kid and his Dad... but it was worth it because they thought I was amazing because I beat them ;-)???

So some basic take home points:

• Just train... good focused aerobic training: swimming (free style), riding (pushing the pedals round... not free wheeling on someone's wheel) and running... one foot in front of the other and repeat.
• No Weights or Core Training unless you have SPECIFIC exercises to work on you own INDIVIDUAL weak areas.
• If you have more time to spare do more Swim, Bike or Run or call your friends and go for a drink :-)
• Build your training up to an amount of hours that you can sustain each week... and then just keep repeating.
• Train like a triathlete... always think how the session you are doing at the present is going to effect your next session and train for the SPECIFICS of Triathlon... i.e. don't 'train' breast stroke.
• Long Bike rides (for IM training) generally around 3-5 hours... long runs 2-2.30 hours.
• Do what's good for you as an INDIVIDUAL do what 'feels right' rather than what you read in a magazine: don't try and force yourself to land on the balls of your foot if it feels bad... yes you should have a general idea of your body position and where to put your limbs but your body will find what works best for it... all you have to do is train... i.e. perform the movement and you're body will work things out.
• Practice going as FAST as you can as EFFORTLESSLY as you can.

Now don't get me wrong some people love to have that 'Great Work-Out' feel, they like competition when they train or they love chucking weights around... this is fine, go for it because enjoyment is a good enough end result... but don't do them because you want to be a faster triathlete.

I'm going to go and enjoy myself in the Swiss Alps before Christmas for some Cross Country Skiing... won't really help my Triathlon speed especially as it will be more like 'Bambi on Ice'... but it'll be F-U-N.

Watch out for the all new website coming very soon!

Enjoying the Christmas Markets with The Germans... Tatyana and Markus

See you in the New Year...

WESTYxxx

Rubbish Scaletrix even with the 'Humpback Bridge'

One Day Machines Will Take Over The Earth

At last my computer is working again! I don't really like Computers and tend to just abuse mine... as a result it decided to not work for a few weeks.

My German friend was dismayed about the amount of crap that was on my desktop / harddrive and that I should employ a better 'System'... I told him that a good proportion of my day is spent contemplating such things as whether girls pick there nose and eat it*... the rest is spent working, training and talking crap... I don't have time to organise systems... it's not in my Anglosaxon / Kiwi blood... but thanks Markus for your Uber IT powers :-)

So here's to some more Blogging... once this pile of work is done...

Bis Dann

Westy

*So far I have had only one sighting in my whole life and it happened recently... I think it was quite a life changing experience?

Kona 2010... Raelert gets Owned... How to Race Like Macca

What a Race...! What a Race!... This is a cool Vid and Summary of the Mens Race. Check out the 'Packet Abuse' @ 02:15. "Hey Raelee wanna drink? You thirsty back there? Na... I'd rather throw it down my pants :-)"

Yep Kona was certainly an entertaining race. Macca was awesome and there weren't many people out there predicting that result... including me...

You'll see from the clip how fast Raelert is especially when he passes Lieto... on paper Raelert is a better runner (just?) than Macca but Macca beat him mentally and strategically.

Macca let him close the gap to less than a minute, I think forcing Raelert to go too fast in trying to catch him but then he kept Raelert dangling there before he LET him draw level. If Raelert had gone straight past him it could have been different but one of the worse things you can do with an athlete like Macca is to run alongside him and have a bit of a chat... Sideways glances... Shaking hands... Letting him get in your head... Going through the aid stations first (Raelert was obviously pissed at Macca taking a few drinks in front of him??... I couldn't translate his lips though?).
Macca made sure that Raelert's Central Govenor started to kick in and quite literally forced his legs to stop working... Raelert could barely stand up as he crossed the line.

We can all have a go at racing like Macca and beating our opponents with mental tricks and strategies. Whether you are at the front, mid pack or battling it out at the rear, there is always someone around that we are racing against... and that's why triathlon and racing is such a thrill... the excitement of competing against that guy up the road, the one on your shoulder or that one who's been drafting your ass the whole race! It can definitely make a difference and allow you to grab a few Age-group scalps... maybe even leading to a podium position or just beating 'That Guy' you've always wanted to beat... Sweet!

• When catching some one up make sure you have a little rest before making the pass to get your breath and composure back. Then go past as fast as you can BUT make it look as easy as you can. Continue this pace until you are out of sight or you have opened up a good gap. Basically the person you are overtaking will think 'there's no way I can keep that pace up' and they'll let you go without a fight.


• For added effect when making the pass have a chat with them (this is why it's good to get your breath back before). It depends on your acting skills but I always like to hit them with a good one-liner... "You're looking pretty good Bro!" is patronising and sarcastic... "What's up with that shit all over your face?" offensive and demoralising... and with urban races... "I'm more of a Postmodernist man myself" confusing and bemusing.


• Another method is to pat them on the back or butt as you go past them... (Raelert does it to Lieto as he goes past him) just to put that final nail in their coffin. Marcy P did it to me as he passed me in Challenge Wanaka and I remember thinking... 'Man he's cruising??'... he later admitted he was on the limited but didn't want me to put up a fight. Darn it! :-)


• When running out-and-back courses always make sure you are running fast and looking good when running towards your opponents (i.e. when they can see you). Once you pass them you can slow down but you want to make them believe that they won't catch you (if being chased) or that you'll catch them easily (if you're the chaser).


• When going through aid stations take the lead so you get to choose what you take. If you want to be extra cheeky offer a drink or two to your opponent... you're just showing him how confident (and friendly) you are.
  
• No matter how much your hurting do your best to not let it show... this is when the acting skills come in. Even though you're about to puke your lungs up work at keeping your composure and learn how to say a full sentence as you exhale... believe me it works! Sunglasses are also good in pulling off the disguise too.
  
• If someone is running about the same pace as you and you really want to annoy / break them just sit on their shoulder. So not directly side-by-side but with your shoulder just behind theirs. Match all their movements... it tells them that you are just sitting there quite comfortably and you can go past them anytime. I broke Gordo like this at Epic Camp... he actually told me to run behind or in front of him... I went in front and it was easy after that ;-)


• And as for throwing ice cubes down your pants... I guess it can give you that 'jolt' you need to get the gap. But come on your Packet goes through enough with all this IM racing... shrinking to the size of acorns they do their bit and try to keep well out the way and you go and torture them more with an ice bath!? The Ancient Greeks did all their sport in the noddy... could be the way forward?

Dam, have I given too much away? Hopefully I won't be racing you anytime soon?

In the Women's race Miranda was awesome but big respect has to go Dibens for doing the whole bike pretty much on her own and hung on for third. Shows how difficult it is to ride without 'drafting' AND have a top run.

Sweet AS! To everyone I know who did the race... looking at the list of Top Quality Pros who didn't make it into the Top 10 (Top 20 even?) shows how tough and competitive Kona is these days.

Viel Spass

Westy

Hawaii World Champs, Kona 2010 Who's Gonna Win?

Taper time in Kona: Rasmus, Dirk, Terenzo et al... a HRM strap is all you need for fashion over there but I'm a bit disappointed no one was rocking Speedos??? :-(

Yes it Kona Time... Ironman World Champs... THE most important race on the Triathlon circuit...

I wish I was there of course... may be next year??? If you do ever get a chance to go whether to race or spectate just do it... it's wicked, awesome and everything. I raced it in 2006 and I'd love to go back to watch; all the fun but without the stress... everyones having a party in town but you piss off on your bike for 5 hours!?!?

Anyway I digress here's my picks for Sunday.

(Disclaimer... the good thing about Hawaii is that anything can happen and there are so many Uber athletes who can make the top 3)

Men:

1. Andreas Raelert
2. Rasmus
3. Crowie

Now of course I would love my buddy Dirk to get on the podium and he certainly has the ability but these tips are purely professional (I'd put you in 4th Dirk). Also watch out for Potts my outside tip. Hawaii is like an ITU race these days. There are so many ex ITU guys who are of course great swimmers. If you can't make the first pack in the swim you're forever playing catch up to guys who are as good as or better biker / runners than you are! That's why the likes of Brownie, Norman and even Macca struggle to do well. Lieto making the pack in the swim last year was vital to his performance... but we'll see what happens, that's what great about the sport you just don't know???

Womens:

1. Some British Chick??
2. Dibens... another British Chick
3. Berasategui... Spanish always got to watch out for them!

The Pro's will be setting off 30 minutes before the AGer's so the pro chicks will have to cycle on their own for longer without the AG men to help them. This will favour the better swimmer / bikers in the women... may be anyway??

I've never see Dirk looking so skinny but this is what it takes guys! It's unscientific but when you are looking this skinny you KNOW you've done all the training you could of done. Training is what makes you faster... no Silver Bullet.

Enjoy the coverage... it's our Speeeeecial Day.

Westy