Korean Capitulation

It is now proven that if athletes start a race in 42 degree heat, at least 1/3rd of the starters will wither, idle and drop painfully; just check out the results from Sunday's race in Incheon (which was obviously also a bit long too). Incheon served perhaps the most brutalist conditions in existence, just ask those who collapsed or DNF'd. Nevertheless, the strong survive and I was happy to walk away with a win in my last race of the season.

The swim was weird for me and I didn't feel normal. I didn't have much motivation to train after Tiszy 2 weeks ago, and only swam once in the 2 weeks leading into this race. I still managed to start well though, despite half the field going off seconds before the gun (see old mates foot in the bottom right corner :0 ). I clawed my way through the dogfight and led through the first lap. The hot water was really getting to me so I dropped back so I didn't burn myself to quickly.

We had a good group of about 12 guys out onto the bike, and we worked really well to put about 5 minutes into the chasers. Gaps like that don't happen every day, so we were all pretty psyched to get out there and belt each other on the run. I think I was a bit too excited, and set an ambitious pace considering the heat. I ran by myself for about 1km before Sam Betten caught me, passed me, and kept going. I was caught by 2 other guys, found my rhythm again and began to run with some feeling. There were little rolling hills each lap so it was really tough to keep driving the legs at a good cadence. Anyway I knew I was racing for 2nd place by the time I hit the last lap, and was dancing with the Czech guy that sat on me the whole way. After about the 4th attack I broke free, and battled to the line ahead. I finished, broke the tape, collapsed fought another battle for the next hour not lose consciousness. I was informed that I won just after I power hurled on a Kazakhs shoe, after Betten had consequently collapsed at around the 9km mark. I had no idea Betten dropped out, and it didn't even click when I broke the tape that I had won. I dip my hat to to Betten though, I almost met the same fate! While I was on the ground, I could hear more people around me collapsing as they were finishing, and one girl even went into a fit. 3rd place was even absent from the podium presentation as he was admitted to hospital.

I've decided that I'm taking some well deserved weeks away from the sport, and will be rediscovering the things I have forgotten about since my last break in September '09. It was great to finish the season off with a win, and I'm already anticipating getting my legs back on for Noosa in late October. I'll still be getting around though, with a trip to New Zealand this weekend, India in October for Commonwealth Games (to watch my sis), and many other things in between. It's going to be an exciting few months for me, hopefully some of which I can share with you on this blog. In the meantime, here's some bonus shots of some Koreans having fun on the weekend :)

Thanks for reading, and the support.

 

Oh and too the guy who stole my race flats and sunglasses that were lying next to me while I was on the ground after the race.... you know what will happen when I catch you wearing them!

한국 감사합니다

I'm in Incheon, South Korea at the moment and will be racing the continental cup here tomorrow. I had to get back to Asia at some stage this year, and I'm glad I have made it this race. No athlete will ever get treated so well going to a race as they do here in Korea, and the sick course seals the deal. It is perhaps the most bravely conceived course I've come across, so I hope it turns out to be as good as I'm anticipating. Here's the view looking over race site from my window.

Basically the swim is two laps out and back in a tiny little canal, maybe 40m at its widest point (it's a full field too, 76 guys!). Transition can't really be seen, but is behind the random golden stairway in the middle of the picture on the left hand side. The bike is technical, and should be great for a small front group. The run is on small paths through the little area of bushland seen in the photo, and is quite undulating and windy. It should make for great viewing and a very tough race! The course goes along all the photos below. *Also, Dimitry Gaag will be performing his comeback race; 40 year old former world champion and former (?) EPO user*

I would like to take the time at the end of this post to publicly introduce the young Ryan 'I don't have a nickname' Fisher. He is racing tomorrow and again in the junior elite at Budapest. He has been carving me up back home on the pavement over the past week, and I'll definitely be a little anxious tomorrow when his little man syndrome kicks in. Watch out for this kid!

Epinephrine

With the triathlon season in decline, recreational pursuits have regained some appeal. I had my first dance in the dirt today with my new vehicle. *gallery featuring noob driver Ryan Fisher*

Sonic Recollections

This may or may not interest anyone; here is the playlist from my last session.

Constants- Walking Dead in East Texas

Njiqahdda- Interiumka

Jesu- Hard to Reach

Minsk- Cermony Ek Stasis (Part One) (Part Two)

Isis- Threshold of Transformation 

Lantlôs - These Nights Were Ours 

Irepress- Cyette Phiur

Journey to the End

So controversy has been afoot within the crypts of the online triathlon world, mostly in response to Matt Chrabot's pre-Kitzbuhel banter. I have come to really respect the guy, not just because he sees things for what they are, but also because he can back his shit up too. Well done Matt on yesterday's race, finishing a stoic 4th. More so, congratulations to Stu Hayes on maybe the sickest win I've ever seen. I feel as if I share some things with Stu, as I draw on some of this post-race comments;

“The only way I can win these races is to get away on the bike, otherwise there’s no chance for me.  Either I get away and it works or I end up near last place because I gave everything I had trying to get away. That’s the way I like to race.”

For now, this too is the way I race, and after watching yesterdays race, I don't think victory could be sweeter any other way.

Tiszaujvaros

Swim/Bike/??? - The World Cup on the weekend was nothing short of crazy. It seems that essentially the 2nd division of ITU racing, World Cups, has just gotten a new injection of talent and speed.  Let's go through a few stats. The winner of the World Cup on the weeeknd would have cleaned up Gomez in 2008, and every other winner of in the history of the race for that matter. My time on the weekend would have gotten 4th in 2008, even though I finished 48th in 2010. I understand that this is a bit too objective to take seriously, but it's interesting nonetheless. My Kiwi brethren told me that Shane Reed ran to victory in 2002 wth a 32:30 or thereabouts run split, which wouldn't have seen a top 30 in 2010. Etc etc, this game is getting increasingly tough.

So I led the race for 3/4ths or the distance, only to finish back in 48th place. I was very motivated to make sure I was in a small front group on the bike today, and the best way for that to happen was to puch the pace on the swim. I guess if you want something done you have to do it yourself, so that's what I did until a Jap was happy to swim past me at about 1300m. Good on you mate, save it for the first KM on the bike next time :) The first 5km on the bike is where it all happened. My SRM rile showed speeds of 53km/h (all flat roads, no wind) and consistent power about 400W. Our group was down to five by the time we hit the first lap in town. I would say we worked well, but definetly could have worked better. For the effort I put in on the bike, I would have expected a gap of about 3 minutes by T2, not the 1 minute we had. I guess a motivated chase pack of 60 guys is to blame. One minute ultimately was not enough for my tired legs, and I succumbed to some bad numbers.

So my European trip is over now, and I'm on my way back home down under. It feels like I'm at the end of one journey, yet at the same time I feel like I'm starting one much bigger. I have a few new ideas, hopefully I can write about them soon.

Burgs

Visual Expressions 2.0

Here are some pictures from Tiszy. I have been here for 2 weeks now, and it feels weird that I'm finally racing on Sunday. I was joined by some fresh meat from Oz last Saturday, so it was good to have some familiar company. The atmosphere in the town is growing, and it's getting exciting! The World Cup in on Sunday, and caps off a week long festival here in the town. Turn it on Tiszy!

                              ^^^^ All in one ride!