Los Alamos Triathlon

Yeah, yeah I know I am terrible at blogging. I've been told that since I go off on rants so often I should just type it out on a daily basis. So, that is the new plan.

Anyway, I did the nations oldest triathlon last weekend. The Los Alamos Triathlon is in its 34th year of existence, which is definitely the oldest in the country and most likely the world for that matter. The Los Alamos Tri has always been in the back of my mind and something I wanted to be sure to win at least once in my tri career. Los Alamos, NM is my home town, the race is the first triathlon I ever did (3rd place in '98), and I have had too many near misses at the race (3rd, and two 2nds in '03 and '05). So, considering all these motivators winning the Los Alamos Triathlon was something that has steadily grown in importance over the past few years.

In '03 I had west Nile virus and wasn't able to put out my best effort, and in '05 I had an early season fall and compression fractured my hip thus causing a calf injury as well. This year I was finally hitting on all cylinders and ready to put in a solid effort (even if I had a big training week in preparation for this weekends Chicago Triathlon). Needless to say, passing on the XTERRA Mountain Championship to go to my hometown race was a very easy decision.

This is a weird race. It is bike, swim, run (we don't have a lake in Los Alamos, only an Olympic sized pool). It is 20k over a very hilly course at 7500+ ft., a 400m zig zagging swim in the 50m pool, and a 5k run again over a very hilly course with plenty of altitude.

This has got to be the toughest format of triathlon you can possibly do. Without anything leading into it the bike is basically a pure TT. The speed is high and due to the mass start there is plenty of chances to draft (if you are that type of athlete). Fortunately, the difficulty of the course usually breaks up the group and keeps the drafting to a minimum. With such and intense bike to lead things off it is amazing how lousy you feel getting into the water. It really is very much like swimming band drill (swimming with a band strapping your ankles together causing your legs to drop). And if that isn't bad enough there is nothing (in my opinion) that feels worse then trying to run fast out of the water. I always feel heavy, slow, and disjointed.

Anyway, the day started of a bit too early for me. I was awakened at 4:18 (yes, exactly 4:18) by an intense thunderstorm. I never really got back to sleep and was pretty certain the race might be postponed or cancelled altogether. However, thanks to the dry climate of NM the rain was easily absorbed and even though it was still overcast and ligthly raining the race went off without a hitch at 7:00.

As usual the bike went out fast. Former pro cyclist, Clay Mosley, pushed the early pace. This was exactly what happened in '05 when Clay beat me for the win at my last Los Alamos Triathlon. I wanted to stay close to Clay since I know he has improved his swim and is no slouch on the run so I couldn't let him get away. Heading into the "mile long hill" on the 3rd mile Barry Claman lead Clay and I at a strong pace. Yet, as the hill began I seemed to find some climbing legs I wasn't entirely expecting. I caught Clay (who I would later find out was a bit ill and not 100%) quickly and would reel in Barry just before the top of the hill. For a moment I thought that was that and I would just ride away but Barry put up a good fight. We traded the lead several times and had dropped the rest of the field by the turn around at 10k. Barry kept the lead from the turn around to the descent down the "mile long hill" where as Barry puts it my "fearless descending" brought me back to the lead.

Coming into T2 I was just a bit ahead of Barry and hoping my swim work over the last several months would show up on the day. After not being allowed to dive into the pool (come on, Seriously?!) I was able to find somewhat of a stroke and separate myself from the rest of the field. I had almost a minute lead heading to the run and was able to suffer through the early stages and find my running legs by the turn around at 1.5 miles and enjoy the run back in.

For some reason it is always very satisfying to win you hometown race. Maybe because I have known this race for so long and dreamed of winning it one day. Anyway, I have to say that it definitely feels good to mark that one off the to do list, and I feel as if I have stepped to another level.

Also, it was very good to finally have a race this season that went well. I didn't have a crank fall off, or damage my foot. I was finally able to just put my head down and race.

Hopefully I have finally turned the corner after 3-4 years of stupid injuries, inconsistency, sickness, and frustration.

Is it the suit or the drugs?

It's a damn shame that this question even has to come up?

Jun 12th 2008
>From The Economist print edition
A new swimsuit is shattering records and unleashing debate

ATHLETES in the ancient Olympics competed in the buff, on the grounds
(among other things) that clothes were a hindrance to performance.
Modern technology, however, has changed that. In some sports, notably
swimming, the right attire can be an enormous boon. Take Speedo's LZR
swimsuit, which was introduced in February. Fully 38 of the 42 world
swimming records that have been broken since then have fallen to
swimmers wearing LZRs. Indeed, some of those records have been claimed
by less-than-notable racers, suggesting that the difference lies in
the apparel, not the athlete.

To make the LZR, four innovations had to come together. The first is
the fabric. The new suit is cut from a densely woven nylon-elastane
material that compresses the wearer's body into a hydrodynamic shape
but is extremely light. Moreover, there are no sewn seams. Instead,
the suit is bonded by ultrasonic welding. Seams act as speed bumps in
the water. Ultrasonic welding removes 6% of the drag that would
otherwise occur, according to Jason Rance, the head of Aqualab,
Speedo's research and development centre in Nottingham, Britain.
Compared with Speedo's previous suit, which was used by numerous gold
medallists in the 2004 Olympic games, the new material has half the
weight yet triple the power to compress the body.

Second, the suit has what Speedo calls an "internal core
stabiliser"—like a corset that holds the swimmer's form. As a swimmer
tires, his hips hang lower in the water, creating drag. By compressing
his torso, the LZR not only lets him go faster, because it maintains a
tubular shape, but also allows him to swim longer with less effort. In
tests, swimmers wearing the LZR consumed 5% less oxygen for a given
level of performance than those wearing normal swimsuits did.

The third innovation, a further drag-reduction measure, is that
polyurethane panels have been placed in spots on the suit. This
reduces drag by another 24% compared with the previous Speedo model.
Fourth, the LZR was designed using a three-dimensional pattern rather
than a two-dimensional one. It thus hugs a swimmer's body like a
second skin; indeed, when it is not being worn, it does not lie flat
but has a shape to it.

The results are a suit that costs $600 and takes 20 minutes to squeeze
into, and a widespread belief among swimmers competing in the Beijing
Olympics this summer that they will have to wear one or fail. The
director of the American team, Mark Schubert, for example, thinks the
LZR improves performance by as much as 2%—a huge leap considering that
tenths of a second may mark the difference between first and fourth
place. Arena, a rival swimsuit maker, called the situation
"unprecedented" and, initially, lobbied for a review of the garment
rules in an open letter to the sport's governing body, FINA (the
Fédération Internationale de Natation). Another maker, TYR Sport, has
launched another type of suit altogether. It is suing Speedo's parent
company, Warnaco Swimwear, Mr Schubert (for more or less insisting
that members of his team wear the LZR) and others on antitrust
grounds. The LZR is thus being referred to by some people as high-tech
doping on a hanger.

Speedo's success is partly due to a subtle rule "clarification" made
by FINA in April. It was this which confirmed that polyurethane areas
can be incorporated into racing swimsuits. Other manufacturers
complain it is unfair that a revision with sweeping implications took
place a few months before the Olympics. Still, they are rushing to
bring forward rival products. On June 4th FINA approved new suits by
Arena, Adidas and Mizuno, so Speedo's technological lead may not last.
In technology as in sport, records are simply there to be broken.

AND:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/swimming/7480772.stm

Doping blamed for recent records

American Hall is trying to earn a spot in his fourth Olympic team

Olympic champion Gary Hall Jnr believes the recent dramatic increase in swimming world records has more to do with doping than hi-tech swimsuits.

Since the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit was introduced this year, numerous world records have been broken.

"I don't have any proof but it's my gut feeling doping exists," said Hall.

"I am convinced there is an advantage to wearing the suits but I don't think it accounts for all the time drops we've seen."

Hall, the Olympic 50m freestyle champion who is trying to qualify for his fourth Olympics at this week's US trials, added. "I need to wait and see what it feels like to be shaved and tapered in these new technology suits.

"Do I think it (doping) is getting worse? Yes, I do. It's here, it's in the United States. I train with an international group of swimmers and all of them have stories and a few of them have had offers and I'm not at liberty to say (any more).

606: DEBATE What do you make of Hall's comments?

"Unfortunately, we rely on inadequate (anti) doping agencies for proof."

The 33-year-old also accused officials of not doing enough to rid the sport of performance-enhancing drugs.

"I have no idea where the sport is as a whole but to think it doesn't exist is foolish," he said. "It drives me crazy and I just don't know how to fight it.

"What bothers me most is the resignation and the attitude of the public that it is just part of sport today. We need to get over that because it is not ok."

Meanwhile, on the opening day of the trials in Omaha, Nebraska, six-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff set 400m individual world records.

Phelps broke his own world record of four minutes 06.22 seconds with a new mark of 4:05.22 seconds to secure his place in Beijing alongside runner-up Ryan Lochte.

Hoff beat Stephanie Rice's mark of 4:31.46 to qualify for Beijing in a time of 4:31.12 and will be joined by 15-year-old Elizabeth Beisel, who was well beaten in second.

Refocusing Again.

Right now I should be on my way to the beautiful visual splendor that is Lubbock, Texas. Originally I had planned on doing Buffalo Spring 70.3 this weekend (with the rest of Boulder, evidently). But, after having 8 races in 10 weeks (on purpose, I needed to get back into what it is to race) I decided after BAM two weeks ago that maybe I wanted another week before I did a 70.3, so I bumped my 70.3 race back to Lake Stevens. Now I have reconsidered that reconsideration.

The fact is. I have had 3 (maybe 4) really crap years. Over those years I have blown out my knee on a rope swing (stupid), compression fractured my back and hip (damn ice in my parking lot), got west Nile virus (damn mosquitoes), been anemic (damn iron, or rather lack thereof), and had a torn soleous due to a reaction from a succession of 9 separate insect stings over 3 weeks. Some of it was bad luck, some of it was being stupid, and some of it was trying to get fit again too quickly (i.e. impatience). All this left me on a slippery slope of loosing fitness, strength, and motivation as well as gaining a good 25 lbs.

Last year, I finally started to feel the pendulum swing and I stepped back from the brink of retirement to reassess my career and refocus on what I want from this sport, my future, and my life. I determined I am driven by the Olympic distance and that is what I want to focus on. So, I planned out my season and started climbing the ladder back to where I should be.

However, evidently I hadn't quite paid enough dues and suffered a broken crank, broken derailleur, and injured foot due to a cactus going though my shoe early this year. I'm finally starting to come around and feel like I just need a few more weeks before I am rolling.

It was this thought that lead me to bag 70.3 for this year. I wanted to qualify for worlds but at this point I really feel I need to just focus on what I need to do to be the best Olympic distance racer I can be and that means doing the fast, hard, high intensity workouts necessary to really be able to haul ass over the Olympic distance.

So, goodbye to Lake Stevens and most likely any 70.3 until after November. I know the longer distance isn't necessarily bad for and Olympic specialist as proven by Potts an numerous others but I can also say with complete confidence that the best thing any athlete can do is have long blocks of consistent, focused, uninterrupted work. And I know right now at this moment that is what I need.

For now the next race will be Boulder Peak on July 20th (my birthday). I plan to be ready for a podium not just a respectable top 10 or the like.

So, for now that is the plan. I will be sure to keep you updated how the little training camp is going.

More to come,

Jimmy

Time to pay the rent.

So I made all of $250 in the first half of my tri season. I am hoping and planning for more in the second half. However, I now need to make some money so it's time to start selling some gear.

It's all part of the glamorous life of the Pro triathlete.

Here is what I have:

BMC fourstroke 02 mtb size 21. ($3500)
- full XTR with a Reba World Cup and Easton monkeylite sl riser bar, Easton EA 70 post, Ritchey WCS stem.

Two 2XU Elite Wetsuits size ST (small tall) ($300 each)

2 Koobi Tri Saddles ($80 each)
one is soft

and 1 pair Zipp 808's ($1800)

If anyone is interested hit me up at jimmy@jimmyarcher.com

I'll try to get pics up today.

Jimmy

Proof Triathlon Is Making It In The Mainstream!!

F1 driver, Jenson Button did a triathlon, and he did pretty well. 16th out of 250.

Now if I can only convince the FIA to let me into an F1 race.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/22042008/13/button-competes-triathlon.html

Deuces Wild Tri etc.

Well, I'm sitting here trying to figure out how not to start this blog with an overused cliche. Definitely planning to avoid the old "have you ever had one of those races".

So...have you ever had one of those races?

The old ball and chain (Kristen) and I headed out of Boulder on Thursday destined for Show Low, AZ, and the Trisports.com Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival, roughly 10 hours from Boulder. It was supposed to be one of those easy drives made easier by a stop for the night halfway at my parents house in Los Alamos, NM in order to get out of the car and take advantage of one of the most kick ass pools in all the land (at least as far as a runner trying to become a swimmer's opinion is concerned). Hell at least it only costs $3.50 to get in unlike Boulder and their $7 entry fee to the 3 foot deep, current plagued, monstrosity known as Scott Carpenter.

Anyhow, as per my usual I was attempting to fit way too much into too little time and we ended up trying to get in a swim, run, 5 hour drive to AZ, and evening ride. Maybe a bit too much.

Actually got most of it in. Except my ride in Show Low ended about 30 minutes after sundown. I did get the opportunity to confuse the road triathletes competing in the 1/2 and OLY races the next day (SAT) by executing an intense hill repeat workout in the dark the night before the race. I don't think the realized I was doing the Xterra on Sunday and I wasn't some over amped tri geek trying to find fitness the night before the race.

As it turned out maybe I should have been doing the Olympic race instead of the Xterra.

The reason I headed to Deuces Wild was to support my sponsor's race(Trisports.com) and to pick up something like $600 bucks to help pay the rent for the next few weeks. I figured it was a good opportunity to get in an XTERRA since I won't be doing that many this year and test out my swim speed before Alcatraz and BAM.

And...everything was going perfectly until it suddenly wasn't. I came out of the water third and out of transition tied for first. I swam well but I think I got a little frantic trying to haul ass. I need to stay long. After getting on the bike I got to the lead within about 400m and pretty much checked out. I was feeling surprisingly strong and riding well even with the surprise of a stem not quite tight enough after being unpacked from the car. Ah, the downside of being your own wrench, nobody to blame but me for that one. On the upside I did bring a tool and was able to fix the loose stem as I rode.

I think we swam about 3 minutes faster then the leaders from the previous year and surprised some of the course marshals and volunteers when I started coming through. It was pretty cool hitting early intersections and water stops before anyone was ready and causing some confusion. I think I was asked "are you racing?" something like 4 times. Eventually I got through the closed gates, loose stems, and confused cops and started to settle into a good race pace. I was actually feeling really good and loving the hometowniness of Show Low (it smelled and reminded me of High School races in NM). Then on a relatively easy inconsequential climb I shifted and heard click- click-PING and then I was freewheeling. I jumped off thinking I dropped the chain, looked down and saw the backside of my derailleur staring back at me. I had wrapped the derailleur and broken the hanger. After a few choice expletives yelled into the trees I realized my day was done and started the long kickbike back from just about the 1/2 way point of the course. I went about a mile and a half before seeing second place, which only made the DNF that much worse. And that was that.

I pride myself on riding smart, shifting well, and taking care of my equipment. I don't think I was laying down that much power at that point but maybe it was just bad luck or an old chain. I will tell you that the full carbon BMC Four Stroke 01 had nothing to do with the derailleur issue and the frame isn't even scratched, at least the hanger did its job and broke when it should.

Anyway, I guess you can't second guess stuff. I felt strong in the water, I seem to be finding my riding legs again and if nothing else it was cool to be able to watch the girlfriend come away with a second place overall.

Now it is on to the BIG ones. Alcatraz next week, then BAM, then a week off and most likely Buffalo Springs 70.3.

It's funny to think that this time last year I was 25 lbs heavier, not very fit, working a full time job, and contemplating retirement from the sport. I have never really put 100% into getting everything done right until this year. There have always been too many different races, too many distances, and too many options. I think I finally have the experience to know how to focus, the commitment to build the fitness to excel, and the support to see it all through. I think all I need is a little luck now and some pretty cool stuff could start happening.

More to come...

JTR

Hello, and welcome to pro triathlete, coach, and freelance writer, Jimmy Archer's blog site. Hopefully you arrived here via my website at jimmyarcher.com, if not please check out my site as well as my blog.

This is my first post and will very soon be followed my many more. I am just ironing out my site today and I hope to have a race report from the Temecula Xterra and everything early season within the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by.