NPN

On the Podium in Galveston

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:23:00 -0700

Last weekend I traveled to Galveston, Texas for the final race of this (very long) 2011 triathlon season. It would also be my fourth race in the last six weeks. The Galveston 5150 was the final event of the hotly contested 5150 Series for 2011, and I was excited for the timing, as my fitness has finally been hitting a high point since my car incident a couple months ago. Usually I end the season in late September, but this year, we decided to push until almost November--stretching my season out to a staggering ten months!!

The Galveston race was set with a strong field that included a former Olympian, an Ironman champion, the winner of this year's Alcatraz Triathlon, and a score of other tough triathletes. Even though the relatively flat and fast course didn't necessarily suit me, I was excited for the challenge.

We lined up for the swim in a very calm back bay on Galveston Island for a one-loop 1500m swim. As the gun went off, I found myself easily into a pack and swimming very comfortably. Only after a few minutes did I realize that I was swimming a bit too easy, and was not in the pack I had hoped for. I spent the rest of the swim trying to go off the front of my group and joining back up with the pack I needed. Upon turning back into the bright morning sun, and losing the buoys in the glare, I had to give up and simply follow the other guys with me into the swim exit or risk being lost at sea!

Aerobically I felt very good coming out of the water into the first transition, but had some nagging pain in my hamstring--something that had been bothering me for a week or so. Knowing my hamstring could act up later in the race during the run, I hopped on my bike and hammered hard into the headwind. The first half of the course had us going into a pretty solid wind, so I tried to get as small as possible and really push the first half. I was able to make up quite a bit of time on the front group pretty quickly, and upon turning around at the halfway, I could see that they were falling apart fast. With the wind at my back (and being happy I had chosen such a massive chainring for this course) I slammed the bike into my hardest gear and began pulling the rest of the field back.

Upon entering T2, I only had a few guys in front of me, and I figured I would have no problem running through almost all of them. Despite having pushed so hard on the bike, my first two miles went very well, until suddenly my hamstring started pulling incredibly tight. I knew this would be a possibility (hence killing myself on the bike), so I did my best to keep it together, run carefully, and not have to stop completely. Because of the work I did on the bike and the first two miles of the run, I was able to still hold off the others, and have a fantastic podium finish in 3rd place!

This is my highest finish at a 5150 race all season, and a podium I am proud to be standing on. Though I would have liked to have my trademark speedy run at the last race of the season, I am proud of my finish because I held it all together when everything started to fall apart. I was savvy enough to anticipate a problem later in the race--even when running out of the water--adjusted my race plan, and executed a great overall race. Definitely a great way to end the season.

In a way, I was able to use the hard lessons from this entire season--things not going to plan, adapting in the face of adversity, keeping it together when everything is completely out of my control, etc.--in my last race of 2011. I was able to change the way I approached the race *as* the race is going on, not in my analysis afterwards. After all, hard times are nothing but hard times if one doesn't learn from them. And the whole lesson is useless if one doesn't apply it in real time to prevent further disaster.

It has been a long and rocky season, but because of the support from sponsors, family, and friends, I have been able to make the best of bad situations, and still craft a successful season overall. Thank you so much for your support, without which, this continuing journey would have never been possible.

Chris Foster Takes First in Nautica Malibu Triathlon

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:43:00 -0700

"To begin with the bad: At the end of July, my teammate and I were hit by a car on PCH in Malibu while riding our bikes. My teammate sustained a mild concussion. I hit a large shard of the car's mirror, tearing open my left bicep and requiring an ambulance ride to UCLA trauma and 22 stitches. After three weeks of healing, I was finally able to get back in the pool and back to work--unfortunately leaving me just over two weeks to prepare for the biggest race of the non-draft season, Hy-Vee. While the rest of the field had focused on this race 110%, I was left to race probably at 60% at best. Despite the setbacks, I still raced as hard as humanly possible and still managed a respectable 25th in what was essentially the World Championships of non-draft racing. I am proud of this result as only five weeks before, I was lying on the street unsure if I would even be able to lift a fork with my left arm again!

On to the good: Last weekend, after a few more weeks of solid (and accident-free!) training, my coach and I decided to enter the Nautica Malibu Olympic Triathlon. Malibu has always been a mainstay of the Southern California race scene, always selling out in a few weeks and attracting a decent pro field as well as *tons* of media attention (this is LA after all...).

My coach decided we wouldn't taper going into the race, so I went into Saturday's event on extremely tired arms and legs. The morning before, we even nailed a hard 4,000m+ swim workout.

Race morning saw ideal conditions--glassy water, medium waves, and nice cool temperatures. We lined up on the beach, set to go off with a few other waves of racers. The gun went off, and I immediately charged to the front, dolphining through the waves and eventually reaching the first buoy in the top three. After about 400m, two guys broke off the front and began to put some distance on the main pack I was in. I stuck in it, and eventually one of the leaders slowly came back. I latched onto him with a couple others and cruised the rest of the way in. Running out of the water, I looked around and realized I was third out of the water, only 49 seconds down from the leader--Frasier Cartmell, who had crushed me on the swim at Hy-Vee only two weeks earlier. I blew through transition and hopped on my bike to begin the hunt.

Once on the bike, I was in familiar territory--the entire bike course was on the exact same road I train on every week (also the same road I was splattered all over, just weeks before). Cartmell had the fourth fastest bike split at Hy-Vee two weeks ago, so I knew I was in for a tough catch, but I put my head down and gave it my hardest effort. Soon enough (surprisingly soon!) I was already on top of Cartmell and made the pass at roughly the six mile mark. He spent the next 15 miles basically sitting behind and pacing off of me. Coming down the last big hill at mile 20, I heard the worst sound possible--the hissing of a quickly-deflating rear tire. In seconds my disc wheel had gone completely flat, and I was left without a spare or any possible repair. At this point, I came to understand nothing will come easy in 2011, so I simply moved forward on my seat (to take some weight off the front) and began pushing even harder through the final five or six miles. Fortunately, I barely reacted to the flat, and pushed on so hard that Cartmell remained behind me, refusing to pass. Only once we went through a couple turns coming into the park--which I had to crawl around--did he finally realize I was riding on the rim. He quickly took off toward T2, hoping to salvage some time before the run, and probably hoping I would kill myself on the half-dozen speedbumps between the final turn and the dismount. Fortunately, it was too little too late, and I followed him into transition, ready to run.

After a quick transition, I plowed into the pancake-flat run full bore. I passed Cartmell quickly at around the 800m mark and accelerated ahead. This seemed to work, as he lost a ton more time along the 10km run. I continued to push through the run, hoping to run a fast time and have a successful overall race. I fell into a great rhythm and broke the tape in first with a total time of 1:50.17--a huge new PR on a verified course, and a time that would have also won the race last year!!

My swim was a huge improvement from Hy-Vee, my verified 40k bike split--56:06 *with* a flat tire--is also a new PR, and my 31:41 felt great without digging myself too deep. In addition, I came back the next morning for a celebrity relay and ran 19:45 for four miles. We won our relay, beating another team with US Time Trial Champion Dave Zabriskie!

Despite going into this weekend as simply a set of training races, I found that my form is coming back around quickly, and I am looking forward to the rest of the season. Thanks, as always, for all of your support. Without the help of my sponsors, family, friends, and other supporters, I would never have been able to come back from this serious injury and have such great success in Malibu.

My win was featured in articles on both Slowtwitch.com (http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Foster_Tisseyre_top_Nautica_Malibu_2332.html) and Triathlete Magazine (http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/09/news/celebrities-race-for-a-cause-at-the-25th-annual-nautica-malibu-triathlon_39648). "

Chris Foster is back in the race!

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:59:00 -0700

Hello!

It's been a while since I last wrote. I've been in and out of training during May due to some complications from the injury I got at St. Anthony's Triathlon. Finally I am back. Long story short--if the doctor says, "Stay off of your stitches and don't train." Stay off of your stitches and don't train. Take my word for it.

I decided to make my return to competition with a change in the schedule and two races on the east coast: The Washington DC Triathlon on June 19 and the Philadelphia Triathlon the week after. Both big-city races that boasted big names and two of the nastiest bodies of water as swim locations. I figured if the racing didn't kill me, some water-bourne pathogen surely would. With only a few weeks of training beneath me, I figured it was probably a good time to test my well-rested immune system and race two tough races with great fields.

I began my Assault In The East at the DC Triathlon, with a large field of pros including two former Olympians, good prize money, and valuable 5150 Series points on the line. Treading water in the murky Potomac (ew), the gun went off and had a fast start due to the current and some very fast swimmers. I had a good first 300 meters, but went out too hard with a pack of swim-leaders and quickly got in over my head. I hung tough through the remainder of the swim, but I had really buried myself in the first 600 meters, and once out of the water was hurting pretty bad as I ran across the long transition to my bike.

Onto to bike, I really wanted to ride strong and perhaps push a little bit harder than normal to see where my fitness was. The twisty, rolling course gave me lots of opportunities to see the huge first pack that had formed in front of me, and gave me some flashbacks to ITU racing. I wasn't quite sure if there was any drafting going on, but as the miles ticked on, the USAT refs on motorcycles began pulling over a good amount of athletes in the group--after the race, once guy commented, "I guess if you're not cheating, then you're not racing." Oh well. Anyway, I was riding strong and catching a good amount of guys, but I knew I would still have a bit of work to do if I wanted to run into the coveted top five (which had WAY more points than 6th, 7th, etc.).

After riding my way up in the ranks, and having one of my best non-draft rides ever, I headed out onto the run, determined to scrap my way back into the front of the race. I began the run roughly in tenth, and knew that nobody would be giving an inch because the points in the top ten were drastically different from place to place. As I exited transition, I tried to go out super hard and shock anyone who saw me on the first couple turnarounds (this course had like a million). The tactic worked--it seemed like a lot of guys saw me pushing the pace really hard and started giving up. With only three miles to go, I head people telling me I was in 6th, but 5th was no where in sight. I made one last big push at mile three and four, quickly saw number 5 coming back to me, made the pass, and hung on to to finish 5th overall with a comfortable cushion.

I was very happy to have made up for my mistakes earlier in the race, still finish within the top five, and grab some big points and some decent prize money!

Despite being pleased with how the race turned out, I knew I could have done better, and was already looking ahead to Philly in just seven short days. I made a huge point of doing a good cooldown, stretching well, eating immediately, and even getting a quick massage--all immediately after finishing.

--------INTERMISSION (Go ahead, get some soda, and use the restroom if needed...)--------

The next six days were spent in Delaware, resting, getting in some great training, and cautiously looking for symptoms of Hepatitis after swimming in thePotomac. When it was time to head up to Philly, I actually felt better than when I got to DC and couldn't wait to race again.

--------END INTERMISSION---------

I spoke to my coach regarding my poor swim in DC, and we formulated a plan to just pick one swimmer who always come out well, and stick right to him no matter what. Feeling confident with this strategy, having rested well, and learning I was essentially invincible to tainted river water, I was pumped and ready to go!

Unfortunately, as with all great plans, something always goes wrong. It turned out the guy I chose to follow did NOT want to be followed. So much so, that we got into a virtual staring contest as to who would jump in the water last before the start. Definitely an awkward moment as we both stood there on the dock waiting for the other guy to go first. Finally, he cracked (I have an almost supernatural tolerance for uncomfortable situations...), but after he jumped in, he swam to the far end of the starting line--almost 20 meters away from EVERYONE ELSE. Of course, this was split-second decision time. Do I stick to the plan and go over with him, or do I follow everything I've been taught as a "slower swimmer" and go with the herd? I finally decided--rules be damned--I would stick to the plan, and follow this guy who had wandered almost to the bank of the river.

It's hard to say if it was the right call (it probably was), but I had a great swim, and exited the water only a little bit down from the front group. More importantly, I was able to quickly hop on my bike and get moving without feeling like I was going to pass out and die.

Out onto the bike, I began going by people very quickly. I was riding extremely well, and the Philly course seemed to suit me. The course was pretty technical and had some short little climbs that made it tougher for the bigger guys to really hold a rhythm. I was moving up faster than in DC (without the help of drafting judges handing out penalties, as I think everyone learned their lesson in the week before), and was even catching some of the stronger cyclists.

After having an *even better* bike and averaging roughly 15 watts faster than in DC, my legs were hurting, but I headed into transition and threw on my shoes to see how fast I could still run.

Through the first two miles, I ran at an almost sprint to try and get my legs moving again after the tough bike. I immediately caught four guys and had run into 6th place. After my initial sprint, I began hurting pretty bad through the middle miles, and couldn't see anyone in front of me. Unsure of what was ahead, I decided to keep pressing on, in case someone was dying from overexerting the bike.

With less than two miles to go, I heard my wife yell that 5th was 40 seconds ahead. I figured I'd just go as hard as I possibly could from that moment on, and see where the cards fell. There was no one really behind me, and I really wanted to see how empty the tank could go. Sure enough, with a mile and a half to go, 5th finally came into view, but wasn't looking all that bad. At the final turn around, I gave him a hard stare to see if I could rattle him. From that moment on, he looked back at least twice--showing he was getting worried. Years of competitive running taught me to *never* turn around and give someone the upper hand.

With a mile to go I was beginning to get very close, but unfortunately my legs were beginning to cramp from the strain. My right hamstring locked up a bit as I was right behind the 5th place guy, so I had to back off, try to relax, and regroup. With a half mile to go, I finally made my move, passing him very quickly and trying to fool him into thinking I was feeling awesome. After the initial surge, I got a small gap, but my hamstrings began to lock up badly. The final 200 meters were like running on eggshells--trying to balance finishing strong without having to stop and walk straight-legged. If the finish had been another 400 meters away, I probably would have been forced to stop and stretch. But it wasn't, and I happily finished in 5th!

As happy as I was with my 5th in DC, the field in Philly was far tougher, and included two Olympians, a world champion, former Philly winners, and a few guys who had beaten me the week before in DC! I was able to put together all three disciplines in a way that I haven't yet, and really push myself into a higher level of competition. This result shows me that even under tough conditions (racing the week before), minimal training (coming back from injury), and a great field, I am able to rise when it counts!

Thank you to my family, friends, sponsors, and supporters who believe in me and my abilities! Without your help, I would never be able to push myself to the highest levels of sport, and continue to persevere, even when luck isn't on my side.

Chris Foster captures 2nd Place in World championship Series Bike Rankings

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 13:04:00 -0700

This is the first year they've done season-long segment rankings (for fastest swimmers, bikers, and runners), and despite heavy competition with the best in the world and a $10,000 prize purse, Chris was able to hang on to his 2nd place bike ranking through the Grand Final in Budapest this past weekend! Congratulations Chris!

http://www.usatriathlon.org/news/2010/09/14/laura-bennett-tops-itu-best-swimmer-rankings/38538

Joey Dykstra Competed in the AVP Manhattan Open

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:48:00 -0700

Joey's report: "The Manhattan Open, Also known as the Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball. This is the biggest tournament of the year that everyone wants to win. The winner gets both partners names on the Manhattan beach pier and becomes a legend. We had a decent run in Manhattan this year, had to fight and grovel for every win. It was a 64 team draw, much larger than the normal open event, so more matches had to be played. I played with another young guy in this one, a very good player Andy Mcguire, who plays indoors for the Gauchos of Santa Barbara and for the A2 Mens Indoor national team. The first and second rounds were good solid wins for us, we beat our opponents pretty good 15-8 and 15-9 I believe. I forgot to mention that since it was the 50th anniversary of the Manhattan Open they decided to make it a "throw back" tournament implementing the "old school" rules which was the big court, and side out scoring to 15. There was a lot of hoopla about the rule change for one event, but we were just focused on playing good volleyball. Our third round proved to be a big challenge, we were up against the highly ranked team of Ty Tramblie and Austin Rester. We battled hard but lost 11-15. Our first round in the contenders bracket was against a solid team, Stafford Slick and Dane Jensen. At this point with the long games contributing to fatigue I made sure to refuel with NPN Whey, D-Ribose, and Glutamine, along with some NPN energy bars. We started off very strong against this team going up 12-2, and controlling the match to its end which was about 15-8. Our next match was the last match of the day against a very physical team of Dave Mckienzie and Jonathon Acosta. It was our longest match of the day going back and fourth with them going on runs and the us. With the sun going down we fell just short losing 14-16. So that left us at 13th place out of the 64 team turn out."

Chris Foster finishes 5th overall in Lifetime Chicago Triathlon

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:29:00 -0700

A report from Chris Foster:

The last few months have had me going back and forth from Europe, but last weekend I was able to make a shorter trip to the LIfetime Chicago Triathlon. The Chicago Triathlon (formerly known as Mrs. T's Triathlon back in the 90s) is touted as being one of the world's largest. This year was no exception with over 8,500 racers toeing the line last Sunday. Due to the massive numbers and the organizers desire to make the pro race the "main event", we were set to go off at noon--right at the height of a 95+ degree day! The field was stacked, as usual, because of the amount of prize money, Lifetime Series points, and prestige of the event itself. Highlights included two Olympians, the winner of St. Anthony's Triathlon, six members of various US National squads, and 70.3 champions.

With a tight in-water start, I was concerned with finding the right spot to have a good, relaxed swim start while everyone else was fighting and struggling with each other. Moments before the gun, I moved to the outside (counter-intuitively) to line up next to Matty Reed and hopefully a smooth, fight-free start. The gun went off and of course it was pure bedlam. Fortunately, I made the right choice as me and a few other ITU guys were in a small pack to the outside while everyone was frantically spazzing in the whitewater to the left of us. I did my best to remain relaxed, even around the crazy 180-degree turn and try to hold my good spot through the first half of the swim. With about 400m to go, I realized that I was actually in the front group, and having a great swim! Upon jumping out of the water, not only had I made the front group, but I had actually come out of the water ahead of Reed--who I had hoped to pace behind for most of the swim. Unfortunately, I stopped right before the swim timing mat to take off my speedsuit, so my time is registered a bit differently than the other guys, but it was still a great feeling knowing I had been right where I wanted to be!

After sort of blowing my first transition in all of my excitement, I headed out onto the windy, hot, flat, and boring bike course. I settled in pretty quickly and passed a few guys in the first five minutes to move back into the top 10. Unfortunately, I had missed the large group of eight that got out together, so I was on my own for the remainder of the bike. I could see the group working together in the distance (legally, of course), but I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, so I had a hard time keeping a steady pace. The wind, rising temperatures, and rough road surface made for a physically demanding bike that seemed endless.

Heading out onto the run, I immediately felt the effect of the heavy bike pace on my legs. Combined with the over 95 degree temperatures and the relentless sun, I was sitting in 9th and felt like I was walking through the first mile. As the miles ticked on and the heat began to sink into the other racers, guys started coming back quickly--with every pass, I began to feel better and better. Every time I passed another person, I was sure to dig deep and run by fast to give the impression I was feeling awesome. Classic old cross country trick we'd always use in the final miles of a race to make people give up and not even try to run with us--works like a charm in staggering heat! With a mile and a half to go, I saw the unmistakeable figure of Matty Reed (he's like 6'5") looming ahead. Determined not to miss this opportunity to beat one of the sport's greats, I put in a huge effort, nearly killing myself in the process. With less than a mile to go, I made the pass--trying to give the impression I was feeling great when really I was dying on the inside. The move worked, and I was able to finish 5th overall, just a handful of seconds ahead of the fading former Olympian!

This was by far my best finish in a big-city, LIfetime Series race against such a great field. I was especially excited because I had been racing so much, and essentially training through Chicago en route to World Championships in Budapest in two weeks. The conditions certainly weren't pretty, but I was happy to have a great result particularly when so many exploded in the heat. With so many great names finishing behind me, it gives me the confidence that I can gut it out when the odds are against me. The race also shows that my swimming and running are just about where they need to be when I face my toughest competition of the year in Budapest!

Thank you, as always for your support. Without the help of my friends, family, and sponsors, I would never be able to be successful at such a huge variety of races, against such a high-caliber field of competitors in such varied conditions. Even though I race more than almost any other active short-course triathlete, I know that this collection of experiences will better prepare me for the bigger, more important races, as they come. With only a few more races to go in this long (long, long) season, I am confident that I have the best group of people behind me that will help get me to the top!

Henry Hagenbuch races in the ITU Pan American Cup

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:46:00 -0700

Henry's report: "This past weekend I competed in an ITU Pan American Cup race in Kelowna, Canada. It also happened to be the Canadian National Championships, so it promised to be chock-full of stellar triathletes!

Competing in one of the biggest ITU fields of the season (nearly 75 males) did not intimidate me in the slightest. In fact, being my last ITU race of the season, I was excited to toe the line with the likes of Simon Whitfield, Kyle Jones, Steve Sexton, Felipe Van de Wyngard and many more. Another great challenge was that it was rainy, windy and cold - a great equalizer!

Being a weaker swimmer than most of the athletes I come across on the ITU level, Im constantly fighting my way up from the back of the field. However, like in New York, I was determined to kill myself in the swim! Halfway through the first of two laps, I lost the couple sets of feet of which I was drafting, but soon found them again at the start of the second lap. My being able to bridge that gap, as minor as it may have been, was a major confidence booster for me. So much so that I in fact swam right past them heading into shore! I came out of the water in 48^th (out of 72), my best swim result yet!

I headed out onto the bike determined to make up ground on the other competitors. Over the course of the 6-loop bike course, which included a tough hill, our group of 5 riders grew to roughly 15. While we were able to work our way slowly but surely through the field ahead of us, our group had trouble working together and really diminishing any part of the lead the main guys had on us. I came into T2, having done most of the work, in 41^st , ready to explode out onto the run.

As it is always, my run consisted of nothing but desperation push as hard as I can, and swallow up as many competitors as possible. By the time I crossed the tape, I had passed 14 other racers and finished 27^th (7^th American) in a time of 2:03:19. My 31:59 run split was good enough for sixth on the list.

Despite not achieving my goal of top-20, based on the size and quality of the field, I was nonetheless pleased with my result. After careful analysis of the results, it really comes down to the swim. In this race in particular, if I had come out of the water in the main pack, which was roughly 2:30-3:00 ahead of me, at the very least I would have finished in the top 10."

AVP Long Beach Tournament

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:12:00 -0700

This past weekend the AVP event in Long Beach was a 16 team tournament. I played with a new partner Pedro Brazao and we had a very difficult draw in the first round, the gold medalist's from Beijing, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers. They came out strong against us and we has no answer losing the first set 10-21 ouch. But the next set we got a much better rhythm and had a much better side out game. We were all tied up at 18-18, when Phil reminded us who the best player in the world was by by finishing off the game with a few blocks. The final score of that match was 11-21, 18-21. Our next match was against Matt Olsen and Jeff Nygard. A very tough second round opponent, however in a small draw such as this, there were not going to be any easy games. The match started off neck and neck, side out after side out, until they got on a huge run closing out the first game with ease. The next set we started strong and were all tied up down the stretch. With a few plays not goi ng our way we dropped the set 23-25. As a team I think Pedro and I have a lot of potential, we had some moments where I thought we were really good. In a 16 team event there are no easy draws and we will have to play our best to get the results we want. In Long Beach we finished 13th.

Chris Foster races in Hamburg, Germany and London, England!

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:57:00 -0700

After my early season success and jump in rankings, my coaches and I made the decision to go to Europe for a few weeks this summer and do two ITU World Championship Series races in Hamburg, Germany and London, England. These races are known as the most competitive triathlons in the world, where the best athletes are essentially racing on home turf. A strong majority of the racers either live in Europe, or are based there for the summer, so they are at their fittest and fastest. Going into Europe, I knew the racing would be hard and good results would be even harder, so I was essentially looking to get some good experience for the next few years.

The first stop on my European trip (the first time I've ever raced in Europe as well) was Hamburg, Germany to compete in the largest triathlon in the world (just under 9,000 participants!!) with the largest amount of spectators in the world (officials estimated 300,000 were in attendance for the men's race!). The field was easily as competitive, if not more, than the Olympics--since countries could send more athletes to Hamburg than to the Olympic Games. All active Olympic medalists were present at the starting line, so the race was going to be crazy!

The Hamburg course had us swimming in one of the cities many rivers and even passing underneath a tunnel three times! The water was incredibly dirty from recent rain and runoff, so it was like swimming in a green swamp. The bike and run took us through the skinny streets of Hamburg through tight twists and turns lined with 300,000 screaming German fans.

Once the gun went off, the swim immediately took off faster than anything I have even been in, I moved over behind a pack and tucked in for a "ride" to the first buoy only 300m away. At the first turn, everyone pretty much stopped because of the 60+ guys hitting the buoy and once and fighting for position. The first two turns were some of the most violent swimming I have ever been a part of. Despite that, I was able to get through and stick in the middle of the group through the first two thirds of the swim. Unfortunately, in the last 200m, a small gap opened up when we went underneath the tunnel for the last time and a few athletes and I lost contact with the main pack.

As I made my way onto the bike with a few other athletes, we watched as the pack in front of us sprinted off as hard as they could. We tried to respond and make up ground, but the tight turns and technical course made it hard to catch up. After the first few laps of riding as hard as possible, all I had done was drop the other riders around me except for one. Being stuck by myself (as the other rider refused to do any work and help out), I put my head down and tried to lessen the gap between me and the main pack, but it was no use as there were numerous attacks and hard riding on the front that made the pace incredibly fast. Heading onto the run, I was still stuck in the middle of nowhere and was faced with an unusually large deficit to make up.

After riding so ridiculously hard to try to catch the storming pack ahead, my legs had been completely used up, and made the run a very painful event. I did my best to keep moving, but with a big gap and fried legs, I was only able to finish in 49th place. On the positive side, I had a very good swim given the speed, and I was able to tough it out and catch a few guys on the bike and run, even with an uphill battle. Many other athletes lost contact with the hard-charging front group and dropped out of the race, but I was glad to finish and build toughness and experience for future races.

In sharp contrast to the festival atmosphere of Hamburg, London was a much more tense and serious affair. The athletes seemed to be placing much more importance on the event in England since London would be hosting the Olympics in 2012. Everyone seemed intensely prepared to go as hard as possible from the gun and really make a mark in the future Olympic city. The British--most of whom did not race in Hamburg--seemed particularly intent on showing off in their country's capital and went into the race fresh. After a brutal weekend in Hamburg, I was looking forward to giving it everything I had from the start and gain more valuable experience racing in Europe.

The mood on the starting line was far more intense than in Hamburg, and from the beginning I knew the pace would be crazy. When the gun went off, the swim pace seemed way faster than even the weekend before and I really had to work to stay with the group into the first buoy. Again, with a short distance to the first buoy and 70 or so super fast swimmers, the violence at the turn was unparalleled. After being dunked, kicked, punched and grabbed all the way around, I came out of the first 500m bruised and exhausted. I worked as hard as I could to stay with the group through the first half of the swim, but really hit a wall at about 900m and lost the group. I struggled to try and lessen the time gap heading into transition, but the pack had even picked up steam.

I got out of the water with a swollen lip and a torn off swim cap--looking pretty bad--and headed out to the bike by myself. Once onto the bike, I made up my mind to give everything I had and leave it all in Europe, despite being completely alone on the bike course with a bunch of fast groups at the front. I put my head down and rode as hard as I could for as long as I could before I eventually caught up to a group ahead of me that had actually been dropped from the front pack! Just to give an idea of how fast the front pack was going, people *never* get dropped from the front pack once they make it--it's pretty much unheard of. Once I joined with the small chase group, I made the quick decision to go to the front of my pack and ride hard until someone decided they could do better. Only a few times did someone actually move up to do some work, but I was more interested in doing everything I could to make up any time at all. Because of my crazy efforts at the front, I actually got a lot of cheers from the fans along the course as they seemed to appreciate the fact that I was killing myself all alone to try to get back into the race!

After 40km of riding myself into the ground, I made it into transition, threw on my shoes, and took off on the run. I instantly dropped the rest of the guys I had been riding with (or who had been riding behind me) and ran as hard as I could. I wanted to still have a good run, despite being so tired, and know that I gave 100% effort for this last race. I pushed the final run until I almost passed out and refused to give up, even as half of the other US athletes in London dropped out of the race. For my efforts I finished in 53rd place overall, but 3rd American of the day.

However, after the finish, I was surprised by the number of fans that came up to me and congratulated me on sticking with it in the face of such odds. One guy even said that he and his family (who were all British) were cheering for me the whole way since I never let up and did all the work by myself! He went on to say that he was now thinking of doing his first triathlon after watching us. It was a nice consolation to know that the spectators appreciated our efforts and saw the value of hanging in there and finishing even when things don't go to plan.

With two weeks of crazy traveling and racing behind me, I know that I have gained invaluable experience that will help me in the next few years. While the races themselves didn't go perfectly, I learned a lot about traveling, training, and racing at the highest level of sports--I've learned how to hang tough in the face of bad situations and not give up, I've learned about bouncing back and also what I need to do to succeed at this new level. I've always said I wanted to race the best in the world of triathlon, and now I'm getting my chance. The best thing I can do now is take what I can from my experience in Europe and use it to become a better athlete. I always knew this wouldn't be easy, so now it's time to respond to the challenge!

Thanks, as always, for your support--which means so much to me now more than ever. I now find myself on the biggest stage in triathlon and sports, and without everyone's help, I would never have made it so far. I'm proud of the huge gains I've made in the past few years, and I'm excited by the potential of the future! The best is surely yet to come.

Henry Hagenbuch takes 7th at Nautica NYC Triathlon

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:19:00 -0700

A report from Henry: "I wanted to send you an update of my latest East Coast trip for two Life Time Fitness Series triathlons (Minneapolis and NYC). Thanks again for all the support!

On the 10^th of July, I raced in my first Life Time Fitness Series triathlon in Minneapolis. Competing against the highest quality field I have yet to come across, I toed the line knowing I had my work cut out for me. With a mediocre performance across the board, I finished 13^th , virtually racing the entire triathlon against myself. I left Minneapolis headed for New York and determined to redeem myself. The Nautica NYC triathlon consisted of a straight, down-stream swim in the Hudson River, an out-and-back bike course and followed by a single run loop through Central Park.

After my poor swim performance in Minneapolis, I wanted to make up for it, by leaving it all out in the Hudson (so to speak). I exited the water in 12^th (out of 16) and quickly picked off 3 more racers during the 1000yd run to transition. The bike leg was also a bit of a dog fight as I moved up and down a few places. I came into T2 in 11^th ready to find the first top 10 finish of my Pro career!

I secured 10^th early on in the run, but wasnt finished and I kept finding those carrots as I cruised through the rolling hills of Central Park. I passed three more competitors and wound up finishing 7^th in yet another tough field of competitors, posting the third fastest run split of the day (33:25).

As I continue my inaugural pro season, I will next head to Canada for an ITU race on August 22^nd , and then followed by another Alcatraz triathlon on the 29^th ."

For more on Henry, visit his website: http://www.gohhgo.com/index.html