The K-Swiss Kids!

The BOYZ!!!! 

"WORLD RECORD"

All work and no play makes for a boring cruise... lucky no work was involved.

This is Charlie one super rad C-Different athlete.... he is loving it!!!!

These are the kids that make K-Swiss our family.

E Man, Jennifer,Ivette,Johnny Hot Stuff!

For some people sponsorship is all about triathlon and racing. For the K-Swiss crew its all about making you part of their family. 

This little shin dig took place after the Malibu triathlon. 

How much fun can we have..... SOOOOOO much we can't say.

Hawaii Bound

Well its that time of the year....Hawaii Ironman time!  I am soooooo excited. Not only is my super speedy and very hot boyfriend competing in the pro race but a ton of my friends are racing too. I have that many people to cheer for this year that I have brought in reinforcements. Firstly my mum and her hubby Johnno will be attending this years gala event ( I think she got a little carried away after I qualified last year and thought that "no dramas she will do it again this year as a pro" ) Both of Lukey's parents will be there for them to cheer with. I will be busy scooting around with my long time friend and "Super Duper San Diego Sista" Miss Summer Twist.

Miss Twist (yes that is her real name) and I have been friends since I first came to the USA nearly 3 or is it 4 years ago. She and I have laughed, cried and drank many a nights away. Every time I see her I am reminded of how important true friends are. This year I have not seen her as much as I wanted to but true to her word she is returning to the big island to help me cheer everyone on. Last year I made the cut and got to race and she and my darling Adrian cheered me all the way over the line. This year she will yell, jump and scream for everyone I know and some poor souls that we don't. 

I have had a really hard year of racing and have learnt so many things. I have had some good, some bad and some average to below results but going to Kona and watching everyone I admire and respect race their guts out will give me that little extra boost to keep on training for my last race of the year IM FL. I love this sport and the people in it. Watching is so much fun.

Here is my 2 cents worth for the finish podium outcome 2008.

Luke McKenzie  mens 2008 winner- If for some strange reason this is not the case here is my back up results.

Macca - As with every other distance, once he figured out how to win, he has been unbeatable. Go Macca!!!!!!! 

Eneko Lanos - Has proven that he has matured in to one hard muther F*$&er!

Crowie - Is still pissed that Macca ran away from him in the early stages of last years marathon. He will be one of the only 3 that can beat Macca and will do so or blow up trying. 

Chris Lieto - Mr All American...... God dam it Chris I hope you can win this year. America loves a clean cut hero and you are it. Run for your life son and this just might be the year.

As for the girls here is my picks.

Chrissy Wellington - I think she will be showing the world what girls are capable of. She is legit. She won't even be racing the other women she will be in the mix with the blokes by the end of the energy lab. 

Sam McGlone - This firey red head is the "Crowie" of the women's field. She still can't believe that she and Kate let Chrissy go by on the bike last year. Hindsight is a horrible thing. If she is uninjured coming into this she will also come close or blow up trying. 

Tyler Stewart - Her swim has improved and she is looking SUPER fit. Don't be surprised if she does a Natasha and comes from the back to the front of the field on the bike. A cracker of a run is needed to keep up with the stellar runners in the race however.  Watch out for the freight train of girls that if smart enough will use her to make their way up to the lead group.

The rest of the top ten in no particular order as you will be able to through a blanket over them coming up the finishing shoot are as follows - 

Kate, Bek, Linsey, Jo, Kim, Leanda, Erika, Belinda.

Good Luck to everyone out there.... don't forget to smile if you see me out there cheering!

Memphis x x x x 

Olympic Distance Shinnanigans and fun.

How much fun are Olympic tri's! For this long course racer Olympic distance races are a thing of the past. To be honest I never really got into them. Did a few but liked the long stuff . 

On Sunday I did a Olympic distance race in Malibu California. I went to registration with the intention of entering the age group race but was quickly informed that if you race long as a pro in the USA that you can not be in age group for the short stuff. It's pro all the way or nothing. 

After getting the giggles and entering anyways I realised how long it had been since my last one.

There are a few big differences in the two racing distances. When you race short you use slightly different equipment here are some funny things I laughed at after the race:

1. Not every one MUST have an aero helmet.... as I had lent mine to Prue for her IM Wisconsin race I donned the trusty training skid lid and was not shamed in the transition area as ex Olympian Julie Ertel didn't have one either. Whats good for her is good for me.

2. The swim is over in a flash and those short course girls swim flat out and very fast. No pacing yourself here. 

3. Transition 1 was sooooo funny as the run from the swim exit was so long and I was busy enjoying the luxury carpet...nice touch. 

4. Speed humps and tight turns in car parks are tricky.... mental note...buy a real pair of tri shoes for short races. Getting feet in quickly is a must so that you have all eyes on the tricky bits.

5. 40 kms on the bike is over before you know it. No need for a bento box. Snacks not required. 

1 bidden is all that is needed too. 

6. People laugh at you in T2 if you stop to put sox on. Seriously I don't know how to run without them. 

7. If you need to go to the bathroom the porta loos are not the only option. Lovely clean beach toilets are only a way up the road and no one sees you going in or out and that horrible smell is no where near as bad.

8. Your legs feel totally different after only 40 kms on the bike and I managed to run with some kind of respectable cadence. Now all i have to do is hold it for 42 and magic.... a 3.10 marathon.

It was a great day for me in the end.... coming into the finish shoot with a PB in spite of a long beach toilet pit stop was a nice change. I had been trying so many new things earlier this year in the quest to get big gains with diabolical results. I went back to my old crank length after IM Canada and have been working so hard on cadence for my run. It was nice to see a good result. Next weekend is Cancun 70.3 hopefully I can continue on in this direction for the remainder of the year.

Stay tuned 

Memphis

Down but not out!

Lukey had an up and down day out there on Sunday. He had a great swim and was off on the bike with a smooth transition. Cam, Luke and Terrenzo make a couple of break away attempts but the boys behind thought they would race like it was an ITU race. They were getting away with some pretty blatant drafting. Clearly this was the team tactics that were spoken about in the pre race media. 

Personally my view is that just because the race marshal is lacking in the ability to make the hard call of pinning 4-5 guys at once it should be a self regulated choice to race clean. Doping is cheating and just because someone might not get caught it doesn't mean that they don't know it is wrong. But hey that's just me. 

The race went on and Lukey hit the deck. Some white paint was his undoing. He was on the front and was lucky not to take the lot of them down. However he shook it off and got back up and made his way back to the front of the pack by the end of the next lap. Terrenzo had had enough of pulling the freight train and had sat up in protest. The pack had nearly come to a stand still....none of the others wanted to take a pull. Funniest part was when an age grouper went to the front. Rhodsey was blowing up as well as he had enough of it.  

Cam Watt managed to break away on the last lap and got about a minute up into T2. Right behind him it was game on as Luke, Robbo, Thommo, Terrenzo and Pete went out on the run together. It was a smack down flat out running race from the get go. Actually it was pretty exciting to watch Terrenzo go step for step with Thommo. I thought he might punch him out he was so frustrated. In the end Thommo's team race plan worked well and he broke away in the last km to take the win. Luke ran in a solid half run for 6th place. He showed a lot of gumption in getting up after the fall and finishing off strong and steady.

This race has got me questioning the trade off of a 3 lap course in half IM. Clearly the up side is that the formula is very spectator friendly but the down is the the ability for the athletes in teams like the one that debuted in Sinagpore to cheat. These words sound like a whinge but I worry that if these questions are not asked now we will end up with the 70.3 series just like the ITU series....... a splash around, a roll around and then a foot race. Personally it is VERY disappointing that these athletes don't have the desire to race the true honest individual race. Obviously this will make it easier for one of the athletes on these teams to win. If they cant ride hard on there own they should stick to the drafting races. No balls ... no worries bring your mates to that race and they can pull you around there for the win. It's allowed.

For years the best individual athletes in the world left the drafting formula to come over to the non drafting races.  Macca, Crowie, Craig Walton to name a few. Our Ironman and half Ironman racing is unique because it means that the true "TRIATHLETE" not best 10/20 km runner wins the race. Natasha Badman won a stack of Iroman world championships with what can be described as a "weak swim" but came from behind with her incredible bike run skills. It makes the race exciting. I have nothing against good runners.... if you bike on your own and you lay down a sub 3 hour marathon or like Mirinda or Sam you can run 1.18 or less for a half  "god dam" thats super awesome. Bring it.

If not F#@k off and race ITU.

Now that I have that off my chest. 

Pre race foot rub!

After eating all the beautiful fresh food we headed off for a foot rub.

Singapore IM 70.3 ... Pre Race!

Luke and I jumped on a plane and headed off to Singapore for the 70.3 race. After a late Thursday night arrival we landed, had a nap, checked out the course, went to the Por meeting and then headed out to the Newtown Market place. 

I have been to Singapore a few times over the last few years and I love this market place. It used to be a real shanty town of restaurants but as of recently they have given the place a little upgrade. It is still really the same only now there are real tables. 

Fresh lobster, giant prawns (shrimp), special fried rice and roast duck, a couple of Tiger beers all for under $100 bucks......Yum!