From Slowtwitch....

Potts, Wellington win again new

Written by: Herbert Krabel
Date: Sun Aug 22 2010

Andy Potts led from start to finish as he won 70.3 Timberman three straight times now. Chrissie Wellington also never trailed in this triathlon as she took the title for the third time in as many attempts and finished 10th overall.

The men

2-time defending champion Andy Potts had a comfortable lead as he got out of the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee in 22:43. Tim O'Donnell was next, but already was looking at an almost 2 minute disadvantage.

Potts never slowed down on the bike either and his time of 2:09:27 proved to be fastest of the day. Next into T2, about 2:40 adrift, was Raynard Tissink, who used a 2:09:59 bike split to put himself into that position. Matty White and Joe Gambles were next into transition about 4 minutes back and O'Donnell now was looking to make up 4:45.

Tissink's 1:15:55 was faster than the half marathon time of Potts, but only by 13 seconds, and thus Potts cruised to his third 70.3 Timberman title without too much trouble. Tissink held on to second place, and O'Donnell's identical run time to Potts allowed him to earn third place.

The women

Chrissie Wellington's swim has really improved, and the 3-time Ironman World champion and 2-time defending 70.3 Timberman champion managed to get out of the water first, 7 seconds ahead of Dede Griesbauer. Angela Naeth and Heather Jackson were already handed a deficit of 5 and 6 minutes respectively.

Once Wellington was on the bike she was fast as had been expected but Naeth was flying along behind her and clocking faster times at various time checks. But that was only a question of a few seconds and having started the bike section 5:06 behind, the Canadian started her run just under 5 minutes behind the Brit. Griesbauer was next into transition, 5:30 behind Wellington and Jackson got there in fifth position.

Wellington though seemed untouchable once she had her running shoes on and pulled away from all other competitors with a very fluid stride. 1:19:06 later, Wellington matched what Potts had done in the men's race and crossed the finish line first to win her straight Timberman title, and just like Potts she also led from start to finish.

Ironman 70.3 Timberman
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH / August 22, 2010
1.2 mile swim / 56 mile bike / 13.1 mile run

Top 10 men

1. Andy Potts (USA) 3:50:51
2. Raynard Tissink (RSA) 3:53:32
3. Timothy O'Donnell (USA) 3:55:36
4. Joe Gambles (AUS) 3:57:35
5. Matt White (AUS) 3:59:55
6. Rich Allen (GBR) 4:01:32
7. Josh Rix (AUS) 4:03:05
8. Brent Poulsen (USA) 4:05:17
9. TJ Tollaksen (USA) 4:06:50
10. Ryan Grant (CAN) 4:10:12

Top women

1. Chrissie Wellington (GBR) 4:10:11
2. Angela Naeth (CAN) 4:24:59
3. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:26:08
4. Annie Gervais (CAN) 4:29:04
5. Dede Griesbauer (USA) 4:30:12
6. Amanda Lovato (USA) 4:32:??
7. Heather Leiggi (USA) 4:35:15
8. Kate Pallardy (USA) 4:35:55
9. Stacey Richardson (USA) 4:38:01
10. Sara Domina (CAN) 4:39:23 * AG W30-34

Boulder 70.3 Race Report.

Racing in Boulder is a great experience. You always have at least one World Champion racking your bike alongside yours. Yesterday was like no other. Julie Dibens set up her bike and gear with me at 5 am. There is nothing like fighting on your home training grounds!


The swim was a clock-wise oblong triangle. It was the best race start I’ve had to date! I was very nervous at the start of the race…. And told myself to just ‘$%#^’ swim! I used the Apolo Ohno trick of forcing yourself to yawn a few times to calm the jitters. It helped.


I managed to get on someone’s feet right away and then used this to my advantage. I had some extra energy doing this and passed her halfway through the swim, eyeing down the 4 women 30-yards ahead of me. I have to practice those all-out efforts at the start of the swim so that I can get on the feet I need to. I managed to keep the 30-yard gap for the remainder of the swim. I felt like an actual swimmer this time around. I didn’t hyperventilate, I didn’t panic. I just focused on finding that rhythm….


Exiting the water, I was determined to have one of the fastest, if not the fastest transition(s). At my last race, Vineman 70.3, I lost nearly 2-minutes in transition time – which would have resulted in a top 3 result instead of 5th! I focused on a clean one by pulling down my Sayonara as fast as possible, and not fumbling with my helmet or glasses. I haven’t seen the times yet but I managed to be the first out of T1 from the lead pack of four that came out ahead of me from the water.


I quickly took it up a notch on the bike, leading out of the Reservoir. I had a number of girls to catch and the bike is anything but uphill! It’s about 75% downhill (or so it seems). I was on my new disc wheel I got from Rolf Prima and realized quickly, how much of an advantage this has in a flat-downhill course! Nonetheless, the weight to watt ratio on a flat course for me against my competitors is not to my benefit Taller ladies definitely have an advantage over me…!


The course was two loops. I only had one water bottle with me and was quickly stuck without water on the second lap. I attempted to get some water at the first feed zone but my fumbly hands and young helpers didn’t work well together. I pushed on and slowed almost to a halt to get some Gatorade in me at the next aid station. I was very angry with myself on the first attempt. I knew I lost at least 45 seconds to a minute missing each pass of water.


I caught the 2nd women at mile 30 but Julie was nowhere in sight. Her lead from the swim kept her out in front throughout the bike. On the second lap the pros were among the age-groupers that started the race shortly after us. It was a great motivator to have more athletes out there. The first lap left me riding on my own for the first 26 miles.


By the time I was back to the Reservoir, I opened up a 4-minute gap on the last rider. Julie was 6-minutes ahead. Again, I focused on a fast transition. I was in and out of T2 the best I’ve ever done in a race. I’ve been practicing a little with going sockless. I had socks ready but decided at the last minute to harden up and just run. No socks…and no blisters! Thanks to Avia, I have some great shoes for this!


Out on the run, I found myself in no-man’s land for the first 6 miles. No age-groupers were on the course. I actually enjoyed this part of the race because I was able to get into my head and fight the critic that tells you, “you suck, quit running, why are you doing this?” sort of things. I told it to shut-up and focused on finding a rhythm, counting, and putting one foot in front of the other. It was getting hot and I think I got delirious a bit. I started to see heat waves and things were getting a bit wavy.


By the second lap, the course was full. I picked athletes I could run toward and quickened the pace at times. I had secured 2nd and focused on form more than anything. At mile 11 I started to have some hamstring cramping and low back pain. I still can’t imagine doing an Ironman just yet…. I think I would end up crawling if I did!


I’m not sure what it is but I get a lot of stomach, GI cramps when I finish the race. The port-a-potty beckons me to visit it more often than I would like! I’ll need to look at this when I decide to step up to the full Ironman! God knows how awful it would be to have to ‘go’ when racing. I’ve heard horror stories….


I finished the race with a smile on the face. It was a solid effort and one more race under the belt this year! Racing against Julie or any World Champion for that matter is always something I love. It makes me see how much work I need to do and what I need to work on…which at this point, is everything! If I ever want to be in her ball-park I have to continue upping the ante and putting my time in!

huge thanks goes out to everyone cheering me on! I had my name yelled out a number of times and I can’t thank you enough!


ReCap

Well it's a bit late to go into all the details of the last 3.5 weeks but I'll give you a short recap! This whole season for me is to gain experience in racing and build that base for the future – an ongoing process!

Boulder Peak was a solid race for me. The bike course is exactly what I need to make gains in an Olympic-distance event. The hill on Olde Stage Road is about a 9-10% percent climb for over a half mile. Coming out of the water near last was not what I was hoping for but later smashing the bike course and heading into T2 in 2nd place (behind the infamous Joanna Zeiger) helped save the day. I put my head down and did my best to gain some time on Joanna and stay in 2nd. I loved every minute of it!

5 days later I was off to California for Vineman 70.3. I met up with one of my good friends Cindy and her husband, Phil Rach (who hosted me for the weekend). I was also able to hang out with TYR and AVIA at the expo. It was a great weekend seeing everyone.

I was feeling great after Boulder Peak and wanted to try some experimentation with a harder effort bike/run on Wednesday of race week. Unfortunately I think I tanked myself a bit too much! A solid 4.5-hour effort ride and run at altitude is not too entirely smart between races. Coach knew best, as he told me to relax, but I wanted to see for myself. So he left me to my own demise! And that it was. It was the first time I wasn't able to grab the fastest bike split in a race and I barely held onto a 5th place finish. It was an all-out sprint at the finish line for the last spot in the prize money! I don't think I felt so worked at a race before until this one. It was a good feeling but showed me what NOT to do when racing back-to-back weeks! Trust coach.

Thanks to Cindy and Phil I had an absolute blast in California. They treated me like a daughter and I have to say, Phil's cooking is to die for! I had gourmet omelets two days in a row, the best salmon meal I've ever wolfed down, and never-ending snacks! And Cindy is one of the toughest ladies you'll see doing Ironman. She's 65 years-old on paper but 29 in reality. She took me out for a run the day before the race and blew me away! She ran herself into an awesome 2nd place finish herself!

After an easy flight home and a bit of a rest, Chuckie and I headed to the Mount Evans Hill Climb Colorado Championships (cycling). I love climbing and absolutely LOVED this race. I borrowed a road bike from one of Chuckie's athletes (thanks Michelle!) and tweaked it so it would fit. It was an epic 2-hours and 16-minutes (the race, not the bike mechanic work, which took MUCH longer!). We started as a group and after a FAST 6-miles a gal named Grewal (of the famous bike racing family) punched it a bit. One-by-one the ladies were spit out the back. There was only myself, a Colavita member and Grewal left. We rode hard for the next 3-miles until this Grewal gal punched it again and the two of us were left in the dust. We worked hard together but eventually the Team Colavita gal cracked and I kept gaining on first. By the end, I was about a minute down and never felt better on a bike, despite 7,000 feet of vertical and the 14,100-foot summit! My element is definitely pedaling two wheels uphill!

Next up: Boulder 70.3. I'm excited to test out my new Rolf Prima disc wheel. It's my first time on a disc...newbie, I know!