IM 70.3 World Champs Recap

It took me 8 weeks to digest my last race and everything that happened before during and after it. Here it comes the recap of my last Triathlon for 2011.

Las Vegas, 9/11/2011 Ironman 70.3 World Championship

Number 624. Representing Italy

5am,
I wake up with absolutely no stress whatsoever in our hotel ( Sunset Station in Henderson, NV ), outside is still dark and Kimmy, now used to the drill, jumps right off bed and start putting things together with me to make our way to the resort where the race will take place. After a few minutes, we both realizes It is VERY late, no much time for breakfast, kisses or hugs... I need to get there before 6am or they will close the transition area ... but I keep looking at the bathroom with the hope that my nerve d*mp will kick in before we leave :-).

6am
2000 athletes involved, each one with family and/or friends watching, press, organizers, volunteers. The Lake Las Vegas Resort is literally full, hard to find a parking spot and god knows how long the line will be for the bathrooms...I am getting a little anxious. My race will start at 7.45am ( 15mins after the PROs ).

7am
Everything is in place, I went through all the possible chores, bike is in place, pitstops done :P, one last kiss to my lady and I am off to the starting line where all the other athletes are already lining up in their waves spots. The swim is a non-wetsuit one, temperature is 85F outside and the water is already higher than 78F... it is going to be an HOT and LONG day, but I am happy to be here. I have never seen in my life so many fit athletes around me, all of a sudden you look around and you feel the biggest, chubbiest and inappropriately dressed among all. ( 99% of the racers had some sort of speedsuit on and my biking short did not really look PROswim at all ).

7.30am
The PROs are off, right after the national anthem, but I can't see much, I am way back in my wave area ( very close to the bathrooms...umh why not take advantage of it and get a lastminute super fast pitstop ...).
Back in the line, we are all walking towards the start, the excitement level is rocket high. Photographers, people cheering from everywhere, I can hear 10-15 different languages spoken around me...it seems like everybody around us became extraordinarily  vocal...but the athletes. WE ARE NOT TALKING... each one of us is checking each other moves, getting our goggles ready, trying to maintain focus and group all the energies needed 5 minutes from now.

7.44am
We are all in the water, aligned under what it seems like the perfect copy of "Ponte Vecchio" in Florence(ITALY), we are less than 200 in my age group and It does not seem too crowded in the water considering how wide the start is. I can see Kimmy in the bushes with her cameras, screaming for me... I am happy to be here, let see if I can swim hard and make it the best swim of my career.

7.45am
BOOOM... and we are off, I am in front, swimming so hard that I am surprised of my own cadence. The navigation should be easy, it is an out an back course following yellow buoys north for 1Km and orange buoys coming back.
After few minutes of glorious ( apparently ) swimming... I decide to take a quick look behind me to see how to check out my opponents... umh weird... let me look again.... daaaaarnnn I am the last one... I am officially the last one of my wave, I can't believe my own eyes but in a few seconds of depression I start swimming again, this time a little more relaxed to let my mind think about what's happening and how to emotionally bounce from this
I keep repeating to myself: "... this is unfair... it must be my biking shorts.... nope I am simply a slow swimmer at the Worlds...it must be the current... nope every body is facing the same current.... it must be the navigation... nope the buoys are there on my right... etc... etc.." and so on.
After 15 minutes or so I can see the turning point... I am half the way.... the swim race begins now, goal: avoid the girls that started 5 minutes after me to catch up.

8.15am
After 30 minutes of painful swimming I am still in the water (bad sign), still 5 minutes before the end... this is the slowest swim I have ever done and ...dang here they come... the first 2-3 elite 40-44 women are coming... let's see if I can finish with them.

8.20am
I am out of the water, sporting my bare skin and pumped upper body muscles... too bad I am coming out of the swim with a bunch of girls (which by the way are running faster than me to the transition area)

I am alone out of the water.... ( not a good sign )

TRANSITION TO BIKE
Wow, this is first class treatment, I get to the changing tent and I get one kiddo all for me to help me out with the transition... I feel honored, I am rushing it and my heart is pounding try to transition as well.
Socks+Shoes+Helmet+GGTC t-shirt, good I am ready to fly.
I am so excited to run to my beloved TT bike that I forget my sunglasses .... oh well it is going to be a fun ride in the desert :(.

I wish I was that relaxed during transition

8.23am
I saw Kimmy for 1 second right before jumping on my carbon lady ( My Cervelo ), I am happy but totally worried about the next 56 miles of biking. Temperatures are going to be in the 90s and I don't know if my San Francisco trained body can take the Las Vegas desert-like conditions.

8.23am-11am
The first few miles seem pretty easy, I am passing easily people ( maybe because I was one of the last ones on the swim? )... this time though after mile 10 I am already getting competition, I am really having an hard time to pass riders, every one looks fit, fast, aggressive and pretty much immune to pain. After the poor swim and the reality check with the level of fierceness out here... I better put my in peace and focus on the enjoyable day.
I am riding in the desert, fast, free and at the Worlds ... can't complain... and for the first time during a race I realize how much I want to finish it to hug my love again.
Not even at the half point and I am looking at the PROs coming back, they are all out here ( either prepping for Kona or just trying to win the 70.3 Worlds ), Craigs Alexander, Chris Lieto, Andy Potts .. I can count at least a group of 20-30 of them and what impresses me the most is their FACE.

They are racing a 56 miles bike leg but their face is the one I have when I am VO2Maxing at 1000watts for a 5 seconds effort.... I cant believe at the level of intensity these guys are..... oh well one day :-)

Not much to tell on the bike leg, everything is going smoothly... prob too smoothly, I am trying to save myself for a good run and just take it easy to avoid some crazy breakdown... I keep repeating myself that a slow overall time is better than finishing cramping/walking/puking etc.

2h37 minutes after I am back in Henderson (Las Vegas).... I did suffer in the past 5 miles.... and kinda mad at the organizer to have left 5 miles of pure climbing at the end!

11am-11.01am
Second transition is smooth as well, somehow I start to have this weird feeling of accomplishment that I have never had before during a race. I am just so proud to be here, having Kimberly screaming and cheering like I am winning it, having family and friends following me and virtually supporting me.... BOOM off to the run.

Lovely downhill

11.01am-12.32pm
The 13 miles run is split in 4 laps and each one of them is built with an '8 shape' (lol it sounds like an elementary school math problem).... this is great, I will basically get to run through the cheering crowd and Kimmy for 8 times.... Love it.
Going flat and down hill is great, I can sustain a sub 7min/mile pace but going up hurts. I never raced such a hilly long distance triathlon, I guess the Worlds this year have been built in purpose to do selection in the field.... for sure it worked against me.

Passing people can give you that extra push sometimes

I am saving it though, somehow so happy to just run and be so close to be done to this accomplishment.. the run goes by so fast that during the last lap I realize I am just 1 mile to go.... and it is flat.... oh well.... let's sprint it... why not.... 1 mile to go and I am running at 5.50 pace....LOL.... so happy.... I have a smile on my face and when I see the end in front of me (300yds) I just cant help it accelerate even more ( inside of me I know I saved way too much energy during the whole race ..but whatever it is not relevant )....and DONE.... while I hear my name called with the worst pronunciation so far ... I am DONE and ready to give Kimmy the sweatiest, saltiest hug ever!

4h47 minutes is not a Worlds-level performance but for the first time in my 2 years of Triathlon life I get it.... this is not THE POINT... the point is to be proud of every single small accomplishment made and enjoy the journey, wherever, whatever and whenever.

A good way of closing the 2011 season and make sure the motivation stays straight for the next year to come.

V.

IM70.3 World Championship (less than 1 day!!!)

Oh my god, what a relaxing Saturday after all.

I Slept like a baby, chilled in the hotel room for the whole morning with my special someone and had 3 small breakfasts.

It is quite surreal to think I am relaxing and resting in Vegas but It is really up to you how you want to leave this arid, hot, drunken, huge and desert-like American on steroid city.

Let's quickly talk about the run before I keep my sandbagging strategy:

The Run from the site

The run course consists of three laps that will go through some of America’s fastest growing city’s beautiful neighborhoods. The course will consist of rolling hills and challenging climbs.

3 laps of this... feels like a lot of pain and no much to see...

Nice... even the run will be hilly with some extra climbs.

Yesterday evening we attended the mandatory athlete briefing, the only words I remember from the speaker were about how different and hard this experience will be for the athletes. The organizer said to add a 20-30mins on top of our PRs regarding our possible performance on Sunday and he bet with us that there will be no PROs going below 4hrs.

Oh well.... enough sandbagging (I keep using this word learned from Scotty...love it ).
The heat is a factor, the desert is a factor, the swim without wetsuit is a factor, my weight is a factor, the fact that I race without tire replacement kit is a factor, the crazy transition areas IM style with changing tents and hilly runs to get out of it... could be a factor... BUT AFTER ALL.....the truth is: I am ready, as ready as I can be. No injuries, bike seems smooth, gears are all in place, Kimmy knows the drill and won't miss a spot ( I have to admit I love her story reporting skills on FB. I bet my parents love it too! ).... more ... I am rested, I am well.... very WELL nourished and on top of everything I am confident I am going to have a lot of fun and push as hard as my body will let me.

Now dinner ( CheeseCakeFactory :-P ), then sleep, then... I will try to keep the GGTC name as high as possible.

V.

p.s. I feel so happy looking at the amount of virtually cheering for me. Facebookers, Twitterers,
Goodreadsers, bloggers, emailers, IMers, SMSers, Skypers, GGTCers... Gotta love you all.

p.s.s. guess the book I am reading now?

Once a Runner

by John L. Parker Jr.

IM70.3 World Championship -2 days

6.15am after digesting an expensive eggs and ham breakfast at the SFO airport.... here it comes the countdown. Less than 48hours.

First, let me start saying the US Airways sucks!
200$ to carry my bike bag ( one way ) plus they make you sign a document to release any possible responsibility for damage or loss. This is outrageous, If I had a little more time in the past days I could have shipped it with a private courier and paid the same but at least got the full deal ( pack, unpack, tune up, insurance... etc. ) Hugging Kimmy and thinking I will enjoy some time with her in Vegas makes up for this morning sadness :-)

Oh well, this is the very LAST time I am carrying my bike with me!

Now talking about bikes, here it comes the Bike course description:

56miles, hills, wind and dry hot weather...

a lot of climbing

I see just one thing here, A LOT of climbing, especially at the end and the ugliest part I am riding with an 53-39<->11-23.... not the best gears for a race involving more than a few hundreds feet of hills.

I am taking off from SFO now and while I look at my bracelet saying "Harden the F*ck up" I keep reminding myself how much I love what I am doing. Suffering.

V.

p.s. I just realized I filled the max quota for live tracking. Thanks to all of you :-) I feel the support

IM70.3 World Championship -3 days

Thursday 8th, just 3 days and I am way too relaxed than than I thought I would be. It must be a good sign.

The last 3 days have been full of errands to make sure everything was ready for this weekend, the fact that I am tapering and training less than 2 hours a day makes the day a lot longer. Unbelievable how much you can get done when you don't have to do power intervals around the city :-)

Thanks to a fellow GGTC athlete (huber biker Falk) I have got some reading to do here and if what they say it is true, the race is going to be favorable for athletes on the "strong" side.... good I have got plenty of fat and strength.. let's see!

Ok, let me open the race guide and check the SWIM details:

My swim wave will start at 6.45am ( 15minutes after the PROs )

From the site:
The 1.2 mile swim will take place in the breathtaking waters of the Lake Las Vegas resort, located in Henderson, Nevada. There will be wave starts just beyond the Lake Las Vegas bridge that is adjacent to the Montelago Village Resort. The course consists of one loop that goes out and back in clockwise fashion. There will be a number of lifeguards, kayaks and safety craft throughout the course of the swim. The normal water temperature for this time of the year is 78-82 degrees and clear.

78-82 degrees??? Damn this means no wetsuit ...thx God I waxed :-P

The temperature will be higher than 76F. so no wetsuit for us. This means a slower swim and definitely an advantage for the good swimmers... ( which I am not .. ). But who knows... maybe the extra bagels with almond butter and jam will help my belly and butt to stay up and floating :-)

Now before I forget:

to follow the race live: go here
to follow myself live: go here

Life is good, work is cool, love is at its best... now I just need the perfect race :-) ....again :-P

IM70.3 World Championship -6 days

----- Triathlon craziness -----

I am officially less than a week from this bloody race.

Few info, collected here and there:

- My BIB number 624
- 30 something fellow Triathletes from Italy qualified (5 in my age group)
- 1760 something qualified athletes from around the globe
- Nearly 50 countries represented
- 2500 something volunteers involved ( WOW )

From the stats collected on last years results, If I pull my best performance ever.. ( 4h30m ) I would get 50th in my age group and 350th overall..... oh well this is going to be fun.

These past 6 days I am going to have to stay put with my training, no more hard efforts, no more long sessions, just wait and hope everything will pay off.
To stay sane I will keep posting every day and get into more details for each portions of the race, they say that having a good tapering period and plan the race properly usually helps... Let's see.

------ Life ------

Now, back to important stuff.
This long week end started perfectly ( bike rides with good friends ) in sunny Marin

chill afternoon with super Kimmy and painful waxing, Sunday errands, plus run, plus awesome BBQ with co-workers which by the way ended up accepting the crazy proposal of biking down to San Carlos... NICE

Michael (downhill sprinter),  Myself (domestique1), William (climber), Daniel (domestique2)

Kimmy and Andrea drove down too and we all shared some exquisite food from Brian's and Mary's extra organic never been so healthy BBQ!

Need to go to fix my TT bike now

Have a good Labor Day y'all

V.

Vineman 70.3 ( when random becomes FAST )

Pre-race looooong preamble.... and yes reporting about a race happened 1 month ago.

Pretty much after my trip to Italy, where everything was planned months ahead and did not go as well as I thought, I tried to take some time off and rest up my mind from all this Triathlon craziness.

I have to admit I did really struggle on following my coach advises and I did find joy only on my bike rides. Cheetah was fabulous, waiting for me every morning and taking me around the bay area to get ready for the Death ride 2011. I rode with the Espresso crew, the HTFU crew, solo, indoor, with Pa and GranPa ( Dario&Diego ),

Proud to be a cyclist for one day... ( Kimmy thinks I look like a dork...I have to admit... she is right! )

Death ride went surprisingly well, 129 miles and 15000ft of climbing where smooth and fast (7h50). Osvaldo, Stefan and Jim... great companionship and hilarious regroups on top of the different mountain passes where the food feast was the theme of the day.

At the end of this monster ride I started a new tapering week leading to Vineman 70.3. Another qualifying race for the world championship but with a super competitive field.

Vineman 70.3 THE RACE REPORT:

The race of the first times!!

11pm-5am

First time I managed to sleep right where the race starts ( right behind a gas station in the crappiest motel of my life )

6am

First time I am not in a rush to get down to the transition area, Dario spent the night awake and he still using the bathroom

7am

First time I completely enjoy the start of the swim for a friend of mine. Dario's wave starts about 45 minutes early than mine. After his start I even have time to go to Starbucks, get one last shot of caffeine and sand bag with Kimmy one more time....( ya ya ya I am fat ya ya ya I am not ready..ya ya ya .. I am just going to have fun... ya ya ya... I will take it easy and enjoy the journey... etc. etc )

7.41am

4 minutes from my start. I got my wetsuit one, swim cap, all ready to go....OH wait a minute where are my Goggles?????... Shut... cant find my goggles... First time I forget such an important race component.... and I am only 4 minutes from my start... damn.... I am sweating cold blood in my wetsuit... what do I do now..

7.41.05am

5 seconds and here it comes, my brain is pessimistic but my body reacts differently... I am sprinting without shoes back to the hotel hoping to find my goggles on the bed or something.

Running with your wetsuit on, the swimcap and no shoes... AINT FUN... I get to the hotel in less than 2 minutes... Nada, niet, no, nessun, goggles in the room... oh well.. I will swim without... the race is "effe"d up... I am running back to the start line on the russian river.... OH wait a minute... what is that black object in the middle of the street?? My goggles!!!! Damn I am lucky! I basically grab them on the fly ... sprint to the river start, wave one more time to Kimmy and friends, step on the Timing Mat and jump in the water.

30seconds to the start... 29, 28, 27.... I here the voice from Michael: "...yay ya the italian stallion over there... ya ya .... 4h40 target...". I am happy to hear its optimism and I am glad to start after this first incident. 10, 9, 8 , 7.... Oh no... My mind is switching...from let's enjoy the sunny day to RACE mode... oh no... this is going to be a painful day.

7.45am-8.15am THE SWIM

First time I race in a river. 3 major differences: 1) You swim against the current for half the way, 2) water is shallow... sometimes people standup and I have got to pass people standing around me, 3) water is warm and savorless... Almost drinkable... BLEAHHH :-)

8.15am

First time I swim the 1.9Km in 30minutes sharp... this is the fastest swim I have ever done in my life ( the river conditions were ideal ).

8.15am-8.17am TRANSITION 1 (Swim->Bike)

First time I get my wetsuit off without incidents, I hear Kimmy screaming and looking at the number of bikes around me... I should be in the first 20 for my age group... not bad for a non-swimmer.

8.17am-10.46am THE BIKE

First time I am riding a bike course I had the opportunity to try before. I am going as fast as it gets from the start. I drink every 15 minutes, I pass people every 30seconds ( a lot of age groupers that started before me ) this is fun. I feel strong, positive and looking at my watch I seem cruising at a pace I would have never thought I could stay at.

I have to admit, 2-3 faster rider pass me... and they do have my age .... but this time I don't have any pressure and I dont feel like pushing more ( not that I really can )...40miles in and my legs are doing very good. Drinking a lot despite a foggy weather... I might be drinking a little too much, I feel like peeing... never happened before in a race.... oh well better too much water that not enough.
The infamous hill at mile 40 something is gone in few pedal strokes and I feel very good...awwww wait a minute I recognize a guy on the side of the street.... oh no... he is Dario.... he just had a flat and he is working on his wheel.... I feel bad for him... but I cant stop... I will understand.... I know he will.
Not even a word between us... just a look.

Shouldnt I look in front of me?

Few miles to the end, I can see Windsor and the pavement is getting cleaner and faster..... Woooow one guy passes me and he is 55yrs old!... This time I am almost close to the end and my instinct tells me I can push the bike a little faster. I end up battling with a 55yrs older monster biker for the last 5 miles.... 26/27mph on the flat.. It feels good when I see the transition area... time to run! 2h29 minutes for a rolling 56miler... not bad... NEW PR

10.46am-10.47am Transition 2 Bike-Run

This transition in the Windsor High School parking lot is absolutely smooth and perfect. I am in and out in a minute and my legs are not dead after all. Temperature is ideal it has not been too sunny and hot so far. I pop a GU and gooo

10.47am-11.00am Run ( part1 )
13 miles to run, I have got my coach's voice in my head ("take it easy at the beginning ... the race starts after mile 6..."), looking at my watch... I am not really following his plan... but I am not suffering this 6.30/mile pace... I just have something ... something that hurts ... damn.. I need to peeeee.
Almost 3 miles done ... and I cant take it anymore. First time I have to stop in a race. I disappear in the bush for what it seems to be the longest bathroom stop of my life.

11.01am-12.13pm Run ( part2 )
I am a lot lighter now, I feel like running again and looking at the watch again... I cant believe myself I am back in the groove... 6.30 pace. The run is gorgeous, I do remember the course from last year marathon, most of it I am protected by shades, the road is rolling, hills are not aggressive and flats .... are not really flats. For few miles I get to share the run with Dan Ross (my age group), a new Tri-acquaintance. I feel great to be able to share the pain for a while with someone else... but It seems like the 6.30pace is killing me more than him. I give up and I let him go..... Mile 6, I see the GGTC crew cheering on the street.. they recognize me.... and I do feel their support.. adrenaline is going through in a rush and while I hear Tommy screaming I look at my pace and I am sub 6..... eaaaasy dude... take it easy or you will die.... Mile 7... turn around point in the vineyards...I can feel the pain now... I am focusing to the next time I will cross the GGTC tent.. one goal at a time.... here they are mile 9 and their support is stronger than ever. This time the adrenaline rush is contained and I am stuck on my 6.30sh pace...

Flat means I can still bounce a bit

Big flat portion in front of me ... mile 10 is gone 3 to go... push push push push.... hey wait a minute... I see Dan ( the guy the went past  before... ) he is few hundreds yards in front of me and we are kinda running at the same speed...who knows maybe I can catch him. First time I am actually RACING
11miles... and he is close.... 12 miles and I can hear the crowd... he is 200 yards in front of me... I am racing as hard as I can.. I have been doing it for the whole day and my legs are still there... 5.55/mile is my pace... the running style is terrible but I am racing for my last mile... I am passing Dan 500yards from the end... I am alone now... no one around me... just the crowd.. and few hundred yards.... I see the end... WOW so many people, the big Vineman arrival stage and NICEE.... Kimmy, Diego, Katie, Marco are there few yards from the end...13.1 miles in 1h26minutes... I touch their hands while I am flying to the fastest Ironman 70.3 of my life. 4h30m04secs.

Team Triple Espresso...aka my best italian training buddies

What a race, what a perfect amount of conditions and random events... what a great Sunday... speechless.

This was one of those days where you are blessed and you have to enjoy the ride ( literally ).

In a few hours I got to hear I was 8th in my age group and qualified for the World Championships by just 30 seconds ( 9th spot was Dan ... 30secs from me ).. thank God I did not know how close I was to this awesome result while I was running ... or I would have screwed it.

I know I promised Kimmy this was the last Tri for the season... but now the Worlds are there... 6 weeks from this race and I have to go for it :-). She is so proud of me... She does not know there are other 2000 in the world that qualified with similar performances.... we ll see how it goes!!!

Stay tuned

The awesomest cheerleader ever ( Hawaiian version )

XTerra Tahoe City 2011

First time I get to race the same event in my Tri-Life (2010 and 2011), what a perfect occasion to have fun, get some offroad training/experience with friends and Daddy-O ( Dario ), benchmark myself and finally try my 29er on the field.

For the non-Xterra fans, this was an offroad Triathlon 1.5Km swim in Lake Tahoe, 32sh Km mountain bike, 10Km run.

Quick recap

5am
After spending having an awesome dinner and sharing the night with Nate, Erin and Tommy we all wake up at 5am... the plan was to leave the hotel at 6.15 but apparently everybody apart me seemed way too fast on getting ready and too anxious to get to the transition area. It is 5.40am and they all left me ... Dario and I are taking our "italian" time and try to get those 20+ minutes of extra lazy rest.

6.30am
Transition area full of the most amazing Mountain Bikes ... I try to get my stuff in place before the usual "nerv d*mp" time occurs.
I do find this sweet coffee place on the main street and when they see me enter for the 3rd time in 30 minutes.. they probably know I am not very much interested on their coffees but to that little magic black door in the back :-))

7.40am
Dario and I are almost ready to go. Wetsuit half the way on. The race organizer is telling us how could the water is and how important is to warm up in it...... DUDE... 49F-51F water temperature... this is the coldest water I have ever swam into. My feet freeze at first touch and I am really considering to not even start. Nate and Erin seem pretty concerned too but I can see from their face "this aint gonna stop me" :-)... Dario and I on the other side are in a state of tension mixed to hilarious-freezing humor...

8am the SWIM starts
It is a mass start ( less than 200 people ) but this time I dont feel like rushing in the first line and I decide to start a little later... BOOM people are rushing into the coldest water on earth while Dario and I keep talking and laughing... this must be the most relaxing start of my life. After 20-30secs we look back and YES we are the last ones... maybe we should jump.... GOOOOO.

8.16am first swim lap is gone
750mt are gone .... it took me that long to warm up but the initial "I am about to die" feel is finally gone and my mood is starting to kick in... from take it easy it is a fun event to let's if I can actually race this.

8.26am Swim done in my usual 26 minutes

Running barefoot (with dumb feet) to the transition area is surprisingly effortless and I am happy to hear I am 20th overall out of the water.

8.30am Starting the MTB ride

I took it easy during transition, put socks and most importantly gloves on. I am not comfortable on the Mountain Bike ( just 2 weeks of experience with it ) and too afraid of falling. The ride starts with a crazy climb the last for about 5 miles.... it is grueling but nonetheless I paid for this ... and like my father would say ( You bought the bike... now you got to pedal ) :-). I am pushing enough to pass 1-2 guys every mile and that keeps me going... I am almost on top of the hill now there are 2 loops of technical, muddy, rolling terrain... and here it comes... mud everywhere.. I cant see my number anymore... the race is becoming frantic, fast, dirty and super dangerous... I feel so unstable on my 29er...Mile 10, Mile 15,....Mile 15.2... CATABOOM I am down ... lol thank God I fell on a huge mass of snow, I still need to learn how to jump or at least avoid big logs....

Back on my bike ... no scars, I actually feel pretty good, now I do not have to perform anymore... I got myself a little excuse in case the race goes bad :-).

Mile 20... from now on it is all down hill to the transition area.... dude....TR TR TR TR ... dude.... TR TR TR TR.... I am going so fast, rocks everywhere... I got to trust my bike or I will die... TR TR TR TR TR TR... I cant hear much.. just rocks jumping left and right and my bike magically flying down the mountain....yayyyy asphalt... last 500yds and I am ready to change in my running shoes.

10am the Run

I feel better than a week ago in Italy, legs are still strong after the bike and I can try to challenge myself on the running portion. As usual I start off too fast but the 3 miles vertical hill is devouring energy from all the athletes in the field... including me.... I can only settle in my climbing pace... umh nice It seems like I am passing people... .....I want this hill to be over... cmon push push.... push... and my legs seem reacting just fine.... push... I am on top... now flat and 3 miles down to the END...... the trail up here is gorgeous, I run in between snow, mud, rocks and plants of any type....... ole' I am passing another guy... I must be doing well.. I dont see many contenders in front of me.... going down now..... I feel like my legs are still ok.. this means I can push downhill and maybe catch up on some top finishers....

10.30am the last mile

I am running downhill at 5.20min/mile pace.... I love it... it hurts.... but it is a pace that all the other athletes cant sustain right now... I passed 8-9 guys so far and I got 2 more in front of me.... done ...... and done.... nice I see the end... cmon one last push...

2h45 minutes and change.

6th overall ... few minutes from my coach that finished 3rd and satisfied like never before.

What did I learn today..... Italy 70.3 did not go as well as it should have... I do have the fitness.... I might have just messed up the nutrition on that race... today I proved myself I can run strong.

Pescara IM 70.3 a recap

For what is worth it I want to recap this experience and try to fix it in my head... got to learn from mistakes and remember the good overall performance.

The original plan was to get to Vasto ( 1 hour south of Pescara ) to acclimatize, eat healthily, shave few pounds and taper properly following the coach guidance.... as usual the plan changed a bit and the eating/shaving weight combo did not work out as expected... but Sun, Beach, Italian food and super Kimmy were too much to handle.... I did follow one thing my coach told me "go have fun" :-)))

Here it goes the chronicle of this race:

7am
I woke like any other day... way more relaxed than I should be before such an important race. Too bad that the starting will be at 12.10pm... now I need to keep my mind busy and my body relaxed for 5 hours. The goal is to fuel up, avoid de-hydration and hopefully get all the "heavy duty unloading" ( :-P ) done before 11am.

11am
I am off with my whole family to the transition area. My dad is already filming, My mom is so interested in this whole craziness around her... she finally found out there are at least 2000 more weird people like me out there ready to go. Kimmy and my friends kinda know the drill and they are waiting patiently under a palm tree. On my side, I keep checking if everything is in place in the transition area. ( The look of my parents is priceless ).

11.45am
The beach is already packed.... 2000+ athletes, XXXXXX amount of spectators.... YYYYYY amount of random beach people (that are still, as of today, trying to figure out what happened on that Sunday 12th ). I am putting my wetsuit on and this time with the help of K, friends and family ... lol we look like a team :-).

I am a little nervous ... I need to rush in the water and warm up... ( the temperature had been 90F+ since 9am ).

12pm

The PROs are starting ..., I am warm, I need to get quickly to the front of my age group wave ( 400ppl ) to avoid the mass start madness.....It is super hard to even get to the starting line... tons of spectators... and I am burning inside the wetsuit.
Here it comes.... way too many people in front of me... I need to find a way to get in front of the pack... nice I spot a shortcut on the side... I jump a little fence... and here I come, I am in first line. OOps now I will have to outsprint the whole group and make sure to swim the fastes 200yds of my life :-).

12.10pm... Italian anthem .... BOOOOM start... time to eat s*it ( Copyright Chasing Legends movie ).

12.11pm THE SWIM
Swimming in the Adriatico is weird, water is shallow for the first 100yds and waves are pretty ugly when you try to keep a decent body position. I am going as hard as I can to avoid the war behind me... after few minutes the fastest guy are already in front of me and I can't really catch my breath... every time I try to relax my style... I get people jumping on me, grabbing me... oh wait DUDE... you can't just pull my feet like that... LOL... cool you want the war... and war it is... I literally start bumping this guys for 50/100yds.... now let me see if I am still on track.... OOOPS I am way off the swim line I should follow... damn let me let this guy go by and keep racing my own thing.

12.20pm
Uff the swim feels so hard... I want it to be over... I am sweating inside the wetsuit, the water is hot and I am swimming way too hard than usual. Time to relax and get a normal stroke in. Thank God these last minutes are easier, the waves are pushing me to the end.

12.32pm
Swim is done :-), I am running "hella" fast toward my bike and I hear people cheering for me... Kimmy ...YAY... my mom, my friends.... finally I get to my bike and my dad is right there.... I feel so happy to have everybody around. I am in heaven and now on the bike is time to deliver. ( off the swim I am 187th :( ).

12.34pm-3.12pm BIKE
After carrying the bike across the whole transition area ( I was positioned at the very end ) I am ready to start pushing but first I need to be able to put my feet inside the pre-clipped shoes. First time I try this and it is not as easy as I thought... after 2 miles I decide to stop and put my feet inside the shoes without risking a stupid accident.
The ride is awesome, people cheering everywhere, every single little village that we cross has family, kids, bikers and random tourists spectacting along the way. The uphills are long but mellow and my goal of pacing and avoid cramps is working so far. I am going 80% and I keep passing my age groupers... I LIKE.
Here we go, 60Km are gone... 30 to go but now I know that there are no more hills, time to show off what the power house can do on the flat.
I wish I could have done this ride before... there are so many curves, downhills and sudden changes in direction, few riders are passing me downhill... I dont like this... I will see you on the flats.
....Push... Push.... Push... the last 10km coming back to Pescara are flat, super hot and way longer than I thought.... Push Push Push... I see the end. 2h38 minutes I do not have any idea if my pace was right or not but I am definitely happy to be back.

3.12pm T2
I am transitioning to the run and I see my brother and friends with this big banner for me... too bad I am so busy changing clothes that I cant focus on what's written on it.... ( later I read: DAJE VIRGO PORTACE A LAS VEGAS (Go Virgo take us to Las Vegas )).

3.14pm Running through Transition area

I am off with my mom screaming "Vai Virgilio che ce l'hai fatta" (Go V you made it), I would not call being 21km of running from the arrival as "MADE IT".. but I am happy to hear her.

I dont see my father but I am 100% he is filming somewhere and commenting the in his own videos.

3.15pm the RUN

My first 2-3Km are going way to fast... my pace is a little over my expectations and I feel great. Hot, sweaty, salty and smelly as usual ...but great..

second lap ( out of 4 )... and my running is starting to fade, so many people screaming my name ( it was written on my Bib ) too bad my legs cannot react anymore. I hear Alessia, Francesco and friends that I totally did not expect to show up at the race.

Third lap and I see Kimmy... with her astonishing beauty, trying to take pictures while screaming "Cigliaaaa".

These 2 laps are a weird cocktail of emotions, totally miserable on the outside, super happy in the inside. I hit my LOW moment towards the beginning of the 4th lap... I am only 5Km from the end but I need to walk... my hearth is going crazy... ( way too much Coke )...10-20meters and I am back into a slow run... finally back to a 7min pace trying to hang on.

Last 2Km... as usual ... they are sooo damn long... I can barely hear my friends and family... oh here it comes I see the end... the blue carpet

I am done.

30th overall.... 21st among the italians ( including PROs ). 4h47 minutes after a 1h30 half marathon that felt like an ultra.

My mom's hug, my dad's eyes are indescribable... and I feel guilty to not be able to appreciate the moment as much as I would but the low level of sugar in my blood is making me dizzy....

For whomever made it to the end of this eternal post here it comes the Video my dad realized.

Italian comments :-).

Vasto (Italy) -3 to IM 70.3 Italy

I set this goal just about 8 months ago and here I am 3 days from this race that drove most of my training inspiration for so many weeks.

I promised myself I would have gotten a little faster on the pool ( DONE ), faster on the bike ( MAYBE ), faster on the run ( MAYBE )... I also convinced myself I could have gone from 175pounds rusty and heavy machine to a light 160pounds blazing fast aeroplane.... mission failed.

I guess I accomplished a mix of it.... (72hours from the race) I am an heavy 178pounds rusty fast aeroplane with a good layer of extra cushioning in case of emergency landing.

Well, it is what it is, I am ready to deliver pain to myself, as long as I still fit in the wetsuit, the cervelo will not collapse under my b*tt and the heat will not stress me much I am set for a good performance.

On a different note... if vacation means relax.... this vacation is just PERFECT. Vasto is a little cute town with enough restaurants, views, gelato places, beach resorts and peaceful afternoons ( yes everything is closed here between 1pm and 4pm for nap time! ).

The food is just irresistible, Kimmy and I are trying to alternate some light runs and walks between our eating festivals. While temperature and humidity are way much higher than SF, the Sun lately has not been that strong yet... I am hoping for the next days.

Now I am off for a little swim+run and a chill afternoon at Punta Aderici!

Big hug

V.

June is the month of changes (IM 70.3 Italy -7)

After almost 5 years at Logitech I am on the move, what an amazing adventure with them... from College to decently skilled software engineer. I will never stop thanking the different mentors, colleagues and managers I had the please to work with. Fremont (US), Toronto (CA), Hsinchu (TW), Lausanne (CH)....amazing. Now I need to be back to my original roots and give a second chance to the Web Application world and I do believe I found an amazing next step in my life.

:-)

This means a lot to learn, a lot to read, a lot to think about and I do believe a lot of fun. Thrilled.

Few updates on my life are due....

Only 7 days to Ironman 70.3 Italy, I am already in Rome waiting for my tremendously expensive TT bike that somehow did not make it to the airport yet.... the anxiety is killing me.

If anyone sees

stuck in some international airport.... please dont steel it and send it over here ... grrr I cannot believe it. Now they charge 300$ to carry (actually lose) a bike for you.... next time I will ship with Fedex ( hopefully a sponsor will take care of it ).

I will have 7 days to get used to the 80+ weather here and most importantly try to lose few pounds here and there ( waxing shaved 0.5 pounds at least :-P ).

My Kimmy seems happy here... still need to figure out if she loves me or Italy ... ( jk babe!! ) and somehow managed to run 2 days out of 2 with me so far... congrats Puzza!

My family is ready for big changes too.... Sara Pigliucci will become a new addition soon in few weeks and I bummed I won't be here to see my brother becoming a father!

5.48pm now... at 6pm ...in theory I should get a call about my lost bike.... I will kill the next 12mins with some good leisure reading enjoying my vacation with the new mid-year resolution :-)

and yes check how cool is this:

Ciao

V.

Feeling better in cold Canada

I do not want to say it too loud but it seems like the fever is gone for good ( more than 24hrs without it ).... these last 5 days here in Toronto were a pain in my ...back ;-).

5 days of no training, 5 days of not-very-productive work, 5 days of bit*hing with whomever talked with me over the phone/chat.... ( yes people get sick with terrible viruses and side effects way worse than mine ... I shouldn't have complained that much about it ), 5 days of thinking how boring is life without Kimmy, 5 days of considering my loss of fitness for the next races like the biggest disaster on earth, 5 days of watching crappy Canadian tv ( hockey, commercials, food and idiotic fat losing programs, royal wedding..... repeat* ), 5 days of moving my heavy butt from the bed to the car to the office to the car to the grocery shop ( where I managed to do some walking intervals between the aisles :-P ).....



I could go ahead for other 5days....... for example... 5 days of reading medical web pages about stomach flu and intestinal viruses...

I learned quite a bit about it but what hit me the most was reading the first line of most of those articles in the section "how do I get a stomach bug":

1) Follow the 2-40-140 rule. Don’t eat meats, dressings, salads, or other foods that have been kept more than 2 hours between 40 and 140 degrees.
Be especially careful with deli meats like turkey or ham.

Guess what I had on the plane on Wednesday evening ( the night before getting sick )... a well seasoned Panera "italian" sandwich with a humongous amount of deli meat of doubtful quality that waited in my backpack about 6 hours before making into my mouth....DOH!

Well..... enough. I am better now, second day without fever is starting well and I might be able to hit the gym tonight and get back to a normal tri-life soon.

Let me just tell you that It sucked big time to be out here with the flu!

Time to go to work now,

Big hug from gassy V.

Finally some time to blog

Well, guess what I am on a business trip in Toronto.... again.

It seems like a yearly pattern, I crash my bike end of March, I travel to Europe and Canada in April without any moment of relief and relax and all of a sudden the first Half Ironman is right there waiting for the unprepared me. ( Last year it was Escape From Alcatraz ).

Wildflower Long Course is going to happen no matter what, one of the oldest, toughest, most extreme and wildest race an athlete is suppose to race in. ( 25000 people expected in a remote park in Lake San Antonio ).

This last month quite a lot of significant changes happened:

- My brother got married

- My brother and Betta will have a daughter ( Sara!!! )

- My parents renovated our house

- I am HAPPY.... I might have found what I have been looking for ...

Work life is crazier than ever.... hard to explain at the moment... delicate argument.

(Some times I do believe we look alike! )

Training was proceeding ok ( not amazingly well ) but the last 2 weeks were a disaster.... being in Italy... flying for 20-30hrs.. getting an intestinal flu here in Toronto ( that's why I am here writing... with this fever there is not much I can do outdoor ).... I hope to be able to walk out of the hotel on Monday healthy enough to work and train HARD.

What's going to happen in the next weeks:

- WF Race on April 30th,

- WF Relay race on May 1st

- Simona visiting, Mathieu business visiting

- Xterra Triathlon in Santa Cruz May 15th

- .... and the most important month of my training to get ready for Ironman 70.3 ITALY.

( who is that piece of art of a lady? )

Big V loses his mind and his teeth in February

A lot of small and big changes in my life... again...

I should have forecasted my last month in the 20s would have been as crazy as the last 9 years.... I should never expect to have an easy/chill/nothing happening month... let see if turning 30 will change things.

The choice of joining the GGTri club is still one of the best moves I have ever done so far and I keep thinking how much fun I am having with those guys. Bike rides during the week ends, Runs at Kezar, Swims at GGTSC.... few sporadic social meet up where most of the times the topic end up being... guess what? Triathlon... DOH!

Kaiser Half Marathon opened my race season again... this time the 1.19 time was a little easier and effort was not all out... but legs did suffered for a week.

Speaking about suffering... apart from losing 4 wisdom teeth yesterday... the last 3 weeks were perfectly sunny and I had one of those blasts that remind you why I chose to live in California.

(pic taken right after the Half Marathon... foam roller is killer!)

In the coming days I will try to recover from this dental surgery asap, organize my 30th bday event, get a lot of work done, file taxes, organize the house, meet up with Nicoletta e Franco ( so happy I will get to see them here... my coach!!! )... ah.. and open up a luggage that was returned to me after a MONTH.

Btw... I am buying the tickets to go to Italy in April.... MY BRO!!!!! MY BRO... is doing it!!!!! So happy for you and Betta... looking fwd to be there. Family first... and you guys nailed it.

Saverio made it before me... not on 1 thing but 2.... this is becoming a pattern I might have to start accepting.

Big hug from Pumpking face V.

Happy on NYD, Happy the whole year!

End of 2010... Start of 2011, what a great time I am having between friends, family, fun, random training, humongous amount of food, card games ( Donkey rulez ), old faces, super old faces, new faces... just so much and of course not enough time!

I am working in Switzerland right now, I missed this place a little and like SF, this is one of those places where I will be happy to live... I made my choice for a sunnier city with a bit more happening and social/training/life/work opportunities but the environment and just the landscape from any window of any building is worth coming and work for a bit in Lausanne!

I am about to leave the office for yet another swim in Mon Repos, weather is quite extreme this time of the year ( -4C right now ) and running or biking are almost a NO-NO... I did manage to get my ass frozen yesterday morning by the lake.

Dinner with friends tonight, Dinner with Mathieu's family on Friday, Snowboard in Verbier on Saturday and I will have to fly to Rome... pack everything... say one last good bye... and fly to SF again.

This time Italy will have to wait just 6 months... ( June 1st I will be back... Ironman-Italy.... I am coming!! ).

So much to look forward in California... So much I know I am going to miss from Europe... LIFE!

V.