Inside Triathlon just posted a video from Nationals They didn’t give out a swim prime award because for one of the waves the timing was screwed up, but in the video they were nice enough to recognize it was pretty clear that I had the prime.

I’ve decided to stay in San Francisco through the Folsom Triathlon August 12th, rather than going home to Seattle and coming back. I’m really excited to be able to take advantage of some of the Endurance PTC eCycling classes, and I should be able to do some great rides while I’m here. Greta Pokorny (Loren’s wife) is awesome for inviting me to stay. She’s even going to let me move back out of 2 year old Piper’s bedroom once Grandma and Grandpa leave next week!

I’m back in Tiburon this week. It’s been two months since my last visit, and a few things have changed around here.

For one, The Legend, Loren Pokorny, no longer looks like a flounder when he swims. We went swimming in the Tiburon Lagoon again. With 77 degree water I went sans wetsuit, and Loren did a decent job of staying close with his wetsuit and Zoomers on. Only problem is he’s still very stiff, and looks a lot like a robot as he “thinks” his way through the water. The Lagoon did not improve, however. The clear shallow water is now a color somewhere between Forest Green and Bile, and it tastes of algae bloom that reminds me of the way urine would smell after eating 300 spears of asparagus.

That aside, I’ve had some fun open water swims here. (go hard to the front of the pack, turn around and go back, repeat).

Because Katie Mactier is no longer here I was upgraded to pool house, which boasts a very comfortable bed and a private bathroom. It was wonderful. I’m using past tense, however, because when Greta found out that the Nanny would not be able to come this week she invited grandma down for a last minute trip. Needless to say, Grandma gets the pool house, and I’m back in Piper’s room (see this post). So far Piper hasn’t had any words for me in the middle of the night, but we’ll see how long that lasts. Greta now has a day job, which she loves, but I’m again left wondering how anybody can manage to do so much (work, kids, train, maintain a house). I guess the answer is “Invite Grandma”, but I swear people with work, training and family must never sleep.

I’m here until Thursday, and I’ve already had some great workouts. Saturday I rode up Mt. Tamalais (a.k.a. Tiny Tim), which was a part of the tour of California back in March. It was an awesome hill climb, and that consists of 12 or so miles uphill, averaging about 6-8% grade, through everything from redwood forest to barren grasslands. I would post a elevation plot from my Garmin, but I’ve once again proven my intelligence by pausing it to wait for Loren half way up, and forgetting to restart until the descent.

Sunday I ran the 11 mile loop around Tiburon, which aside from the risky corners in places, is a really beautiful road. It boasts views of the Richmond Bridge, the Golden Gate, Angel Island, and a Sausilto across Richardson Bay. I really should carry a camera.

This week I had the pleasure of having lactate and VO2 testing done at the new Endurance PTC center in San Francisco. The center is only a week old, but already their spin classes are filling up. It’s easy to see why; the facility is equipped with Computrainers for all, so you can train to your own wattage. Furthermore, they do testing on all their members, including a consultation afterwards, so that you can figure out exactly where you need to train in order to attain your goals.

Loren Pokorny showed me into the new Endurance labs. I was set up on a Velotron and allowed to warm-up for the first test. A lactate test is pretty simple, they have you ride at a specific wattage for 6 minutes, then they prick your ear to measure the amount of lactic acid in your blood, raise the wattage and continue until your lactate levels go off the charts.

I also did a VO2 max test that was a little harder, but not as long. It’s hard to ride a bike all out with a tube in your mouth. After my testing I met with Matt, who helped me interpret my results.

I finished around lunch time, and asked Lara Brown, a 70.3 pro who races for Endurance, if I could tag along for lunch. We went to Togo with another guy that introduced himself as Max and had an Italian accent. He seemed extremely knowledgeable and was easy to talk to. It was a full ten minutes later when Lara asked Max how his athletes were doing in the Tour, that I realized I was having lunch with Dr. Massimo Testa, sports medicine doctor of Lance Armstrong, Chris Lieto, and a bundle of other great athletes. This was the first of many star struck moments for me. Chris Lieto came to give a talk at Endurance to prepare the athletes for Vineman this weekend. He also did a lactate test, but he allowed people to watch his testing. I won’t give details, but I will say that boy can ride. Inside Triathlon has an article this month about Chris’s bike racing as a training technique. It must work.

The second day I did the same lactate test, only this time I was running. My curve came out very different, which was interesting. Afterwards I was able to talk to Max about the results, and he was very helpful. I think it’s going to take a few days to absorb all the information that I’ve been presented with, and I’m glad they wrote it down for me.

After the testing I was able to go for a drink with the entire Endurance staff. Every one of them is an amazing athlete, and I’m really happy to have met them. If you’re even in San Francisco, or if you’re lucky enough to live in the area, Endurance PTC is a must visit. There’s no doubt in my mind that Matt Dixon and the rest of the Endurance crew can improve anyone’s performance dramatically.

My mood going into Seafair Triathlon this morning could only be described as ballistic. The past two weeks of minimal training for my mid-season rest were wearing on me, and all the excess energy (I was sailing, and playing volleyball, and hanging out with friends, sure, but nothing makes you feel quite as good as a few level VI hill repeats.) went into my excitement for the most popular triathlon in the Northwest (2100 competitors!). I convinced the race director to let Brian into the elite wave of his first legitimate race, so while Brian asked me about every detail of setting up his transition area I poked fun at all the other competitors and tried my best not to let him mess up too badly (he had bike shoes this time, so I couldn’t be blamed for a slow bike split).

Swim: With Brian Davis around, leading the swim would be silly. I stuck on his feet for as long as I could (which was tough because he was holding an unprecedented pace), but at the same time easy in the sense of sighting because he hasn’t quite figured out that an 18inch 6 beat kick is not the way to prepare for a bike ride – even in a sprint tri. I came out of the water about 10 seconds back, and with flat water separating the second pack.

I passed Brian in T1, and took off on the 20k bike course. The bike was fun, and 20k was perfect for the mood I started off with because I really didn’t feel like holding back. I didn’t let off for a second. At the turnaround I saw that Chris Tremonte had taken 2nd position, but I had left my broken Casio at home and had no objective measurement of my lead. The most notable part of the ride was the crossing of the I-90 floating bridge. With a fairly strong side wind, I was able to put my Stinger 60’s to the test. They handled beautifully. It took concentration to keep a line, but I never lost control, and I flew across the bridge. I’m also really happy with the way my bike feels cornering on my HEDs, and on the winding Lake Washington Boulevard I felt like I could easily accelerate through every turn. This was really my first windy test of my wheels, and like I said, I’m really happy.

I came into T2 asking myself if I had left enough in my legs for the lightning fast 5k I was hoping for (after my last few races I really wanted to keep the press from reporting that I “held on” in the run.). I did. Adding another minute to my lead I cart wheeled over the finish line to a new course record of 57:13, and a three minute gap on 2nd.

Mike’s thoughts: “We need to find a way to make you feel like this without so much rest.” I agree, bring on the training for Worlds! Bring on the competition, and bring on the fun!

Next week: Back to stay with The Legend, Loren Pokorny, his wife Greta, and his two daughters, Sada and Piper (2 and 4 years old). It’s my mission for the week to teach Sada and her friends to swim so they can enjoy the peanut shaped pool in their back yard.

This week is my psuedo week-off. I’m back into training, but still really low key.

It’s 98 degrees in Seattle right now, which is the hottest it will get this year. I’ve never seen it top 100, and hopefully it never will (screw you global warming, you can have Florida, but don’t mess with the Pacific Northwest!). I’m going to go sailing for the second time this week (I suddenly found friends with sailboats). I may decide the boats too hot and swim home (I’m just ballast anyway).

This Sunday I’ll kick things back up with the Seafair Triathlon. It’s a local sprint race sponsored by the Benaroya Research Institute. It has a horrible schedule conflict with the Fat Salmon (3.5 mile open water swim), and the STP (Seattle to Portland bike ride, 206 miles), which are two of the biggest athletic events in the city (I’ve done both, they’re fun), but Seafair still brings in about 1500 participant. Not too bad for the PNW.

The course will start in a beautiful park in South Seattle called Seward. The swim is in Lake Washington, the bike goes along the shore, crosses one of Seattle two floating bridges, then returns to Seward Park for a 5k run around the park. It’s mostly flat but there are a couple steep hills on both the bike and the run (the floating bridge is flat, but both ends come off the water enough that large boats can go underneath.) My buddy Brian (See “A Triathlon Is Born”) will be doing this as his second race. Again on my road bike, but this time he has tri shoes, and is actually registered for the event. I’ll be rooting for him on my way back from the bike turnaround (hear that Brian?). Chris Tremonte will also be there, which will be our first time racing head to head since Seafair 2005 (he was 3rd, ahead of me by 2 minutes and one place). With Brian and Chris, I’m expecting the swim times to be real fast.

Next week: back to Tiburon to stay with Loren, and get some physiological testing at Endurance PTC. Seafair marks the beginning of my 7 week training cycle for the World Championships is Hamburg. It is going to be some fun, hard training. How else would I want to spend my summer break?

So start leaving them. Sorry for all the frustration the past couple weeks.

Today’s Endurance Planet Podcast features yours truly. Yes it was early when I interviewed, and yes, public speaking will be on my schedule this fall.

In other news, I’m taking a motorcycle safety course this week with my dad. It’s pretty fun. I’m doing fine, but my dad is struggling some. He was complaining about sore muscles after the first drill. I just shook my head and laughed at him, which I don’t think he appreciated. Our father son bonding time always hurts him more than me.

Last week I threw a party for the 4th. It was huge success. Volleyball, waterpolo, dancing, fireworks… And Troy, my cat, seemed to enjoy himself too…