A lot of great things have happened this month. So much good stuff that a) I haven’t had time to write about it, and b) I don’t ever want December to come. Aside from my actual race, my 7th place qualifies me for USA Triathlon’s 2012 team, their second highest national team level. Hopefully this means that next year I can make the World Championship and World Cup series my focus, and I won’t have to roam the world in search of ITU points in order to maintain my ranking.

More important than triathlon, however, my sister gave birth to an 8lb 5.5oz boy yesterday. I was the first visitor, so I got to spend some quality time holding little Carter Timothy Lamb. He was impossible to wake up, so it was like holding a warm little brick of newborn baby – super fun.

Now, you may notice in the picture that I’m rockin’ a killer ‘stache (look closely – my genetics have a different perspective of what it takes to make a ‘stache “killer”). That’s because it’s Movember (formerly known as November). But before I lead you to believe that I’m growing my moustache solely to raise awareness for man cancers I should tell the story about how I became so good lookin’.

Back in October I stayed with my friend Mark. He was the reason I got into cycling after college, and when I saw that he had grown a killer ‘stache I thought it was another excellent idea. I watched this video and followed the directions to a T. My beard was growing fine until I shaved my head for Huatulco – a bald head looks weird on top of a scraggly beard. I trimmed it down to a goatee, and kept it there until about a week ago when Courtenay convinced me that a thin moustache looks better than a chin bush.

Still, my girlfriend hates the lip fuzz, so when I heard about Movember – a month-long campaign to raise awareness for testicular and prostate cancer – it seemed like a pretty perfect charity event for me to take part in. Now, I know boy cancers aren’t the at the forefront of most people’s concerns right now – with DC changing breast cancer screenings and all – but testicular and prostate cancers are big problems, and deserve some attention. So click on the link to my Movember Donations Page, and give a few bucks to a good cause. Do it because it’s a good thing to do, and help save my ‘stache at the same time.

Here’s the official donation request:

Hi,
I have decided to join a global movement that is bringing much needed attention to cancers that affect men.  I’m doing this by growing a Moustache this Movember, the month formerly known as November. My commitment is to grow a moustache all November and I am hoping that you will support my efforts by making a donation.  The funds raised go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LIVESTRONG).
What many people don’t know is that 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime and testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 18-35.  Facts like these have convinced me I should get involved. 
To make a donation, you can either:
•    Click this link http://us.movember.com/mospace/494091/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account , or
•    Write a check payable to ‘Movember Foundation’, referencing my Registration Number 494091 and mailing it to: Movember Foundation, PO Box 2726, Venice, CA 90294-2726.
All donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation will use the money raised by Movember to fund research to find better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer. 
The Lance Armstrong Foundation will use the money raised by Movember to fund:
•    The LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance program which has the goal of improving survival rates and quality of life for young adults with cancer between the ages of 15 and 40.
•    Research initiatives to further understand the biology of adolescent and young adult cancers.
For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please go to http://us.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs/.
Thank you

-Benjamin Collins

Yesterday I called my Huatulco race report the “short version”, which is a bit of a lie. I did not leave out many details about the race itself. After the race I tried my best to rehydrate, so that I could enjoy myself at the athlete reception (read: “after-party”). It seemed to work. After a week of forcing copious amounts of salt into my system, it was pretty hard to drink anything but straight water.

Speaking of electrolytes, I brushed over the heat issue at this race, but it’s worth mentioning, because my performance in Mexico shows an evolution in my ability to race well in the heat (my last trip to Mexico resulted in me DNFing and waking up after a serious bought of heat stroke in a Mazatlan hospital). This newfound heat tolerance has not come through passive acclimation, but through active pursuit of research and methods to improve my body’s temperature regulation, pre-race hydration levels, and to help keep myself cool when it’s simply too hot for sweat alone to do the job. Electrolyte and Carbohydrate Drink, Nuun, sea salt, and carbohydrate loading were the key to hyper-hydration in the week prior to the race, but while training in Seattle I also had to create an artificially warm environment to allow myself to acclimate to uncomfortably hot exercise.

About two months ago I stopped using a fan while riding the indoor trainer (with Seattle’s fall rain and a broken wrist, I had only ridden outside three times since August), and I gradually added more and more layers to my running uniform (for my last track workout I was wearing four layers of K-Swiss long sleeves, tights, run pants, and a hoodie). Along with this heat simulation I had to force myself to drink way more fluid than my natural thirst demanded. When it’s cold out I am simply not as thirsty as I should be. For instance, one day I did a long run in full layering, but because it was cold out I forgot to drink and stop to refill my bottle. I ended up losing 4% of my bodyweight in sweat, which means I was very dehydrated. Luckily I only made that mistake once, and by the time my training block was finished I was used to drinking plenty during workouts.

In order to promote water retention and to keep my body’s electrolyte levels high I used grey sea salt, which is my favorite type of salt (I get it in bulk at Whole Foods). I passed up water during meals in favor of fruit juice, and made sure to have complex carbohydrates with every meal. When I was sitting around and didn’t want a sugary drink I used Nuun tablets to make sure I was still pushing fluids and electrolytes. I had enough salt to increase my thirst, and grams (seriously, grams – it caused more than a few shocked looks at the dinner table these past two months) more than I normally would consume during the day. So by the time I got to Mexico last week I was already used to high fluid consumption and high salt content in my diet.

Once in Mexico, I averaged over six liters of water each day of the trip, and almost all of that was mixed with either carbohydrate/electrolyte mix or Nuun, and it was in addition to the juices I had with breakfast. I drank a lot more than I imagined possible.

For the race I also prepared my body externally. I shaved my head (I hate not having my afro), and purchased disposable instant-ice packs from the first aid section of the drug store. I put one of them into my bike helmet, which kept my head cool for the first 20 kilometers.

Before the race I used an ice vest (basically a neoprene vest that you can put water into and freeze) to keep cool while I waited for the start. This actually made me nervous because I didn’t have a chance to try it in training, and I wasn’t sure how it would effect me in the swim. It was remarkable! I warmed up like normal, then sat in the athlete lounge with the vest on. My legs and arms stayed warmed up, but my core had a nice cool layer to keep me from sweating profusely like my competitors. I took it off about five minutes before we were called out, and by the time we started I had no trouble surging to the front of the swim.

Lastly, on the run I didn’t waste an once of the water given at the aid stations (4 bottles per lap for a total of 16 bottles during the 10km run). I either drank or poured every bit over my head. Amazingly, my K-Swiss K-Ruuz racing flats drained quickly and at no point did my feet feel heavy from all the water I had poured over them. It was high noon while we were running, but we did our best to stay in the shadows. The heat was seriously intense.

Sunblock is another thing to consider because the wrong stuff can trap your sweat and increase body temperature. I used my Hawaiian Island Creations 2x Sunblock (excellent product) in the morning before the race, but parts of my back are still tender today (more a testament to my pasty complexion and the strength of the Huatulco sun – and possibly to my self application technique – than to the quality of the sunscreen).

Still, I do not consider myself an expert in preparations, and I may change a few things for next time (different types of salt, different race uniform material…). Hopefully this account of my hydration and cooling methods helps you reach your potential the next time the mercury rises on race day. I would also encourage you to do your own research, and realize that dietary preparation is very individual. I was consuming >5g of salt a day, but someone else may need much more or much less to avoid cramps. Just remember not to try anything new on race day!

The 2009 Huatulco World Cup was seriously hot. The water was 84, and according to Jarrod Shoemaker’s SRM the average temp was 102 degrees during the bike. During the run it only got hotter. I poured so much water over my head on the run that at times I felt like I was running through a shower. And that’s all I’ll say about the weather.

The swim was by far the slowest and easiest swim of my triathlon career. Two guys took off and I stayed at the front of the main group, then pulled ahead at the end. Transition relaxed because I was in front of everyone, and the bike started off really slow with nobody motivated to work hard at all.

The hill on the bike was a wall. It was 75 seconds straight up, we hit it eight times, which destroyed the pack and caused the majority of people to drop out. On lap three I started at the front into the hill then went easy (relatively) planned to be near the end of the group by the crest. Unfortunately, when I crested some guys in front of me had allowed a gap to open – which I figured was no big deal – but on the decent the gap grew, rather than shrinking. I had to TT my way back to the front group and by the time I made it they were already starting up the hill again, with Matt Chrabot pulling off the front. He stayed away for more than four laps, starting the run with a FOUR MINUTE lead! Back in my pack we had decided he was committing suicide, and nobody was willing to chase.

Matt went on to win handily (after a “suicide attempt” he ran just 20 seconds slower than Jarrod), with Jarrod running to third (second was Rudie Wild, who did a mini-version of Chrabot’s breakaway). I ran in a pack with Collington, Serrano, Chacon, and Tutukin. It was the first real running pack I’ve been in, and I finally understand how tactics play into the running race. I stared surging on the downhills after 5k, and we dropped Chacon and Collington. For the last two laps Serrano Tutukin and I flogged each other with everything we had, and every time one of us surged the other two would claw our way back into the draft. With about a 1/4 mile to go I was leading, and thinking my final surge had dropped the other two – then Tutukin came by with a final surge I couldn’t match, and Serrano followed on his heels. It was a really close finish, which put me at 7th place.

The graph above, for those of you wondering, is a measurement of the time gap between Matt Chrabot and each of the other competitors, with each measurement taken at the transition area (8 for the bike, 4 for the run). Take a minute to soak this in – when 50 guys started a race that only 22 were capable of finishing, Matt Chrabot took it to another level, put four minutes on the nearest competitor during the bike, then lost mere seconds on one of the hottest runs in triathlon. That’s not just gutsy, it’s superhuman.

Tomorrow is the Huatulco World Cup. It’s my second World Cup, but definitely my biggest ITU race as far as size and quality of field. Plus, this course is going to kill people. It’s hot, for one, but more importantly, there’s a gigantic wall that we ride up eight times followed by a not-so-flat run…

…it’s going to be really fun! And afterwards, 2009 is over for me, which means today’s training was the last of this season.

I haven’t taken any pictures yet of Huatulco, but I did photograph my bike. I should add that this is the first time I’ve   ever  raced on a bike clean enough to put on my bed. The US Team brought a mechanic for us to use, and he’s doing full-on overhauls of our bikes. It’s remarkable. I actually just had a tune-up from Speedy Reedy in Seattle (who does a very good job), so I went to Joe the Mechanic asking only for some Quick-Stop break pads (I forgot my carbon-surface pads at home). Two hours later I walked back in to find my bike had been polished, the headset taken apart and cleaned, the cables changed, the shifting fixed – he actually took off my cassette  and washed it in the sink! Seriously, this is the best tune-up anyone has ever given me. Kevin Collington claims he no longer goes to bike shops, he just waits until he’s at a race with Joe, and lets him do an overhaul. One thing is for certain, there will not be any non-essential drag tomorrow from my bike. It’s all on me.

As for my trip – I haven’t had nearly as much practice with speaking Spanish since the all the other English speaking athletes showed up. There are enough fluent-speaking people that when we go to dinner somebody is always taking over the ordering process before I can mutter “quiero”.

A wise man once said, “a little Spanish will get you a long way.” And tonight that couldn’t be truer.

[Left: My Parents and I are celebrating the delivery of my new fan-club t-shirts – a big thanks to Taigraphx for the printing!]

It’s been a long day of travelling, I left my house at 4pm on Tuesday, and arrived in Huatulco around noon Wednesday, after eight hours of flying, nine hours sitting in airports, five baggage screenings, three flights, several short naps, and one shuttle ride where I had to pretend to be on the French team after discovering that every other athlete on my flight (twelve) had a shuttle waiting for them – but nobody was there for the American.

I checked in and called my mom, Victor Plata and Courtenay on Skype. That’s about when the sawing, hammering, and mowing started. I was planning to nap, but it was like sitting inside a machine shop while the boss is making rounds. I asked to change rooms, only to find that my new room has no internet, and the old AC fan was almost as loud as the hammering in the other room. They said I couldn’t change again until tomorrow, and – since it was already digging into my nap time – I didn’t have the desire.

After a wonderful nap, I snuck in a ride before it got dark outside. It was about 3km in that I started thinking about how gorgeous it is here – and that’s when the dogs started chasing me. There were no less than a dozen stray mutts – who obviously thought I was intruding – chasing me over the crest of a short hill. I hadn’t planned more than an easy spin, but I got in a good sprint as they chased me downhill at 40mph. Those dogs can run fast! (but luckily not for very long). It took me a while to turn around, for fear of passing those dogs while trying to go up the hill I’d just sprinted down. When I finally did work up the courage, the dogs just laid at the side of the road and watched me pedal by – no barking, no chasing, no nipping at my feet… I think I wore them out!

After a run I had some fajitas at the hotel, then went walking to find more bottled water. Everything on the street was closed, but a guy outside a snorkeling tour shop started speaking to me in Spanish. Now – I own the Rosetta Stone Spanish software, and I tell people I’m learning Spanish, but the truth is I use it to pass the time on the trainer every-so-often and really didn’t think I had learned enough to squeak out an introduction – let alone a conversation with a non-English speaker. I asked him to repeat himself several times before I figured out he was asking if I would be racing in the Triathlon on Sunday. We talked for a little while, and I exhausted my limited vocabulary to tell him when I was racing, where I’m from, my name, and that I was looking for a store to buy water. He told me where it was, and when I asked if it was within walking distance, he told me to borrow his bicycle while he waited there for me. I couldn’t believe it – a total stranger, who I could hardly converse with was just blindly letting me take his bike to the supermarket.

I did, and when I came back he told me to go to bed and sleep well so I could race well. And he said he would have his family at the race and they would cheer for me! My fan club is growing – if only I had more T-Shirts…