Blog – Page 49 – Ben Collins

Fast Triathlon 2008

I’m going to Brazil!!! A few days ago I got an email from Victor Plata. If you’ve ever used my contact form, you know I force people to choose from "Love Mail" "Hate Mail" or "Sponsorship" as their subject line. Victor wisely chose Sponsorship, which tells me if he was going to pick a non-sequitur he’d rather it didn’t show a false affection or disgust. Maybe I’m overanalyzing it, but he is a soon-to-be lawyer. Anyway, those details are completely unrelated to the story.

Victor asked me to be on the USA team with him and Matt Chrabot (Shar-boe) to compete in the "Fast Triathlon 2008" which will take place in Brazil on January 27th at the site of the Brazil Ironman. The race consists of 3 stages, each composed of a 250m swim, 4k bike (yes, four, single digit), and 1300m run. By my calculations each stage should take under 12 minutes plus transitions. Better yet, the bike leg is four laps, and the run is two, so this is as close to a spectator friendly triathlon as you can get (other than being 10,000 miles from home.) There will be 18 athletes total. Teams of three from six different countries compete. Athletes are given points after each stage based on their place. Then the teams are scored by the sum of the three athletes points after all three stages.

Wikipedia says the host city, Balneário Camboriú, is located in southern brazil. It’s a beach town with steep hills that drop down to the resorts on the ocean. It’s known for the cable cars which link the two beaches, and the town’s 10,000 year-round residents have to deal with a summer population of 700,000 people.

Victor has done this race in the past, but this year we will be following in the large footsteps of Andy Potts, Brian Fleischmann, and Matt Reed. Andy swept all three stages in 2007, and led the USA to a team victory. This year we hope to repeat.

Fast times in Honolulu

Today’s my sixth day in Hawaii. I’ve had a chance to see a bunch of friends, but since I’m staying in Kailua on the windward (east) side of the Island (Oahu) without a car, it’s been tough to really get out and have fun with other people. I also haven’t had a chance to see my two cousins or my aunt and uncle who live on the North Shore, but I get to see them for Christmas, which will be radical.

I’m using my last couple weeks of off-season to focus on weight loss and detoxification. So far I’ve discovered that my body is just not very toxic, but not eating makes you pretty weak. The first four days got worse and worse as my body got used to being hungry, and then I started feeling mentally normal, but physically weak.Â I can see why many people have told me not to try losing weight during the season, there is no way I could train at a beneficial level right now. In fact, this morning I ran for 10 minutes.Â This is partly because my ankle is still recovering and I don’t want to push it too much, but also because I’m just not full of energy as my body eats itself.

The idea of losing weight so rapidly is to lose most my existing muscle mass that I developed over years of training in the pool.Â As I’m regaining muscle this season it should come back to the areas that are being used more, thus I’ll have sped up the process of changing from the swimmers body to the triathlete’s body.Â It’s a tough thing, since when I got into the sport I was convinced that triathletes were all a bunch of skinny weak dudes, who didn’t know how to swim. I actually feel a bit like a traitor to the swimming world by losing my butterflyers chest and lats.Â Plus, I still think swimmers have better bodies (the men at at least). Ok, enough about that, I don’t want people to think I have an eating disorder. I don’t, I love eating, this is very challenging for me to restrict my diet.

I just got a package from my Dad that was an early Christmas gift! It’s a digital camera! The Olympus Stylus 790sw.Â The battery is charging, and as soon as it finishes I’m going to go shoot some pictures of this house, the beach, my friends, the sunburn that I don’t have thanks to Hawaiian Island Creations Sunscreen. Once my new cameras working, I’ll be able to use pictures that don’t come off a google images search.

Aloha!

It’s been a challenge to find internet access, and to be honest, spending time on my computer

has been low on my priorities. I am staying with my Coach, Dr. Mike in Kailua, which is on the windward side (rainy side, East side) of Oahu. It is beautiful here, and I couldn’t ask for a better location to aid in my focus.

The house to the right is where I’m staying. It’s amazing. There is no furniture besides a futon that I’m sleeping on, two couches, and Mike’s bed. All this in a gigantic house, with hard wood floors that cause our voices to echo through the halls of time.

Tonight I’m heading to a party with my friend Adam, who has been in Shanghai since the last time we saw each other in March. I’ll try to write more, and even post some pictures once I find a camera.

Final (just one)

I got my first gift of the season today. It’s a picture CD from the World Championships.

It’s funny, these pictures make it look quite a bit harder than I remember.

Speaking of walks in the park, (and poor transitions). I took my Organic Chemsitry final today. I killed it. I actually have no idea how I did, and I’m usually wrong when I try to predict, but I feel really good about it, which is a great note to leave Seattle on. Next stop Honolulu. I’m really excited to test out my new sunscreen from Hawaiian Island Creations.

I have a nasty habit of making a total mess of my bedroom, while constantly telling myself that as soon as I’m done with my [quarter, race, project at work, etc.] I’ll clean it up. It’s just that for the past six months I’ve planned travel for immediately after I finish my exams. Today I found a stack of graded quizzes from a class I took in January. There’s nothing like going through a pile of paper to remember the year by. It brings back memories like: "Oh look, the receipt for the pants I wanted to take back!" or "Hey there’s that Bio quiz I bombed after Hy-Vee!" Oh the times I’ve had…

I’m not sure what to take with me to Hawaii, but for sure it will not include goose down or wool socks. Hurray for that!

Oh yeah, Loren has to move in February, which is sad because I really like his house. From the sound of it though, he’s getting a much sweeter deal, and if I happen to visit on the same weekend as Greta’s mom, sister, best friend or 8th cousin thrice removed, there may be enough spare bedrooms that I’ll have to beg to stay with Piper.

Check out Jillian Petersen‘s web site as well. She just started blogging, but her first post is all about the nightmare of a World Cup in Israel. I’m never taking a bike there.

Tortured kitty, Bananas and Physio Testing

Look at this picture. Click on it to see it better. My sister is 27 and still torturing animals (that’s his tail she’s grabbing.). Troy is the first pet I’ve ever had that had a tail (Manx – born without, Spaniel – docked, gerbils – pulled off), which is still a novelty to most of my family. Poor cat.

Today was my last day of class for the quarter. I have an exam on Monday, then I leave for Honolulu, where I’m going to be for the next four weeks! I’m really excited. I’ll stay with my coach in Kailua, right on the beach. I can’t believe a year ago I lived there full time. I really miss it.

I’m trying out a new sunscreen by Hawaiian Island Creations. I met with the scientist that’s developing the lotion. He and two other guys started a company called Outside Labs, and they’re making some really cool stuff. All their products are marketed toward active lifestyles. The sunscreen is designed to protect a surfer in the sun on the water, all-day long, without running. It’s also supposed to allow you to sweat and feel like you have nothing on your skin at all. That sounds ideal to somebody as light colored as me.

This is what happens In Seattle when I make Banana bread. It gets demolished.

I visited a place today called Herriot Sports Performance. I’m not sure why it took me so long to discover this place. It’s awesome. I’ll write about it more later. right now I’m gonna watch a movie with my mom. Then go to bed so I can go ride with Brian in the morning.

Crazy Pete and the Bigglestone Posse

Yesterday after swimming for the first time in a week (and kicking Aaron’s butt), I drove through ice and snow to Redmond, where Peter Reid (3-time IM World Champ) was giving a talk at East Side Multisport (ESM). (Chris Tremonte was dueling with excitement, Left)The talk was mostly about Trigger Point (it’s a self massage system), which I have and frequently use. I actually had to leave before they finished because I was worried about getting across the floating bridge if the weather got any worse. While I was there I did get to talk to Ben Bigglestone from Blue Seventy (he and his wife Cindy run ESM), who told me about some of the improvements they’ve made for 2008 to the already awesome Helix wetsuit. Blue Seventy has a lot of good things going for them. They have the best wetsuit on the market, and with the recent FINA approval of the pointzero3 Kona Sensation, we could be seeing the Blue Seventy Logo on the pool deck in Beijing. That’s cool.

[left: Peter Reid and the creator of Trigger Point Pefromance Therapy]

After ESMS I drove carefully back to Seattle and met up with some friends to watch football. Berkeley got served by Stanford, which greatly upset my friend Peter. I left after dinner with the intent of going home to change then head downtown for my first party night of off-season. Three hours later I was half asleep on the floor watching Sopranos with ice on my ankle. So far, this off-season sucks.

Aaron asked Peter what team he was rooting for, to which Peter responded by pointing to his sweatshirt (text is not very effective in communicating to a blind person.). That’s Sarah on the left, they’re both lawyers (I’d make a lawyer joke here, but lawyers find them offensive and everyone else thinks they’re true.).

Tonight I’m making spinach tofu marsala. It’s a recipe I learned while working as a chef at an Indian restaurant. mmm..good…

She played me like a Guitar

Today I went to a woman for a… well… it’s called Bowenwork Therapy, and it’s tough to describe. The Blue Fire website defines it as:

"Bowenwork therapy is a sacred bodywork that accesses inner healing wisdom. This amazing bodywork allows us to regain our health and to experience rapid transformation."

But I would call it "body strumming". Basically, it’s a massage that is supposed to get your body to heal itself, reestablish screwed up neurological connections, and force you to pay attention to the signals your own body is sending you.

Here’s how it goes down: I walked into the office while Jessica Riley (the therapist, left) was still with another client. I was confused because the door to the massage room was closed, but Jessica was standing there as if she expected me to walk in at that very moment. (The moment I saw Jessica it became obvious to me why my mom and sister smirked when they referred me: she stunningly beautiful.) My confused look must have been obvious (they often are), but she reassured me, "You’re in the right place. It’s Ben, right?" I nodded, she handed me some paperwork, motioned for me to have a seat, then walked into the massage room. I heard some muffled voices, and moments later she reemerged, took my paperwork, looked it over, then disappeared again into the massage room. My mom and sister have both been several times for this type of therapy and I was warned that it is nothing like a normal massage, but I wasn’t really prepared to see a therapist walking in and out of the room.

The woman ahead of me left, and while Jessica changed the sheets we talked a little about what has been bothering me. She asked what other types of physical therapy and massage I’ve done, and then explained a bit about Bowenwork.

Bowenwork is a bit like tuning a guitar. The therapist grabs a muscle, moves it, then releases it. She literally strums the muscle like a guitar string. And after playing only a couple of notes, she leave the room. The purpose is to let your body’s natural harmonics radiate through the body and allow the brain to connect with the muscles that have been treated.

It takes a leap of faith. I disrobed, hopped on the table, and began to relax to soothing nature music. Jessica came in and plucked a couple muscles in my hips, then left. While she was gone I felt my heart rate increase, and a burning sensation near the area she plucked. I told her, and she said that’s normal, then plucked a couple different muscles and left. This went on for a little over an hour, and which point she woke me up from a really relaxing nap I was taking. I actually can’t remember the final time Jessica came into the room, but I awoke on my back in a daze. She told me to take my time getting up, and added that I should touch the ground with both feet at the same time.

Before I left Jessica told me to take 24 hours of rest, not to sit for more than 30 minutes, and to drink lots of water. She said healthy athletes and children usually feel the effects much quicker, and said I may be sore tonight and tomorrow. I was so out of it I called her Jennifer as I left. Oops.

So far I feel pretty good, but it’s killing me that I can’t ride my bike. The weather is so nice right now, and it’s supposed to rain and snow this weekend. I’m just hoping that a day of rest will let me get back out for some running. My ankle is still really sore.

I will probably go again next week. I want to get the full experience, so I’ll try anything twice. If you’re interested, check out Blue Fire Bowenwork Center in Seattle. If you’re not in Seattle, just google bowenwork therapy, or bowen therapy. I think it’s worth checking out even if you don’t have a specific problem. They do full body plucking as well. For now, my plan is to drink lots and relax (wait, did she say it had to be water? )

Some Pictures…

Aside from teaching chem lab partner how to do overhead squats, I haven’t done anything interesting this week, so I’m posting pictures from last weekend and narrating them like a slide show. Don’t worry, my muse will return.

This picture is crap. My buddy Noah visited for Thanksgiving, and I got to see him for the first time in over a year and a half. He’s been living in Denver working for the National Renewable Energy Labs (NREL) making viable ethanol. He proves to me that chemistry is more than just making drugs like the fabulous chemistry department staff at University of Washington has implied.

I met up with Noah on Friday. We hiked all around Seattle’s Discovery Park. It’s been years since I’ve been there and I’m not sure why. The picture (left) doesn’t show how happy I am to see Noah, or how nice a day it was, but I was and it was.

Alright, Here’s one of Noah, Me, Matthew (Bro-n-law), and Susan (sister) at the Sonic’s game Friday night. They haven’t yet won a home game this season (and watching them play it’s pretty obvious why), but at one point in the fourth quarter they were within two! Next year the Seattle Supersonics will be the Oklahoma City Supersonics. Happy Birthday Oklahoma.

And this is where I went for the weekend. It would be a sweet place for a cheap training trip. In the spring, but right now the lake may be a little too cold for me.

(Like the way I formatted my post? check out MS Live Writer, it makes it really easy to format your posts, and it works with all the most common blog software (blogspot, wordpress…)

Off Season has Begun!

And that means cake, beer, ice cream, brownies, chocolate cake, and Chinese food!! Ok, maybe not so much, but it does mean I have a few weeks to do what I want, rather than what I need. I can work on my six pack, learn how to row with my Mom (if she’ll teach me), ride my bike wherever I want for as long as I want.

So far, however, doing what I want has pretty much meant studying organic chemistry. My ankle is bugging me, so I cut my camping trip short last weekend (studying chemistry in a cabin in the woods is cool, wanting to hike and not being able to is really not cool). I did go for one trail run while I was there, and I got to use my new Brooks Cascadia 3 trail running shoes. They were awesome. They grip well, and they fit my feet well. My ankle was already messed up before the run, so I can’t blame the shoes. The new bright red color also matches my Northwave Polar Fleece Jacket. (one last geeky product mention, my Garmin Nuvi 200 has state parks programmed in, so I just put in the trail head I wanted to go to and it got me there. It was way easier than the sometimes cryptic directions in hiking books.)

Today I took my third Chemistry exam of the quarter. I really hate the quarter system, we spend more time getting ready for exams than actually learning material. The class is curved, which is good because everyone was complaining afterwards (the last test had a 62% average, this one may be lower).

To celebrate a night without studying to do, I rented Live Free or Die Hard. It was far better than I expected. My dog and cat were clinging to the carpet for fear of being thrown into orbit by the next thump of the sub-woofer, and my dad got a great isometric core workout while balancing on the edge of his seat. It was just the kind of mind numbing, predictable action I needed after that exam.

Oh yeah, I also went in for my annual physical today. Since I was in Hawaii last year, I had to find a new doctor, then I rode to his office from school, but left my street clothes in my gym locker. The look made it a bit of a challenge to get into the doctors office because people kept trying to send me next door to the sports medicine clinic. It was all worth while for the look on my doctors face when he introduced himself to a guy in bib tights and cycling shoes (and a bit awkward when he asked me to pull down my pants).

Happy Thanksgivin09999999999999999999999999999999999g!

This post is for my family and friends (including my cat, Troy, who thought the post title needed changing). May you all have many thanks.

I ran a 5km Turkey Trot this morning in Tacoma. Kurt and I forgot out cameras, so we don’t have a picture of how cool we looked after both nearly dying on the final mile, which climbed back up the hill we had meandered down for the first two miles. At home, the feast had already begun. I walked into a house filled with wonderful smells of turkey, stuffing, roasted vegetables, home made bread, and all the things that the Americans reading this probably have saran wrapped inside their fridges tonight. We had dinner, we drank, friends came for dessert we watched a movie. Another Thanksgiving, but I can see why this is my dad’s favorite holiday. The time with my family reminded me of how much I have to be thankful for.

I accomplished a lot of goals this year, but I didn’t do any of them alone. My parents made it out to nearly every race I did. My dad even stayed up most of the nights before races so that his snoring wouldn’t ruin my sleep while we shared hotel rooms. They’ve fed me, put up with my quirks, seen my at my worst and still offered support.

I really couldn’t be blessed with a better support staff. Regardless, my parents may own the hotel, but there are a lot more people on staff. 2007 is my first year with a brother. Not so much because it was my sister’s first year of marriage, but because it was the first time that Matthew and I have been in the same town at the same time. It’s not easy to see your partner in crime run off with an east coast boy, but getting to know Matthew has been a journey that makes it worthwhile. Actually, in getting to know my brother-in-law, I’ve gotten to see my sister a lot more. It means a lot that they support me.

They’re not alone. I had help this year from a lot of friends, not the least of which came from a guy I only met in January. Loren and Greta took me in and made me part of their family, and that feels incredible.

This weekend I’m taking off for a few days. I’m going to be away from computers, phones, and triathlon. It’s me time, and I feel like I deserve it. I’ll take pictures, and hopefully have some stories to go with them when I get back.

There are a lot more people to thank, and I will. Carl, Boomer, Katie, and Jesse, I miss you. My friends in Seattle, San Francisco, Honolulu, and the global CU entourage… I love you too.

Ok, one last thing to be thankful for: My broken Serfas still make Troy happy, even if they no longer work as sunglasses.