Hey Midwesterners!

I just wanted to write to alert you of a fledgling race in Traverse City on AUGUST 23. It is called the... wait for it...

It is put on by Endurance Evolutions and more information can be found on www.enduranceevolution.com


This race offers an unparalleled course through a ridiculously gorgeous part of Traverse City that few get to see. Think vineyards and orchards. It also features a protected swim through bowers harbor, a part of Grand Traverse Bay. You can do the Olympic distance or the sprint distance. They specialize in ensuring a wonderful experience for both seasoned vets and people new to the sport.

The reason I am so excited about this race is because the former MSU triathlon club President, Mr. Eric Tingwall, and my former Spanish teacher, El Senor Joel Gaff, are the race directors. They have serious experience running 3 5k's and about 4-5 triathlons while we were at Michigan State together and both had a huge hand in legitimizing and truly establishing the club.

Eric and Joel... This race will be unbelievable.

Go out and support this race. I promise you won't regret it. These guys have done unbelievable work in the past and this will be no different.

SPARTY ON

When it's reppin' time

So I am on my new tt rig full time. It is a BMC tto2 (team evotri issue). We are still getting used to each other like college freshmen roommates. Being from taiwan, the BMC is a long way from home and it is hard being in a new place and living with a new person who sits/ sweats on it all the time. Tough adjustment.
Anyway, it is reppin time. Just to preface this, I will never hype up a product I am not all about. I don't care enough to blog about something that doesn't interest me. That being said, I am so into the zipp vuka aerobars. They are so cool it makes me feel like I want to drink a bunch of red bull and run around in circles, yelling, and pulling my hair out. But I won't.
Let me list the things that make these bars sick as a diaper rash (figure of speech)

• s bend bars that have a 2.5 degree off set so they can rotate... I have them turned in and they literally are the most comfortable part of my bike... I was riding them unrotated and I felt like I was cultivating carpal tunnel syndrome.... rotating them was like a whole new world....
  

• They are super aero as the base bar is so thin it basically disappears and the rotation allows you to bring your hands so close you can punch through the wind
• Hoods are set up exactly like a road bike so it feels perfect.

The zipp bars are worth every penny. GO COP THAT SHIT.


In addition to all of that, my little jaunt in cali is coming to a close... This place is a playground. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:
Midwesterners... you don't have to put up with cold dark winters, slushy grey springs, and muggy summers. You don't have to pray to god to take your life quickly rather than endure one more depression inducing February. There is another way. But in california, you gotta pay. *THE MORE YOU KNOOOOWWWWW*

I am done at Nokia for the time being (June 26th)

You may be thinking, " What the snicklefritz, bro? What are you going to do now? If I were you, I would shut down and go on a chocolate cake and cookie dough ice cream bender. I'd listen to John Mayer until I threw it up from the sobbing that "daughters" brought about."

Cool down, bloggers. Relax or you might break your space bar.

Well here's a few things I am going to do in the next three weeks...

• gamble
• sky dive
• run all over the mitten (a lot of miles)
  
• see my sister who has been in switzerland for 7 months

So insane I'm a monster/
Not Bush but similar to his missile launcher/
Blog so you know the happening/
Usually lose touch when I'm traveling/
Keep it together everyone, because it beats unraveling

Check Check out my melody

Just raced the Ann Arbor triathlon. It is a big race in the midwest and gets literally all the talent out from Michigan and a smattering of pros from time to time. It is a really great race and also is literally 3 minutes from my parent's house.

Race reports are hard to read for me because Michigan State didn't exactly foster anything other than activities damaging to brain cells... So I will provide cliff notes! It should be like reading those god forsaken "tweets" except more dignified.

Race details: 800m swim, 14 mile bike, 5 mile trail run

notes:

• bike route is literally the roughest ride ever in triathlons. gives new meaning to the word shit shaker.
• run is pretty hard, slow, and sandy but it is that way for everyone so shutup about it.

My Race:

Swim (horrible but acceptable time due to great stroke):

• Roughed up bad at the beginning by a guy who was intent on becoming intimate and then making me his boyfriend. Not the way you go about it, for any of you out there who are thinking, "LOL, so that's how you pick people up. I've been trying seduce people by teaching them magic cards."
• Lost about 30 seconds trying to get some clear water
• Swam a horrible line. I was pinballing all over the course like a moron.
  
• Stroke felt amazing. Really smooth and good rotation.
• 12th best swim out of 450
  

Bike (very solid finally):

• No speedometer, just tried to catch my friend who drubbed me at collegiate nationals
• Biked very hard thinking I had lost a ton of time due to the first part of the swim
• 3rd or 4th best bike
• Back to my normal self where the bike is the best after a two year hiatus of being a dumpling on two wheels

Run (bad first half, good second half):

• Scorching t2 (fastest in race by 15 seconds)
• Saw my friend for a second initially then lost him on the trail
• Really weak first three miles mentally. Let my friend run away to about a 1:40 gap.
• Really strong closing two miles and cut the gap to 50 seconds
  
• 12th best run

Overall: 6th. Finally a good race. Now that I can run, all the disciplines are coming together.


I still have some weak points and need to work on my bike cadence and my pedal stroke, which is choppy due to biking on a bum knee. I also need to commit to running hills and get my leg turnover back.

Oh also, I won Chris Tucker's celebrity 5k a couple weeks ago. They gave me 250 bucks. 16:43 (it was slightly short). First W ever!

Next up:

Ventura Breath of Life Olympic triathlon (Jun 28th)
Waterloo Triathlon (July 12th)
Great Lakes relay (July 17th-19th)