A visit to Mexico - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Archaea · 05-23-2006, 01:51 AM

for a tri.

Mexican organization, at least south of the border, is something to behold.

Let me explain.

In the tri world, there are different things for different people. For the obsessed, there is Ironman, a long distance and a long day, which consumes people. Some of us are just interested. I'm not consumed but interested.

Ironman is a corporation making lots of money.

A subset of Ironmnan is 70.3, or half ironman, a distance of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. They now, just this year have a world championship in November, November 11th in Clearwater Florida. And it's marked by age groups, which means old dogs like myself, need not perform to the same standards of young dogs.

In Mexico, there are two qualifying races, one this past weekend in Ensenada, and one in September in Cancun.

Mexico is okay by me, but I would recommend skipping Ensenada. It's a former fishing town that smells. Cancun is much nicer. PV is old but okay.

Any how, this is how the weekend goes. Normally for one's entry fee of $250 bucks, you get a hat, a shirt, a medal if one finishes, during race support and a post race meal. If you're truly hardy you receive an award's dinner and qualifying spots.

There are hard and fast rules for qualifying. If you don't show up, you don't get it and it "rolls down" to the next racer.

Well in Mexico things work differently.

First the race course, usually disclosed one year in advance, is changed the day before the race.

To understand how obsessive triguys and gals are, we will finish a race, sleep overnight in line to sign up for next year's torture. To have a race change the day before, when the truly obsessed will have ridden and run the course dozens of times in advance is truly unsettling. Tripeople have their pooping and peeing timed in advance so as not to waste time. I tell you no lie. I have my regularity figured out so that I'm emptied out by 5:00 or 5:30 am so as to not interfere with racing on race day.

And all races start at 7:00AM. Why? I don't know. It's just the way things are.

So prerace day unsettles us with a course change. And the prerace bazzar was nonexistent. I mean where am I supposed to waste money I don't have?

Race day. Course officials announce a delay, because unlike at other sites, the bike course was still not cordoned off. So we start at forty minutes late. Now, our internal clocks are off, with our bodies which would be biking still not in the water. Manana time syndrome.

This course was a figure eight. I hate those.

A little slow.

So we get on the bike and notice the second and third gears don't work. Oops and this is a hilly climbing course. So now I must big ring it or use the fourth gear.

As we pass the "support" stations, little guys sitting down until we go whizzing past, some hand out agua in plastic bags. Do I drink water from a Mexican in Mexico placed in a plastic bag? Hmm I break bag over head and push on, taking gatorade instead.

Not very many stations. Ride is fun but riding in big gear takes a toll and I notice a power outage in legs. Oops. Slow time.

Run is a double loop up and down but my legs are down even though I don't feel bad, just legs are in cement.

Finish, find two kids and we have no meal, no welcome, just medal. Shuttles were supposed to be operating, but Mexican organization dispensed with this needless display of courtesy. So I walk back to hotel pushing bike and kids up the hills that I really didn't want to see again.

Sticking through the end. There is no post race meal.

And awards dinner, dinner start at 6, but 7. Awards drag on and the highlight of the night is the roll down, at least for us morons.

So do they follow protocol? No, of course not. Some guys in my age group declare they have earned spots but do not want to wait, could the organizers change the order and allow them to go first because they did not want to miss it. More anxiety. You see, I saved my worst performance for this weekend, but still managed by dumb luck to be in a position to have it roll down. And by 9:38, it did.

So my day started at 4:30 am and finished by 12:38 am, time I crossed the border in Tijuana into the San Diego.

In the end, the natives were friendly, town stinky and race course actually nice but poorly organized.

I doubt more than the three or four regulars will read this, but that's my weekend. How did the rest of you do?

creekster · 05-23-2006, 02:08 AM

Let me see if I get this straight: You went to Mexico and even though the race organization left much to be desired you still managed to quyalify? Sounds pretty impressive to me. Congrats! My weekend was not nearyl as impressive; I qualified for the slow pale-legged guy out on the road award. I didn't have to worry about my kids or dealing with them after the ride, however, as they al;awys try to leave the state whenever I am in the ole bike shorts. On balance, however, some riding is better than none, but yours is better than most. Good job.

Archaea · 05-23-2006, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creekster

Let me see if I get this straight: You went to Mexico and even though the race organization left much to be desired you still managed to quyalify? Sounds pretty impressive to me. Congrats! My weekend was not nearyl as impressive; I qualified for the slow pale-legged guy out on the road award. I didn't have to worry about my kids or dealing with them after the ride, however, as they al;awys try to leave the state whenever I am in the ole bike shorts. On balance, however, some riding is better than none, but yours is better than most. Good job.

Well I doubt it's impressive, as almost anybody with a pulse could probably qualify, but it was great to be with the kids. My daughter is 17 and I will probably not have the opportunity to spend a weekend alone with her again.

bigpiney · 05-23-2006, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archaea

Well I doubt it's impressive, as almost anybody with a pulse could probably qualify

I guarantee you that most of us here have a pulse, but could still not qualify. The thought of running a half marathon after a 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile bike, makes me have to move my bowels in a serious way. I cannot fathom it.

Time delays suck. At the St George Tri 2 weeks ago, they decided not to start the sprint racers till all of the olympic distance had left the water. So I was standing ther in the wetsuit prepared for a 8:12 start, and didn't get into the water till 8:50. Nothing like losing all 3 lbs of water weight, just standing ther sweating.

This weekend I went running with some marines and managed to beat most of them (I did get beat by other civis though). It was a 10k up here in the mountains sponsered by Camp pendleton. 1000 ft elevation gain in the first 2 miles equates to about 10-min miles and very sore legs. There were obstabcles along the way, tire run, low crawl, wall climb. All in all it was a fun experience. Camp Pendleton puts on a good race. I am thinking of trying to get into one of the Mud-runs next year, or maybe the tri later this summer.

Archaea · 05-23-2006, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigpiney

This weekend I went running with some marines and managed to beat most of them (I did get beat by other civis though). It was a 10k up here in the mountains sponsered by Camp pendleton. 1000 ft elevation gain in the first 2 miles equates to about 10-min miles and very sore legs. There were obstabcles along the way, tire run, low crawl, wall climb. All in all it was a fun experience. Camp Pendleton puts on a good race. I am thinking of trying to get into one of the Mud-runs next year, or maybe the tri later this summer.

You beat the marines and most civis? Then I don't want to race you any time soon.

bigpiney · 05-23-2006, 07:22 PM

I am not fast, part of it was that I had a good day. Also I live at 4000' and have actually been training hills. The race went from 6800' to 7800', so I was alot better off than all of the people that came up from Southern California that live at 40'.

Right now 6 miles is about as far as I can go and still live to tell about it. Another thing in my favor was that all of the locals from around here that beat me were all at the Bishop High Sierra Ultramarathon http://www.bhs50.com/
They are officially crazy.

bluegoose · 05-23-2006, 08:01 PM

Sounds fun Archaea. I'm learning so many things about the world of the triathlete that I had no idea existed. I have a hard enough time training my legs and lungs, I had no idea I was supposed to be training my bowels as well.

Did you get the bike fixed? Hopefully an easy repair? Cable tension or worn cog I'm guessing.

You guys are both so far out of the rest of our league its not even funny.

05-23-2006, 01:51 AM	#1
Archaea Assistant to the Regional Manager Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Orgasmatron Posts: 24,338	A visit to Mexico for a tri. Mexican organization, at least south of the border, is something to behold. Let me explain. In the tri world, there are different things for different people. For the obsessed, there is Ironman, a long distance and a long day, which consumes people. Some of us are just interested. I'm not consumed but interested. Ironman is a corporation making lots of money. A subset of Ironmnan is 70.3, or half ironman, a distance of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. They now, just this year have a world championship in November, November 11th in Clearwater Florida. And it's marked by age groups, which means old dogs like myself, need not perform to the same standards of young dogs. In Mexico, there are two qualifying races, one this past weekend in Ensenada, and one in September in Cancun. Mexico is okay by me, but I would recommend skipping Ensenada. It's a former fishing town that smells. Cancun is much nicer. PV is old but okay. Any how, this is how the weekend goes. Normally for one's entry fee of $250 bucks, you get a hat, a shirt, a medal if one finishes, during race support and a post race meal. If you're truly hardy you receive an award's dinner and qualifying spots. There are hard and fast rules for qualifying. If you don't show up, you don't get it and it "rolls down" to the next racer. Well in Mexico things work differently. First the race course, usually disclosed one year in advance, is changed the day before the race. To understand how obsessive triguys and gals are, we will finish a race, sleep overnight in line to sign up for next year's torture. To have a race change the day before, when the truly obsessed will have ridden and run the course dozens of times in advance is truly unsettling. Tripeople have their pooping and peeing timed in advance so as not to waste time. I tell you no lie. I have my regularity figured out so that I'm emptied out by 5:00 or 5:30 am so as to not interfere with racing on race day. And all races start at 7:00AM. Why? I don't know. It's just the way things are. So prerace day unsettles us with a course change. And the prerace bazzar was nonexistent. I mean where am I supposed to waste money I don't have? Race day. Course officials announce a delay, because unlike at other sites, the bike course was still not cordoned off. So we start at forty minutes late. Now, our internal clocks are off, with our bodies which would be biking still not in the water. Manana time syndrome. This course was a figure eight. I hate those. A little slow. So we get on the bike and notice the second and third gears don't work. Oops and this is a hilly climbing course. So now I must big ring it or use the fourth gear. As we pass the "support" stations, little guys sitting down until we go whizzing past, some hand out agua in plastic bags. Do I drink water from a Mexican in Mexico placed in a plastic bag? Hmm I break bag over head and push on, taking gatorade instead. Not very many stations. Ride is fun but riding in big gear takes a toll and I notice a power outage in legs. Oops. Slow time. Run is a double loop up and down but my legs are down even though I don't feel bad, just legs are in cement. Finish, find two kids and we have no meal, no welcome, just medal. Shuttles were supposed to be operating, but Mexican organization dispensed with this needless display of courtesy. So I walk back to hotel pushing bike and kids up the hills that I really didn't want to see again. Sticking through the end. There is no post race meal. And awards dinner, dinner start at 6, but 7. Awards drag on and the highlight of the night is the roll down, at least for us morons. So do they follow protocol? No, of course not. Some guys in my age group declare they have earned spots but do not want to wait, could the organizers change the order and allow them to go first because they did not want to miss it. More anxiety. You see, I saved my worst performance for this weekend, but still managed by dumb luck to be in a position to have it roll down. And by 9:38, it did. So my day started at 4:30 am and finished by 12:38 am, time I crossed the border in Tijuana into the San Diego. In the end, the natives were friendly, town stinky and race course actually nice but poorly organized. I doubt more than the three or four regulars will read this, but that's my weekend. How did the rest of you do? __________________ Ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα

05-23-2006, 02:08 AM	#2
creekster Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: the far corner of my mind Posts: 8,711	Let me see if I get this straight: You went to Mexico and even though the race organization left much to be desired you still managed to quyalify? Sounds pretty impressive to me. Congrats! My weekend was not nearyl as impressive; I qualified for the slow pale-legged guy out on the road award. I didn't have to worry about my kids or dealing with them after the ride, however, as they al;awys try to leave the state whenever I am in the ole bike shorts. On balance, however, some riding is better than none, but yours is better than most. Good job. __________________ Sorry for th e tpyos.

05-23-2006, 07:22 PM	#6
bigpiney Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Big Pine , CA Posts: 842	I am not fast, part of it was that I had a good day. Also I live at 4000' and have actually been training hills. The race went from 6800' to 7800', so I was alot better off than all of the people that came up from Southern California that live at 40'. Right now 6 miles is about as far as I can go and still live to tell about it. Another thing in my favor was that all of the locals from around here that beat me were all at the Bishop High Sierra Ultramarathon http://www.bhs50.com/ They are officially crazy.

05-23-2006, 08:01 PM	#7
bluegoose Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,919	Sounds fun Archaea. I'm learning so many things about the world of the triathlete that I had no idea existed. I have a hard enough time training my legs and lungs, I had no idea I was supposed to be training my bowels as well. Did you get the bike fixed? Hopefully an easy repair? Cable tension or worn cog I'm guessing. You guys are both so far out of the rest of our league its not even funny.