Time Trialing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Yesterday was my first bike race of the year. Races in Hawaii start ridiculously early, so I got up at 4am to take proper measures to 'get down to race weight.' Showed up at the start area around 5:45 am to get a few minutes on the trainer before my 6:56 start. The race was a 12.4 mile time trial from Kailua up to the entrance of Hanauma Bay. Since I'm not the best time trialer in the world and I lack the fancy time trialing equipment, my expectations were low. To top it all off, the promoter allowed a professional triathlete to sandbag by racing as a Cat 4/5 (beginner level). When I showed up at the race, I noticed there were quite a few serious triathletes racing 4/5, so it was going to be more difficult than I thought. Anyhow, despite my lack of time trial specific training and equipment, I rode the race pretty well. Each rider started in 30 second intervals. When they called the guy in front of me to the line, he was a no show...this was pro-triathlete Tim Marr. I was glad to hear that he wasn't starting on time, since it was unfair he was racing 4/5 to begin with. I started off strong, probably too fast since the course ended with 2 significant climbs. I passed my 1 minute guy 4 miles into the race and was averaging about 25 mph up until the first climb...just before the hill, some tri-guy wearing a sperm-shaped helmet passed me. This pissed me off, so I decided to charge up the hill and build a gap...must've climbed it too hard, as I was spent at the top...had some time to recover on the downhill for the last climb. At the base of the hill, the dude passes me again, then another tri-guy passes me. I start to close the gap halfway up the hill, and make my charge at the 1 mile to go banner...at that point, I've given all I could and was lucky to hold the interval. Finished at 31:09...better than I expected with a 23.3 mph avg. This was good for 11th out of 30. Had I raced a little smarter, had some practice or rode a TT bike, I know I could've had a much better finish.

Yesterday was a great day...aside from an early morning bike race, neighbor Sally gave me a case of beer. Can't beat that.

Today, Sonya signed my brother and I up for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. We quickly realized we were out of our element during the warmups. The instructor was blasting Wu Tang Clan as we ran in circles. The running wasn't bad. Once the tumbling began, it all went downhill. Ryan called my attempt at a cartwheel a "retarded donkey kick". So, we immediately took off our gis and ran out of the building.