As promised below you will find my race report for this weekend’s past race in Mazatlan, Mexico. I’m going to begin with the race report, and that at the end I’m going to add the more general travel notes and stories. Hope you all enjoy! 

The morning of the race I woke up to a windy day with waves that would have made any surfer happy to see…needless to say, that didn’t make anyone feel too well while on the start line. The day’s races (yes, races, not race) began with the Junior Pan American Championship, so the 16-19 year-olds. This was when the race directors, myself, and pretty much anyone at the site realized that the swim was going to be rough that day. One fourth of the girls’ entire field was pulled from the ocean by lifeguards for what were deemed “life-threatening situations”, namely, near drowning or kids that had been knocked out by a wave. All of this chaos occurred at around 7 in the morning right on the coast. The Professional men were not scheduled to start until around 11:50 in the morning…that time got delayed back until 12:30 due to the late start of the junior race that morning. We, the PRO men, got to watch the PRO women start and attempt the swim. There was a period of six minutes where the women covered a total of no more than 200m…for reference, these are the best female Triathletes in all of North and South America, women who can easily swim 200m in 2:30 during an open water race, and on this day it took them over 6:00 time. They literally looked, and were, standing still in the water.

Well, anyways, we were told the swim was still on and that the giant coast guard boats would help block some of the waves (that hadn’t really worked for the women, but they pretended we didn’t see the women start), and not to worry too much…there were plenty of lifeguards on shore to help us if we washed up there. The true force of the waves it us when we watched a guard, on a jet ski, stand up, and the wave he was avoiding rose 5ft beyond his head. 

At the start I did what I had learned to do last time I did an ocean start with large waves—I dove deep when they came, and prayed I timed it right. I made it under some, and got totally annihilated by others. There was a point that I looked at the guy next me, saw a building in the distance lined up with his head. I continued to swim with all my effort for 30sec, before looking at the same guy and seeing that we were still in line with that same building. We had not moved a single inch. After what seemed like an eternity, and more than a few head jarring hits from the wave, we got past the break. At this point there was one small lead pack and 3 chase packs. I was in the second of those 3 chase packs, or the 4^th of 5 packs. I came out in no man’s land between the 3^rd and 4^th packs, having gotten lucky by not being wrecked from any waves on the way in. four men were pulled out when they nearly drowned on the return swim to shore.

Being in between packs after the swim, I had some work to do. I didn’t want to wait around and see who may be in the pack behind me, so I took a gamble and went after the 3^rd pack, which was about 45sec up on me. We had an 8 lap bike course of 5km per lap. The thing is, these laps are straight out for 2.5km, and 2.5km right back. If you are in a pack, and you are drafting, you have a huge advantage on this kind of course. Momentum can be built and sustained easily. This meant that I spent almost 2 laps trying to catch the 3^rd pack while time-trialing. My coach yelled at me on the way out for the second lap that I had to catch them or risk being done then and there. I screamed, “I know that damn it! I’m going!” And, when I came around I was leading the pack, barking orders to the others in the pack on when to pull and when to pop off. I also took the time to yell at my coach, “See! I flipping told you!” I knew better than to swear and risk “un-sportsmanlike conduct”. We had one racer in the pack who would not take a pull. This became clear after about 30min on the bike. The group made a collective decision to try and drop him. Had he really been hurting and needing to sit on the back, we would have lost him then and there. But, he had no problem stopping us from dropping him. He quickly made many enemies in the pack. Worst part…he was one of the people I was racing against for a World Championship spot if the race stayed close.

I came off the bike feeling real strong. I was ready to put the pain on people during the run. My coach yelled at me to take it easy for the first kilometer and then pick up. He didn’t want me to urn out early, and from past experiences (Florida 70.3), I listened to him. The run was going really well until around the start of the third lap when I began cramping, and oddly, feeling cooled off…yes, cooled off even though it was 95+ degrees out and over 80% humidity. I knew this was NOT a good sign. I kept tossing cold water on myself every chance I got and drinking Gatorade as best I could. On the fourth and final lap I was a wreck. I was going in and out of awareness and was not shivering and had goose bumps all over my body. The guy that I was hoping to beat who sat on our bike pack was about a minute up on me and I just kept hoping I could get him. When I was the 1km to go mark on the run course it was all I could do to tell myself, “Don’t stop. Finish.” That is the final thing I remember. The next memory I have is me laying on a table in a tent with Sheryl, my coach’s wife, looking at me and telling me to calm down, and breath deep. I then have another blank spot, before remembering her talking to me again and tons of people yelling things all around.

Now, I had the gaps filled in later by my team and other onlookers. After seeing that 1km to go sign, they said I started going from one side of the road to the other like a ping-pong ball all the way to the finish line. Once I crossed the line I took steps, as if I was okay, and then just buckled at the knees into a heap and began convulsing and, what looked like full body cramping. Five of the race volunteers picked me up and ran me into the med tent where I was placed on a table and held down to have ice poured all around me. At this point I was non-responsive and going into what looked like seizures. They said I would come out of, go into a panic, not know who I was, try to get up, and then start breathing faster and faster. My temp was around 105, and I was holding steady at a pulse of 210-220 at this point. My breathing would get too fast and I start going back into these shakes. They even tried to give me oxygen while pouring more ice around me. This went on for about 30min before I stared to just shake and look around in a panic. They got me to respond to touch, but I just kept saying I couldn’t feel my face or anything that touched it, along with my feet. In the end, they got me cooled down and relaxed. That is when I remember Sheryl, and she said that shortly after I acknowledged her, I went back into a hyperventilating mode a few more times. After that, I remember everything, and it was not fun. From what I can tell, there is a total of about 1:15-1.5hrs in there that I don’t remember at all. The USAT and team members of mine who have been around this for years, said they have never seen something that bad before.

Morale of the story…don’t go to a race in extreme heat without be acclimated to it. I’m feeling much better now, but still am not all there in the legs, and I keep getting random headaches off and on. The doctors from the US National Team and my coach (a paramedic) said I’ll be fine after a couple days rest. In the end, I was one of 45 finishers out of a field of 62 of the best athletes in all of North and South American that started. It was one hell of an experience and real character builder.

Look for my general travel stories later tomorrow on my blog, again, at www.kamnetz.com . I’ll post them once I get back home to Wisconsin.

Oh, next race, Memphis in May on May 18^th in Memphis, TN.

P.S. I'll update you as to who makes the World's Team late on Wednesday after USAT announces it's selections.

Wow, it’s been quite some time since I put up an update for everyone. However, as a result I have plenty to fill you all in on. That also means I need to add the following disclaimer:

Grab a cup of coffee, a bottle of beer, a can of soda, or a bowl of ice cream. This is long J

Since the last update, quite a bit has happened. First off, I got accepted into the Power Bar Elite Athlete Team. Basically, what that means is that I am now sponsored by Nestlé’s Power Bar. With Power Bar being at the forefront of sport nutrition for as long as I can remember, I know I am in good hands. Not only does Power Bar supply the world’s athletes with great product, they also are a wealth of information.

Shortly after that notification, I left on my first trip of the year/season. A little bit before spring break, I took off for San Diego. I ended up staying with one of my closest friends, Brad Culp, and his girl friend, Jaime. Now, this leads me into a neat story about how I met Brad. He is a Triathlete also, and he went to school at Miami University-Ohio. Back near the end of my freshman year of college I competed in my first triathlon, Collegiate Nationals in Reno, NV. Brad Culp was also competing there. Both of us, by the end of the race, ended up in the Reno, NV Medical center. Brad was in there for a swollen foot (they had to cut his shoe off) due to some allergic reaction or other, and I for some torn ligaments in my knee resulting from a crash at mile one of the bike. Both of us finished the race and then got to spend the next 5-6 hours in the hospital together. We’ve been great friends ever since.

While I was out in San Diego I got to meet a number of the fellow writers and sales people from Triathlete Magazine. They are really a great group of people. Also, in addition to getting to meet them all, I was given another, regular column in Triathlete to write. It is found near the front of the magazine, and my first article for the new section will be found in the June issue. Of course, the primary reason for me to go out to San Diego was not to meet with people from Triathlete, but it was so I could get in some effective warm weather training. I did get in a ton too. The hardest workout was a set of 18 hill repeats on this hill that was roughly 1.5mi long and had an elevation climb of over 600ft near the ocean.

I think the most interesting part was the trip home. After being in San Diego for over 14 days, I wasn’t in any hurry to get home, and neither was the plane I was set to be on. The plane got hit by a small song bird, and as a result, we sat in the San Diego airport for 4+ hours longer than we were scheduled to. Needless to say, I got to run through the airport in St. Louis trying to make a connecting flight, which resulted in my going to Milwaukee and driving home (thanks pops) after getting in past midnight. Airlines always make for good adventures.

I was home for 2 days after the San Diego trip before flying out to Houston and The Woodlands, TX for yet more warm weather training, and this time a race as well.

I did yet another home-stay (something I am getting very used to, and enjoy tremendously), this time with the Sutherland household. Sandra Sutherland is a triathlon coach and her son, Sam, is on the Multisport Madness junior team. I ended up staying at their house along with another team member, Lindsay Baker (Salt Lake City, Utah). We spent the first two nights at the Sutherland house in The Woodlands before going out to Galveston Island where we stayed at the beach house of one of Sandra’s athletes. It was pretty cool getting to stay on the ocean.

After getting to sleep in a house built on stilts, we headed over to the Lone Star Triathlon race site where everyone was signed up for the sprint distance race. At this point Linely Wendt, my coach’s son, was with us for the race as well. It ended up going very well for all of us as far as season openers go. I finished third overall with good time in each leg of the race. Sam finished a strong fifth place, while Linely had a little trouble with the run due to his bringing old shoes that no longer fit him.

On a non-athletic note, Linely, Lindsay, and I went out with Sam that night to chill and relax after the race. So, Sam took us to meet some of his friends, and, well, I really felt like I was in Texas at that point. Everyone was talking about football, we pulled pick-up trucks together to make one large bed, and they all used the word y’all instead of you all J All of the common stereotypes for Texans were fulfilled that night!

Oh, and guess what, the trip home…my plane managed to hit a bird, again. That’s right, I got to sprint through airports, see airports I wasn’t planning on seeing, and get home well after 2am that following morning. I am an expert on flight changes though now.

After five full weeks of traveling, I had one more week to go.

I went with the UW Cycling trip out to Indiana and the Purdue and Marian campuses for some strict cycling races. This was a first for me. I had always looked to do a cycling only race, but never have been able to get it to fit with the triathlon races. I mean, sure, I could have found one, but the cost of getting to one far away would not have been worth it, so, this was a cheap trip, and it was the best kind—a road trip!

To be perfectly honest it brought back memories of high school XC races to Minnesota or the State meet. There were six of us to a room with only two beds per room. The cars had 4 seats and 5 people in most cases. Cram ‘em in, and drive! It was a blast. I mean, there was even that waiting period between the A, B, C and D races like there would be between varsity and JV races.

Anyways, to cut to the chase here, I raced in a road race and a Team Time Trial. The Team Time Trial (TTT) came first. Being a Triathlete and thus accustomed to time trial type riding, I ended up leading the team out of the blocks, and stayed on the front the whole way. It was a blast. I actually had fun sitting on the front and pulling the whole way, and it was even more worth it when we found out that we had the winning time on the day. About 2 hours time later I was off the line and into the road race. I went off the front and made an attempt to run away with it about 2mi into the 24mi race…I didn’t wait long. Only one other racer went with me. He sat with me the rest of the race. I have to give him credit too, he is one hell of a climber, and while I was able to pull him at a higher tempo than he was willing to set on the flats, I couldn’t shake him. The race ended at the top of a climb, and he managed to out kick me by half a wheel length. Better luck in my next one.

In between all of the travel, I have still been keeping up on my school work. I’ve been working closely with my professors and TAs, who are wonderful this semester, to stay current on the notes and lectures. So far, the exams have been stellar, and the papers have been turning out even better. Maybe it is due to all the down time in airports I seem to be getting…that’s a lot of time to read! I also finally declared my majors, a double in Economics and History, and signed up fall classes. By doing those two things, I am now officially eligible for graduation in the December (that would be 3.5 years, or a semester ahead of schedule).

That was the last trip I had. This past week I was at home the entire time, and that was a pleasant relief for once. I did make one trip back into McFarland for a workout that involved me riding my bike in the pool area to simulate the high heat of my upcoming race.

That is the real important part of all this travel and the Lone Star Triathlon and two cycling races. They were a build up for the race that is coming this weekend, on April 19^th, in Mazatlan, Mexico. The race is also the PATCO Pan American Triathlon Championships. In short, that means it is the championship race for the North and South American continents. More importantly for me, there are two U23 World Championship slots up for grabs. Only three Americans qualify for the U23 Worlds race, and one of those has already been awarded to Ethan Brown of Colorado for his performances last year, which means my chance of qualifying rests on this weekend’s race.

My hopes are high, but at the same time I would be lying trough my teeth if I tried to say I wasn’t nervous. I know I’ve done the work that needs to be done, and as Bruce Fischer would tell me, there is nothing left to do but race my best. That is exactly what I plan to do. Sean Wendt has done a wonderful job of working with me and training me to be one of the best out there.

So, the next update you will see from me will be direct from Mazatlan, Mexico later in the day on April 19^th after the race. Also, if I can’t get to a computer, feel free to check triathlon.org and look under the events section for Mazatlan.

Stay in touch everyone!