Mazatlan

Last weekend took me to Mazatlan, Mexico to race in the ITU Pan Am Cup. The race as a whole went ok. Zane and I focus on the process of a race rather than the outcome, and in this case the process didn't go as planned, and as such my outcome suffered. Here is the rundown! Lovely photography by Libbie Holmes

Beautiful beach! Mazatlan was nice, but the assault rifle-wielding police officers and drug dogs walking across our baggage at the airport reminded us we were in the 3rd world. This didn't seem like a place North Americans come for vacation, but rather a vacation spot for Mexicans. I was glad I speak Spanish!

I got settled in and felt fine in the pre-race workouts, although some confusion and lack of preparation things on my part caused more stress than I liked... more on that later.

On my way to the venue race day morning! I felt solid on warmup, but I lacked a plan. This caused me to cut my warmup shorter than I should have, again, the process didn't go well, so the outcome suffered. I am still learning. I learned how tough ITU racing is in Florida, but Mazatlan taught me how the tiniest details can have the biggest impact.

The swim was even more aggressive than Clermont, probably because it was longer. I have the bruises still to prove that it was no cake walk. I would say "you should see the other guy," but I don't even know what body part hit me, let alone what country it was from.

A less-than satisfactory entry was made up for by a good swim, and I found myself in the lead group. The two other Americans took off, but I couldn't see them make the move or I would've been able to go with them. In retrospect, I definitely should've been more aggressive.

I am ashamed to admit this, but again, my T1 lost the race. I was probably 10th coming out of the water, but I didn't have tape with me. A detail that will never again be overlooked. What does tape have to do with anything? Well, tape usually holds my gels to my bike, but since I had none I had to stop to put the gels in my suit. Maybe 6 seconds extra. 

That 6 seconds might as well have been 6 years as I was sprinting out of the saddle-on top of my shoes-as I came out of transition to catch the front pack. Just as I got to the limits of my legs, HR at max, eyeballs about to fall out, the group accelerated and I was still 5 meters behind- too far to catch on. I felt like the guy in the movies who just missed the last train home and chased it down the track in desperation before falling over in exhaustion. 

I sat up and let a couple dudes catch me so we could work together. I had no idea though that the Mexican team is notorious for not pulling. I would do my share of about 30-40 seconds at the front and then pull back and let someone else take over, but the two guys I was with initially were Mexican, and they had no intentions pulling when a capable gringo like myself was with them. Frustrating. Finally, our group gained size from catching a few and being caught by a few, so I wasn't alone, cursing at some Mexicans in Spanish (¡Jale! ¡Pinche Joto!) and was able to finally get a bit of rest.  

A Canadian, Alexander Hinton (who had a hell of a run!) and myself broke away on the last lap for a bit, only to be out sprinted by a bunch of the Mexican team going into transition. Evidently they are known for riding hard for 2k of the race; the first k and the last!

It didn't matter though, because I cooked most of them in T2 and I ran the rest of them down. I gotta say, I got HUGE satisfaction out of this! Look at that photo, I almost don't run like a swimmer anymore! I had a solid run, nothing to write home about, but it showed progress. Just like my race overall, really. I came in 22nd.

The coolest part of the race was how much I felt like a celebrity afterwards. Kids were coming up to me, asking to have their picture taken with me. It was like nothing I have ever experienced. I gave my shades to some kid who wanted my autograph. It made his day, and for some reason I felt like they didn't belong to me anymore. Shortly thereafter, I got a combo deal at a beach shack for a smoked marlin fish taco and a pair of M Frame knock offs for 100 pesos... Nice!

Yes, we did do a little of this too. It was, after all, Mexico! In short, I need to be better planned going into every race. If details don't go overlooked, the process will go smoothly, and the results will follow.

Once again, I have a lot to work on before Kansas City, although the non drafting style will feel a little more like home to me. Until next time, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT!