Since it is currently the time of year when I realize that my swim is awful and needs lots of work, I am throwing myself into every session I can reasonably attend with the swim squad here at the OTC. This does seem to be a yearly occurance – last year I found myself almost 1.5 minutes down from the lead swimmers at the Austin Pan Am Cup. Upon returning to training after the race I put in a massive swim block and exited the water in the front pack at HyVee. I’m hoping for similar results this year as HyVee is a little over three weeks away.

In other news it appears that my random twitter ruminations and Simon Whitfield’s re-tweets pulled Annabel Luxford from an injury induced writer’s block. It’s a great post by Annabel and definitely a recommended read – especially those who are currently injured (like Ms. Speildenner)!

Third, my new bikes are almost ready to go. Soon I’ll have a 2010 Orbea Orca and Ordu in matching blue with Di2. Thanks to Joe from Davis Wheel Works in Davis, CA for flying out here to put them together. He is the best mechanic I know! Below is a picture of how the Orca looked last night. I’m sure this nullifies my Orbea warranty…but running the Di2 cables internally (rather than externally and taped to the frame) will save me from the worry that the TSA will rip the cables off during baggage inspections. Also, it just looks better.

As for the Di2 (electronic Dura Ace), here is a great video on Simon Whitfield’s blog that explains how it works and why it’s awesome!

The race in Seoul didn't go as planned but just like I found out in Mooloolaba, Sydney and St. Anthony's I need to re-evaluate my swim program. Fortunately I have five weeks until my next race (HyVee) - Good thing I have these big training blocks to work with! Although my race was a disaster it didn't stop me →

I grabbed my first win of the season yesterday - at the First Coast Kids Triathlon in Jacksonville! Actually, since I was around in Florida for some sea level training and St. Anthony's (kind of) before Seoul I made my way up to Jacksonville to help out and be a 'celebrity big kid' for the second year in a →

For those who asked: I did race in St. Anthony's this past weekend...but I didn't finish. My coach and I decided for numerous reasons to not do the race in its entirety. I did leave myself the option of doing the whole thing in case I felt absolutely spectacular...but that didn't happen. My next race is the Seoul →

Well I'm back from Australia and after a whirlwind of jet lag, taxes, and trying to organize all of the new gear I got from Shimano, Orbea and Rudy Project I finally have some time to blog! If nothing else the races in Mooloolaba and Sydney gave me a big list of things to work on before my next →

Myself and most of the American team from Mooloolaba spent the past ten days in Noosa, Queensland. It didn't make sense to come back to the United States before the first race in the 2010 World Championship Series in Sydney so we just stayed over! For those who don't know, Noosa is a very popular destination for professional →

Finally - internet in Australia! Despite being a fully modern country getting on the interwebs has been a huge issue. I am very happy with my ninth place finish, although I would describe my swim, bike and T2 as 'technically unsound.' Getting ninth with the sixth fastest run isn't a great statistic! Felt good on the →

I recently wrote an article for Team Evotri about what a day in the life of an Olympic training center resident athlete is like. Check it out: Day in the life article