Did any of you get a chance to see it? A few of my thoughts:

- It seems like Stadler and McCormack really don't like each other. They'll play nicey-nice for the cameras like their sponsors would expect them to, but deep down, they don't really like each other.

- That Christy Worthington (is that her name?) really came out of nowhere. And on a very hot day, she ran the 2nd fastest woman's marathon leg ever. In describing her athletic background, she said that working and traveling made her put on a little weight and she started running to take the weight off. Interesting that she had so much latent talent but didn't discover it until relatively late in life (I think Paula Newby Fraser's story is similar). She's kinda cute and has a nice smile. She's not super cute (like Desiree Ficker:love:), but she's good-looking enough for her to be a sponsor's dream.

- Good for McCormack - he's worked so hard at it, and based on interviews from this year as well as prior years, he really, really wanted it. Nice to see hard work rewarded.

- It was odd to see so many of the women's favorites get taken out for one reason or another.

- What is with that getup that Sinballe was wearing? He said it was supposed to be better at cooling him because of the evaporation. If that's the case, why don't all of the top athletes wear something like this? It seems like an interesting idea in theory, but wouldn't the shirt become water-logged and then form a layer of warm water draped ontop the skin? I'm skeptical that it works the way he says it does, but who knows.

- Did you see the guy consoling the woman who missed the bike cutoff by 4 seconds? I can understand why that woman was in tears, but did that official really have to be so touchy/huggy with her? You're supposed to be an official - try to keep a sense of decorum! Hugging her was kind of creepy.

Did you see the coverage? What did you think?

I had a migraine going on during the broadcast, so I didn't see much of it, because it really hurt to open my eyes and watch the tv. But I did see one guy (Stadler) vomit repeatedly and then have to quit. I also saw the lady have to answer the question three times to verify that she was done that had a broken collar bone from an accident. I don't know what the accident was, but since she was a leader, I would have like to have heard more about why it happened or how.

This type of coverage is what has put doing an olympic distance tri in my goals for 2008 even though I am a clydsedale.

I had a migraine going on during the broadcast, so I didn't see much of it, because it really hurt to open my eyes and watch the tv. But I did see one guy (Stadler) vomit repeatedly and then have to quit. I also saw the lady have to answer the question three times to verify that she was done that had a broken collar bone from an accident. I don't know what the accident was, but since she was a leader, I would have like to have heard more about why it happened or how.

This type of coverage is what has put doing an olympic distance tri in my goals for 2008 even though I am a clydsedale.
The lady who broke her collar bone is Natascha Baddmann. She's won the race a whole bunch of times. Apparently, she hit a traffic cone and went down hard. She has the reputation as being very cheerful and positive. It's really a shame that this happened to her.

I also noticed that she's ditched her Cat Cheetah bike for a Cervelo. As much as I love Cervelos (own one myself), it was sad to see her make the switch. She's said for many years that sponsors have offered her big bucks to switch but that this was one area she refused to compromise on. I guess that bag of money got too big to say "no" to. Check out the video of her talking about her Cheetah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD1homja40U It has a water bladder built into the frame!

The lady who broke her collar bone is Natascha Baddmann. She's won the race a whole bunch of times. Apparently, she hit a traffic cone and went down hard. She has the reputation as being very cheerful and positive. It's really a shame that this happened to her.

I also noticed that she's ditched her Cat Cheetah bike for a Cervelo. As much as I love Cervelos (own one myself), it was sad to see her make the switch. She's said for many years that sponsors have offered her big bucks to switch but that this was one area she refused to compromise on. I guess that bag of money got too big to say "no" to. Check out the video of her talking about her Cheetah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD1homja40U It has a water bladder built into the frame!

Did she have the Cervelo from the start? I thought she used a spare Cervelo after wrecking her original bike.

I also noticed that she's ditched her Cat Cheetah bike for a Cervelo. As much as I love Cervelos (own one myself), it was sad to see her make the switch. She's said for many years that sponsors have offered her big bucks to switch but that this was one area she refused to compromise on. I guess that bag of money got too big to say "no" to. Check out the video of her talking about her Cheetah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD1homja40U It has a water bladder built into the frame!

Didn't you see her at the beginning with the Cheetah? The Cervelo was just a loan because her bike was totally wrecked.

I thought she got a loaner bike also, as they said something about her crash. Seriously, with the headache I had, I am really not sure of the information I was seeing on the TV and remembering correctly.

Did she have the Cervelo from the start? I thought she used a spare Cervelo after wrecking her original bike.I missed that part! Nice to see that she hasn't abandon that Cheetah bike. It's too bad about her accident though.

Gotta love Sinballe's Michael Jackson Ice Glove... :)

-Grant

I saw most of it. Me and my brother-in-law were both commenting that if we were to survive the swim, we'd probably be laying on the side of the road 30 miles into the bike ride. :lol: :(

That being said, i've still got 3 years to train for my goal of doing an ironman distance event in 2010. :D (just gotta break into doing olympic distance events first...)

I burned a copy of the broadcast onto a dual-layer DVD; if anybody wants a copy (for the cost of the media + shipping), let me know.

Chris

I was suprised to see how heavy some of the competetors seemed to be.I mean men and women couple of the early leaders didn't look very thin like you expect

I thought she got a loaner bike also, as they said something about her crash. Seriously, with the headache I had, I am really not sure of the information I was seeing on the TV and remembering correctly.

hey how do you like your jamis bikes I'm considering buying the vetura race

I burned a copy of the broadcast onto a dual-layer DVD; if anybody wants a copy (for the cost of the media + shipping), let me know.

Chris

How much for one to the zip code 36695? I caught the last 30 mins of it but want to see the rest. I am pissed because a read when it was coming on off of the IM site about a month ago and made a mental note that I would not miss it. Guess I should have made a paper note :(

I was suprised to see how heavy some of the competetors seemed to be.I mean men and women couple of the early leaders didn't look very thin like you expect

It just goes to show that IM is not a run only race. Most long distance triathletes have some amount of bulk to them. Average seems to be about 5'11" and 170 lbs. Not small but not a marathon build.

To those that asked for a copy of the DVD: I'll be home from vacation this Friday, so I should be able to get to all the requests this weekend.

Chris

hey how do you like your jamis bikes I'm considering buying the vetura race

The quality of the frame is great and the quality of my LBS is even better. The only reason I am riding Jamis is the LBS. I have the lower end Jamis stuff, as that is all my budget can handle. I have looked at some of the better stuff, but I can't affourd it. I was looking at the "Ventura Race", but I just didn't have the cash.

Good luck with any purchase.

The quality of the frame is great and the quality of my LBS is even better. The only reason I am riding Jamis is the LBS. I have the lower end Jamis stuff, as that is all my budget can handle. I have looked at some of the better stuff, but I can't affourd it. I was looking at the "Ventura Race", but I just didn't have the cash.

Good luck with any purchase.

Thanks for the input I think I'm going Jamis also because the shop it's not local perse but they seem to know there stuff and are personable sales guys don't care much for our lbs

- Did you see the guy consoling the woman who missed the bike cutoff by 4 seconds? I can understand why that woman was in tears, but did that official really have to be so touchy/huggy with her? You're supposed to be an official - try to keep a sense of decorum! Hugging her was kind of creepy.

I think you might be mixing it up a bit. I only watched it once but I don't think anyone hugged that woman...I think the hugging was with Sister Madonna. She's the 77 year old nun that is pretty famous in Kona. Last year she became the oldest woman to ever finish the race when she came in at 16:59 (one minute before the official cutoff)...actually she was the previous oldest woman as well since she finished 2005 in around 16 hrs. She's completed somewhere around 12-15 IMs in total.

I suspect that guy knew her. She didn't seem to be put off by the hug from what I saw.

I think you might be mixing it up a bit. I only watched it once but I don't think anyone hugged that woman...I think the hugging was with Sister Madonna. She's the 77 year old nun that is pretty famous in Kona. Last year she became the oldest woman to ever finish the race when she came in at 16:59 (one minute before the official cutoff)...actually she was the previous oldest woman as well since she finished 2005 in around 16 hrs. She's completed somewhere around 12-15 IMs in total.

I suspect that guy knew her. She didn't seem to be put off by the hug from what I saw.
Damn CJ, you're right. I watched it again last night and I realized that I missed a lot of details. Not surprising, though, as I watched it on my TIVO during the commericial breaks of the Univ. of Hawaii vs. Washington football game. I blame it on the beer.

One more detail I got wrong - the women's winner was Chrissie Wellington, not Christy Worthington.

So...Dude!

When are you going to qualify for Kona? There's lot of Kamahaina spots available at Honu. That would be awesome.

Thanks for the input I think I'm going Jamis also because the shop it's not local perse but they seem to know there stuff and are personable sales guys don't care much for our lbs

I call them my LBS, but they are really 50 miles away, but that is the closest one to me that I will actually go in again. I might go to the TREK store, if someone needed something from there, that I couldn't get at my LBS.

So...Dude!

When are you going to qualify for Kona? There's lot of Kamahaina spots available at Honu. That would be awesome.I'm working on it! Realistically though, I stand a better chance of getting a lottery position. I would have qualified if I was a Big Island resident but to qualify as a State of Hawaii resident, it's all but impossible for me. The slowest Hawaii resident 40-44 qualifier finished in 4:42, more than 2 hours faster than me! Maybe I'll move to the Big Island.;)

Did I read that you're doing IMAZ? That's bad-ass! How's your training coming along?

Did any of you get a chance to see it? A few of my thoughts:

- She's not super cute (like Desiree Ficker:love:)

Yo dude! Leave meh wo-man alone! Nevermind....she doesn't even know I exist. :D

- It seems like Stadler and McCormack really don't like each other. They'll play nicey-nice for the cameras like their sponsors would expect them to, but deep down, they don't really like each other.



Macca is not the only one who doesn't like Normann. Norm is arrogant, pompous, is generally just not a very nice guy, and is extremely difficult to be around. Macca is the polar oppostite. Fun, lighthearted, nice, affable. He's genuinely a good guy.

Add to his dogmatic personality all of the fall out over last year's race, and Norm calling Macca a cheater, and whatnot, and you have a recipe for a real personality conflict. Macca had something to prove this year. I think he accomplished that...


Just a thought: Because we compete together doesn't mean that I am required to like you. A competitor's goal is to continue to apply a proper beating until the competition quits.

Actually, I don't think Macca is all that popular either. I heard a lot of talk about him at Honu in '06. I think he's viewed as arrogant as well. Personally I think some of it is just jealousy...I didn't speak to him for more than a minute or two be he seems OK to me.

Actually, I don't think Macca is all that popular either. I heard a lot of talk about him at Honu in '06. I think he's viewed as arrogant as well. Personally I think some of it is just jealousy...I didn't speak to him for more than a minute or two be he seems OK to me.

The difference here is that people LIKE to train with Macca. When Macca trains with other people, he is fun to be around. Norm is not like that. He'll come out and do rides, and pretty much keep to himself, but like aloof, or stand-off-ish. Just not very pleasant. I'm almost going to go as far as to say sort of a prick. At coffee, after the rides, he's somewhat sort and abrupt when he talks (And, yes, it's ALL the time).It's like he's doing a favor by staying.

Macca appears arrogant because he said what he wanted to do, without shame, and got branded arrogant, and cocky "because he hadn't won it". But the reality and the difference is that he is easily likable, and fun to be around. He is very direct and strightforward when he communicates about what he's capable of. He's very aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and plays to those. But when it's just time to hang out, he's really a very cool guy.

The difference here is that people LIKE to train with Macca. When Macca trains with other people, he is fun to be around. Norm is not like that. He'll come out and do rides, and pretty much keep to himself, but like aloof, or stand-off-ish. Just not very pleasant. I'm almost going to go as far as to say sort of a prick. At coffee, after the rides, he's somewhat sort and abrupt when he talks (And, yes, it's ALL the time).It's like he's doing a favor by staying.

Macca appears arrogant because he said what he wanted to do, without shame, and got branded arrogant, and cocky "because he hadn't won it". But the reality and the difference is that he is easily likable, and fun to be around. He is very direct and strightforward when he communicates about what he's capable of. He's very aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and plays to those. But when it's just time to hang out, he's really a very cool guy.

Hey Macca! Thanks for taking the time to post here and congratulations on your Kona win!;)

Hey Macca! Thanks for taking the time to post here and congratulations on your Kona win!;)

:roflmao:

Hey Macca! Thanks for taking the time to post here and congratulations on your Kona win!;)

Nice... :D I've just been close enough to see both sides, and it's just my personal opinion. And we all know about opinions...