Bonjour readers.

It has been ages since I last wrote, and for some reason I have just got the urge to post a new blog whilst sitting in my hotel room in San Fransisco awaiting the onslaught of the Alcatraz race tomorrow morning.

I have my new Newton shoes in toe, my sweet Kestrel ride kitted out with brand new Enve wheels...they are as smooth as ice. So in terms of equipment everything should be spot on for a great race. My fitness??? Hmm, who knows. I was training real hard for most of the season. I was fit and lean. Then I raced Calgary 70.3 a couple of weeks back thinking I was to have the race I knew I was capable of, but instead it ended up being a real tough one and I finished up in 6th place...which was good considering the field was tough and the results were pretty close. But like all athletes, I was certainly not satisfied with my performance. I actually think it is possible to go into races too tired and even though you think you have rested up and tapered well, your body wants more. So this time there's no excuse.
I went to a wedding last week where I took four days off, and then chilled out for the rest of the time with short easy rides and short fast runs leading into this race. So take a look at my results and you'll find out whether that was a good idea or not :-/

I always struggle in really cold water, so I'm pleased to announce that the water is in the 50's farenheit for this race...thats bloody freezing so thanks for that.
The swim is gonna be fast with the likes of John Flanagan, Brian Rhodes, Brian Fleischman and Graham O'Grady, so there's a good field here tomorrow. Due to this my race strategy is to latch on to whoever I can in the swim,try to hang on for dear life for as long as possible, last it out and get ready for the tough as nails bike and run. I decided to go with the disk wheel and the ENVE front 50mm and it looks SWEEET on the Kestrel 4000! Love it! The ENVE wheels are so nice...with the DT Swiss hubs! If you wanna see a photo look at my twitter (@hadleysituation) or take a look on my FB page.

This race pays top ten which is great for any pro trying to survive in Triathlon. I actually think all races should pay top ten with more even pay outs to help out the up and comers leap into the big leagues. After you pay flights, accom and other expenses, earning a living in triathlon is hard. I don't like leaving my girlfriend Krissy back in Boulder either, so racing away had better be worth it :-)

Anyway, it should be a good day. I'll write a race report to highlight all my excuses later lol! Just kidding.

Chow for now homies

Hads