My free frequent flyer ticket took me from Dulles airport to Newark for a four hour layover, then to Bologna, Italy after a stopover in Lisbon, Portugal. A million hours later I was in Bologna, but my bike was not, and the airline could not locate it. I filled out all the forms, and they told me it would be delivered to my hotel Friday - the following day.Duathlon World’s was in Rimini, a beautiful beach town on the East coast of Italy. The Team USA hotel was a picturesque hotel in a great location on the main strip pinned between cafés and (surprise!) pasta/pizza restaurants. I was sharing a room with my teammate, Chuck Harney. I felt like I was back in college in my single bed shoehorned into the tiny room. Plus, we had 2 toilets in the bathroom. One was like a water fountain. :-)
My race was Sunday at 11:30am, and my bike finally arrived Saturday afternoon. Yea, I was sweating it out until delivery. In the meantime, we ran the course, studied the transition area, drank lots of café lattés, and ate tons of pasta. Race day couldn’t have come sooner. I wanted to get it over with… At the start line, I looked around and could tell it was probably the 
most competitive field of athletes I have been up against since my collegiate track days. The race started with a 300+ field of fired up 35-50 year old males. Like everyone else, I pushed my way as close to the start line as possible. It was a narrow corral, and I knew there was a sharp left hand turn only 100 yards ahead. Without any warning the gun went off, and the pushing and shoving began as the mob surged ahead. The elbowing continued until past that first turn! People were tripping and falling all around me. It was an incredible rush, and with one hand on some random guy in front of me, I was able to stay on my feet.
The first 10k run was flat, fast, and actually measured incorrectly. The total distance was more
than 12k, or almost 1 mile longer than it was supposed to be. It was a 4 loop course with fans cheering the entire length. I was toward the front of the pack with a time of 38:47 going into the bike transition. Then came the bike… as usual, I was holding on for dear life! Even with my $3000.00 ZIPP wheels that my buddy Andy from Bonzai Sports lent me, I got passed by many!
However, many of the competitors that passed me were cheating!!! Drafting is not allowed in age group duathlon and we were all warned before the race that there would be ‘bunching’. It was a crowded six lap course, and groups of cyclists would fly past in a tight pace line! It was blatant cheating, but, to their credit, the course marshals (on motorcycles and scooters) were trying to break things up as best as possible. I saw a few riders get ‘yellow card’ penalties. This meant they had to stop their bikes, unclip from pedals and lift the bike off the ground before continuing. Needless to say, I did not join in the drafting.
most competitive field of athletes I have been up against since my collegiate track days. The race started with a 300+ field of fired up 35-50 year old males. Like everyone else, I pushed my way as close to the start line as possible. It was a narrow corral, and I knew there was a sharp left hand turn only 100 yards ahead. Without any warning the gun went off, and the pushing and shoving began as the mob surged ahead. The elbowing continued until past that first turn! People were tripping and falling all around me. It was an incredible rush, and with one hand on some random guy in front of me, I was able to stay on my feet.The first 10k run was flat, fast, and actually measured incorrectly. The total distance was more
than 12k, or almost 1 mile longer than it was supposed to be. It was a 4 loop course with fans cheering the entire length. I was toward the front of the pack with a time of 38:47 going into the bike transition. Then came the bike… as usual, I was holding on for dear life! Even with my $3000.00 ZIPP wheels that my buddy Andy from Bonzai Sports lent me, I got passed by many!
However, many of the competitors that passed me were cheating!!! Drafting is not allowed in age group duathlon and we were all warned before the race that there would be ‘bunching’. It was a crowded six lap course, and groups of cyclists would fly past in a tight pace line! It was blatant cheating, but, to their credit, the course marshals (on motorcycles and scooters) were trying to break things up as best as possible. I saw a few riders get ‘yellow card’ penalties. This meant they had to stop their bikes, unclip from pedals and lift the bike off the ground before continuing. Needless to say, I did not join in the drafting.26+ miles later (it was supposed to be 40k, or 
24 miles) I was back in transition after 1:11:32 on the bike and immediately out with running shoes on and calves\hamstrings cramping. While on the bike, I could feel my right hammy tighten. While dismounting from my bike, I could only hope not to crumple to the ground with full-on hamstring cramps. I only had 5k to go and passed many more during the final run. 50 yards from the finish line, someone from the crowd handed me a small American flag. I carried it through the finish line physically and emotionally exhausted!
24 miles) I was back in transition after 1:11:32 on the bike and immediately out with running shoes on and calves\hamstrings cramping. While on the bike, I could feel my right hammy tighten. While dismounting from my bike, I could only hope not to crumple to the ground with full-on hamstring cramps. I only had 5k to go and passed many more during the final run. 50 yards from the finish line, someone from the crowd handed me a small American flag. I carried it through the finish line physically and emotionally exhausted! 
With my usual game face of complete exhaustion for the finish, I placed 27 in my age group and 3rd American after 2 hours and 11 minutes of heart pounding excitement! I was pretty happy with that!!Still to come:
Florence- Statue of David, Lots of cafe latte's, Trespassing into a fancy Rowing Club
Cinque Terra (Five Towns)- Wrong train at midnight, Amazing scenery
Pisa- the whirlwind tour
Florence- Statue of David, Lots of cafe latte's, Trespassing into a fancy Rowing Club
Cinque Terra (Five Towns)- Wrong train at midnight, Amazing scenery
Pisa- the whirlwind tour
