2012 XTERRA World Championships recap and pictures

RESULTS 

PICTURES

The 2012 XTERRA World Championships is in the books.

I have to say that I AM pleased with how I did here on Maui- although not fully satisfied.

My preparation was not without hiccups and I want to believe that I left everything out on the course. Due to the Canadian earthquake the night before the race we had to evacuate from our hotel to move to higher elevation. We were forced to sleep in the rental car until 1:30 am when were finally allowed to drive back. Of course, we packed everything up, luggages and bike, all in the car ready for anything. COming back to the hotel we had to unpack what was necessary then we slept 4 hours. I woke pretty tired but ready to race. The weather was 80 degrees plus at the start, high waves and not much wind. My mood? Even though it was my first World Championships I felt no different than before any other race. I knew it was more important than the rest of my races but I suppose I knew what I was capable of doing on a good day and I also knew that I was not there to compete with the best of the best- just yet. My goal was to have a decent swim followed by a strong but leg saving bike only to run as fast as I can and have no remorse on the run. 

The swim was about what I can expect from myself at this point in my training. I wasn't too tired after getting out of the water and I could have certainly pushed it more but then I would have likely faded faster on the bike. Until the first mile on the mile everything went according to the "plan". What stirred things up was that snake winding through the bike course just ahead of me. Once we were on the single track it was really difficult to pass people. Instead of riding at an even pace it was more like a fartlek run with easier sections followed by surges to cover the distance. A fartlek run will get you more tired for the same time and so did this bike course. I arrived back to the transition area more tired than wished for  but not exhausted. I have never done a triathlon yet where I wouldn't have one of the fastest run on the course. I told Anna before the race that I want the fastest run split out there, boldly thinking that I can outrun triathletes who can run under 30 minutes for the 10k after a triathlon in ITU racing. Well, I wasn't too far from them, in the end. I passed not one professionals, men and women as well to finish well under 3 hours. My overall time of 2 hours and 56 minutes is something I would have signed for before the race, too. My 28 minute swim time(1500m), 1 hour and 44 minute bike ride(18.89 miles) and 41 minute run (9.5km) is probably what I could do on that day. 

The race was excellently organized. The swim course had enough lifeguards surrounding us for safety and dozens of camera guys filming us all along the course; even at the buoys deep under water. They could have not done anything about the current that kept taking us off-course. I probably swam a good 100m more because of that and I certainly spent some extra energy trying to stay with the swim field. The bike the course was well marked but the water stations were not really useful. At those speeds I rather not stop or slow down so instead I drank water only from my bottle. It seemed to be enough and I wasn't getting dehydrated nor had I cramps. What I wish the course had less was the fast and bouncy downhill sections. Those literally shook everything out of me. Having a hard tail bike comes with benefits on the uphills but I believe it cost me more on the long haul as the bike bounces all over the place and I can barely maintain balance on the downhills. Getting a decent full suspension bike is a must before the 2013 season as it will save me time, energy and probably stitches and hospital visits, too. Anyone interested in my 2010 (or 2011???) Specialized Stumpjumper EVO 29er bike let me know. It's an amazing bike for racing but not for me when I do XTERRAs. 

The run course- I LOVED IT! I am not going to lie, there was sections where even I had to power walk uphill but I thrived on the rolling, not too steep and windy sections. Climbing 600 feet allowed me to catch up to my competitors and the downhill let me put minutes into them. This is one of the reasons I do XTERRAs because I love passing people on the run. I gain energy when they lose it. It was the icing on the cake that I won the fastest age-group run time award even with my 20 mile-a-week running leading up to this race. 

One important thing to mention is that my knee was holding up pretty well. I don't have pain or discomfort even though I haven't run, biked or swam since the race. 

With all the attention I have received from family, friends, colleagues and even students at United Tribes I have only one goal for 2013 is to repeat and out-do my 2012 season. I believe that with more time invested in serious swim training (perhaps with the Dennis Kemmesat-coached high school team) I will not only save time on the swim but by coming out of the water minutes earlier it will allow me to have a more laid back bike leg followed by a run with even more energy stored to run for even faster run splits. 

I would like to thank my mom, Anya, my wife Anna, and rest of my family as well as friends and my extended family at United Tribes TC, Epic Sports to help me in my 2012 quest. As I have mentioned it many times I would've not competed here without your support and I do need your continuing support! I hope that my success will inspire more people to take up regular physical activity and create a life style that best fits them and most importantly challenges them!

Mahalo for reading,

Dani

Setting up transition before the race.

They said they will calculate the best time to let us go when no waves are near... Does it seem like a calculated start?

..and we are on the way. .

Leaving the transition area. 19 miles of biking and about 6 miles of running still ahead of me.

Almost finished- fixing the bib number and jersey. This was the last few steps on the achilles-killer beach run just before the finish chute. 

Onto the bike course. I still had energy left here.

Anna and me after finishing my toughest race to date. 

2012 XTERRA World Champion, ITU Grand Final winner, 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist Javier Gomez from Spain

Sebastian Kienle, Germany, one of the best full course Ironman athletes out there today. 

With Conrad Stoltz, the Caveman. 4-time World Champion, the winningest XTERRA athlete.

Articles ONLINE!

Great week!

The KFYR radio last week aired a little discussion on me (with me) and this week it was the KFYR-TV channel and the Bismarck Tribune newspaper that also released some great articles about me, and about  the XTERRA World Championships I am here in Maui for.

Read Bismarck Tribune article here.

Read and watch KFYR-TV news here.

Thanks to Alexander Gourney and Lou Babiarz making the stories!

MAUI

We have arrived safe and sound to the Valley Isle.
The first day we slept enough to wake up 10pm BIsmarck time. 5am Hawaii time. There was no way I could have stayed in bed any longer. Fresh and ready I thought I can tackle the whole day. We didn't  leave the hotel until past 9am.
Drove to Kapalua where I planned to ride the course. Registration and packet pick up didn't start until Wednesday and strict rules prevented me from riding the course in advance. Instead I swam and ran some on the beach at the DT Fleming beach where the swim will take place.


We also toured the west part of the island. We drove in some areas where the road narrowed down to have enough room only for one vehicle. No wonder that the road was fairly empty and only the occasional oncoming cars caused some "hot" moments when they appeared out of nowhere from behind a wall of rocks and one of us usually had to reverse to areas where the other car could squeeze by.

Kahekili Hwy along the rugged Maui shore line

Windy and narrow road on Kahekili Hwy

On Wednesday I was finally able to ride the course. After picking up the race packet I jumped on the bike and I was ready to go but.. forgot to attach my race number on the bike.. A course marshal sent me back luckily enough not too far into the ride..

The next thing was when I noticed that after a smaller jump my handlebar was about to fall out of its place. The bolts were lose. Even with that I caught up to a rider and asked for an ln wrench. Bolts tight, off I went again. I had to be back by 1pm so I basically had about 2 hours to complete the entire 19 mile course. The course was super tough. it included a lot more uphills and mainly steep uphills with wither  lose sand, gravel, leaves or all of the above. The course is hot, dry and made me sweat like I was in a sauna or something. I survived it but only because I took 3 pouches of the complimentary recovery fluid form registration instead of the 1 that we were supposed to. Sorry XTERRA but thanks for saving my life! 

The rest of the day was just about survival. It's hot here on Maui. I love it!

Thursday was the day of our long and exhausting trip.

We first conquered the Piiholo Zip Lines that included an awesome 2800ft long cable during which we were some 600ft (200m) above the valley of some native Hawaiian battlefield. That was a fun way to spend about $300 for the two of us. Ouch. 

This might be one great way to increase adrenaline .. I have fear of heights but nothing here. 

Next up was a quick trip to a waterfall. I did expect a little bigger show from a famed waterfall but it was pretty cool regardless. It's on a private property so all my kudos to the owners who let visitors walk though their land to check out this fall.

Just before we braved up and got in the pretty cold water.. 

Last but not least. We had some time left so we headed back on the mountain and didn't stop until it disappeared. We drove all the way this day from sea level to 10000ft (10023ft- 3055m), to the top of the Haleakala National Park. It's one of the most visited places on Maui even though it takes a huge amount of feat not to get sick while driving on the windy and sometimes steep road. The last time I was up there was in 2006 August and my buddy, Attila, and I rode our bikes up there. We slept half way through at about 6000ft elevation in a shrub (in separate shrubs) while the temperature dropped to about 40 degrees in the morning. That was a fun  day. This time around our rental car made things way too easy. The Big Island's two biggest peaks were visible on this day, the Mauna Kea and the Mauna Loa. Those peaks are 80 and 100 miles away but even from here they seem like they are giants emerging out of the water.

The Haleakala National Park and the volcanic crater. 

Today was a phenomenal day. We sure took advantage of our time and saw everything we could possible see in one day.  I am more tired than ever so the rest will come when I reenergize myself with a good night sleep. Tomorrow's plan is bike, run and swim but easy with all. 

Dear readers!

Qualifying for the Xterra World Championships this year was one of my best moments in 2012.
After a taking 7 months off from running and biking in late 2011 and early 2012 I had my knee surgery in February and my long and slow recovery started. It didn't take long until I won my first race at a 10k event in mid April but that was only the start. I raced through the summer and the fall, traveling endless miles in the US and abroad and experiencing even more!
However this all came at a cost.
I feel really fortunate to have Epic Sports behind me whose team has been extremely supportive! I would like to thank the students, my fellow coworkers and supervisors at United Tribes Technical College for helping me through the summer, talking me into races that otherwise I would have missed if I had less supportive team surrounding me. I manage to work 40+ hours a week while running with my cross country team, swimming and instructing spin classes help me with my own training.

Triathlon is gaining popularity not only in the US but in North Dakota and in Bismarck as well. I am proud to be part of this movement and my goal is further educate people for the importance of regular physical activity!

If you believe that you and/or your business may have similar goals feel free to contact me and I will help you getting your name out there! All I am asking in favor is a little help, financial or of any kind that help me keep going and support me through the next years!

XTERRA World Champs' GPS Tracking

What does gps tracking means?

You will be able to follow me on a map while I bike and run the course in Maui!
I just signed up for this service ($50) that was offered to only 50 participants this year.. There will be about 700 of us toing the line!

You can either download the iPhone or iPad application to your phone or iPad or go to the www.xterralive.com website and follow me by clicking on or next to my name! ... only on raceday, of course.. (October 28, 2012)

The gps will start moving as soon as come out of the water as we are not allowed to swim with the device.
I belive this will add some to your excitement, too, to see me on a map!

Also, there will be cameras placed along the course and when you see me approaching the camera (they are pictured on the camera you will likely see me showing a

Mahalo,

Dan

XTERRA World Championships is only 2 weeks away!

My ribs say "thank you we are doing much better.."
No, they haven't healed completely and sometimes I still find myself sort of "pulling on" the muscles surrounding the ribs, the pressure while under water but it's a definite improvement since the National Championships about 19 days ago..
My training has been going pretty good. With the weather turning colder and work staying pretty busy it's fairly difficult to find good time for a good bike ride outdoors. Instead I take advantage of the spin classes at United Tribes on Mondays and Wednesdays and ride my biek back-to-back for almost 2 hours to get in some extra time on the saddle. I also swim a lot more than even a few weeks ago.. Cross Country season has finally started and our first race in Aberdeen looked really good! My athletes did exactly as I said and I can't wait to see them today in Jamestown! I get out there to run a couple of times a week so I not only see them but I also feel that they have impoved over the past few weeks since we have been working together! They worked hard and finally they have received all their sweats, hoodies and jerseys so they can sure represent UTTC!

After a breezy Friday today I just can't wait though for this weekend when the weather should reach as high as 68 degrees! I will be sure out there riding on some of Bismarck-Mandan's bike trails..

Earlier this week I received some great news as United Tribes Technical College is able to support me get to the World's and it further inspires me to do everything for the success that is possible! Epic Sports, the club I ride for, will continue it's support and it's very likely that starting next year they might be able to extend their support!

Make sure to keep checking my website at www.danielmolnar.net where you can read a little bio about me, my recent accompishments and future plans! It's being worked on so this weekend I plan to add a lot more fun stuff on that website including THE CRASH I accompished at the Nationals in Ogden, Utah. It is hilarious!

I would like to thank all of your continuing support even by reading this blog! My goal is to motivate you that with some dedication you can sure accomplish a lot more than you think!

I will be back..