Recover-Ease Athlete Marcel Vifian Comments on:
2006 US Professional Long Course Triathlon National Championships
"The Sprit of Racine Triathlon WI, host to the National Championships, was a perfect venue."
July 28, 2006 – FROM THE RACE DIARY OF MARCEL VIFIAN

The 1.2mile swim in Lake Michigan started out a little tentatively; no one was eager to set the pace. Even the few really fast swimmers preferred to save their energy for the bike and run. So, I just cruised right along in my new Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit in about 3rd position. As we rounded the first buoy, the wind-driven waves would literally wash me over on to the swimmer next to me! Aware that there were some very fast bikers and runners in the race, I went to the front and picked up the pace until about a quarter of a mile to go. At this point I decided I'd get some exposure for Blue Seventy and picked up the pace even more to try for first out of the water! I hit the beach holding a 7 second lead over the rest of the pack.

Into and out of transition first, I proceeded to bring my aero Aegis T2 tri bike up to the speed (25.5 mph) I would try to hold for the duration of the race. I never looked back and just tried to focus on staying aero, letting my new Blackwell 100 wheelset cut through the wind. At mile 12, David Thompson caught me and started to ramp up the pace. I tried to stay with him over the next 10 miles but he slowly pulled away and out of sight. The last 30 miles I tried to maintain a fast pace, motivated by the fact that I was all alone.

Rolling into transition, I slipped into my Asics DS Trainers, put on my Oakley's, grabbed a visor and headed out on the run. As I left, a volunteer yelled, "He's got about 5 minutes on you!" I ramped up the pace and attempted to close the gap. I made 20 seconds on him in the first mile but then, after mile 3, noticed some serious tightness in my legs and had to slow down or risk injury! At the first turn around I was able to see that we had turned our brutal efforts on the bike into a good lead. I kept running strong but saw I wasn't making any ground on Thompson. I came in second place at 3 hours and 57 minutes (under the course record but not by far enough!) Giving respect where it is due, Thompson had a great day. We were the only two who managed to break the magic 4 hour barrier!

A huge thank you to a fellow athlete, John Cumming at Powdr. His overwhelming support made this race possible! Also, a special thanks to Pete Orne and Greg at Aegis Bicycles for the awesome T2 aero tri bike and the great support, Shawn and the team at Recover-Ease for their remarkable recovery product and support, Johnny Cobb and Dave at Blackwell Research for their super fast aero wheels and bars and Guy at BlueSeventy for the speedy wetsuit!

This past weekend marks the halfway point in the season for me! Still LOTS of racing to do, culminating with the Half Ironman 70.3 world Championship on November 11 in Florida!

US PROFESSIONAL LONG COURSE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
1. David Thompson, 3:51:26.85 (25:44.25/2:06:17.56/ 1:17:16.51)
2. Marcel Vifian, 3:57:37.67 (25:37.12/2:11:24.97/1:18:55.62)
3. Brad Seng, 4:04:11.72 (29:38.25/2:18:07.68/1:14:29.15)
4. Zach Ruble, 4:07:44.88 (28:08.81/2:19:50.80/1:18:11.25)
5. Greg Thompson, 4:10:27.55 (26:02.67/2:16:37.24/1:25:27.03)

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