Heatin' it up in Hungary

What do you get when you combine a small Hungarian town, some of the best triathletes in the world, a lap-counting lady in a dinosaur costume and beer? Surprisingly, you get one of the best triathlon festivals that I have experienced. After spending a few days in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary, I can say that, while the town might have something to be desired in the way of architecture (a decidedly stark eastern bloc motif) and restaurant offerings (I missed my veggies); they certainly know how to take one sporting event and turn it into a week-ling extravaganza. From dancing competitions, a junior triathlon, a triathlon-like event which involved beer kegs and paddles, live music, fireworks, free-flowing beer and strudel and jazzercise, the people in Tizzy know how to take one mere triathlon World cup and turn the event into an extravaganza.

At the heart of the days of festivities, however, is the World Cup, the only event in which I participated. I placed 4th, my best finish to date at a World Cup, but not without some serious suffering. Anyone who follows my racing will have noticed that I have the tendency to race better when the temperature is below 80 degrees. I blame my parent's short-sighted decision to raise us in Upstate NY where I couldn't develop teflon-like heat resistance. When I was informed that the temperature would reach (98 F) 37C on the day of the race, I was very apprehensive but hopeful that I might have my first great warm-weather. Maybe, just maybe!

From the start of the race, I was off the front, gaining time in the swim and working solo until 10k or so into the bike, caught by a pack of four. During and before the race, I did everything I knew to do to combat the heat: starting the race well-hydrated, salting my food, taking liquids throughout the bike and dumping water on me. In my pack were three women I knew to be a real threat on the run: Felicity Abrams (Aussie currently ranked #1 in the world), Mariana Ohata (Brazilian known to race better as the mercury rises) and Andrea Whitcomb (veteran racer who represented the UK on the track in the Sydney Olympics). The first two kilometers of the run I felt good and took the pace out hard, leading the run of a world cup for the first time, until Felicity and Andrea passed me (fun while it lasted, though!). With each successive kilometer, however, my pace decreased and I felt increasingly worse. By the time I hit the last lap with 2.5 k remaining, I knew that there was a serious risk that I would be incapable of finishing, as I am unfortunately very familiar with the signs of heat exhaustion. Each step was a struggle, feeling as though I was running through mud, my cadence and form painfully reflecting that effort. As Boris, the assistant coach for the race, later described it, it was as though I was doing a very odd running drill the last few hundred meters of the race. Or, as I call it, I was performing the "prancing pony", a very deliberate, exaggerated running form with much activity but little forward movement. Miraculously, I crossed the line and then collapsed (and not vice versa), preserving my 4th place finish. I was an absolute mess for the next hour- needing IVs, medications and the close attention of medical staff, as well as Jillian, a fellow US racer, and Boris (thank you thank you thank you!). I'm not sure how I will recover and whether my exertions in the heat will have consequences this weekend in the World Cup in Kitzbuhel, Austria. To be part of a race in Tizsaujvaros, however, was almost worth the suffering.