CATCH UP DAY...!

We woke up for day 2 in the bomb shelter to a loud Swiss snore and a sleep talker from Brazil. We then threw Peter’s kit in the dryer to shake out the little bit of moisture left from Brooks’ hand washing. Note to clothing sponsor, the only athlete here having 1 kit (from 8 years ago) for a multi-day race.

(Brooks and Dean) started to get worried at breakfast, it seemed EVERYONE was feeling great, and our guy was the only sore one in the bunch. We keep Peter positive and blasted the heat in the wan (Czech for Van) to start warming his muscles. The start of today left from the top of the climb from Volcano (from the day before at around 4000 ft and descended 25 miles before hitting some rolling roads, a flat road by the ocean, and then a climb out, before some more rollers, a stretch through town, a beautiful 57 miles of rollers, two final climbs, and a pretty technical yet fun looking descent. I figured another run-on today wouldn’t hurt…Clemson did beat up on the Gamecocks today.

So back to the race, Tony O’Keefe descended like a bat out of hell and put 4 minutes on the rest of the competitors. Peter came down with a group containing the rest of the contenders. Due to his soreness in his lats from cramping in the swim he pulled over we took his jacket off (again note clothing sponsor), gave him the first of 10,000 bottles on the day, applied a fresh pair of Rudy Project glasses and Peter sprinted off to mark the rest of the big boys. It was going to be a good day!

Over the next several miles everybody started to sort out there positions. Peter ended up marking (sighting) O’Keefe with Alexendre Ribeiro and Josef Ajram who are excellent cyclists and strong climbers. He looked strong all day and even smiled (three times I think). The nutrition plan we set this morning worked great. Peter got a little tired of the gels though and it became apparent when he told Dean, “I don’t vont any of doz vucking gels! saw-wee.” Yes, he actually apologized after hammering for 100 miles! Ribeiro turned on the jets with about 55 miles to go, Peter accelerated when he did is well and as the say “the race was on.” Clearly, Ribeiro wanted to put distance between his time and Peter going into the run tomorrow. They both rode hard to the end and Ribeiro came out a little on top today with the second fastest second day time in the history of the race. Peter posted the 4^th fastest ever. Peter has been raving about his new 2009 Beyond Fabrications frameset and 62mm deep Beyond Fabrications carbon wheel set. He likes the way the ceramic bearings roll and how stable the rims were in the varying wind conditions over the last 261.4 miles.

Race Results after Day -2 Total and (171 mile stage 2 bike )

1. Ribeiro - 15hr34m56s (7hr20m41s bike)

2. O'Keefe - 15hr44m56s (7hr36m28s)

3. Kotland - 16hr05m28s (7hr27m27s)

Note: Total time is faster then his 1997 split after day 2 by 13m26s

4. Ajram - 16hr06m53s (7hr31m50s)

5. Kregar - 16hr21m08s (7hr43m33s)

Total Race Results: http://ultramanlive.com/2008-ultraman-world-championships/2008-results-page/

Without witnessing today for yourselves, you will have to trust us when we say this day was unbelievable. The front runners set the pace early and the objective was to put as much time between them and Peter before the run. The pace was brutal, with 171 miles of racing and 8000+ feet of climbing. The toughness of the 4 guys upfront (whom represent Canada, Czech/USA, Brazil, and Spain) was unbelievable. These guys are good, no great! No question from our crew that these racers represent some of the best athletes in the world. It is truly remarkable to see these guys hammer, particularly after 8 plus hours of intense racing the day before. Now everyone gets to sleep and run 52.4 miles!!

There is certainly a gap that needs to be made up but Peter is recovering well and has a positive attitude. This was apparent when as we just drove to our favorite watering hole (coffee) Lava Java and he yelled at all of the bad drivers. Peter has downed his meal and the crew is about to eat our first solid meal since breakfast at 5am. We all have important jobs to do tomorrow. There are some great runners in this race and some large deficits that need to be made up. We cannot give away the motivational talk that has been discussed this evening because we know some other competitors are reading this. Hey Gary Wang! But we have a plan and will execute it well and let the chips fall as they may. Its only a Sunday Stroll.

We want to make the statement that we are sorry if this blog offends anyone, but several of Peter’s friends wanted the play by play of the week. We provide the thoughts that we have discussed or laughed about here, either initiated by the crew or the man him self. It is all in good fun and it provides us with great comic relief and has been a great tool to keep the mood light and in keeping Peter in a good place mentally during this grueling 3-day race.

RACE BEGINS!!

(Check out Christy Brinkley posing for the media!! Hopefully someone from Blue Seventy will read this blog! Maybe we should send in some of these poser photos to Millie Lewis Modeling Agency and see if we can get Peter some modeling gigs on the side!)

Welcome sports fans the fun has begun. We woke again this morning with another ride on the Kotland Espresso Train and ate some light food in the morning before departing for the race. The race started at 630am sharp and the 35 individual participants began their 3-day campaign. The currents were tough and the water was very warm in the swim which produced slower times for the leaders and potentially some cramping. Peter was swimming very strong but overheated and cramped about half way through the swim and fell back a bit in the pack. He was very thankful that he wore his Blue-Seventy 10K Skin Suit, which is designed for open water swimming. He came out of the water in a very conscious state, much more than some of the other guys ahead of him. After being in the ocean for 3 hours, you cannot imagine the vertigo and dizziness you can experience standing back upright....In classic euro fashion Peter was the only athlete to perform the all nude transition. No offense to our other Euro friends in the Ultraman. We helped get him out onto the bike course quickly and he seemed to be okay. After the end of the stage he told us about all of the cramping he experienced on the swim, which resulted in the slow times.

Peter picked off a few guys in the transition and a few more early on during the ride. The first 10 miles were a tough climb and Peter seemed patient yet strong as he ascended. After getting through a few towns after the climb we hit some of the most beautiful road I have ever been on. Unfortunately we are sightseeing while working so pictures are limited but trust me it was awesome. We were like at about 500 ft. elevation and you could see the blue ocean crashing into the huge lava rocks that lead to the fields of greenery and bushes and to our left you could see the mountains that form the volcano here on the big island. I don’t care if the previous sentence was a run-on, because I am tired. (For those who were wondering, based on this run on sentence its obvious Brooks went to Clemson) Peter rode within himself all day, we only called him an asshole twice for not taking our nutrition we offered him at the moment. When the race was finished, Peter had posted the 4^th fastest bike time. The standings are as followed up to Peter’s place:

1. O’Keefe: 8hr08m21s

2. Ribeiro: 8hr13m25s

3. Seedhouse: 8hr17m11s

4. Ajram: 8hr35m03s

5. Kregar: 8hr37m35s

6. Kotland: 8hr38m01s

Below is the Current Total Standings:

http://ultramanlive.com/2008-ultraman-world-championships/2008-results-page/

Attached below is a great article written on slow twitch about day 1 and Kotland...

http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Tony_O_Keefe_and_Shanna_Armstrong_lead_Ultraman_Day_One_622.html

We are optimistic for the next two days. It’s a long race, and it seems like the tempo is being pushed on the bike to put some distance on Peter before the run starts. However, Peter feels strong, and much can happen in the 171.4 miles of stage 2.

After the race, we departed to the town of Hawi. We ate an authentic Italian dinner at a wonderful hole in the wall restaurant. The Owner was the chef and from Italy, so we came to the right spot for dinner! After dinner, we set up camp at the Volcano Military Barracks. We are sleeping in the same room with 17 other guys BUT we have pillows, blankets and no friendly pets snuggling up with us at bedtime on floors.

We have helped keep the mood light tonight, as we sit here Dean and Peter are telling jokes and laughing it up, and I think the rest of the athletes are sleeping. Next to the barracks is a recreation center where all the local rug rats entertain themselves on a Friday night. Yep, all the country music, bowling, and booze drinking wrapped into a small dome shaped tin military bomb shelter.

We will wait and see what our man has in the bag tomorrow.

It should be a great day!

Race Day Has Arrived

Just wanted to give a quick update. We woke up at 430am this morning, ate some breakfast, ate espresso and now we are staring ateach other wondering what to do fr the next half an hour! The swim start begins at 630am and Peter will swim along the coast of Hawaii battling current, wind, jelly fish, and of course the oter athletes. A kayaker will be slightly in front of Peter. Our kayaker is a very experienced local who has knowledge of the current. Once Peter starts swmming, Brooks and I will drive down to the swim finish ad set up his bike transition. The key to this race is for us to handle all the details and for Peter to focus on one thing, the race. He will get out of the water between 9am-930am. He will get out of the water and we will get him geared up for the 90 mile bike. Todays bike course has significat elevation and it will be hot. Both good elements for Peter. Our hope is to have Peter back in the van and resting by no later then 230pm. We will keep you posted.

1997 World Championship Times:

Day 1 - Swim - 2hr54m38s, Bike - 5hr12m06s, Total 8hr06m44s
Day 2 - Bike - 8hr12m10s, Total Bike - 13hr24m16s, Total Race - 16hr18m54s
Day 3 - Run - 5hr33m57s (World Record), Total Race - 21hr52m51s

A few years later, Total race time record was broken at 21hr41m22s. Objective for day 1 and 2 is to captitalize on Peter's improvement in both the bike and swim since 1997. Hammer on day 1 and 2 and take some time off of the day 2 total race time from 1997 to provide some cushion on the run.

Off to the start. Stay tuned.

T Minus 24-Hours and Counting

Unfortunately and fortunately we are sad to report today was not as crazy as the past few days. We awoke this morning at the typical 6 am and sat around and got the Kotland Coffee Shakes®. About 8 o’clock Peter and I rode down to Dig-Me beach and did a quick 1 mile swim. On the way out we saw a Sea Turtle. We swam up to it and sat about 1 foot from it and watched it circle around us. It was quite an awesome experience, especially when the turtle crapped on Peter’s face. I won the swim on the way back, I am not counting that he is doing the Ultraman tomorrow, I need the resume builder. Dean ran the 4 miles from the house and met us at the beach. It was a nice thanksgiving morning. We were changing clothes after our workouts and 4 time Ultraman world champ and PK team times member Shanna Armstrong strolled up.

She was about to swim when we informed her that the mandatory pre-race meeting was in 5 minutes. Let’s hope she makes it to the start line on time in the morning. The meeting was quite long and they introduced all of the athletes individually. When they introduced everybody’s favorite athlete (Peter Kotland), they mentioned he puts fear into the other athletes when they see him on the start line. Is that the same fear his athletes experience each week when they receive schedules? If so Dean and I hate it for those guys.

After the meeting we headed back to the ole home-stay and began the process of packing for a two day adventure. We will stay at the top of “volcano” tomorrow night. We then went to Wal-Mart in the afternoon to get the last of the important stuff. The most important thing we bought was the hot pink duct tap and fishing weights. We then put our brains together and under the lead of Cactus Boy Sinatra, we rigged a bright ribbon to hang from the boat to lead Peter in the swim. Finally it was dinner time, tonight Cactus Boy cooked us a pasta surprise. Erring on the side of caution not to make the sauce too mild, Sinatra dumped a ¼ bottle of hot sauce and 4 tbsp of red pepper seasoning into the sauce. After 2 minutes of eating there was a puddle of sweat under Dean and Peter who had already take his shirt off…this hot concoction was do to Peters comment, “I vont the empty stomach in de morning.” The wan (Czech for van) is packed and the crew and athlete are relaxed.

The van is packed, nutrition plan is set and the gear for tomorrows first leg of the race is ready to go. Now its time to get er’ done. Mr. Kotland is ready to pull out a can of whoop ass!! There is no turning back, no backing down, its three days of pain and time to throw down some times to make people see that this Kotland guy is still a threat and an animal. One goal: World Record… stay tuned…. It’s going to be a good ride.

Tomorrow morning 6:30 am we will be underway and will update tomorrow night.

Ultraman II - 3 Amigos Raid the Island

November 26^th

After waking up on our first full day in Kona, we ate a hearty breakfast and drank 12 gallons of motor oil (espresso) before heading to the world famous Dig-Me Beach (Home of the Ironman World Championship Swim Start). Upon our arrival, we met several of the other Ultraman athletes and support team crew members who have traveled from all over the world to compete in this race.

Brooks and I went out after seeing these guys and bought new bathing suits! European style!! The 3 of us headed out for a swim. The water was warm and the buoyancy was incredible in the salt water. After swimming and hanging out with the other groups, we dropped into the post office, picked up Peter’s bike and wheels and assembled his bike for the race. After an afternoon run workout for Peter and Brooks, and a ride for Dean, we piled back into the car and went to have Peter’s bike inspected. A group of the other participants were set to leave for night diving with the manta-rays, so Brooks and I went with them and Peter completed his inspection. Very cool experience with these large creatures swimming around you. After diving, we caught back up with Peter at the Java Lava coffee shop in downtown and saw that Peter was cornered by 2 young girls from Finland and the US. They were mission girls that were on a path but had yet been told what God wanted them to do. Hopefully, God speaks to them soon, because bible thumping at Java Lavas to Peter Kotland will not get you to far. Upon leaving, the girls asked if they could pray for us. Peter so kindly sais, "I don't know vut to pray for, Dean you got anything?." I asked them to pray for our van not to hit Peter during the race by accident or for any other reason!

We should have asked for them to pray for us at our home stay because things have gone weird at home. We drove home to a 2-page note that clearly outlined the do's and dont's of the home. We have 1 light bulb in a lamp, are sleeping on floors, all of our electronics must be unplugged, no fans on in house, our stuff must remain clean around her piles, we are literally living with Ghekkos that crawl around us which eat the ants, and are surrounded by hippy neighbors who seem to be self purging (throwing up) outdoors in the middle of the night. Being hospitable guests, Peter posted the note on the refrigerator just to make things a bit more comfortable for everybody including our host, and we now we try to be up and out before our friend rises and home after she gos to bed. Hawaiian hospitality is a bit bizarre. We spend our time at Java Lavas until We met back up for a vintage Kotland pasta fiesta with 3 gallons of hot sauce that will make you sweat out a few pounds at dinner at our home-stay and sacked out for another night with the Ghekkos.

November 27^th

As with the day before, we swam in the morning and began to work with Peter on his nutrition plan for the race. We picked up his other bike at the post office and headed for registration. On our way to registration, we found a Ghekko in the car. He was sitting on the driver’s seat right above my shoulder and jumped onto Brooks. These things are everywhere!

Registration went smooth, and Peter was interviewed by Slow Twitch online magazine. It seems that Peter’s return to the race is well received and he poses a very serious threat to win the race this year. Of course, our goal is to set a new overall world record time for the race which is very possible with Peter’s conditioning, and staying healthy during the race.


After registration, we stopped home for some lunch, and headed out to the hills for some bike training. We stopped by Cosco to get some drinks and pizza. That place was a nightmare! We got everything we needed and the electric keys to the mini-van stopped working, and we were locked out of the car. In times of crisis like this action was requ ired, so we slapped the pizza box on the hood and ate in the parking lot of Cosco. After about an hour, Peter finally found a manual key embedded in the key chain and we got the doors unlocked. We drove straight to the rental car shop, picked up a new car with a full tank of gas, and headed up the hill.


After a few hours of delays, we finally looked like we were getting to our destination and then the road was shut down and we got stuck for another 45 minutes in traffic. So, we put Peter on his bike and sent him on the way.

Brooks and I backtracked through town and circled around an alternative route to meet Peter in a town up in the mountains. Peter climbed and descended 4000 feet up to a town called Hawi and Brooks and I took up some sight seeing while we waited.












After another trip to Cosco to pick up van supplies for the race, we booked home for a pasta meal at home, and then we took off to the local coffee shop and mapped out the nutrition plan hour by hour for the 3-days of racing.

Not sure what the temperament is of the other teams and their crew, but we are like the bad news bears in the Kotland camp! As usual, we find humor in just about everything, the mood is very light, relaxed and most importantly, we are having fun. However, come game day, Peter will be rested, in good spirits and ready to rock. His support team will be totally in synch to get him home as the 2008 Ultraman World Champion.

NOTE: Photo Album can be seen in its entirety at:
Dean's album
Username - dsinatra@enterprisepartners.biz
password - sinatra21

Happy Thanksgiving and Aloha from all of us in Hawaii!!

Ultraman I - Fruit Loops

Hello faithful Peter Kotland fans. Dean and I (Brooks) have hijacked Peter's Blog for the week. We will keep you up to date on the happenings of the week from the fun and crazy to the plain painful that is screamed out on the Queen K later this week. Of course we had a fun day of traveling. Peter and I left Greenville and had some entertaining flights. The highlight in the plane came when this YOUNG mother a few rows in front of us lifted her baby high into the air while the infant began puking on the lady behind her. Every body around us seemed concerned, Peter and I were crying because we were laughing so hard. We got to Kona and Peter was giving me a quick tour of the island. At one point we were on the main strip of Alii Drive. There was a guy beside us running with a skateboard. He looks over and starts staring! I get a little tense and figure we might get in a fight with a local ALREADY. But all of the sudden this guy shots out "HEY PETER!" It was classic we had been in Hawaii for less than an hour and Peter is already signing autographs. Typical.

Dean landed later in the evening, he said something about an Ironman and being sore and numb. Okay we believed the Ironman part being he just had an incredible finish at IM Arizona (36 minute PR). But we have now reunited the Lake Placid traveling trio, the band is back together. Now for some more fun times and for Peter to kick some ass.


We arrived at our homestay thanks to the handy GPS navigator that has us laughing all the way to the home. Apparently, GPS has a hard time pronouncing Hawaiian streets. We arrived to our headquarters and settled in for the evening. Since Peter has a little race starting on Friday, we gave him the bed. After much debate, Dean and I claimed our carpet floor locations in the home and slept with the Ghekkos, which apparently eat the ants that crawl along the walls of the home. We're not sure what Ghekko poop looks like but will report back as soon as we spot some in the home.



We are now all jacked up like bunny rabbits on Peter's vintage espresso train. We are gearing up for an ocean swim this morning and plan to pick up Peter's bike at the post office. We will keep you informed, post pics and update you as the week progresses.

NOTE: Photo Album can be seen in its entirety at:
Dean's album
Username - dsinatra@enterprisepartners.biz
password - sinatra21

Brooks & Dean

IM Florida

A report is on the way.
Ended up with a DNF, due to too much Ibuprofen intake that caused indigestion during the run. Not very happy with it. I was coming into the race with an ear infection, which has been with me for 3 weeks. Took some antibiotics for a week, but drug testing, and the way they made me feel prevented me from taking them within one week of the race. Ended up with a ruptured ear drum, but it could always be worse.

More is coming up.