A STOP IN MUNICH

The next production of Endurance Traveler is officially underway, and it’s going to be a double. We’ll be filming for 2 races over the next 3 weeks. Ironman Austria is the first and then Ironman Switzerland. But before I get in to that, I had to get there first. I decided to fly through Munich, Germany and take a train to Klagenfurt, Austria.

Faris Al-Sultan, 2005 Ironman Hawaii World Champion lives there and this was a perfect opportunity to catch a few good minutes with him as he does his last minute preparation for Ironman Germany, European Championships. Toby Waldinger, Faris’s manager is a good friend of mine and offered to put me up for the night.

During the day, Toby unleashed me in Marienplatz to check out some of the cathedrals, shops, open market and the Jewish Museum of Munich. All of it was very cool and packed with an even spread of tourist and locals. Of course, like any good Bavarian, Toby made sure I ended up at a beer garden. In this case it was Augustinerkeller, home to the oldest brewery in Munich, dating back to 1328. I am going to find a race near Oktoberfest time, so we can incorporate all of Munich and Augustiner, that’s for sure!

In the morning, I woke to a plethora of German delights, with soft cheese, breads, pretzels, cured meat, fresh eggs and coffee. I almost went back to sleep after eating, but I had Faris’ interview to do. The interview was great and we’ll try to have it up in the next few days. In the mean time I hope you enjoy this little video log of my day in Munich.

Swim Around Key West recap

By Friday, May 5th, we were heading to Key West, and I was travelling with a fever around 100. These are the perils of the job. The big trick, was not so much about getting better, but talking on camera without sounding nasally and somehow figuring out a way to survive the 12.5 mile swim just hours ahead.

The Key West Episode is going to include some great race footage. Along the way, we'll make a meal at Louie's Backyard, a real Key West tradition; do the Duval Crawl; eat some conch fritters in Bahama Town; visit the Hemingway House; fish with Captain Billy and see one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world.

My film crew in Key West was the most professional group I could have ever requested. Anthony and Greg not only did excellent camera work, but they were stellar in there artistry behind the lens. Kaz was amazing too, she made my job simple. It was the first shoot where I only needed to worry about being on camera and racing. It was a good thing too, since I was so utterly sick. Now, it's time to get myself healthy and get ready for the next Endurance Traveler adventure. In the meantime, we will have some teaser for these episodes posted within the next few days, so please come check them out!!!

Cheers.

Ironman Brasil Recap

Well it has been a really busy couple of weeks here at Endurance Traveler. It started out on May 21st with my passport debacle getting down to Brasil. Once that was sorted and I actually made it to Floripa, the real work and fun began. The biggest obstacle we had to overcome during the last 19 days of travel and filming was sickness. I was already a little under the weather before heading down to Brasil and ended up spending the last 3 weeks in a constant battle to get healthy while traveling, filming and racing.

The bad news was that my physical performances were seriously impacted, but on a better note, we got all the filming done and I'm sure that it will make for great episodes anyway. After all, if it's easy every time, then where is the personal challenge.

Brasil:

Filming in and around Florianopoilis included Surfing (see the prior Blog post), White water Kayaking,

a visit to an Oyster Farm,

along with 3 restaurants. During the race we followed 2 feature athletes, Marc Tendler and Davide Murdocca.

Both were great and I look forward to presenting their stories. Filming in a foreign country with a language barrier can always be a little challenging, and this time was no exception. My camera operator Sydney was the consummate professional and I only wish that I spoke Portuguese or he spoke better English so that we could have communicated better. Regardless he was great. My other operator Wes, was the better English speaker and therefore took on the roll of lead camera. He also did a good job, but was in a little over his head with the physical capabilities required in a job like this. The first day of filming almost wiped him out in the surf, and there were a few other issues along the way, but he survived and so did the camera he was using.


Not as much can be said for the little Sanyo waterproof camera we were also using. That poor little thing didn't survive Kayaking in St. Amaro. Also, our stills photographer, Giovanni was a local guy that now lives in South Africa. He was a hidden gem, and I hope to work with him again someday. This guy was super nice, his English was great, and he was just an all around cool person.

As for the race itself...it was a wet and cool day. The swim was a little tougher than anyone expected for two reasons. First, the water was rough. Second, 2 of the buoy's got loose and we all chased them down!

Me giving an interview during the swim mid-point

The bike course is a two looper with several climbs and plenty of opportunities to see your friends on the out and back portions.

A view from the out and back portion of the bike

Once on the run, the weather started to really clear up, leaving cooler temps and plenty of spectators cheering on the sidelines!

Now, after getting back from Brasil on the 3rd, I actually caught something new and even worse on the flight back to Miami. That's the problem with being sick and still doing massive amounts of exercise, your immunity is crap. On Thursday, I was so worried about my sickness, I went to the doctor and had them test me for Swine flu!!! It was negative.

We will try to get some footage up in the next few days. in the meantime please check back when you get a chance and we will also work on getting som Swim Around Key West pics and video up also!!!

Till then...keep training and traveling!