Torgeson wants to improve in swimming

If there’s one area the top local finisher in the 2008 Saipan Sportsfest would like to improve on it’s in swimming.

In a recent interview with the [I]Saipan Tribune[/I], Eli Torgeson said he looks to improve his swimming so he could offer a better challenge to pros in the 2008 Saipan Sportsfest—8th XTERRA Saipan Championships and 20th Tagaman Triathlon next year.

Torgeson said once he lowers his time in the swim leg, it would be a domino effect since he will have better times in the bike and run portions—resulting in a better overall record.

“Swimming has always been my slowest and weakest sport,” said Torgeson, who was 21st out of the water with a time of 37 minutes and seconds in last weekend’s Tagaman.

However, he managed to catch up with 15 swimmers that came out ahead of him in the bike leg. “I came out of the water pretty slow. My advantage is it is fun to pass a lot of people on the bike.”

He said that his goal for next year is to take five minutes off from his swim time. “The thing that helps you out when you become a good swimmer is your overall time can drop by a number of minutes, which is good.”

Torgeson, who will also join XTERRA Guam on March 29, said good swimmers learn how to conserve their energy. “You come out of the [water] with more energy, less wasted and less tired. Which is a good reason to become a better swimmer.”

Torgeson sure has a lot of energy left after finishing last weekend’s Tagaman since he was also seen helping the medical team volunteers in attending to the other finishers.

He said that XTERRA Saipan and Tagaman are two great races and he is looking forward to joining more triathlon events. “I wish that we could have a race or two like these at some other time during the year. I will also be joining XTERRA Guam.”

Torgeson said XTERRA Guam suits him just fine since it is a shorter course that you can finish in two hours and gives him more time to recover from the two races he did, which were seven days apart.

“XTERRA Guam finishes in two and a half hours giving you more energy after the race. It also works a little better for me giving me more recovery time.”

“It is a shorter swim and overall shorter race, which for my level of fitness is perfect. I am hoping [XTERRA Guam] would be a great race for me.”

He said he did not find the Tagaman course difficult to negotiate since it is a very similar course with the Inaugural Hell of the Marianas Full-Island Cycling race, which he won in October last year.

“It is similar in the sense that you go over some of the same territory. The Hell of the Marianas has a lot more climbing than [the Tagaman] course does. [Tagaman] is Hell of the Marianas’ toned down version. It is not that difficult of a bike ride, which is nice.”

Torgeson completed the two-kilometer swim, 60-km bike, and 15-km run Tagaman course in three hours, 15 minutes, and 49 seconds to finish fifth in the open division.

He was 21:24 behind repeat champion Andrew Noble of Australia and 2:06 after South Korea’s Seok-Joo Han in the Open division.

“[Noble and Masayuki Matsumaru] are in another league, there are pros and there are guys who are not pros. The two top guys are out ahead,” said Torgeson, who added Noble and Matsumaru are more than seven minutes ahead of him in the swim.

“Their bikes and run are stronger than mine. So three-out-of-three means they are just better folks.”

Being the top Saipan finisher earned Torgeson a slot in the 28th Kaike Triathlon on July 15 in Japan along with Maimi Shimizu. He also had the second best Pacific Islands Club Double time with 6:33:00.

The winner in the PIC Double is given to the finisher with the best combined XTERRA and Tagaman times.

Torgeson also earned a berth in the 2008 XTERRA World Championships on Oct. 26 in Makena, Maui, Hawaii, after winning the 7th XTERRA Saipan Championships’ 35-39 division on March 8.

“Maui is still a few months away. We are planning to visit the U.S. in September and if we could combine that with the trip to Maui that would be nice to do it. We just need to figure out how to put those two together.”

“Both trips are just weeks apart. I have to add my leaves at the hospital to see if I could extend my vacation. It is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I’ve got to talk to Mieko [Carey] and Florian [Braig] who have been there.

“I would also see how my fitness is going to be once it nears. I don’t want to waste an opportunity to go there and not perform my best. I want to make sure that before I do it I am in good shape to perform. Once I’ve assessed my fitness level then I would make a decision if I am going or not.”
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