Well its about 430 in the afternoon, I am back in Rochester hanging out at my favorite Starbucks. As I sit here, beside a girl who is studying for the CPA exam, I think about how lucky I am to have that chapter of my life behind me. How absolutely wonderful it is to have the ability to do what I want to do on my own time. Passing the CPA exam was one of the most grueling things I have ever had to do. It consumed my life, kind of like the new thing I am into......triathlon. Funny how we as humans, well at least for me that I am constantly looking for things to test my limits, to take me to breaking points and see if I can succeed. I guess the biggest difference is that the CPA exam was a necessity to take and pass, triathlon is a passion that I do for fun. I enjoy the work, training, the planning. In short, everything that I have seen and been exposed to in the sport of Triathlon I have loved and subsequently it has left me craving for more. So for everyone who wants to ask the question "Why do you do Triathlon?" I think I may have some sort of an answer...I believe that my answer will be an on-going one throughout my life but as of now I would say that I do triathlon because on race day whether your result is as expected, above expectations, or below....it feeds the desire to do it over again. Training for triathlon is a process. Each individual sport has a "natural" aspect to it. A person can be a natural swimmer and swim 2.4 miles in under an hour with minimal preparation, A person can be a natural cyclist and just really take to the road (obviously time on the road will make you a better cyclist) but in general a person who naturally enjoys mashing pedals will probably perform at a higher level then someone who is just "putting in the time." The mental game in an endurance sport like Triathlon is soooo huge...you really have to enjoy being out on the road or on a trainer for hours of time. So like I said someone can naturally take to cycling and really get a kick out of it...and likewise a person can be a natural runner. For whatever reason this person was blessed with proper form, quick and nimble feet, iron lungs, etc..etc..There is a reason why Mr. Bolt runs the way he does. He was born to run, his body was meant to move fast, he was groomed from day one to do what he does. Thus, in each aspect of the sport of Triathlon a "natural" aspect plays a role. However, the great equalizer in Triathlon is that all these sports must be done on the same day, one after another. You can even be good at all 3 but if you do not have the right mind set, the right approach...you might as well cash in your chips and call it a day. A lot of games can be played in your head over the span of 8-12 hours under the sun (or rain if its crappy out). Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, my answer to why I TRI? Well in a condensed answer I would say because after each race (good or bad) there is a reason to train harder and longer, whether it be to improve on a poor performance, or to take it to another level and drop into the sub 10, sub 9, or in the half the sub 5, sub 4:30...GET TO KONA...etc etc...so thats why I TRI..because for better or worse theres always something else...something more...something out there within reach. All it takes is work, dedication, drive, support!
Well I think that at this point I have a good segway into my original blog idea for the day. I wanted to take a minute and reflect on the day I had today. It was AWESOME. As usual I was very excited to be visiting TRI SPOT in buffalo to do a 20 minute TT and get some video shots of my running and swimming (which was done in an endless pool...SOOO FREAKING COOL) If I only had about 60k to blow on one of those! I don't think it would fit in my apartment though :( Well, my day began early as usual. I was up and out of bed around 4:45. I intended to sleep longer but once I wake up I might just as well get out of bed. I can never seem to get back to sleep, especially when I have a big day coming up and I'm already super energized. So I got up, had some coffee, some yogurt and ezekiel cereal, watched the final episode of Monk on Hulu (Tear...I loved that show!) and then started to pack my things. I ended up taking off around 6:30, with one stop at Wegmans for a protein bad and water I was off. I cruised on into buffalo and settled into Tim Horton's around 7:30, did some writing in my moleskin, had a spot of coffee and ate my protein bar, then headed to TRI SPOT at 8:30 to get set up so I'd be ready to roll when everyone started to arrive. As I entered TRI SPOT I felt like I kid in a candy shop. It is probably the coolest place for a triathlete to be if they can't be outside. I mean this place has like 10 computrainers all hooked up to one big screen tv, a HUGE endless pool to swim in, multiple tredmills, NEWTONS! and various other running shoes, gadgets, nutrition, hydration, etc...etc...and oh yeah it has a few bikes...and by a few I mean quite a bit, but no TREK's (this was the only disappointment in my mind, I am a Trek man through and through..there's no denying that and unless someone wants to sponsor me and provide me with a free bike I am sticking to my guns and rocking Trek's..just like my man LANCE!) btw...have you all seen the new 2010 Madone for Team Radio Shack??? Well if not here it is -->
Pretty nifty in my opinion. But not as nifty as this little guy that's currently being driven by Chris Lieto and won't be available to us lowly Age Groupers until 2011...Ladies and Gentlemen please refrain from drooling and if you get excited easily please brace yourself..this thing is SMOKING HOT!
Where was I?.....Well after my initial excitement of seeing TRI SPOT for the first time I finally settled in and put myself together. The Mellow Johnnys Kit was being rocked and my bike was mounted. Around 9:30 the rest of Group 1 had arrived, some I knew..others I didn't. However all were fellow teammates and super cool. I am extremely lucky to have found such a great group of people to share my passion with. Each and everyone I have met so far has been so nice to me. I cannot thank my friend Jay enough for getting me in touch with my Coach. And I cannot thank Mary (the coach) enough for taking me on. Mary has begun to show me the ropes, Mary and I have plans, goals if you will. We both expect big things from ourselves. I know that I will be turning to her a lot in the coming years and I hope that I can provide her with the additional support that we all need. And the same goes to all the new teammates I have. These teammates are the people who I spend my mornings with at the pool, the people who I will run in the snow with this winter, the people who I will mash pedals with indoors and on the road, they will be the runs wearing the same kits on race day. No matter how I feel coming into a race or during a race, I know for a fact that when I see a fellow Royal and Green wearing TRAIN THIS TEAMMATE I am going to get a boost of energy..a little extra kick! If I run by someone, or they run be me you can guarantee that I am going to high five the hell out of the and give em a rousing cheer! So off we went, my 8 new friends and I on a 20 minute journey that was being shown live via the big screen. Wattage, speed, averages, placing, even a little chart that showed who was in the lead (like those things at the fair where you spray water at the little red dot and try to get your fire truck to the other end the fastest)..yeah it was like that. VERY COOL! The time came and went. I had no expectations as this was my first foray into the 20minTT on a computrainer. I ended up averaging around 310watts. I do not really know what that means because I have yet to train with power (fingers are crossed that a powertap will be coming my way) Anyway, since I weigh about 148 to 150 I am told this is a decent starting place. I can only hope to crank this number up in the coming months. So for now I am very very excited! Later in the day in another group fellow Teammate CUSE TRI blew me out of the water averaging in the neighborhood of 350watts...WHAT AN ANIMAL! As for the rest of the day I enjoyed a nice swim in the endless pool where Mary was able to take some underwater footage of my stroke, then I hopped on the treadmill to get some run footage. It's really great to have all these tools and knowledge around. It can only make benefit the team. We are going to be one monster machine. People will definitely have to recognize when Team TRAIN THIS shows up! Were coming to dominate, and be nice and have a crazy good time while doing it. hahaha...
So that about sums it up, I was able to do all these things this morning..it was fantastic. I was even able to pay for a new hydration fuel belt, the helium (wicked cool!) How was I able to pay for this you ask? Well my extremely wonderful mother gave me a big jar of coins that she found when she was cleaning the house. I took the jar to the Wegman's Coinstar and low and behold came away with over $60 dollars!! What a mom!
This bike is awesome....
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