It's Official!! First 2013 Race Entry

Inspiration and Recovery

One of the things I am thankful for is that in 2010, when I completed my first Half Ironman, I was able to attend two meetings where World Champions Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington spoke. If you ever had the opportunity to hear either of them you know at least part of their success is due to the strength of their characters. I cannot think of two more worthy World Champions in any sport. At the time, in the immediate afterglow of finishing my first 70.3, these events motivated me to continue with my own journey.

I recently had the opportunity to hear Craig Alexander again at Runners High and Tri in a Q&A format moderated by Ironman legend Dave Scott. One of the points Crowie made was that we get older our endurance improves but we need to pay much closer attention to Recovery and intensity. I know that I often barely get my scheduled workout in at 5AM, then ignore my stretching and Recovery in my haste to catch the commuter train. So this year I intend to focus more on these intangibles that I know are important. If you are smart about your "Recovery Window" it can really help. To date, I have been more the 5 hours of sleep, eat on the run, don't stretch kind of athlete. And it shows. The schwag bag had a bottle of Core Power, a protein drink formerly known as Athlete's Honey Milk. Apparently, with his super high metabolism and large training volumes, Crowie was always hungry. He used to try to eat bowls of cereal but found that several Core Power bottles daily not only helped take the edge off his hunger but more importantly got him the right nutrients to recover properly and help the body build lean muscle. This is especially important for Long Course triathletes and runners doing over 90 minutes of exercise, as they have depleted their on-board glycogen stores. I will definitely be trying Core Power in the Out Season as part of improving my nutrition and recovery.

A 2 Man Team with more Heart than the whole NFL

"It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or the doer of deeds could have them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the Arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but he who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great devotion; who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who know neither victory nor defeat." -- Teddy Roosevelt

I love this video. As any Back-of-the-Packer knows, triathlon is about victory over yourself. No matter where you start, you can get better and anything is possible. If you have ever been at an Ironman Finish Line as the Midnight cutoff approaches and seen the incredible lovefest between those BOP finishers and their fellow competitors who finished hours ago and have already showered, eaten and come back to the finish to cheer them in then you will know what I mean.  There is just as much human drama, if not more, at this tail end. This is what makes Sport special. But you have to get off the couch yourself and get on the field of battle. Over the next year I intend to make that effort to get better. Tune in for the journey.

A One Year Project

How fitting that I am creating this blog as our Family watches the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

This blog will follow my progress as I attempt to move from the back-of-pack to middle-of-pack for the 2013 Long Course triathlon season. As a two-time finisher of Ironman 70.3 events, I am done with the "just finish" stage and I want to really develop my skills for 2013. At my age (54) I figure I need to be able to finish in about 6:30 to do that, which is a real stretch goal for me, but doable.

In my favor I have a couple years of experience, great coaches and teammates and a supportive family. On the downside, I have been fighting a hip/back injury the last 18 months incurred from snow shoveling. I also am too heavy. So my first tasks are to get me injury addressed and lose some weight and regain my fitness in preparation for OutSeason training this winter.

This year I am going to stop trying to do it my way and listen to my coaches, and see where it takes me.

My goal is to make triathlon a lifestyle and continue to do it another decade. I really love the sport, even the training. I would love to try Oceanside70.3, Hawaii70.3, Boulder70.3 and Galway70.3 as Bucket List races. Maybe even an Ironman someday. But to be truly fun, I need to get better. Not necessarily good enough for a slot to the Las Vegas 70.3 World Championship. Just up to my personal potential and middle of my Age Group. Follow along as I give it a serious try. My A race is next July 2013, so I have a year.