Ten Weeks and Counting

Depending on how you look at it, we are about 10 weeks from IM-CDA. Some people are looking at it as 4 more weeks of long rides and runs, not counting the taper weeks. There are a lot of different ways to look at it but the bottom line is,, we are over half way to CDA.

NBC of all networks, had the 70.3 world championships on TV today so I parked my butt in front of the TV and watched it. After seeing the event on TV, I was ready to go out and race. Watching a triathlon for most people would be like watching paint dry or a cake being baked. Not much there in terms of action. For me and most endurance athletes, watching a triathlon is an exercise in training and inspiration. From the broadcast you get to see how the pro's deal with race conditions, how their posture on the bike is and how they run. Inspiration comes from just watching and knowing that it won't be long before I get to do my race. Speaking of races and 70.3, the Galveston 70.3 was last week. There were about 40 T3ers that went down to race. I could not make it and it really bugged the hell out of me that I could not be there. First off, let me say that having the hell bugged out of you is easy to deal with when you are in the Bahamas’, so no tears for me, please. For many weeks I have been training and a race is where you get to put all your training together and see how you are doing. The truly odd part about triathlons is that we train as a team but it is an individual sport. Come race day, the outcome is all yours. (And this is where I stick my big BUT in.) BUT, when you train as a team, there is a huge emotional bond with everyone. You want them to have a good day of racing and you want to be there to cheer them on. I guess that is camaraderie? It was interesting to see all the race reports and experiences that people had. For the most part, everyone had great races. Many people ended up in the med tent getting IV's., some people had GI issues, one person got her feet all cut up during the swim. So, 40 some odd racers, 40 some odd stories. Many of the stories involved interesting circumstances like vomiting, peeing on the bike, belching, and farting. I am not sure what the men had to say.

One other thing about the team, the last few weeks have been amazing in terms of seeing people experience breakthroughs. Many of the team completed their first century ride followed by a 20 mile run the next day. When we first started training, back in January, people looked at the schedule and many stated, "I am not sure I can do this" or "I have never ridden that far, much less follow that up with a 20 mile run the very next day". That is the amazing part of this sport ( and other endeavors) when you see people breaking through boundaries and seeing that , Yes, they can do this. Also, it is very cool to see how people have physically changed. Weight is being lost, muscles are popping up on legs and arms.