I can probably say it has been a "minute" since my last post, but that is a bit of an understatement. I haven't put one up since April of 2010, a mere 10 months ago. I've had alot of stuff happen to me since then, so I'll fill you in on a few of the key events of the last ten months.
After getting smoked in April at Collegiate Nationals in Texas, things were really put into perspective. I was a wanna-be triathlete in a world full of fast swimmers, bikers, and especially runners. So I started training more consistently, got myself back in shape for the summer, and had a few strong races in Olympic Distance Tri's. Then I went away for four weeks to an Army ROTC training camp in Fort Knox, Kentucky. At one point after hurting my shoulder in an obstacle course, I wanted to quit the program, fly home, and get back to triathlon training. I hated it. Five hours of sleep per night, meals out of a bomb-proof bag that were packed in the 1990's, and no time for swimming, biking, and running. I guess you can say it was good for heat-acclimation because it was about 100 degrees and 95% humidity every single day. After four long weeks, I completed the training camp and my parents flew down for the graduation. The next day I finally got to go home. Leaving Fort Knox was probably one of the happiest days of my life.
So I was out of the triathlon/regular life scene for all of July, so I had some catching up to do. So I headed out west with my cousin on a 3 day road trip to my Grandpa's house in Colorado and got in some serious high altitude training. I did a Sprint Tri in Aspen (Lance Armstrong was a no show), rode up some monstrous passes, went through some canyons, and did an 18 mile run, the longest of my life. I flew back home and then the next week I raced in my first half-ironman - Timberman 70.3 in New Hampshire.
I had no idea what type of race to expect because I had only been training again for a few week, but once I got going I felt awesome. I cruised the 1.2 mile swim, and just kept it strong for 2 1/2 hours on the bike, most of it all by myself. My goal was anywhere around the 5 1/2 hour range to 5 hours, and I held a pace fast enough to go 4:53 for 277th place out of a couple thousand. I loved every second of it. The legs didn't like the 13.1 mile run at the end, but they held up for me. Must have been the altitude training.
I came back to school at Bryant for my junior year, and picked right back up with swim season and Army ROTC. I have been keeping busy to say the least. Now with swim season in the books and warm weather hopefully approaching, my focus is back on that tri scene. I am racing in the Clermont Draft Legal Challenge in Florida in two weeks at the start of my spring break, and staying down there for a week to get in some warm-weather training/chaying/relaxing. I'll probably get smoked after the swim, so I'm not looking for any big performances out of myself other than to not crash on the bike.
I've got a long season ahead of me, but this is my third year in the sport, and the first time I've received any formal coaching. This is probably the best shape I've been in at this point in the year, so who knows what will happen. The key is staying healthy. See ya at the finish line.
