Opportunities

Wow a lot has happened since my last post. The most significant of which is the news that I will be representing the USA at the Sprint World Championships in Hamburg, Germany! It's a nondrafting sprint distance race held as part of the age group world championships. They just shortened the distance for the younger guys to race. It's different then the Junior ITU World Championships which is draft legal and will probably be MUCH more competitive. I'm pretty psyched nonetheless. Me and a buddy from San Antonio are going to be traveling together and will get to spend about a week there. The race is on September 2nd and we will get to watch all the other pro's, junior, age groupers, and the like race the whole weekend. It will be tight.

I'm leaving this Friday for Colorado to race the USAT Junior ITU Nationals. Should be interesting. I was waylaid with a sinus infection of some sorts last weekend and spent three days doing absolutely NOTHING. I've been on antibiotics and am getting better but my 5k I did this morning left much to be desired. Oh well. Just trying to get enough sleep and stay as healthy as possible. Looking forward to a good few weeks of training before Germany.

Back in the game

Well since the last update I've been able to get back into the swing of triathlon things. The week of July 4th saw me down in San Antonio, Tx for a skills camp. It was great. Only 10 athletes, 6 Mexicans, 4 Americans. (Or as the Mexicans DID insist "gringos") We got a bunch of testing done. VO2 max on bike and run, bike power testing, hydrastatic weighing, videotaping, and a lot of technique adjustment.



I now officially have a coach. Shelly, the lady that headed the whole camp is getting together a junior team that I've opted to join. It's gonna be a blast. So far it's a lot of drills. Swim, bike, run, all drills. But if that's what I need then ok. That and pilates. Oh my gosh pilates sucks. The first class I did last Thursday had my abs and core shaking uncontrollably, it's actually strangely relaxing though. I am kinda looking forward to doing more classes.



I've finally been able to do some races. Last week everyone in the camp did a small race in San Antonio. I was 4th overall, getting beat by two guys from camp and another guy by less then 5 sec. It was a pool swim so you couldn't tell where you were in relation to your competition. That and my legs were tight and sore from all the testing and training the week before. Today was the Junior ITU with the Ironhead Dallas triathlon. Good race. There were only 3 guys in my age group and 8 junior/youth/male/females overall but it was fun. I was 3rd out of the swim but caught the lead girl within 3 miles. (she had swam a freakin 8:somethin for 750m!) after that there wasn't much drafting for me. Just put the head down and go. Everyone else got together and were pacelining but I still put about 5 min on them. Avg speed for the 20k was 24 mph. Run was steady and nothing to boast about but I wasn't in danger of losing so I didn't worry about going all out. Got a medal and a nice running shirt. Hey it's all about the swag right?



Next week will see me doing some crit racing out in Lufkin then a weekend off, a 5k on August 5th and Nationals the week after that. I'm looking forward to some good training and some good times at Nationals.

Camp Pics:

Too Long

Good lord its been too long. Over 2 months since I did my last triathlon at the Playtri Olympic. And it's the end of FREAKIN JUNE ! Over 2 months since I've had to struggle against the iron grip of my horrendously strong neoprene friend. 2 months since my saddle came loose on the bike leaving me slipping and sliding around, just trying to hold on. 2 months since I've fought that feeling of utter fatigue as you draw close to the finish line, not sure if you're going to have enough energy to hold on or even increase your speed. Then right as you cross the line you give up and succumb to the blissful agony, weave towards the water bottles, and try to find a spot not crammed with people just, in case, you do throw up.

In that time I've purchased new race wheels, not Zipp's by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely light, aero, and you can pump em up to 160 psi. I've got a new bike, again not complete top of the line but then again I'm not Daddy Warbucks am I? It's nice though. The Cervelo P2SL, it's a beauty. Light and fast. I love it. New racing flats, new helmet, new bike gear, heck even a new RED speedo. And still I haven't raced. Sigh. 2 whole months

Randomness

Catcall count- 3 honks, 2 yells. All during a very short and enjoyable 80 min run yesterday. True I didn't have a shirt but jeez... I didn't know I was that hot. Its obviously summer here in Texas. The teenage girls are out in droves honking and yelling at the runners and bikers as go about their regular training. Where were they 6 months ago when I was doing long runs in 30 degree temps with freezing run coming down in droves? Of course I did have a shirt on then.

After an enjoyable weekend my cousins just left this morning. We spent the entire 2 1/2 days playing games together, just as we always do when my dads side of the family gets together. My oldest cousin leaves for West Point in 7 days. It's fulfilling like a 4 year dream for him. Good luck oh cousin of mine, class of 2011!

I had no idea

village burning


















1 year old girls bullet wound.

How can it be that me, a totally hip, in the loop, up on current events kind of person had no idea that there was genocide taking place in this world, today? And that it has been going on for a couple years. Where is all the new coverage on this? Every day I glance at the paper I see something about Iraq, the horrible job the president is doing, the growing obesity problem, the upcoming presidential race, blah blah-blah blah blah. Same old same old. Maybe I'm just so out of it that I have failed to notice. Maybe.


Darfur, Sudan. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has declared the situation in Darfur a genocide since 2004. Over 300,000 people have been killed, 1,600 villages burned, and 2,500,000 people have been driven from their homes. Yes I got that number of zero's right. Google Earth has teamed with the USHMM to raise money and awareness for it. Google Earth is free, I highly advise everyone to download it, scroll over to Africa, you'll see the orange highlighted country of Sudan. Unbelievable to realize some of the things that still go on in our world today.

Hy-Vee

Ok so I will post a blog about my canoe trip to Canada when I have the time but for now let me mention the fact that today the top pro athletes from around the world will gather together to vie for the largest prize purse in triathlon history. At approximately 1:30 this afternoon the gun will go off and competitors at the Hy-Vee BG ITU World Cup will compete for $700,000 in purse and prizes. SEVEN HUNDRED FREAKIN THOUSAND!!!! Thats a lot of freaking dough. Age groupers are currently racing right now and the Juniors and Youth Elite raced last night. Holy crap some of those kids my age are fast. Take in mind that they are actually doing like a 14.1 mile bike as opposed to what should really be a 20k.



As far as the pro's go people like Hunter Kemper, Andy Potts, Brad Kahlfeldt, Javier Gomez, Tim Don, Emma Snowsill, Debbie Tanner, Andrea Hewitt, and Michelle Dillon to name a few will all be there. The pro women start at like 1:00 pm or so and the pro men at 4:00 pm CST. You can check out live coverage on tricast. It's goin down for sure.

My Greatest Accomplishment

In my life I like to rank the things I am most proud of in terms of their level of difficulty. The more difficult something is to do, will, in general place it higher on my list. Well last night I attained the crowning achievement (to date) of my short but ever so fulfilling life. Ever since that blessed/cursed day on December 10th, 2005 when I completed the White Rock Marathon, (my first and ONLY marathon to date) I have always said that running THAT marathon was the hardest thing I had ever done in my entire life. Because of this it has also been the thing I am most proud of. The perseverance and pain it took to put in the long hours of training and to keep going those last 3 miles when ever step sent a jolt of pain up my left leg are exactly what made it worthwhile. See nothing that is worth anything comes without a price. And yes you can quote me on that.

In hindsight it was a dumb idea to do that marathon. I know it now. I was only 16 and didn't decide to do until what? Less then two months out I think? But hindsight is 20/20 and the self confidence that race gave me is irreplaceable. It's not the confidence of having others admire my achievement. I don't crave the recognition of others. Its meaningless to me. No one who has ever done a marathon can truly appreciate the significance of that achievement. There is a saying that goes- "Trying to explain a marathon to someone who has never done one is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind." How poignant, how true. Sure people can be impressed but they don't REALLY KNOW. And that's alright with me. Because its not what others think that matters, it's what I know, in my heart. I know that I had to dig deeper in that race then ever before. Never before have I had to so totally commit to something. Never has perseverance been so real. Never have I been challenged on so many levels. Until now.

Now I consider the marathon my second greatest achievement. The hardest thing I have ever done in my life was achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. And last night, at 8:44 P.M, in a small room in the reference section of Richardson Public Library, I achieved that goal. It took me over 7 years. It wasn't easy, I thought of quitting so many times. The amount of work it took was and is staggering to look at. But just like a marathon you can't look at it all at once. It's to big. And so instead you break it into small bits and pieces. "Just get to this next aid station," "just finish this last merit badge." Baby steps. That's what it takes. Oh sure, I struggled, stumbled, hurt. But somehow I knew, that after completing a marathon, a FREAKIN MARATHON! I couldn't give up. If I could do a marathon, then I could get eagle. I just had to remember that, and keep pressing forward.

Eagle Scout is something no one can take away. Just like a marathon. It's done. Finished. Over. But the self confidence, the pride that it gives me will stay forever. This badge-

can never be taken away. And I will wear it proudly, try to do it justification, for the rest of my life.

"There will be days I know I can't run a marathon, there will be a lifetime knowing that I have." - Anonymous