Swim Bike Run Live

Three Things Thursday: Fox – Clocks – Knox

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Blogging has been light lately, but except for a few hiccups, training has been solid.  Coach Hirsch is happy with the work that I’ve done, and that makes me happy. Plenty of serious and steady training all the way back to mid-December.

I think I’m in the best swim/bike shape that I’ve ever been in at this point in the season. The run? Meh. We’ll see if I can pull that together, but it is definitely coming along. Race season is coming up quickly and that is the true test of my training after all. In lieu of actual real SwimBikeRun updates, here are three random thoughts.

 

• I was out doing a BRick on Sunday  (2hr bike/:30 run) and passed a fox. Random wildlife spottings in the ‘burbs aren’t that uncommon, but this guy was just strolling down the sidewalk like he was someone’s dog that got off his leash. I didn’t even realize that he wasn’t just a small dog until I passed him. A few cars stopped next to me and we gave each other “WTF?!” looks, smiled and kept going. I considered turning back around to grab a pic, but I figured that chasing down a fox probably wasn’t a good idea. It almost makes me wish I wasn’t an adult who thought ideas all the way through to their probably conclusions and just acted on them sometimes. But I am, so you don’t get a picture of the fox. I’m sorry for both of us.

 

• Trying to qualify for Age Group Nationals is frustrating, terrifying and intimidating. Earning my spot is just as much about who shows up for the race as it is my own performance. If one super speedy dude shows up, I’ve got no chance of qualifying that day. And if less than 20 guys between 25 and 29 start the race, I’ve got to win my AG. Period. That puts a LOT of pressure on something that I don’t have a lot of control over. I found myself digging through old race results to see what sort of competition there was last year and ended up in a gigantic mind fuck. To the point where I’m questioning why I was doing it, if it was realistic, if I have what it takes, if I can do it all and still have fun…. everything. I’ve been focusing on staying cool about this whole thing is a challenge, but I’m making a big effort to make sure my qualifying efforts to suck all the fun out of my racing this year. I’m just going to focus on what I have control over, give it my all, race the clock, smile big and see what happens.

Photo Credit: Eric Willis

• Rev3 Knoxville is this weekend and I’m not happy about not being there. The Rev3 team and athletes have become like my extended family over the past 4 years and missing out a race and a chance to hang with a bunch of them at once is like having your whole family go on vacation and leaving you behind.  I did the Knox Oly 2 years ago and had a blast. One of these years I’ll make it there. Unfortunately budget and timing just weren’t working in my favor this year. The pro field may be one of the best they’ve had. Richie Cunningham has been killing it lately, but he’ll have to fend off Matty Reed, Cameron Dye, Greg Bennett and a mess of other top pro men. The women’s field is solid too. It’ll all be fun to watch over at http://rev3tri.com/live/ on Sunday. It’ll be the best I can get w/o actually being there.

Photo Credit: Eric Willis

Category : Triathlon

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