56 Reasons I Am Thankful For Triathlon

Hey guys,

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and after all of us have sore legs from running various Turkey Trots all over the nation, as well as sore stomachs from all of our Thanksgiving meals, we take a step back from the world of training, nutrition, gear and racing to give thanks for what we all have. Listed below would be my particular reasons I am thankful for triathlon and all that comes with it, and all that is to come. The reason I choose the number 56, is because it is my favorite number, being the bike distance for the Half-Ironman.

1. I am thankful I can train for a sport I love each and every day
2. I am thankful for each and every single person I have ever met from a race, training session or expo, because each and every triathlete is amazing and have a unique story to tell.
3. I am thankful for my career, working at a triathlon store here in North Carolina.
4. I am thankful for the knowledge I have gained from my experiences, and all of the experience it has brought me.
5. I am thankful for my determination in the sport, and the dedication I show each day.
6. I am thankful for my bicycle, one of my best friends.
7. I am thankful for good running shoes, ones that handle high mileage while giving good support and keeping you injury free.
8. I am thankful for swimming shampoo, for keeping the chlorine smell out of your hair.
9. I am thankful for aerodynamic helmets, because, well they do look awesome in action.
10. I am thankful for water, one of the greatest gifts on Earth, getting us through intense workouts.
11. I am thankful for sweat towels, the towels we all have to bring to trainer sessions so we don't drip sweat all over our bicycles.
12. I am thankful for power meters, because when I get to use them I can see my power output
13. I am thankful for cycling chamois pads, for helping us stand being on a tiny saddle for 6+ hours.
14. I am thankful for my Garmin 810, for providing all of my training metrics on the ride, and directing me to long, far-off places through the GPS.
15. I am thankful for cycling jerseys, both summer and winter, for either keeping us cool and vented in the summer or tight and warm during the winter.
16. I am thankful for running gloves, because they keep our hands and fingers warm during a run, a crucial place to keep warm.
17. I am thankful for swim workouts that include a cool down that is less than 400 yards.
18. I am thankful for cycling bibs, because they make you look cool and are pretty comfortable, too.
19. I am thankful for good movies, because they get us through the long winter trainer rides

Matthew Russel, 2013 IM World Championships

20. I am thankful for a good pair of running shorts, specifically this pair-------------------------------->
21. I am thankful for rubber bands, that keep our bike clips held in place when we mount
22. I am thankful for carbon wheels, because they are oh so nice to look at and they sound really intense when you ride with them. Oh yeah, they make you faster too.
23. I am thankful for compression socks for two reasons: the recovery aspect of them, and the fashion boost too: if you wear shorts + compression socks = pants!
24. I am thankful for ice baths-seriously, I take a lot of them. The benefits are worth the pain
25. I am thankful for heart rate monitors, for giving us good feedback of where we are with training and telling us when we're going too hard/too easy
26. I am thankful for good race swag-whether its a finisher medal, a cool T-shirt, a pair of socks-or anything else unique and good to have
27. I am thankful for my Trigger Point foam roller, it is awesome to be able to massage sore muscles after a hard day
28. I am thankful for the clocks on the pool deck; because they may be very difficult to accept how fast they go, but they help us get faster in the water
29. I am thankful for a good pair of sunglasses, which block out the sun, look cool, and don't fog up in the cold.
30. I am thankful for aero bars, because they add so much speed onto your road bike
31. I am thankful for shaved legs-let's be real guys, you all love keeping your legs shaved as much as the girls do!
32. I am thankful for the awesome bodies we as triathletes develop; lean, mean, strong running machines
33. I am thankful for the good nutrition we get to eat in long training sessions; like GU, Chomps, HAMMER Gels, Clif Bars, Bonk Breakers, and and water!(again)
34. I am thankful for the gear we get to race in that makes us look super cool for the day-spandex speedsuit, compression socks, running shoes, and a visor-and then we go out in public wearing that.
35. I am thankful for bike mechanics at races and at shops all over the world. for keeping our bikes working well and going fast, and fixing any last minute issues on race day.
36. I am thankful for all the volunteers we have each year, for all of the time they sacrifice and hard work they do just so us athletes can have a good day.
37. I am thankful for the race directors and people who work behind the scenes of our races that really make them happen, and, without them, we wouldn't be triathletes.
38. I am thankful for bike fitters, for helping us get the most efficient and comfortable position on the bike
39. I am thankful for events that go towards a fundraising cause, so we can help make a difference
40. I am thankful for physical therapists, for helping us get back on our feet after an injury
41. I am thankful for my chiropractor, who realigns me perfectly every time and has solved my hip issues early this year.
42. I am thankful for nutritionists, for their expertise with helping athletes use nutrition to an advantage
43. I am thankful for EMS personnel, who have helped me when I needed it most.
44. I am thankful for surgeons, who performed my surgery very well and healed me
45. I am thankful for the older triathletes, you guys know, in the 70 year old range and higher? True inspirations to all of us younger people
46. I am thankful for where I live, here in central North Carolina that has such a strong running and triathlon base in this area
47. I am thankful that I have never been hit by a car when riding my bike
48. I am thankful that such a growing year where I learned many life lessons
49. I am thankful for my aunt and uncle, who got me a signed picture from Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee
50. I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given and the experience I have gained
51. I am thankful that I have participated in over 50 events and I never plan on quitting
52. I am thankful that I did better running than years before
53. I am thankful that I have been able to visit the places that I have for racing, because money is tight
54. I am thankful that I discovered trail running this year and that it is amazing
55. I am thankful for my mother, who is the most supportive, understanding, and beautiful woman, inside and out, in the whole entire world. I would not be a triathlete without her, and I owe so much of my experiences to her doing, in triathlon and in life. This is why she is number 55, the second most important thing I am thankful for-because there is one more that I am thankful for, more so:
56. I am thankful, for my life. With so many opportunities to die this year, it is a blessing that I am still here; and so for that, I am thankful.

I want to wish everybody a very Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and spent time with their loved ones. Add anything you would like onto this list by commenting with what you're thankful for in triathlon. But now it is time to get up, climb back onto the training schedule, and start to work off those turkey legs ;)

Happy training!

My First Turkey Trot!

Hey guys,

So, first off, Happy Thanksgiving to all who read this blog. It really is a special blessing for me to be able to write out my thoughts here and people actually read them, so thank you. Second, I have to share my first Turkey Trot experience!

So, I signed up for this 5k last-minute for three reasons: 1. See where I'm at in my training, and adjust accordingly, 2. Possibly win a race with a high number of participants, and 3. Justify the Thanksgiving dinner coming up later on.(But that's the reason really anybody anywhere does a Turkey Trot, right?) Regardless, I just wanted to have a solid performance.

Race morning came, and it came cold. 26 degrees was the temperature we got into the air at, and it was not too pleasant. But, it was good running weather, on the bright side! I went running around for a few extra minutes than my typical warm-up, just to stay warm leading up to the start. After stretches, drills, and strides, I made my way up to the front of the line just 5 minutes before the gun. There were quite a few very fast-looking guys up on the line with me, and I knew it was going to be difficult to win, but I stayed hopeful, and readied myself for a battle.

The gun went off, and we jumped out of the starting chute, quickly forming a pack of 5 runners, all running essentially even paces. Moving away from the MASSIVE group of runners(over 800 participants!) we settled in, trading places as we ran through the very hilly course. After mile 1, myself and the another started to distance ourselves from the group of the remaining three runners, and worked our way up a long hill. It seemed to me that I was the stronger on hills out of we two, but I decided against breaking away from him. We hit the turnaround, and, seeing that the three runners we left behind weren't far behind us, picked up our pace. He started to pull away on a descent, but we turned a corner and saw a very large, long hill ahead of us. I stayed with him, and as we neared the crest I could tell I was fading fast, my hamstrings were burning! So, in a last-ditch effort, I surged ahead and attempted to drop him on the very last stretch of the long, slow climb. I made about 2 yards of ground on him, but he responded aggressively as soon as we reached the flat and dropped me, gaining the 2 yards back and adding some distance in between himself and me. So, I did my best to hold on. The final stretch of the race was a extremely steep hill, and I was gone when I reached it-barely a jog, and, as I deserve, was passed by another runner just 60 meters from the line.

So, in conclusion, a 3rd place overall in a 800+ person race sounds good to me! My time ended up being 18:22, somewhat respectable for such a hilly race. But definitely a fun race, and I'm sure I'll do longer Turkey Trots in the future! Does anybody have a specific race they like to do on Thanksgiving? Let me know!

Happy training, and a Happy Thanksgiving!

That College Thing

Hey guys,

As that time of my life comes around, the junior year of high school, I've been, *ahem* "forced" to start looking into colleges that I plan on applying to. Hopefully I'll be able to major in a sports-related field, like physical therapy, kinesiology, or sports sciences. Now, college is a great thing, as you all know, and is most of the time, the key to success later in life. So, no problems with college, right? Well, apart from the selection process(i.e. stress, additional work, recommendations, and overall leaving your home), there is only one problem that relates to us junior triathletes, and that, is scholarships.

There are many conflicting issues with college triathletes, the biggest of which is that triathlon is not an NCAA sport, and so there are no scholarships at all for it. This is a problem for a couple of reasons; first of which being the obvious, and that is triathletes cannot go to college for the sport of triathlon. More often than not, however, a triathlete may receive a scholarship for an individual sport of the three, swimming, cycling, or running, because of a specialty, which almost every triathlete has. While this seems like not so bad of a option, it can ruin a triathlete's training. For example, I know a former college swimmer who was a triathlete at the time she was swimming for her school. In our conversation, she told me that, due to the high-intensity, fierce competition of college single-sport athletes, she was forced under her scholarship agreement to train almost exclusively in the water, and left her almost no free time to train for running and cycling. That is one way a triathlete is put out of commission, and this may be why our sport has not gathered as much popularity as football, basketball, soccer, etc., because one would have no incentive to start in a sport that has no college offers!

Although, club teams are very well established at some colleges. In my immediate area, I have met athletes from the UNCW Triathlon Club, the NCSU Triathlon Club, ECU Triathlon club, and Duke Triathlon Club. All of these colleges have very interested collegiate athletes, and are the base for triathlon exposure in the college life! Tell me, how many of you have heard of collegiate nationals? Because that is a thing, where college triathlon clubs meet to race against each other and for a national championship. It has many races, including a draft legal race and Olympic distance race as well. But a big obstacle to this event, is funding. Many colleges have issues with finding the appropriate funds to be able to travel to the qualifying events and then to the actual championship, which is yet another hurdle that the athletes have to overcome. You all know triathlon is expensive enough, without all the travel!

So the big picture here is that in order for triathlon to get as big as other sports, like it deserves(because, let's be real here guys, triathlon is awesome), then the NCAA needs to make triathlon a collegiate sport! Bottom line, at the end of the day, that's what needs to happen.

Happy training guys!

Speed Workouts

Hey guys,

So, the time for speed is here! As the 2013 season wraps up with a few last IM races, us sprinters are gearing up for the 2014 races. Earlier this week, I headed out to the track to run some fast 100m sprints, and although they put me deep into the pain cave, it was well worth it-running fast is hard to acheive, but I feel like I'm putting in the work to get there(I'm not a fast runner, you guys know that). But hopefully the economy phase of training can help with our fast-twitch muscle fibers and increase our speed!

When I was on the track I made sure to have someone photograph me, because I really want to emphasize on form this year and ensure I have no debilitating injuries and optomize my performance. Good form is, as you guys know, forward lean, midfoot strike, and relaxed arms. So, I was thinking hard about these concepts during my run to ensure a good mental and physical workout, and I felt very good about it. It is just now three days after the track session, and I am just now starting to feel not sore, which is crazy, but also a great way to start the fast phase of training! I'm very excited for getting faster, and I hope everybody here is too! Put in the work and you'll be rewarded with some PR's and some race wins. What are your favorite track workouts/speed sessions to get faster?

Happy training guys!

Garner Running Club

Hey guys,

Quick update! Just two nights ago, on Thursday night at 6:00, I headed out to the Aversboro Bar and Restaurant to run in the first meeting of the Garner Running Club. This is a great initiative in the Garner community and I believe a lot of people can benefit from it. We met under a red tent set up in the parking lot, and we talked for a few minutes leading up to the run. The first meeting was very well organized, with 3, 4, and 5 mile routes with course maps and directions being held out, as well as mini water bottles for the runners afterward. The 6 o'clock starting time rolled around, and when it did, we all set out. There was around 15 runners who showed up to the inaugural meeting, which I was very impressed with, and it seemed like everyone had a good run. Afterwards, the bar accommodated some of its pricing to the night, and will do so for each run meeting.

So, for my followers who live in the Garner area like I do, the club meets at 6:00 every Thursday night in the Aversboro Bar and Restaurant parking lot. This is a great opportunity to meet some new people and to get the social part of running going for Garner! Hope to see you out there soon!

Happy training guys, hope to see you there!

Beach 2 Battleship Ironman Triathlon

 Hey guys,

So, this past weekend I did the volunteer Ironman. We helped take down expo and set up T2 the night before the race, as well as volunteer from 4am race morning to 12:30am the next day, as the last finisher crossed the line. But, this is a big tribute to my mom, who completed her second Half-Ironman at B2B last weekend. She PR'd by about half an hour, despite a very hard bike and a long run! It was a very special day for both of us, because this would be my first year volunteering without  her, as we have done for the past 5 years. But regardless, I love her and was very proud of her. On the right here, I body marked her. This was my first volunteer station of the day.

 Caussin was also able to come up with us, and we were volunteering at the same places all day long. This is a group shot of all of us at T1, on a very chilly morning! Athletes were coming to us for body marking and we were wearing full wetsuits just to try to stay warm, it was ridiculous. Some athletes even refused to let us mark them, they were so cold! I was even skeptical that athletes were going to enter the water, due to the frigid temperatures. But apparently, the water was about 35 degrees warmer than the air at around 5:30, so they were absolutely fine once they started the swim.

After body marking, Caussin and I moved to the Bike Out portion of the race. Caussin was assigned to keeping track of the racers who left T1, and I worked the bike mount area. This year, we did not have a specific bike mount line, athletes could mount their bikes anywhere on the street, it was all fair game. This did create a few traffic jams, but everyone was OK, with no crashes or tipping over. The big problem with the bike mount was that athletes had to descend a curb to get on the street. Many of the athletes did not account for this, and a lot of bottles were ejecting from rear hydration carriers, which could have created nutrition problems down the road. But luckily for them, I take my job as a professional volunteer very seriously, and I grabbed every bottle that fell out and replaced it in the rear bottle cages for the athletes, saving them time and a big headache during the bike portion of the race. My mom came through in good time, and she looked strong. As she mounted and started on her 56 mile ride, I yelled out "Good luck, mom! I love you!" and a big group of spectators gave a collective "awww", which I found funny.

After all 2,160 athletes made it out across my bike mount "line", Caussin and I were good to go. We left T1, and drove down to the finish line. At this point, the first Half-Ironman had finished, and others were following. Caussin and I jumped onto the finish line chute and were responsible for taking off the chips from the athletes legs. We worked there for around a hour, and then got moved to the first run turnaround of the race. This turnaround was crucial for volunteers to be there, because many athletes were very confused at what to do, and without our help, would not have known where to go. This was a lot of fun for us, and we got a lot of very energetic replies from the athletes. This turnaround was only about a mile into the run, so athletes would joke with us about being halfway there already.

 My mom came through looking strong, although when she got off the bike, she did not look good. The bike passed by where the runners were turning around, so I was able to see her come in, and she looked like she was deep in the pain cave. But she was happy when she got to us, and looked like she was having fun. Now, this volunteer station was in the sun, and we were in the heat of the day. Confusingly enough, I got sunburned from spending 3 hours there! I thought I was going to freeze in the morning, but then I'm roasting in the afternoon. I don't get it.

After we got relieved from that volunteer station, we started our way back to the finish line area. We got stopped by a large family looking for the finish line, and so we gave them the grand tour of the area. We walked them down to the finish line arch, and then went on our own to the refreshment/medical tent. This is where I have the most experience, more than any other volunteer at the race. I've worked in refreshments every year since inauguration, and I know it well. I helped the medical tent get set up by providing some ladles for chicken broth and hot cocoa, and set up a system for different types of pizzas to keep them organized and our volunteer services efficient. I taught some volunteers how to cut the oranges and bananas and how to keep the bins of soda and water fresh, as well as where the ice was to keep the beverages cold. I love working refreshments. Once I got my tent under control and working well, my watch said mother should be finishing soon. Caussin and I worked our way to the finish arch, and waited about 10 minutes, and, right on pace, mom came through! She finished in 7:27:34, which she was happy about. She told us all about her race, and then went to get a massage the race provides for free to athletes. Afterwards, we walked her to the hotel she was staying at, and left her to a shower and a nap. Caussin and I, pro volunteers, returned to refreshments.

At around 11:00, some of our friends who were volunteer coordinators and race directors, offered us the chance to go in the VIP hospitality tent. We definitely accepted, and while we were in there, I was able to chat with my friend Matt Wisthoff, a pro triathlete who got 2nd overall in the half, and who lives down in Wilmington. He's a really cool guy, check out his blog at wistystriblog.blogspot.com/. He's a great guy. But, we didn't stay in VIP hospitality for long, because I had a refreshment tent to keep up and running! We got back to the tent and continued to serve the athletes until the clock struck 17:00:00, the cutoff for the full Ironman. Caussin and I took in all the experiences and atmosphere, and then walked back to our hotel where mom was asleep, and passed out. It was an amazing weekend.

If you guys are looking for inspiration or motivation, and have not volunteered at a triathlon, you have to do so! It really is one of the greatest experiences for those purposes, ever. So go help out with a triathlon, and inspire yourself!

Happy training guys!