So it has officially been about 4 months since my last post, but nothing super exciting has really happened in that time. I have only raced once since that time and it was a smaller Half Marathon located in Bowling Green, KY. My training has been really spotty, but now that the weather has changed, it is starting to look better. But here is my last 4 months in review:
After my really successful 2008 season, I was really excited about my 2009 season, and my first year racing as a professional. I started training for the '09 season in December of 2008 after only taking 1 - 2 weeks of down time after Clearwater. I put in a large amount of training during the winter months and was ready to go in April of 2009. After a disappointing St. Anthony's, I began to question whether I was up to the challenge of racing as a Professional. I doubted my fitness and lost a lot of confidence at that race. I raced for the rest of the season with a little chip on my shoulder. I was stepping on the start line of every race analyzing the field and telling myself who I could beat, and who was just out of my league. When you step on the starting line for the first time against guys like Matt Reed, Andy Potts, and Tim O'Donnell, its hard to tell yourself that you can beat these guys when I had looked up to them for the previous few years as the icons of the sport. Races like Chattanooga and Tri for Sight were fun little races for me to compete in, but still it seemed like I had a lot of pressure on me. I was racing as if everyone in the sport would notice if I didn't race "fast." I did end the season with my best race of the year. I went into Augusta 70.3 with a different attitude. I was to stay relaxed in the swim as opposed to freaking out because I was swimming with "faster" swimmers. I came out of the water not to far behind the main guys and had a pretty solid race overall.
Once the season was over, I took some time off, and when I starting working out again, I wanted to focus on what I really wanted to improve. I felt that I needed to improve my swim and my run so that is all I did leading into December. But once it got really cold, I lost a little motivation and started working out less and less. I finally realized that I needed a break since I had been "training" for almost 2 years straight.
I have had a lot of fun this winter with coaching and training. I would go out for a run, swim, or bike when I wanted to, instead of sticking to a plan. This has helped my mind set for the year and gotten me back to my roots. The first few years I raced, I was a runner that did triathlons. So that is what I've been doing. I have been running more than usual, while also swimming 5 - 6 times a week, and the occasional bike ride. And now that the weather is nice, I have enjoyed going for bike rides. Instead of training because I HAD to, I have been training because I have WANTED to. This makes a world of difference.
I have also started a new job since my last post. I am the Assistant Manager at "Swim Bike Run of KY." I am now finished with my assistant coaching position with Wildcat Aquatics and am solely working at the new tri shop that has opened here in Lexington, KY. This training/retail center is an awesome place. We have a computrainer studio, an endless pool, and a few tready's in the training half of the shop. On the retail side we carry just about anything and everything you would need to do a triathlon. I am grateful for the swim coaching position that Ben Davis gave me, and I developed many life long relationships with him as well as with the swimmers that I coached.
My training is coming around and I am excited about the upcoming season even if I may not be in near as good shape as I was at this point last year. I'm swimming in our home Master's swim meet this weekend and then I'm racing the Heart and Sole Triathlon in Versailles, KY on the 17th of April.
That's it for now. I'll probably watch "The Master's" today and see if Tiger can shoot another amazing round. Then I'll head to the UK baseball game this evening if the weather warms up a little.
Tony
No comments:
Post a Comment