Big Decisions

This was a pic taken up in Canada. I was on a run with Ben (who is Ben you ask?) and I saw this giant log thing and realized that it looked like the worlds largest turtle! It really looked like it might get up and walk off at any moment.


So this last week was filled with a few big decisions. The first being the Supreme Courts ruling in California on gay marriage. I am not going to get into that now but will later as the whole thing is more complex than it appears and I want to spell it out with all the facts. The second is related to my triathlon life. I decided that I am going to race one more year as an age grouper and have given up my pro card.

This was a decision that I was thinking about for the past few weeks. I talked to a few friends around here that I trust and it seems that everyone was in favor of me switching back. With the injury I faced this last year I don't think I am ready to step it up a notch just yet. I may still make the gains that I want to this year but I think that it would be a lot harder with the added pressure of racing pro. Even though racing "pro" is in some ways just a "classification" I still found that there are pressures around it that I really don't need right now.

I do eventually want to race pro but only when I am confident that I can race at that level. I see a lot of guys out there that have the talent but don't cut the mustard when it comes to results. Having a year like that will not benefit a guy like me. Gordo and I talked allot about the "enjoyment factor" and I realized that I wasn't enjoying what I was doing as much anymore. I think it came from this feeling that if I raced pro I was going to have to be spot on every time I came to the line. Granted, that is based alot on just worrying what other people think and maybe that is the case. I just don't want to go to a race as a pro and finish 3rd in my age. I think that's silly. But that's just me.

What I want to focus on now is having a solid year so that I do make even more gains that allow me to have the confidence to race pro. Part of that is going to be having an injury free year. So far we are still on track. If I raced pro I think I may have felt the need to rush things and that might put me back to square one with my foot. In the age group field I can relax a bit and go at my own pace. Besides, there are PLENTY of awesome age group athletes that make the field pretty damn competitive!

Some may ask how I was able to have a pro card and go back to age group this year. The simple answer is that I haven't raced yet. I never raced pro in 08 and called USAT to make sure all this was kosher and have been cleared etc.

With the switch back I also found some fire starting around an Ironman. I clearly don't have the fitness right now to do an Ironman anytime soon but as my body becomes stronger and the injury, plantar faciitis (AKA Schizophrenia of the foot) goes away, I think I would like to get a Hawaii slot and build up for it later in the year. I'm not totally sold on the idea yet but I will take my slot if I get it in Honu or anywhere else. I just love that race and had a blast last year. Having another crack at it as an age grouper seems like a great challenge to me. I was 97th overall last year so 75th seems like a nice target :-)

Training is going well and I just had a test on the bike over at Gordo's "Endurance Corner Lab". I showed signs of improvement and have actually found the testing to be helpful. I was such a skeptic before and really had no interest in it. But now I quite like it and enjoy using my power meter and dare I say heart rate monitor a bit. If anything I think it is fun to go in the lab and try and beat your last test or show that the bod is more efficient. Matt Steinmetz does the test and is really good at getting you to give it towards the end when it gets hard. And yes, this is a blatant plug for Endurance Corner! Those guys have been really good to me from the start and they have a good little show going on over there.

Well I am now a few days out of leaving for paradise to go race Honu. Lots of great friends racing from all over the world and Ben! "Whose Ben?"

Cheers,
bdc