It's Time to Renew My Old Addiction: Triathlon

I haven't raced a triathlon since Ironman St George in 2010.

Weird.

Especially considering it was such a huge part of my life for 10+ years prior to that.

I guess I just got burned out after training so much in the 9 months leading up to that race, and I needed a break after. A change of pace is good for a person, right?

Well, if you follow my blog or Facebook or Instagram, you probably know I've filled the hole with golf.

A lot of golf. (see posts here, here, here, here, here, and here)

Yes, I consider myself a pretty decent golfer now, and I'm proud of that fact.

I enjoy playing, especially with my friends. But I worry because I'm starting to get the classic golfer belly.
Not too bad, but more than I want. I'd like to get that triathlon body back, and I think it'll improve my golf game if I'm in better shape, too.

I'll be stronger, more flexible, and I won't be sucking wind when it's a hilly course or I play 36 holes in a single day (yes, I've done that, and yes, I recognize it's excessive).

So as part of my rehab from the torn Achilles last year, I have been swimming and biking, and I'm slowly getting my jogging back to a level where I'll be able to run the 5K necessary to at least finish a sprint tri later this year.

I'd been hoping to prep for TriUtah's Jordanelle race, as it was always one of my favorites back when I lived in Utah previous to heading to DC, but it's more likely that I could prep for Ogden Valley on Sept 14th.

Fortunately, I also loved Ogden Valley, so it'd be a great return-to-triathlon race. Even though the distances are a little longer than a standard sprint, including a 4-mile run which will test me.

But if we don't push ourselves, and we don't try, then we can't succeed. So that's my goal.

Happy training and I'll keep you all posted on my progress!

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Metallica Monday: Fuel

The saga of my healing from a torn Achilles tendon continues...

My doc and the PT cleared me just this month to begin doing workouts again, and it's been awesome.

Not working out was driving me absolutely crazy, so I've loved getting back to the gym.

Mainly I've been swimming and biking, and this week I've done a little on the elliptical.

And those sweet, sweet endorphins just keep fueling my fire to want to get back in shape for races and triathlons this summer, and to drop all the unwanted pounds I've put on both before and after the injury.

Which is why today's Metallica Monday song is none other than:

Fuel

If that video and song doesn't get you pumped up, I don't know what will.

So what fuels you?

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Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride

No, not me.

But thanks for your concern, Mom and Grandma.

I was thinking about sports stars that were overshadowed by someone just a little bit better.
If not for the super-star, these guys would have owned their era, winning championships or tournaments or races all along the way. And their names would be the ones synonymous with excellence.
Note: I'm not saying they aren't champions; they just didn't get the glory they would have received if not for their contemporary.

Here are a couple I've identified [tormentor in brackets]:

Karl Malone & John Stockton [Michael Jordan & Scottie Pippen]
The Utah Jazz stars played over 1,400 regular-season games together and went to the NBA Finals in two consecutive years. Unfortunately, Jordan and Pippen were waiting for them both times, and the pick-and-roll just wasn't enough to steal that elusive championship ring from the Bulls' clutches.

Jan Ullrich [Lance Armstrong]
Everyone knows who Lance Armstrong is. Pretty much only cyclists and cycling fans know who Jan Ullrich is. That's because Jan only won the Tour de France once (1997) prior to Lance taking the cycling world by storm and finishing in the yellow jersey 7 times in a row (1999-2005).

Phil Mickelson [Tiger Woods]
Yes, Phil has had a whole lot of success in his career, and he isn't done yet. Their rivalry has defined an era in golf, with most people remembering Tiger's ability to finish tournaments. On the flip side, Phil too often let leads slip away late in the weekend. Time remains for Phil to catch up, but at present Phil has 4 Major championships to Tiger's 14. Better get on it, Lefty.

Boston Red Sox [New York Yankees]
I have love for both teams, but you have to admit the Yankees have had more success when it really matters: the post-season and especially the World Series. Prior to Schilling's bloody sock in 2004, the Sox suffered an 86-year championship draught, during which the Bronx Bombers won 26 titles. Ouch.

Cameron Brown [Tim DeBoom & Peter Reid]
Outside of triathlete circles, not many people know of Cameron. At the Ironman Championships in Kona, HI, he took top 3 in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005, as well as two other top-10 finishes, but was never able to cross that line first. To his credit, Cameron has dominated Ironman New Zealand with 10 wins and 2 second-place finishes from 2000-2011.

All these poor guys/teams sadly had their incredible careers which happened to coincide with other guys/teams at a slightly higher peak. We still applaud their skills and accomplishments, but the rivalry didn't come out in their favor. Tough break, but that's the way sports are.

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Runners Crawling to the Finish Line

On Tuesday, Christian Bergeron, a cross country runner in Lousiana, showed some serious guts and determination in finishing his final high school race. He was in 13th place and only 25 yards from the finish line. Then his legs gave out.

Dehydration robbed him of his ability to physically function. After multiple attempts at standing up and finishing, he crawled across the line and into his brother's arms. Here's a local TV station's recap:

If you've never seen the following videos from some of the Ironman championship races, they are incredible. These are finely-tuned athletes, who do their best to optimize performance through training and nutrition over months and years. But sometimes their tanks just get down to zero.

Wondering about that "spirit of Julie Moss" mentioned at the end of that clip? Here's her finish in 1982.

As heart-breaking as these clips are to watch, I'm inspired by their desire to finish and how nothing, not even the inability to put one foot in front of the other, was going to stop them from crossing that finish line.

I honestly get choked up every time I revisit these.
Man, I love sports.

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