Blogging, huh? I guess now is as good of time as ever. Considering that I work in the online realm I feel like maybe I should have got to this a bit earlier. Whats that saying? "Better late, then never." Well I don't believe in that. Always be on time.
Anyway, this is going to be me introducing my self. How...narcissistic. But I guess that's what this is all about. Go me!
I hope to accomplish a few things with this little bit of bandwidth I've laid claim to. The first would be to give you (Yes, you. I'm talking specifically to you.) a glimpse into what the life of an aspiring pro triathlete looks like (Surprise! I want to be a pro. Just like 24982408 other people.). Be it training, racing, food, sleeping...well, I guess thats about all I do. Secondly, I promise to be a bit entertaining along the way as well. Or, I'll at least try so that you're either laughing with me or at me. Either way is good. I like to laugh.
A bit about me and how I got here (Blogging. Who would have thought?). I've been an athlete my entire life (I'm 28). My father always told me that I learned to swim before I learned to walk so triathlon seems like a good fit, right? More on that in a few minutes. I grew up playing team sports - soccer, basketball. Well, I guess just soccer and basketball. From 5th grade until about 11th grade (not kidding) I thought I was going to play in the NBA. As in, the National Basketball Association. While I was a more than respectable basketball player, I didnt exactly have the height (I'm just over 6') nor could I jump over small children lined up six feet deep. I was good enough to play ball in college and get most of my school paid for so all those hours in the gym weren't a complete waste. Basketball and everything that comes with it has taught me a lot. Teamwork, hard work, how to make and realize goals (except the NBA...I tried, I really did.), etc. I'd never trade all those years but by the time college ended, I was burned out on ball and certainly had no interest in trying to make any more of it after. Upon graduating, I moved to NYC via Argos, Indiana. (Google it. Its a real place. We have a McDonalds and a stop light. Its pretty swell. Moving on...) I started working and became a bit lazy, I guess. That didnt last long so I decided to buy a bike. Turns out I really liked riding that bike and grew up around the water but actually hated running. Signed up for a sprint with little to no run training, hardly any swimming and what I thought was "a lot of biking". Seemed like a good idea! "This should be fun!" After almost calling it quits in the water, going crazy hard on the bike (relative to my fitness) and then burning out on the run, I was hooked! And when I get hooked to something (a la the NBA) I typically fall in head first and then continue digging once I've fallen in. Tried to figure this whole endurance thing out on my own but after spending all of 2010 (my first year of racing) plagued by ITB (That would be your Iliotibial Band. You have one! Two actually. Again, google it if you're reading and arent involved in endurance sports. I hate both of mine but have grown to love them since they've been behaving.) issues I decided it was time for a coach. Enter Dan Jarecke and Team NiceTri!
I started working with Coach (I don't call him Dan. Dan rhymes with van and...okay, I just don't like calling you Dan. Sorry Coach!) on a limited basis in January and went full on by April. I can't say enough great things about you/him. I'm quite impatient and I always want what I don't have. Right now, I don't have a pro card in triathlon. I want it. Coach and I are making steps each day and my fitness is continually improving. Its been a year of learning, tweaking, sweating, screaming, eating, sleeping and most of all, working! I do what Coach says, I gain fitness. Seems easy enough to me. What isn't so easy is extended periods of time in Z4 and at threshold on the run.
Which brings me to now (Man that was long. Long usually means boring. I'll pretend it wasn't.). Stay tuned for race reports, training conundrums, gear reviews and plenty of stories of epic "recovery" meals!
Anyway, this is going to be me introducing my self. How...narcissistic. But I guess that's what this is all about. Go me!
I hope to accomplish a few things with this little bit of bandwidth I've laid claim to. The first would be to give you (Yes, you. I'm talking specifically to you.) a glimpse into what the life of an aspiring pro triathlete looks like (Surprise! I want to be a pro. Just like 24982408 other people.). Be it training, racing, food, sleeping...well, I guess thats about all I do. Secondly, I promise to be a bit entertaining along the way as well. Or, I'll at least try so that you're either laughing with me or at me. Either way is good. I like to laugh.
A bit about me and how I got here (Blogging. Who would have thought?). I've been an athlete my entire life (I'm 28). My father always told me that I learned to swim before I learned to walk so triathlon seems like a good fit, right? More on that in a few minutes. I grew up playing team sports - soccer, basketball. Well, I guess just soccer and basketball. From 5th grade until about 11th grade (not kidding) I thought I was going to play in the NBA. As in, the National Basketball Association. While I was a more than respectable basketball player, I didnt exactly have the height (I'm just over 6') nor could I jump over small children lined up six feet deep. I was good enough to play ball in college and get most of my school paid for so all those hours in the gym weren't a complete waste. Basketball and everything that comes with it has taught me a lot. Teamwork, hard work, how to make and realize goals (except the NBA...I tried, I really did.), etc. I'd never trade all those years but by the time college ended, I was burned out on ball and certainly had no interest in trying to make any more of it after. Upon graduating, I moved to NYC via Argos, Indiana. (Google it. Its a real place. We have a McDonalds and a stop light. Its pretty swell. Moving on...) I started working and became a bit lazy, I guess. That didnt last long so I decided to buy a bike. Turns out I really liked riding that bike and grew up around the water but actually hated running. Signed up for a sprint with little to no run training, hardly any swimming and what I thought was "a lot of biking". Seemed like a good idea! "This should be fun!" After almost calling it quits in the water, going crazy hard on the bike (relative to my fitness) and then burning out on the run, I was hooked! And when I get hooked to something (a la the NBA) I typically fall in head first and then continue digging once I've fallen in. Tried to figure this whole endurance thing out on my own but after spending all of 2010 (my first year of racing) plagued by ITB (That would be your Iliotibial Band. You have one! Two actually. Again, google it if you're reading and arent involved in endurance sports. I hate both of mine but have grown to love them since they've been behaving.) issues I decided it was time for a coach. Enter Dan Jarecke and Team NiceTri!
I started working with Coach (I don't call him Dan. Dan rhymes with van and...okay, I just don't like calling you Dan. Sorry Coach!) on a limited basis in January and went full on by April. I can't say enough great things about you/him. I'm quite impatient and I always want what I don't have. Right now, I don't have a pro card in triathlon. I want it. Coach and I are making steps each day and my fitness is continually improving. Its been a year of learning, tweaking, sweating, screaming, eating, sleeping and most of all, working! I do what Coach says, I gain fitness. Seems easy enough to me. What isn't so easy is extended periods of time in Z4 and at threshold on the run.
Which brings me to now (Man that was long. Long usually means boring. I'll pretend it wasn't.). Stay tuned for race reports, training conundrums, gear reviews and plenty of stories of epic "recovery" meals!