The Break

Typically if your not blogging your probably training well. Over the last 5 months I have put together my best training ever. As I'm gearing up to make a return to ITU racing I really didn't want to half ass it. I started to train like it means something. I thought I trained hard in 2014 but nothing compared to what I have been able to do so far this year. I was tired of handing wins away in the swim I was sick of digging myself a hole every damn race. If you have followed my blog there are countless post about improving my swim but never really happen as I never really applied myself to the task at hand. Last year I laid some good building blocks and this year really build on it. I have not really talked times on my blog much but this set today proved to myself that the work is paying off. for some context last year I did this same set before ITU cross nationals (that race is the one that pissed me off most, I lost the race by 17secs. I was about a 1:20 min down in the swim to a great athlete Sean Bechtel) July 1st 2014 Broken 1500 400m on 6:00 all out (4:55) 3x200 on 3mins Pull paddles (2:36 2:34 2:35) 5x100m on 1:20 (1:16 1:18 1:18 1:19 1:20) March 3rd 2015 broken 1500 400m on 6:00 all out (4:35) 3x200 on 3mins Pull paddles (2:24 2:25 2:27) 5x100m on 1:20 (1:12 1:14 1:13 1:15 1:13) Every race I will enter this year I will no longer wonder if I did enough training. I will now be able to stand on the start line knowing I have done everything in my power to be the best I could be. I have not been able to say that since 2009. Its also not just the swim both my bike and run are much improved I have applied all the same things in to every sport and starting to see the results across the board. Now with all this being said their are people that have helped me I could not do what I have done and what I plan to do alone. Craig and RTC have been everything in this. They gave me a chance to have success and every single person in that crew has welcomed me and helped me along the way. Can not thank them enough! To keep everything in perspective I still need to get faster and work harder this is not a post claiming I have made it. This is a small marker of hard work but still knowing there is much more work to be done. Here are some photos from Clemson Training camp.

off season and other things

October is a nice time of year for me. You have a refreshing break get your plans ready for next year and start training slowly. With ITU Cross worlds being announced for the end of may next year, puts me in an interesting spot. Its a good time of year for me and May as always been a strong month for me racing wise (if i'm not slamming my finger in car doors). But if I am going to go I have some serious homework to do. Sardinia Italy looks like a great place. Will be interested to see the course etc. Then I can make a smart choice on if its worth it to go I am really thinking I might. After being off my mtb since end of July I rode for the first time on Sunday with Sean B, Felt nice to be on the bike everything still felt the same. I thought I would suck after taking that much time away. I have been spending much more time on the road bike working on fitness. Skills are there now its time to learn how to not let guys like Josiah ride me off their wheel on climbs and wide open flats. I am making a big investment on myself for 2015 going all in so to speak. I will still keep some of my jobs but I will cut back on some things to be able to race a little and have more consistency in training. The big reason I am able to dial things back is having some great sponsorship help! 2015 will see me in a lot of new products. Like to Thank Smith Optics and Blue Seventy very pumped to be supported by 2 great brands! Also a very Big thank you to Tom and Paul at Ciclowerks. They kept my bike running in top shape and help me with any bike related detail! worth the trip to Waterloo for sure! some photos from Whistler this year ! always fun riding.

Season Review and 2015 thoughts

Figured it was time to talk about the season I didn't really blog about. I think the blogs are going to make a come back. At least Im going to try and make it happen on my end. 2014 season for me was great building year, but still walk away from it wanting more and knowing I could have done more. As anyone who reads this blog knows that I ride a mountain bike a lot. That changed mid season for me this year. I started only mtbing once a week if. The rest was spend on a road bike and the difference it has made is massive. My fitness is much better and in turn I have become a more balanced rider all round. The other thing I started doing was swimming!! since from the 2011-2013 I was pretty burnt out from swimming and swam if twice a week and if I did it would be under 2k... (that won't cut it anymore) About a year ago now I started swimming around 4x a week and made a world of a difference. I now swim faster then I ever have and love the water again. I keep writing about making that next step I really thought what I did last year would get me there but I realize now that what I have been doing has got me to the edge but I have to figure out who or how to get up there. 2015 Will see me make a come back to draft legal racing. I did one race at the end of last year and had a lot of fun with it. I think it will be key to upping my xterra game. I will also have a more involved race season, this year I wont have a wedding. That will free up some time! I have some pretty cool video stuff that will soon be released so stay posted. This is some of my 2014 Race photos...