Clermont ITU Continental Cup

This past weekend's Clermont Sprint (750m swim, 20K bike, 5K run) Continental Cup provided a good excuse to get back on the blog. Before we get to the racing, I'll briefly describe the weeks I spent preparing both physically and mentally for this event.

PART 1- The Preparation

My block of winter training with The Triathlon Squad has not been easy. Day in and day out, we work hard. I may be one of the only people in the country who looks forward to Monday--that's generally our recovery day. It entails a 40-50 minute morning run, a 5-6000yd swim, then another 40-50 minute run in the early evening. On Tuesday we get back to work.

What is the reason for all of this training? The answer is pretty simple, actually. I want to change, and change never comes easy. (Didn't Sir Issac Newton have a rule about that?) The world may want things to stay the way they are, but I'm not going to accept the status quo. I'm going to fight to change.

After a few consecutive 25-30 hour training weeks, I begin to feel tired. It's not an "I need a quick nap" tired, either. The feeling is more akin to having someone put an invisible weight vest on you every day. The vest doesn't weigh much, but then you put another one on each and every day--after a couple of weeks one begins to feel the weight. Simple tasks like cleaning the bathroom, emptying the dishwasher, and walking down the block to do laundry begin to seem monumental. Right about now my roommates are reading this and thinking, "Wait a minute, Joe never does that stuff." You see, roommates, I don't do those chores because I'm wearing so many invisible vests!

Another side effect of the training is I become even more forgetful than normal. I'll leave my wallet sitting on the counter at Starbucks (thanks to the honest people at the Poway Starbucks for not stealing anything), I'll lock my keys in my car (I keep a spare key in a VERY secret location), I'll forget my paddles on the deck of the swimming pool (thanks to Anna Battiata for returning them), I'll forget to put pants on in the morning (kidding, I usually remember this). Anyway, you get the idea.

Then, finally a race comes along and I have the opportunity to remind myself why I do this. Coach Paulo gives me a few days of rest. There's nothing like getting a taper week after a long block of training--I'll equate this feeling to the scene in Wizard of Oz when Dorothy lands after the tornado. The munchkins do their dance, and a world that used to be black and white is suddenly filled with all of these beautiful colors!

http://youtu.be/x6D8PAGelN8

PART 2- The Race

By the time Saturday morning rolled around, I was excited to race. I was excited for the opportunity to let all that hard work finally pay off. The setting was Lake Louisa State Park, and I was thrilled for the opportunity to compete against some of the world's best triathletes in an early season "hit-out."

My plan was to swim, bike, and run with the race leaders. Simple enough, right?

The swim started well, and exiting the swim to begin the long surf dash from the lake to the beginning of the bike course I began to strip off my wetsuit. One quick side note: Here I need to thank Anna again for overnight shipping my wetsuit so I'd have it for the race. Remember that part about me being forgetful? Yea... Anyway, lets get back to the action.

I entered the transition area with many of the race's top competitors, but they all didn't have the courtesy to wait for me as I took off my wetsuit. One of these races I plan on letting them know that I didn't appreciate their rushing off without me! While everyone else was slipping out of their rubber skins, my wetsuit felt like one of those Chinese finger traps on my legs. It seemed the harder I pulled my legs out of the suit, the harder the suit pulled back. I missed the first back on the bike, and I ended up with a group of 10 or so guys about 30 seconds back of the leaders. I did my best to work with the group to bridge the gap, but it was not enough this past Saturday.

It turned out to be too much time to make up against a talented group of guys. My group came off the bike about 35 seconds down of the leaders, and that is 1:35 more than I wanted to give up against runners like Mario Mola, Richard Murray, and Jarrod Shoemaker. I ended with a 16:24 5K which landed me in 12th place.

Success is said to be found in the details, and this past Saturday my attention to detail was not where it needed to be. I must learn from the experience and look forward to another opportunity to execute this coming Saturday in the Sarasota Continental Cup.

Thank YOU

Thank you to all who donated last week.  Team Philly Pro Tri’s fundraiser for the Blazeman Foundation was not as successful as we had hoped in terms of dollars raised, but that does not mean it was a failure.  Everyday, the Blazeman Foundation works to find a cure for ALS by doing two things:  raising awareness and raising funds.  While you can still choose to financially support the Blazeman Foundation, I think it is time to remember the “raising awareness” part to this mission. 

ALS takes far too many lives too early, but so do countless other diseases.  Why support this cause when there are so many other good causes out there?  I chose to support this particular group because it was important to people who are important to me.  Everyone should make his/her decisions with this principle in mind.  Personal connection leads to passion, and accomplishing tasks with passion leads to results.  (That’s the way I see it, anyway.)

ALS, cancer, heart disease—whatever the cause, each one of us will die someday.  People are afraid to talk about dying, but unfortunately death is one of life’s only certainties.  This realization can either depressing or motivating.  The spirit of the Blazeman Foundation is to fight paralysis with mobility—inaction with action.  That is a fight each one of us can afford to wage.  Get out and fight death by living your life.  Think, feel, and act.     

On a random yet interesting aside—this is the same method of thinking behind Gandhi’s strategy of fighting violence with non-violence.  The idea is to fight the aggressor with exactly that which he/she attempts to take from you.  It is the action itself which ultimately matters.  

Below is a photo from the Spin-A-Thon last Saturday:

**Coming up tomorrow... an update on why I haven't been posting much over the past couple weeks.  Are you interested?  I know you are!

A quote...

Here's a quote which I first saw on the pool deck at Germantown Academy. It doesn't directly apply to the fundraising push I'm making this week, but it definitely makes you think. This quote reminds me to align my passions with an action and my actions with a purpose.

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will effect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything" - Pedro Arrupe, S.J. (yep, the same guy from Monday's post)

Again, majorcares.com if you can donate to our Spin-a-thon fundraiser to fight against ALS.

Imagine...

Imagine... that we're all in this together.  I think charity begins with "imagining" oneself in someone else's position.  What would you want others to do for you?  

Please help if you can.  majorcares.com

"Men and Women for Others"

During my six years studying at Boston College, my teachers and advisors emphasized being “men and women for others.”  This was the message—though it would be tailored to fit each particular course or subject matter.  The saying traces its roots to Fr. Pedro Arrupe, leader of the Society of Jesus for nearly 20 years.  In the quote below, Fr. Arrupe declared that the measure of a good Jesuit education is the extent to which the students take action on the principles they’ve learned:

Today our prime educational objective must be to form men [and women] for others; men [and women] who will live not for themselves but for God and his Christ - for the God-man who lived and died for all the world; men [and women] who cannot even conceive of love of God which does not include love for the least of their neighbors; men [and women] completely convinced that love of God which does not issue in justice for others is a farce."

For Fr. Arrupe, education was not measured in essays or on scan-tron sheets (completed with a #2 pencil, of course).  One passed or failed depending on his/her “real world” application of the principles.  Each of us possesses something—a gift, a passion, or a talent—that makes the world a better place when it is shared.    

In this spirit, I am going to use my visibility and influence as a professional triathlete (whatever influence that might be...) to be a better “man for others.”  And, as all meaningful resolutions begin, I am taking action.  This Saturday, February 9^th, my friends and supporters from Team Philly Pro Tri will be riding their bikes on stationary trainers for 16.5 hours to raise money for the Blazeman Foundation.  This is exactly the type of service I learned about during my time at Boston College, and it is exactly the type of thing I believe in putting my energy behind. 

The Blazeman Foundation honors former teacher and triathlete Jon Blais.  Nicknamed “The Blazeman,” Blais was diagnosed with ALS when he was only 33 years old.  Six months later, he defied the debilitating disease by completing the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.  In a seemingly helpless situation, Blais took action.  Even though the ALS was already beginning to steal his ability to control his muscles, Blais finished a 2.4mi swim, 112mi bike, and 26.2mi run in 16.5 hours (hence the 16.5 hours of bike riding at the Spin-a-Thon this weekend).  Every stroke, pedal, and step that day was made in defiance of ALS. 

I’m writing this post to ask for your financial support of Team Philly Pro Tri and The Blazeman Foundation.  Our goal is to raise $15,000 (with all money going directly to the Blazeman Foundation) before the start of the Spin-a-Thon this Saturday morning.  It doesn’t have to be much—I could only afford $10.00.  Every little bit counts.  You can both read more about the Spin-a-Thon and make your donation at majorcares.com.

I’ll post a new blog each night this week to highlight the importance of taking action.  Never underestimate one’s ability to make a difference.     

Majorcares.com

Thanks so much for any support you decide to offer.  

A Taste of Training Camp

Here's an inside look at what's going on here in San Diego, CA during the first Triathlon Squad training camp of 2013.  Thanks to Coach Paulo Sousa for the camerawork/editing.  Enjoy!   

More than just a civil rights activist...

I wanted to do a little something different to celebrate my Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so I decided to do some reading on MLK. I hear the "I have a dream..." line all the time, but I figured surely this man had more to talk about than one of his dreams.

I started googling old transcripts of his speeches to see what else the man had to say. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was so much more than just a civil rights activist. Our society remembers his fight for racial equality, but unfortunately we forget the framework of his argument. Civil rights were merely a starting point. MLK was a rebel. He was a free thinker with a unique ability to relate to his audience. He wasn't arguing to have the same society, but with blacks and whites being equal. He wanted something more--a higher level of society--where equality would be a foregone conclusion. This is a critical difference. Dr. King urged people of all colors to be better, more educated citizens. I challenge you to do your part.

A few of my favorite quotes from today's reading:

"Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent. "

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better."

"Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal."

"An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law."

"If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive."

"When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative."

"The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."

"We must use time creatively."

"We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism."