nats

Three of my athletes are competing at USAT Age Group Nationals right now, and I am thrilled as all get out as they are getting their race on. While there is not online coverage like there is for the Ironman, nothing about USAT Nationals is like the Ironman. The training is different, the nutrition is different and the strategy and pacing are different.

The strategy and pacing are.... go, then go harder..... and finish as hard as you can.

I will admit to feeling absolutely envious of them this morning because I wan to go out and go hard. But I'm about to begin another endurance brick. Through Pumpkinman it's all endurance. All endurance. All twiddling my thumbs. Things are getting longer and steadier and I know why, I know the plan, I know the purpose. On one hand I want something hard to do now now now, and on the ither hand.... I should be enjoying the vacation because between Pumpkinman and Clearwater there is hell to pay.

I shouldn't say that endurance work is all boring. There are the foundational items that I must keep working to solidify. My higher running cadence, my running form (I am doing a complete run analysis this fall with the team!!!!) I can't have the top of the mountain without building the bottom of the mountain.

I must keep nailing down nutrition. I am turning my mind into a running mind. I am turning my body into a running body. These is a lot of instruction and purpose in this training and I am wrong to gloss over the next few weeks as "easy weeks". I have a boatload of work in the pool coming, there's intensity grasshopper!

Next weekend one of the QT2 Coaches, Michelle is coming to Ithaca and I will be joining her for a long ride. She qualified for Kona in Arizona last year and is healing a stress fracture. Still, she's deadly. In preparation I begged the Wizard to allow me to carbo load for my ride with her and he said:

"You get a carb load like you get bacon and eggs the morning of Clearwater!"

So that means..... no?

I am so looking forward to the ride and hanging out with Michelle. I have been coaching for 5 years now and it's wonderful to be in the role of the student again. I am learning so much from this team and the Wizard. I am learning to be the athlete again.

I love that.

Best of luck to all of the awesome folks at USAT Age Group Nationals this morning, to those at Timberman, and to those resting up for Kentucky next week!