Lots of love for the TRIkids!!

One of my absolute favorite parts of the week are the nights I coach the TRIkids. And, I'm not just saying that. I truly **LOVE** those kids!! And, I have to admit, I am darn proud that I have had a hand in forming the athletes they are growing up to be. Clearly, genetics plays a big part in what your athletic journey will look like but what about the kind of sportsman you are? That is all on YOU. Being an athlete comes naturally to some -- but who are you when you share the field? There are some teams that focus on being "bad ass". Push hard, go hard, no prisoners. But my favorite athletes are those who are skilled but centered. Just mad skills on top of a foundation of kindness and humility.

Now make no mistake: I push the TRIkids hard. Somedays REALLY hard. Somedays I think they may hate me. ;) But regardless of how difficult a training session or race is, they know that the ultimate goal is not just to do their best but to be the best sportsman.

And at the races this past weekend they all made me so incredibly proud! For example, one of our TRIkids fell down on the bike course. Other racers just went by but when another TRIkid came upon her, he actually got off his bike and helped her up. Now that's a true teammate, a true friend and a true sportsman. And, then at the Pink Power triathlon two of our TRIkids participated in the run as part of a relay. Now this course has a killer hill as it leads you back toward the finish line. And as our girls huffed, puffed and pushed up that dreaded hill, they still managed to eek out a quick "good job" to EVERY SINGLE athlete they passed or who passed them. And, after one of our girls finished, she ran back down the hill to wait for her teammate and run with her up that darn hill again!! It was absolutely awesome!

Oh, and I guess I should mention that some TRIkids took podium spots as well -- which is fantastic -- but the real inspiration was watching WHO they were and not just what they did.

So are my props to TRIkids. The crazy, silly, hardworking crew of awesome athletes I am blessed to coach. Go TRIkids!!!

Holy Smokes, I'm Re-Inspired!!

And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
. . .
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me

And I'm feeling good

I have an admission to make: I have a TON of 1/2 done blog posts sitting in my draft folder. The fact is, for the past year I have been "triathlon depressed". First -- even after surgery -- my hip injury apparently has no liklihood of getting better (at least according to my stupid doctor). That sucks. And, second -- an environment that used to be my peace -- my escape -- my complete joy -- turned into Total Drama Island and I experienced first-hand how the "Ironman monster" can turn some otherwise normal people into elitist braggarts. (Note I said "some" ... defintely not all. But the two or three affected ones were enough to suck the fun out of life, for sure.) In any event, this newfound knowledge made me incredibly sad -- for many reasons and on many different levels. I actually figured that perhaps the days of silly yet "serious training for not-so-serious people" was long gone.

But something happened recently that has turned it all around:

I helped coach and completed an Oly tri with some super-cool chicks. It. Was. Amazing. Not the race, per se. I mean, the race was fine -- gorgeous scenery, some good, fun hills, and perfect weather -- but the inspiration I got from the group of women I raced with was absolutely unbelieveable. These are women who are stellar athletes -- some just getting into triathlon and some who have been involved for a while -- and each one of them taught me something during our team weekend in Luray. The most important thing they taught me was that life -- like triathlon -- can be tough as hell sometimes -- but the foundation -- the real core of life -- is in laughing, sharing, supporting, encouraging, trying, failing, falling, getting up and trying again -- and, of course, doing it all with humility, perspective and grace. It was absolutely refreshing!!

So, I'm back . . . different. More learned. Perhaps a bit tainted. But excited, nevertheless, to see what adventures lie ahead.

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." Andre Gide

Bring it on. I am ready.