Tuesday, May 20, 2014

A shawn carter retirement from triathlon...

Yeah so I think I am going to take a hiatus from triathlon for a while.  Ok ok, so I am not going to sit around and get fat.  I am still planning on running and biking and swimming because I enjoy it; I just dont think I need to fly around the country to do it anymore.  

Its a weird place to be honestly.  Personally, I never thought I would ever race as a pro triathlete.  I had a good year in 2011 and was contacted by now good friend Stephen Wright who was thinking of starting a pro development team, Off The Front Multisport, and putting me on it.  Seemed like a fun thing to do so I got my pro card and have had 3 fun years racing.  I've had the opportunity to travel around the country, make friends with homestays, and race against some really fast broskies.  

The big change was that last week I defended my PhD in chemical engineering.  Honestly, the last 8 years of my life has had a very simple foundation--studying chemical engineering.  It was the main focus in my life and triathlon training fit nicely on top of everything by providing structure and escape from study.  Now that this portion of my life, this foundation, is in transition, my overbearing external hobby, triathlon, has come to seem superfluous.  

Don't be fooled, I am not giving up who I am.  I've always enjoyed being active, being outside, and pushing myself.  Triathlon is a well designed outlet for these personality traits but ultimately it is only a vessel.  I will keep these traits consistent with who I am.

This summer I am hoping to spend more time in the mountains of Colorado, to take a long trip to Montana, and to go on a bike trip with my Dad.  All things that under the harsh constraints of training and racing, I have not had the opportunity to get out and do.  

Moving forward?  Since high school I have wanted to be a scientist, motivated to work on some of the tough problems facing humanity, things like energy resources, climate change, and the policy that drives them.  Now that I have finished school, I am closer than ever to getting to work in the career I've sought from day one.  

"Dreams are the touchstones of our character" -Henry David Thoreau


Monday, May 19, 2014

REValations.

Hello.  

REV3 Knoxville.  Last weekend.  Perhaps my last triathlon as a pro.  I will get to that in the next post coming soon...

Ok so first of all, last weekend.  Its been a busy few weeks, but I was glad to get out to Knoxville to see my good friend Scott--a fellow UVA tri team alum and his family.  



The last time I did REV3 Knoxville in 2011, I drove out with former CU tri team president Corey in his beater chevy cavalier.  22hrs each way.  Talk about a bonding experience.  After that trip, I vowed to fly to all future races...

The race weekend was cool for this time of year.  Looked like it might even rain but fortunately it held off.  Some highlights from the weekend are the books I am working on right now.  Some classics.  I recommend both:

The race was meh.  Wetsuit legal.  I started out well.  I went out hard and was even leading the race with Starkowitzky on my right and cam dye on the other side of him until the first turn buoy (about 500m?). (I think I was super peppy from all that coffee I had before the race).  When we went around the first buoy I drank some water when someone dunked me and I just backed off.  Its like my mind was just like "no thanks"  I let up for a sec and they just slowly pulled away.  Fail = me.  After that I was just in no mans land by myself and I was breathing less and thinking about the interesting architecture of the bridge we were swimming under.  I just totally zoned out.  It was especially bad because when I got out I was thinking about just stopping and going back to bed.  I literally have never thought about doing that in a race before. 

So, I thought after the swim that I was just kinda gone from the race and the first 5 miles I was just floating along.  Then Leon and David Thompson came up behind me and passed me and I was like oh.  So I started riding hard and went to the front and led the rest of the ride.  We caught James Hadley, Matty reed, and two other dudes I didnt recognize.  I ended up riding hard and pulling them along.  I didnt really mind because it felt comfortable to me and I like those guys so I was hoping they would do well.  //  Really pretty bike course btw I would HIGHLY recommend it to any athletes.  Just a really beautiful part of America in my opinion.  The Smoky Mountains are super elegant. The course was windy and hilly and interesting.  Too bad REV3 is stopping the pro series...

So we hit the run and I still felt fine but I was last out of T2 because I put on socks.  The guys I was riding with all pulled away and I was left again feeling just like I had been on the start of the bike thinking I was in no-mans land by myself like whatever.  I didn’t feel bad but I wasn’t moving that fast.  Actually I had to pee really really bad and I was considering stopping the whole time.  I didnt really expect to catch those guys and never did.  But then at like mile 7 I was like dang, I feel pretty good and I started running a lot faster.  Like a lot faster.  I was practically sprinting and it was comfortable.  Super negative split.  Weird.  Maybe it was that blueberry gel I took--Ive never had that flavor before but it was pretty darn tasty.  

Hmm.  Well, the biggest thing to report is that everything is mental.  Surprise!  So is everything in life.  I feel like I have been super negative on here lately.  I actually really enjoy working out, exercising, racing even.  The thing about racing well, especially against these top guys is that you just have to be 100% on it to compete.  I really didn’t race that poorly honestly but I just wasnt pushing myself when I needed to (ie on the swim) and didnt have the ability to flatten myself on the run.  Not to mention, lets be honest, these guys are really freaking fast; way faster than me even on a good day!

For example, the winner and consummate champ, Tim Don.


James Hadley, me, and Tim, some of the large Boulder contingent that ventured out for the race.


In all it was a nice weekend seeing Scott and the beautiful Smoky Mountains.  Every time I go back to the east coast I am reminded of the stunning green, lush, verdant, whatever you want to call it, landscape.  The humidity (my favorite :) is no doubt deserving of credit.

Rudy