A Rewarding Year

Happy New Year Everyone.

Tri season is over....has been over.... since September....after the HalfRev at Cedar Point. You just can't swim open water around here after September. The water was just getting too cold. In fact it's frozen over. I have never seen Lake Erie freeze up this early in winter.

The off season was in full swing after the HalfRev. It was time to shift focus to other things. Relaxing, recharging, work. Work kept me busy in October and November. I also got my tat' so I couldn't swim for two weeks.

As I close out 2010 I find myself at a perfect place to transition to a new racing season. Aimee and I have signed up for a half marathon at the end of March that I must train for. I have some specific goals in mind so this training will get interesting.....more to follow on that.

But first I must follow suit of several other bloggers out there with a recap of the past year.

I don't have very many numbers to throw out here. Since I left Coach Angela I haven't been keeping track of my workouts in the true sense of the word. I usually have a plan and I execute it. I got the workouts done then moved forward. I have never really been one to compare workouts or do any in depth analysis of previous workouts.

I get it done and move on..and try to push it harder and faster the next time.

I swam some yards. This was my best swimming year to date. I was at the top of my game during workouts and races. I saw my 100 times drop which resulted in faster race times.

I ran many miles. Enough miles to get me through the distances. I am definitely lacking in speed right now. Something that needs to be worked on.

I also rode for hours, which leads to miles. I was most dissatisfied with my bike this year. I didn't have the power or speed compared to past years. This is another area which I plan on improving over the winter so that I have a very good base heading into the spring.

Now to talk about what I really remember from this past year.

As my post title suggests I have one word to describe the 2010 racing season.....Rewarding.

The rewards from this past season have come in many forms. Let us take a walk through the year as I share my thoughts.

Project Ironman
By the time January rolled around Aimee and I were already two months into her Ironman training program. We decided to use our collective knowledge and the book "Training Plans for Multisport Athletes" to get her ready for Ironman St. George.

We were figuring out the workouts and executing them together. I was using the same training plan to get me ready for the Ohio Triple T.

Being her coach, advisor, team director, travel agent, mechanic, cook, etc. was quite fulfilling. I wanted to make sure that her only task was to cross the finish line. I tried to take all the other worries off her plate.

Watching her cross the finish line was more rewarding than I can describe.

Helping friends.
Isn't that what friends are for? Not only receiving help from our friends but also providing help ....and letting them know you are there for them. I talked with so many people this year about training plans, nutrition, equipment, race strategy and many other things.

We met some great people leading up to and at Ironman St. George. Many of them were first timers and I tried to help them along with motivation and encouragement. And lasting friendships have been born from that day.

There were people who were training for their very first sprint tri. And there were also experienced athletes going long at their first half or full distance races.

I feel that the most important way I helped my friends was by just listening. I was hearing about their fears, worries, concerns. Can I do this? Why am I doing this? Should I do this? Should I do that? What should I eat? With some of them I knew they would cross the finish line and I just needed to boost their confidence. Others were lacking in their confidence and didn't only need a boost but a big shot of confidence injected into their soul. Everyone received positive energy from us, because when it comes down to it.....it is just plain doable. Anything is doable. And my number one job was to make sure they felt it was doable.

Mary did her first sprint triathlon. She borrowed Aimee's road bike and we helped her get comfortable on it. I even watched her take a tumble off it and get right back on. We offered some advice and assistance with her open water swimming. She made it across the finish line with no problems.

Patty, Jason and Ken had successful days at Musselman. Mike, Ken, Tiffany, Janet and many others completed their full distance race at the FullRev at Cedar Point. Rachel had a good second season in triathlon.

And everyone who I am referring to above crossed their finish lines. Some may have had some injuries but I still feel that their seasons were a success.

A new friend whom Aimee and I helped out was Adam O'Meara. Adam is a second year pro triathlete who came in for the FullRev at Cedar Point. We played host family for him during his visit to Ohio. I was racing the HalfRev but I was happy to help him get situated and ready to race. Seeing him during and after the race was awesome. He is a budding pro that I will enjoy watching race in the future.

TriSaraTops and I went on course for the Cleveland Marathon to help cheer for everyone participating. We were trying to follow the lead of Steve in a Speedo but we couldn't find any good farm animal costumes. However, we were able to find killer Bert and Ernie costumes.



We had a blast cheering for people and calling their names even though they didn't know who we were. We burned as many calories as the runners and had our picture taken with quite a few people.



Aimee and I volunteered at two races this year. The Greater Cleveland Triathlon and the Burning River 100.

Mickey is the race director of the GCT and more importantly a friend. I have only raced his event once but we have always provided volunteers made up of SnakeBite athletes. You can read about our volunteering in a previous post...GCT Volunteer Report.

One of our running friends Elizabeth was an aid station captain for the Burning River 100. Another worthwhile day helping others reach their goals. I think my original post conveys the message well.....Burning River 100 Volunteer Report.

Snakebite Racing
2010 was the most successful year for Snakebite Racing on the multi-sport scene. We brought on board approximately 10 additional athletes to represent the team and our sponsors. If we didn't have someone on the overall podium, we had people winning their age groups. At some of the awards ceremonies I loved seeing all of the hardware my teammates were collecting.

Of course the support of the SBR sponsors is much appreciated throughout the year. Go over to the team website and check out links to our sponsors.

SnakeBite Racing

Miscellany

I have mentioned before that I have been cross training with CrossFit. At the beginning of the year I was at Crossfit Cleveland West with Bill and Stacy. Just walking into the gym was motivating. I enjoyed getting pushed and helping push others to reach new levels of fitness. I backed off during tri season because I needed to be "fresher" for my races.

Near the end of the summer Kate, an elite crossfitter and certified coach, opened her own box (gym). I hated to leave Bill and Stacy's box. But when Kate's box was opening right around the corner from our house I had to follow her, no brainer.

I excitedly helped Kate get the space ready for business. Some painting, cleaning, and building made me happy to help this new business owner. Aimee and I have both helped in different ways with Coca Crossfit and Kate has helped us fill in some gaps with our training. You will be hearing more about Kate later.

Summary

When I was first writing this post I started thinking how arrogant it sounded. Hey everyone....look what I did. I'M AWESOME!

But in actuality this is my freakin' blog and I can write whatever the hell I want. But seriously there are two reasons for writing this.

First, when I am 80 years old, provided I can still find my blog, and my grandson is reading me some of my old posts...I can remember what I did in 2010 and have happy thoughts.

Ow..OW..OW! I just realized in 40 years it will be 2050.....OW!!!!!

Second, maybe this post will inspire someone to follow a dream, get up off the couch, volunteer, help someone....pay it forward.

I raise a glass with my friends to a wonderful 2010 and a prosperous 2011.

Game On.