Lessons about triathlon from a Phillies fan

When I was a kid growing up in Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, I played Little League baseball for a few years. I was a pretty mediocre baseball player, more interested in practicing my pirouettes in the outfield than in catching fly balls and in perfecting the art of the grass whistle than in learning to hit. While I had a great time, my career as a baseball player was short-lived and undistinguished, to say the least.

Although I am a pretty bad baseball player, however, I am a pretty good fan of the sport to this day. Through the years, my interest in watching post-season baseball has increased, especially when the Philadelphia Phillies are playing well. For the second year in a row, the Phillies have clinched the National League title and earned their way to the World Series. Although the Phillies ultimately lost to the Yankees, my least favorite team in baseball, I really enjoyed watching their post-season play. Maybe it is because I'm in the midst of a hard training block in the lead up to next weekend's 70.3 World Championships, but watching the Phillies actually reinforced some lessons about triathlon...

1) Even old guys can bring it. While 38 year old Pedro Martinez may lack some of the speed and power that he once had, he used his experience and skill to do a pretty solid job on the mound (okay, they kept him in a bit long, but still...). In triathlon, athletes can still kick some serious booty into their late 30s. At 27, I'm just middle aged as a pro!

2) It takes a team. It doesn't matter how many home runs Utley hits. If the pitching is off, you don't stand a chance and vice versa. From Charlie Manuel to the under appreciated Carlos Ruiz, the Phillies were a pretty solid unit. Likewise, it takes a team to produce a successful triathlete. From a great coach to support staff to family and friends, nobody can make it to the top entirely on their own.

3) It is always more fun in the company of others. I enjoyed watching the Series by myself (for some reason, my German roommate wasn't interested), but I would have had more fun watching with other Phillies fans. Or Yankee fans with a sense of humor. Likewise, I've realized how much I miss training with other people this season. I am getting a bit tired of conversing with myself on long rides.

4) Some people will just never understand your interest. The aforementioned roommate just didn't grasp why I was excited about each hit or disappointed by each run scored against us. No matter how much you explain it, not everyone will understand why you care about baseball, triathlon, pinochle, scrapbooking or whatever else you love.

5) Sometimes it just isn't pretty. Baseball involves frequent "adjustments" and spitting- not terribly flattering ways to be caught on camera. Racing in triathlons frequently leads to photos of anguished expressions, snot and sweat covered faces and some horrendous running forms. I like to say that the day that I have a great run photo from a race is the day that I retire.

6) Pace, pace, build, race. I admit that I am a bit of a fair weather fan. I start to get interested in the Phillies when we are doing well and a have a chance at winning our division. Even then, I don't watch games until the post-season. The way that I see it, I only have so much emotional energy to expend as a fan. I would risk serious mid-season burn out if I were emotionally invested in every in-season game. In triathlon, you are best off starting the season strong and trying to build throughout the year. Every year, there are athletes that have amazing early season results and fizzle out by July. I prefer the simmer method, personally!

7) MVP to LVP. Cole Hamels was the MVP in 2008. 2009 was an "off" season, shall we say. In sport, you can have good plays followed by bad ones, great games (or races) followed by disappointing ones and amazing seasons followed by a mediocre one. There will always be ebbs and flows, but you have to keep looking ahead to the future without being held back by your past, good or bad.

8) Facial hair is awesome. Chan Ho Park was rocking a pretty killer beard. If I were a guy, I'd race with facial hair like that. Kinda like Fair Al-Sultan, but cleaner-looking. Okay, that had nothing to do with triathlon.

On the road again

Since leaving for the WCS Finale in Australia on September 4th, I think that I've been home in Colorado Springs for a grand total of 6 days. After a couple of weeks in NH, a weekend in TX, and a couple of days in Colorado Springs, I jetted off to Florida for my final training camp of the year. In order to prepare for the 70.3 World Championships next month, I decided to head down to my old stomping grounds of Clermont, Florida for some warm weather training. I'm in good company down here, as I've run across a motley crew of triathletes, both domestic (inc. Sara McLarty, Jarrod Shoemaker, Nic Tautiva) and international (Michael Raelert, Stuart Hayes and Marko Albert, among others). Some of us are avoiding the cold weather back home (snow in CO!) and others just realize what a great area Clermont is for training. Minus the snakes and alligators, of course...

While the place where I am staying is a bit rough, it is perfect for the task at hand. As long as I have a basic kitchen, a clean bed and a shower (in addition to great roads and training facilities), I am happy as a clam. It also helps knowing that my fabulous sister and her family are just up the road in Gainesville. Living out of a suitcase may have its downsides, but I feel fortunate that I am able to just pick up and head anywhere with minimal fuss. It is a good thing that I don't mind the nomadic lifestyle, as my 2010 season will be partly defined by prolonged globetrotting. That, however, is a subject for another post.

Happy training!

Sarah

Why I like Dallas

In Dallas for the US Open, where I finished 4th (again!) in a competitive field under tough conditions. I will come back year after year, partly because of the race, but mostly due to the Texas State Fair, which is held the same week as the race. How can you not love "Tex" the big cowboy or every fried food you can imagine?!

A long overdue race report

In my last post, I promised that I would write a post-WCS finale race report ASAP. I lied, so please accept my most sincere apology. Truthfully, I suppose that I have been a bit reluctant to write about my race, as the experience was somewhat mixed.

My goal was to finish top-15 in the race and I accomplished that with a 13th place, a result that landed me in 17th place in the series. The windy conditions worked in my favor, as the choppy water helped break up the field on the swim. 7 of us headed out onto the bike together, working well enough to gain a 45 second lead on the chasing athletes going into transition 2. After the bike, however, I was pretty flat, however, and my race became more of a struggle to hang onto a top-15 placement on the run.

While I am by no means unhappy with my results, I do find myself a bit unsatisfied with my ITU season. I went into the season with high expectations, but realized after the first WCS race that my preparation, especially on the bike (leading to lackluster runs), was insufficient. While I had hoped that I would be able to fix the shortcomings in my training as the season progressed, I was only able to address a couple of the oversights in my program and not all. Thankfully, this is 2009 and I still have time before 2012 to turn myself into a finely tuned triathlon machine!

Overall, I had a great experience in Australia. One of the best parts of the race was that I was able to spend some time with my Uncle Richard, who volunteered at the various races in the lead-up to the women's event. I was also fortunate to have additional family member fans at the race, as my cousin Mike made the trip up from Adelaide with Cass and their insanely cute kids, Cosmo and Argyle (I still get a kick out of the fact that there are red-headed Groffs with Aussie accents!). My family is incredibly supportive of my career- I am really lucky. It was also a pleasure to get to know some of our talented Junior and U23 racers better throughout the course of the week, as well as meet some of Team USA, our athletes who competed in the ITU Age Group World Championships. I look forward to seeing all of these folks compete again in the World Champs next year in Budapest.

Currently, I am in New Hampshire at Adam and Tricia's house (remember what I said about my supportive family?) getting ready for the last two races for the year: the US Open in Dallas and th 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater. I've been putting in some good saddle time with Mugatu, my TT bike, and have been enjoying New England in the fall. More to follow...

Report from Goldie

Back when I booked my flight to the Gold Coast for the World Championships Finale, I decided to come a week out from the race in order to adjust to the time change and weather. After I did so, I half dreaded my decision, envisioning a week where I have too much time on my hands and end up watching bad Australian TV, eating out at overpriced restaurants in Surfers Paradise and getting stir crazy while waiting for Sunday’s race. Fortunately (but unfortunately, if you were hoping for regular blog updates), I have found myself surprisingly busy.

In addition to the normal activities that shape my day (training, massage, chiro, meetings, grocery chopping and cooking- we have a kitchenette!), I have been occupied with the ITU Athlete’s Committee. Jarrod Shoemaker and I are the PATCO regional representatives and were thrown into a contentious debate soon after joining the Committee. In a nutshell, a resolution was proposed that could permit a National Federation to exert control over their athletes’ uniform logos. Needless to say, this was a divisive resolution pitting athletes and athlete-supportive NFs against pro-resolution NFs. In response, our committee fought hard, involving the athletes to encourage the members of Congress, which met on Thursday, to table the vote and to form an ad hoc committee to further discuss this matter. Fortunately, we won! Let’s hope that the ad hoc committee will recognize that athletes need to be able to keep control over their uniforms to maximize our income-earning potential through sponsors.

I am looking forward to tomorrow’s race, the last stop on the WCS circuit for the year. In lieu of a World Championships, the ITU decided to have a World Championships Series, so while this is the World Champs for the Age Groupers, U23s and Juniors, this is just the “Finale” for the elites. That being said, with every athlete present, minus an injured Emma Snowsill, this is the most competitive field that has convened all year. I find myself wishing that I were a bit fitter, faster, stronger etc., but I have to remind myself that this is just another race and yet another step in a long, multi-year process. The race will be tough, but FUN! And the best part is that I get to share the experience with some Groffs (Uncle Richard and Mike, Cass, Argyle and Cosmo- aka the Aussie Groffs).

Race update will follow ASAP (or within a week or two, in Sarah time :-) along with some great pics, I hope!

Ultimate Dodgeball. Never heard of it? That's because the game, a
product of Mr. Marcus' (the Tutt club director) evil genius mind, has
yet to sweep the nation. The rules are simple: it is every man/ woman/
child out for him/herself. You try to peg as many people as can you
with balls. Once you are hit, you sit down. If the person who hit you,
however, is tagged, you may stand up and resume play. The game is
pretty brilliant: it is fair (ie equal opportunity for play) and the
kids can run around for hours because it is almost impossible to have
just one player standing. The photo doesn't do the game justice, as it
makes the gym seem massive (it isn't) and devoid of kids (an
inaccurate representation of the afterschool madhouse that is the Boys
and Girls Club). If I hadn't strained my shoulder the last time that
we played regular dodgeball (sad but true), I might have joined in!
Instead, I just sit at the sidelines and am completely entertained.

A Quick Update

I see that it has been 25 days since my last posting. Yikes. Since I have about 50 emails waiting for responses in my inbox and I have only a 1 hour attention span/ week for all things computer related, here's just a quick update.

Since Hamburg/ last blog posting, I have done the following: started up with a new coach, was the lead cyclist for the run leg (and embarrassingly loud cheerer) at the Triathlon Youth National Championships, saw the transition from the summer program to the after school program at the Boys and Girls Club, jetted off to London for the WCS race, finished 10th with my best run of the year (need to improve my run tactics, however), toured London on a double decker, chilled with new & old friends on Lake George, went rafting, put my training on the back burner to be a good maid of honor, got my nails painted girly pink (swimming destroys manicures, fyi), saw my bff get married, danced the night away, returned to COS with the realization that I had packed on a couple of pounds and need to turn up the dial to 11 to get ready for the WCS finale on the Gold Coast, and am now packing for a whirlwind trip to the Windy City for a big training session (aka Chicago Triathlon) this weekend.

Whew. Forget the emails- they can wait another week. I need to catch some ZZZZs.

(Travel makes me cranky. I have pity on my seatmates.)