The snowboarder and the grocers

In the pursuit of their dreams, sometimes athletes get help help from unexpected places. With the help of Kin Grocers, Canadian snowboarder Alexa Loo was able to continue her Olympic pursuit. In describing the decision to help Alexa, Kim Hun Leung said that “When we come to Canada, we’ve got nothing. But we have a dream. With Alexa, same thing. She has a dream. So that’s why we support her.”
Stories like this reinforce the fact that sport is more than just a physical endeavor. Through sport, we can bind together as communities in surprising and heartwarming ways.

Granted, I'll never get rich doing triathlon, but I feel extraordinarily grateful that I am able to afford to pursue my sporting dreams. While some triathletes may complain that we will never make enough as tennis players or golfers, I prefer the glass-half-full view that, as a woman, I can actually be a full-time athlete in the sport. Athletes in other sports, such as speedskating, struggle financially, despite reaching the highest level of the sport. Knowing that there are athletes out there willing to sacrifice so much to pursue their dreams is pretty awe-inspiring. Man, am I lucky!

Oh, how hard we can fall...

The McDonalds corporation is pretty much everything that I chose to reject in my life. Rather than risk a lawsuit for libel (heck, you never know), it is suffice to say that I have selected to avoid patronizing the franchise for many years. Today marks a very significant day in my life, as I have freely entered a door bearing the golden arches. While I have done so in order to access free wireless internet, something rather hard to find in Australia, I am ashamed to admit that my need to check my email has driven me to this low point. The worst part is that I will probably return in the future. Free wireless is tough to beat, but the shame...

To focus on the positives, it might mean that I will now write a REAL blog post, talking about my adventures in training in Canberra. Unfortunately, the muzak, florescent lighting and smell of D grade beef in making thought almost impossible. I wonder if that is part of McD's plan...

Congrats, Emily and Scott!

New ITA athlete, bobsledder and all-around awesome person, Emily Azevedo, has made the 2010 Olympic team, along with her equally awesome (but not yet ITA-affiliated) partner, Bree Schaaf. I've been fortunate enough to get to know Emily through our training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. I was able to see the bobsledders training in the weight room (I'd be doing my wimpy core routine) and was pretty flabbergasted by their box jumps. Man, do they have power! These girls have worked HARD to get this spot. It is great to see their dedication pay off.

In other ITA news, Scott Blackmun, a great friend of the organization and Colorado Springs resident, was recently named to lead the USOC. I had the opportunity to have dinner with him but was detained in Boulder by a longer-than-expected training session. Man, am I regretting that!

Sneaky SG?!

A couple of weeks ago, a good friend made the comment, "You know, sometimes you can be a very sneaky sausage". While I can neither confirm nor deny that I am a sausage (if I am, by the way, I hope that I am a spicy chorizo), I shamefacedly will admit to my occasional sneakiness. This buddy was speaking about the news of some huge changes in my life that I had "forgotten" to share with her and that had instead reached her via gossip. I hadn't intended to be devious, but rather keep developments to myself until I knew that I was definitely going to follow through with my plans. This probably also helps to explain my absence from the blogosphere!

Since the likelihood is about .01% that I will now change my plans, I suppose that I can publicly divulge my "secrets". Considering the wildfire speed with which gossip spreads through the triathlon community, however, this is old news for most... A couple of weeks ago, I packed up my belongings, bid adieu to my friends in Colorado and trekked across the U.S. with my dad, reversing the trip that we had made together almost five years ago when I moved out to Boulder as a tri newbie. After dropping my exhausted pops off in NY, I continued on to Hanover, New Hampshire. My shipping pod joined me soon after and I deposited my belongings with Adam & Tricia and with super-agent/ buddy Mike. While most people may not understand why I would move from Colorado to New Hampshire, I am really happy about my decision. I've missed the Northeast and my family greatly (we will all be on the same coast!) and feel at home in the Upper Valley. It will also make more sense when I've divulged the second part of "Sarah's Top Secret Plan".

Part #2: In addition to moving, I'll be starting up with coach Darren Smith and his squad of athletes in just a few days (Illustrious Coach Smith & the Mysterious Squad of International Superathletes- Potential comic book?). Joining the group is no small commitment, requiring that I live in Australia until May and in Switzerland this summer, but I genuinely feel that this is the type of change that I need in order to perform at my best. This is also the part of the plan that I was most scared about sharing, as I felt that I might somehow jinx myself. He has assured me that he won't change his mind at this point and this is fortunate, considering that I'll be touching down in Oz on the 31st of this month. Heaven forbid that he looks at my post-season poundage (oh, cookies...) and send me back. If that happens, I may be absent from my blog for months. Just a fair warning.

So am I sneaky for not sharing this information with the world? Perhaps, but that wasn't my intention! I always have operated with the thought that if greatly anticipated plans fall through they are disappointing if held privately. If these plans are prematurely shared publicly, however, the repercussions can be so much greater. At this point, however, there will be no turning back!

I'm off to Victoria tomorrow for a very, very special wedding and on to Canberra from there. The next time that I blog, it will be from a new place and possibly in a new year! I welcome the change, even if I'm not forthright about it!

Best,

Sarah "Sneaky Sausage" Groff

Sayonara, Colorado

More on this to follow, but a new stage of my life has started, as I
recently relocated from Colorado Springs to NH. I'm back to being an
East Coast girl!

One week later...

For the past week, I've been motivated to do the following things, possibly in excess: eat my roommate's cookies, sleep, give myself the coffee jitters, hang out with my crew of elementary school kids, pack my belongings (more on that later...) and hike. What I haven't been motivated to do is anything triathlon related- an impulse that is probably pretty healthy, given the long, draining season that I've just wrapped up. Now that I've recharged the batteries a bit, I'm ready to tackle my final race report of the year.

After a good training block in Clermont, I headed over to Clearwater to meet Team Groff (Mom, Dad, Lauren, Clay, Adam, Mike, Beckett and Cooper, the dog) for the 70.3 World Championships. In the lead-up to the race, I was able to spend some time with my family and my sponsors and to scope out the course. Going into the race, I was feeling fairly confident about my fitness, as I had just come off my best training block of the year, but nervous about tackling an unfamiliar distance. Bobby and I did our best in preparing me for the race in the time that we had, but I had a pretty daunting task in trying to play "catch-up" for my lack of bike fitness going into the training block.

The conditions were pretty perfect for the race- sunny, calm and warm. Due to the chop, the race organizers had changed the swim venue to more protected waters and changed the start times, having the women begin 8 minutes before the men. I was a bit disappointed by the change in swim course, as a rougher swim benefits me and it would have been easier to break away. I lead out of the water with a line of women behind me (the swim exit was next to a pirate ship. Argh!). I have to admit that I was pretty overwhelmed by the WTC transition and floundered a bit with the concept of gear bags, people trying to peel my wetsuit off of me and trying to take my bike from me in T2!

Heading out onto the bike, I found myself exactly where I had hoped, settling into a comfortable pace in a group of women. When the tight pack of 30-40 men went by, however, the tone of my race changed drastically, however. Instead of letting the men pass, as I had assumed, the other girls tucked into the men's group and were out of sight before I could process what had happened. Needless to say, the officials didn't enforce drafting rules as strictly as I would have hoped. For the remainder of the bike, I had to put my head down and ride solo, managing my effort and trying not to get too worked up.

By the time that I entered T2, I was more emotionally and physically exhausted than I had anticipated. I was still hopeful that I could put together a strong 13.1 miles and settled into a steady pace. Going into the race, we planned to build through the run, gradually increasing pace each 5k. At the 5k mark, I realized that the plan wasn't exactly going to match up with the race as it was unfolding! I pushed through the run in a pretty ugly fashion, having to take a walk break with 5k to go. Ouch! While I was disappointed to have run 5-6 minutes slower than I had trained to run, I am proud that I gave the race everything that I had. When I crossed the line, I was completely spent, having given every ounce of energy to finish in 7th place. Julie Dibens, the super-cyclist (and really nice chick), dominated the women's race. She has set the bar really high for next year!

While I may have wanted to finish off the season in a slightly stronger fashion, I had a really great experience in Clearwater with my family, friends and sponsors. I was also overjoyed for the victory for my good friend, Michael Raelert, who ran away from the men's field, posting an incredible 1:09 half-marathon. We had spent the previous 4 weeks together in Clermont and I was able to see how incredibly hard he had trained in the lead-up to the race. It was gratifying to see his hard work pay off and feel that I may have had a very small part in his win, having forced healthy dinners on him!

Thanks to my family and friends for supporting me in Clearwater! The experience was far more fun, having shared it with you. I look forward to returning next year (a top-10 qualifies me for 2010), armed with this year's experience. At the very least, I won't panic when the volunteers try to take my bike from me in T2 next year!

Okay, back to the cookies, coffee and naps...