The Fastest Thirty Days

The last month has absolutely flown by for me.  Just thirty days ago I was getting ready in Portland to head down to Phoenix for some great training in great weather before flying back to Portland for about 18 hours and then continuing on to New York.  Once in NY last week I spent a couple of days in Upstate and then was off to Southern Ohio for the Triple T race festival last weekend.  It’s now almost 4 weeks since I set off for Phoenix and I am back on beautiful Keuka Lake in Upstate New York, my home.  I will be here for the rest of today and then will be flying back to Portland tomorrow afternoon.  Once back in P-Town I will have the honor of seeing my big brother graduate from Med School and become a true MD!  It will be a great time in Portland as the weather is really getting awesome and both my mom and sister will be making the trip to see the graduation.

Shortly after that on June 7th I will once again become a Nomad as I will pack up my trusty Subaru Wagon and head East with all my belongings (Most importantly my bike).  Along the way I will be racing the Boise 70.3 on June 9th.  Many of my new friends from Portland will be at the race so it will be a good way to wrap up my time on the west coast.  I have made some great friends over the past few months in Portland.  Since my life kind of revolves around triathlon and I worked at a tri shop my friends are all pretty much in that circle.  I just wanted to give a little shout out to all those who made the move and the past fall/winter/spring a really awesome time.  Eric, Danny, Chris Boudreaux, Scott, Gary, Bagg, Damian, Tom, Brittany, Mike and all the rest of the Athletes Lounge contingent, both employees and loyal customers.  Athletes Lounge is top-notch and I hope it always will stay that way, I will proudly be wearing the “A” on my kit for the rest of the season and beyond as long as you will have me.  I could go on and on about thanking each person individually but that would be a pretty long post.  I mean it would start out with something like, Eric – for all the rides, runs and swims….Danny – for the countless times your fixed something on my bike and got it running like a top…..Boudreaux – for welcoming me to Portland and showing me everything it has to offer.  Coffee, restaurants, running trails, biking routes…etc..etc..it won’t be forgotten.  Scott and Gary – thank you a 100x for giving me the opportunity to work at your shop, it was a privilege. (That one can be for you to Boudreaux :)) The list could keep going but I am going to stop their with my Athlete Lounge friends for now.

Anyway, where was I?  Ah yes, I will be racing the Boise 70.3 on June 9th and then continuing my travels back east the following day as I cross the country once again in the opposite direction from last fall.  I think the weather will be a bit better than it was then…which will be very nice.  The week following Boise is going to be my “mid-season” break.  I am going to take that week pretty much completely off and try my best to re-charge before turning my attention on the rest of my season.  With 3 70.3’s and a full Ironman in Hawaii on the schedule I will certainly be training my butt off and the week off after Boise will be a great way to get my body and mind recovered.

Once back on the East Coast I am going to hunker in on Keuka Lake with the plan of training myself into the ground, and the recovering of course 😉  One of the best half Ironman in the country awaits me in mid July when I will once again take part in the Musselman weekend by racing the Half-Iron on Sunday.  This will be my fourth year in a row taking part in some race during that weekend.  My triathlon career really started in full thrust at this race in 2009 when I jumped into the half-iron with no real knowledge of what I was getting myself into.  5 and a half hours later I crossed the line feeling pain and fatigue that I had never experienced before…this year I will look to feel that pain and fatigue again,  just a bit sooner though 🙂

In August I am happy to say I will be in NH for the Timberman 70.3 before turning my focus to the World Championships in Vegas and Kona.  Yes, it will be a busy second half of the season for me but I can’t wait for the challenge.  I have an opportunity in front of me that many would kill for and I promise I won’t take it for granted.  My job is to get myself as fully prepared for these races as possible, not just in training but in everything around it as well.  I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to be home on Keuka Lake this summer as well.  Other than the fact that Penn Yan does not have a pool everything is ideal…but I mean really I do have a lake right in front of my bedroom so what am I complaining about? Might have to adjust some swim workouts 🙂  But if you do know of a way I could get into Hobart William Smith’s pool let me know!

That’s all for now.  I am going to go take advantage of the beautiful morning here in Upstate NY by getting out for a nice spin around the Lake.  Life is good today and I hope everyone else’s is too!

-Turbeau