2013: A Fresh Start

First off, I hope that you all are able to keep up with your resolutions and you are happy with your swim, bike and run totals that you have let us all know about.  Thanks for that.  Here’s my totals:

Swim – a little bit

Bike – A whole Bunch

Run – Enough

Here are a few tips that I’d like to share to those aspiring triathletes in the three disciplines:

A. The louder and more colorful your speedo is, the faster you will be.  If you’re still slow at least people will think you are legit.  Always have a sports bottle with you at the pool and when swimming with multiple people ditch the garmin watch and use the one on the wall…or just try not to get dropped by the other people in your lane.  Either will work.

B. Shave your legs, wear a cycling cap, always wear sunglasses, always wear bibs and a jersey when training (sleeveless tops and tri shorts are made for racing only), socks should be crew length – no shorter, no taller, and when in doubt refer to “THE RULES“.  Additionally, try your best to manicure the tan lines.  This one rolls into tip C. for running being that you should only be running shirtless when the weather is above 90 and humidity is above 90% as well.  Otherwise you are just showing off and nobody likes a showboat.

C.  As stated above, keep your shirt on.  Either you have a bit to much pudge to be topless, your way to ripped and should stop wasting your time at the gym doing Crossfit and put some more miles on your bike, or your like the rest of the triathlon world…to skinny without much to really being showing off.  So just cover it up for the sake of everyone around you.  With that said, if you’ve got the legs go ahead and keep the shorts short.  Shave those legs and let the world see your beautifully sculpted calves.  Other than that I don’t have much else to say about running.  Everyone looks different when they run but the bottom line is how fast you can go when the gun goes off.  Ok, I have one more pet peeve to share with you all.  When training and especially when racing don’t be the dork looking at your watch every 10 seconds to check your pace and HR.  Its annoying to see and frankly you should know your body a bit better than that. C’mon people!

Getting on with things.  My New Years Resolution is to be brutally honest with myself and others with discretion for others of course.  This means that I am not going to sugar coat anything nor make claims that simply aren’t true.  I can tell you that this year I am devoting myself 100% to triathlon through July 28th, 2013 whereupon I will race IMLP and try to win the Overall Amateur Race.  I think that so many people lack the gumption or “balls” to make claims that they feel they are capable of achieving…or maybe they just don’t actually believe in themselves.  Well, I believe in myself and the path that I have taken.  I have been blessed with a myriad of factors in my life that are currently making this endeavor possible.  Over the next 6-8 months I will devote myself fully and completely and see what happens.  At the end I will take stock and carry on with my life in whichever direction I need to go.  I am highly educated and have a license in a profession that will allow me a job wherever I go if I so choose to do so.  It’s a nice thing to have in the back pocket but it doesn’t assure me of anything at this point.  Currently I have a couple grand to my name and most of that will be used up over the next few months while I travel to warmer temperatures to train and race my butt off.

So there you have it.  Next month I will be heading to Florida for almost a month to train with a whole bunch of QT2 professional triathletes who are way better than me.  I can’t freaking wait for this opportunity as the only way to get better is to train and live with the best.  Not only is this exeperience going to make me “fitter” physically its also going to give me an insight into how the real PRO’s go about their business on a daily basis.  What this means now is that over the next 6 weeks I need to be on top of my game.  I need to be fit and ready to go if I want to maximize the rewards I can get from such an opportunity.  Once camp breaks on March 4th, I will then drive back North train for a couple weeks and then again set sail in my subaru for the south.  On April 7th I will be racing the Texas 70.3 in Galveston Texas.  This will be my third time competing in this race.  I will be going to this race with the goal of winning the amateur race.  My time last year was a 4:20 and I have every intention of putting myself in a position to be near 4:10.  If I can put this together over the next 3 months I truly believe I will finish where I want to be.

Is that real enough for you all?  Triathlon has been everything to me over the last 3 years.  I love the sport, the people and the competitiveness that I feel and see at every race.  It’s absolutely great to show up to a race and see that everyone is sizing up everyone else around them.  I used to get scared by this, but now I am finally beginning to feel at home with it.  It’s fun to see who is at the race and how things will shake up.  I absolutely love it, its something that I only felt during high school when athletics are taken way to seriously…but they should be taken that seriously in my opinion.  It builds character and sets the foundation for that boy or girls future.  What are they made of?

This has been my re-entry into the blogging world.  I hope that I will be able to do a better job of keeping you (my followers) up to date and entertained.  My advice to you all is be honest with yourself and don’t worry about what others will think.  So what if you come up short, “It’s better to have loved and lost, than never having loved at all.”

Happy New Year!

-Turbeau

ps – my next race will be at the Hearnish 10k in Rochester, NY.  If your in the neighborhood come out and make it interesting.  Last weekend I was beat by two high schoolers in a 5k that took place during a blizzard.  It was an awesome time but I am itching for some redemption.