Just WOW!!  Our youth triathlon in Evanston was a watershed event.  225 young athletes show the world that Yes, You Can.  A pristine setting on the campus of Northwestern University provided breathtaking views along the way for athletes and spectators.  Congrats to ET Coach Craig Strong for pulling it all together and doing a first class job!  Thanks also to Coach Suzy and Coach Joe for providing transition training clinics to the athletes and parents all day long at the Saturday expo.
 
We received over 50 emails from parents that were absolutely delighted with the event.  Here is just one sample:
 
"I think you did a wonderful job! As a parent I am most impressed with how organized this event was.  A group of "us" parents were discussing how well planned and thought out this event was, and that you even arranged life guards in the pool for nervous swimmers and "very" nervous parents.  I was very nervous about the pool because my son just started swimming this year and had not attended any of the YMCA clinics because he just wasn't planning to swim.  Saturday night before the event I didn't sleep at all because I was really worried about my son in that pool.  But when I saw you were so careful and very thoughtful to place "life guards" into the swimming pool I and the other parents thought that was a fantastic idea.  We were able to relax and enjoy the event so much better because of what you did.
 
We want to say thank you so much for putting a lot of thought and careful planning into this wonderful event.  The fact that this was your first Youth YMCA Triathlon in Evanston shows that you are well capable of doing something much bigger because you did an excellent job with the first one.  Craig, we thank you so much for promoting this well needed event and for focusing on the health of all children.  So many of our children just aren't healthy.  But this is a new day and a new beginning.  The children, parents and volunteers were all excellent.  The positive energy in everyone was just overwhelming!  The volunteers were so incredibly professional, friendly, positive and well mannered. The food was great and the activities were excellent.  What a blessed event. Keep up the good work!"
 
Click here to enjoy all the wonderful photos from our weekend.

 

 

My journey to the Spirit of Racine Half Ironman Triathlon began long before the actual race started.  Nine months ago, Coach Joe and I sat in a Panera Bread Restaurant and hashed out a plan for the 2009 race season.  After a lot of thought, I decided to repeat this particular race, among many others for the year.  I chose to do it again as I wanted to establish a basis of comparison between races done on the same course in different years to see if I could observe improvement in my journey as a triathlete.  This could have been a dangerous thing to do, for there are many uncontrolled variables that can affect the race beyond the race course and training - i.e. weather, illness, injury, etc.

 
So over the months prior to race, with Coach Joe's help, guidance and accountability, I trained and trained.  I trained with the singular purpose of strengthening my aerobic base - the foundation of any endurance athlete - which Coach Joe could then develop to take me to the next level in building speed, power and anaerobic sustainability.  I had learned early on in my triathlon journey that without a good aerobic base, there was no way I could sustain fast paces over long distances or do long distances without developing nagging, chronic injuries.  I had to help my body develop a tolerance for endurance training and racing.  This may sound discouraging to new triathletes, but I truly believe it took me up to two years to develop a good base and core strength to run the race that I wanted to run.  I remember Coach Joe talking to me about this very early on in our relationship and it has helped me to understand why endurance athletes try to find balance in the intensity, duration, type of training and recovery as dictated by the time of the year and the various races we do.

Click here to read the rest of Jeff's insightful story. 

Click here to read more about Summer Camp and enjoy all the photos.

Front Row, Back Row 
 
Beating the Demons, Chapter 3 

 

I just love this quote.  Like the quotes in Chapters 1 and 2 of Beating the Demons, it's simple, catchy and yet so deeply profound.  How many times have you felt that life and opportunities are just passing you by as you watch from the sideline?  Our demons often keep us from jumping into the game and going out long for the ball.  You just can't win at life if you're not willing to step up to the plate and take that big swing.

As an athlete and coach, I often use these sports analogies to motivate myself and other athletes to stay present and focus on the task at hand.  Our inner voices (the demons) create reasons to take us away from the moment and drift to a place of less risk, a place that victory cannot be found.  But it's not just in the world of sports that these situations occur.
 

Click here to read the rest of Coach Joe's article.