COMMUNITY

It is the off-season! It is time to sleep in later, eat whatever you want and let your bike collect some dust for the next few months. Or…you could use the off-season to focus on goals you have for the next year by improving a weakness and making your strength an even greater weapon on race day. Neglect the off season and you should expect minimal to no improvement next year.

One of my favorite hobbies is fishing. I love the opportunity that exists with every cast. I throw a small lure into this mass of water not knowing what is beneath and whether it will bite. The anticipation is exciting. The chance that I could catch something memorable keeps me engaged, even on the worst fishing trips. I have memories lodged in my head from fishing trips past that I will never forget – days when something I had only dreamed of bit and were wrestled to the shore. These days – these memories – made the many fishing trips that were just ok well worth it.

I raced my first triathlon when I was ten years old. I wasn’t in the best shape, did moderate training, finished ok, and I had a blast! It did not matter how I placed, I was in love with how this sport made me feel. I was proud of what I had accomplished and wanted to feel that way again. I wanted to get faster and loved that I controlled my results by how hard I worked. The sport immediately impacted my life.

This past weekend, one of our athletes, Barrett LeHardy, won one of the most competitive amateur triathlon in the world. USA Triathlon’s Age Group Olympic Nationals draws over 4,500 competitors to race head-to-head across the olympic and sprint distance races. When I asked Barrett what his dream would be when we first started working together, he told me he wanted to win Nationals and turn professional. He had a clear vision and a dream that he wanted to accomplish. I explained to him what this would take and the mindset that he would need to have during training. It was going to take consistency not just with simply doing the workouts but giving it his best effort in each workout. Over the past year, Barrett has only missed a few workouts due to situations out of his control. He went into each workout with the mindset of a champion. He knew what he wanted and what it would take – it was not easy by any means but he was committed. On race day, Barrett was confident that there was absolutely nothing he could have done different to prepare better. This resulted in him dropping over 6 minutes from his personal record and accomplishing both of his main goals for the year.

I grew up playing a ton of sports. I found triathlon at the age of ten, but it did not keep me from playing football, baseball, tennis, pole vaulting, and wrestling. I loved being active and competing. I thrived on improvement and being better than I was the day before.