It's All Coming to Fruition!
Wow, it sure has been awhile since I last sent out an update on the happening in the triathlon world, and with all that has happened in the last month or so, I feel one is now due.
To start off, I will be graduating a semester ahead of time—that being this fall—with a double major in Economics and History. This wasn’t at all planned, as I had thought about doing a semester abroad in Florence or London. However, the team I joined back in October, Multisport Madness Triathlon Team, has presented me with some chances of a lifetime.
To refresh, the professional portion of the team is based out in Colorado. As a result, I went to Colorado (Arvada to be exact which is just 15min west of Denver) for two weeks over the winter break. Well, needless to say, I loved the time I spent out there and the guys from the team. The offer was then made near the end of the trip for me to move out there the minute I was done with school. I am only going to be young once, so why not take a stab at this, and why not sooner rather than latter? I can always travel the world later in life.
The team has been great so far on all fronts. We are being fully equipped by 2XU for all our aperal and race suits. We have Exustar Cycling shoes (we’re the only team they will sponsor in the US) and Blue Bicycles as our leading sponsors. I personally am supported by BNRG, Rudy Projects, Kona Endurance, and Fiber Wise Pasta as well. My new coach, Sean Wendt, who is working with Jude on my weights, otherwise running everything, has been great thus far. He has me feeling like I am in some of the best pre-season shape of my life. We are moving out of the base phase, and I feel completely prepared for it. And, this year that it is crucial.
I will start my season early like I did last year. I will be back in Galveston, TX for the Lone Star Triathlon on the 29th of March. I will be in Texas in part for a mini-training camp with some of the team’s guys and gals. This race will also be my primary preparatory race before the big one. Just like in the past two years (the only other years I have been in this sport) my biggest race of the year will be one of my first.
On April 19th of this year I will be in Mazatlan, Mexico for the PATCO Pan American Triathlon Championship race. This race is also the only qualifying event for the only three U23 World Championship spots available to the US team. This is a continental cup, so that means it will be draft legal, and it will be highly competitive being the PATCO Championship. My goal this season is quite simple…qualify for Worlds. That of course means my primary focus is to race my best at the PATCO event in Mazatlan. Right now, things are looking great, so I am confident we are on the right path.
I would love to fill everyone in on the rest of my season’s events, but I don’t yet know what they will be. I can tell you that I will be in Chicago for the entire summer working an internship for our team’s founder, Keith Dickson, who works in high end real-estate (for instance, owning the land on the hill where the Hollywood sign sits). I will work to help him as well as work on managing the team in terms of sponsorships, development, and advertising. I will also be doing a number of criterium cycling races in the spring here too. It should be a great time.
As always, I will keep everyone up-to-date on the season and where I’ll be going. Take care everyone, and the best to you all!