20th year triathlon anniversary blog

Welcome to my new triathlon blog. First off, two things, I am new to blogging, but not to triathlons. Thank you to my little bro Steven who got me started with this blog. I decided I needed to create this for a few different reasons. This is my 20th straight year competing in triathlons and it has been one incredible journey! I have been lucky enough to have sponsors along the way. I can't begin to express how happy I am to have Trisports.com for another season (it's gonna be a memorable one). Lastly, I plan to update this blog as I workout and try to have one of the best seasons as a 42 year old! Hopefully by doing this blog, it will give me much needed motivation to train daily and push myself to new heights this and maybe my final serious season. I started doing something called triathlon in 1992 when I was a junior at NMSU. Back then I was working on campus as a lifeguard, hanging out, and pretty much just enjoying the college life. I remember one day when I was taking a break I saw a couple people enter the pool area with their bikes, put them against the wall, and jump in the water for a swim workout. I remember thinking to myself how fit they looked and I decided to talk to them about their workout. I knew who they were because they were notorious for either riding their bikes or running prior to entering the pool or vice versa, in other words they were simply always working out (and most of the staff thought they were crazy). I approached them and ask what they were training for. They told me they were training for a race that weekend and it was here in Las Cruces. Although I grew up in Socorro, NM where they had no cross country, swimming, or cycling programs growing up I did take a swimming class in college and thought I could  handle the swim portion of the triathlon(800 meters or a half mile). Let me back up just a little bit, growing up in Socorro the triathlon experience was very limited. My sports were pretty much basketball (state runner-ups) and golf where we did manage one state championship and one runner-up award. Running was something I did to just stay in shape for other sports, but never had I actually done a run or swim workout prior to '92. So back to the big debut, it was a race they used to hold at the local duck crapper called Burn Lake. Back then it was a staple in the Southwest Challenge Series and a pretty nice place to swim. The race consisted of a half mile swim, a 28 mile bike ride, and a nice 5.5 mile run. I decided to do the race as a team and I did the swim. After the race I remember how the competitors crossed the finish line and I knew I had to have that feeling for myself. I bought me a steel Diamond Back semi racing bike for 100 bucks and in the next couple weeks I did my first triathlon as a solo racer...I WAS HOOKED!! The three things I remember most about my first triathlon are: 1. Actually doing a transition from running shoes to my Vans for the bike portion. Why? I don't know, I guess I thought they were more comfortable. 2. I didn't know about tire inflation and did the whole race on about 50 lbs of pressure in each tire because I didn't own a pump for presta (proper inflation is about 100psi) 3. How good a beer tastes afterwards. That first year I did 5 more triathlons, bought proper bike shoes, and won my first age group trophy. Back then I didn't really have many goals in the sport it was just something I knew I had to do everyday in order to get better. There were no books to read or training plans to follow, we just made them up as we went along. It was just  plain and simple fun! As with anything in my life I knew that without goals I would become bored, stagnant, and lose interest. I knew there was a race in Hawaii called the Ironman World Championship. I wanted to qualify for it so in 1999 my brother and I headed out there withe family in tow to try to get a coveted slot. I made it and did the Ironman in 1999. It was easily the hardest thing I had ever endured in my life. I had to do it again and did in 2001. I remember people talking about how magical it was running down alii drive to the finish line and all that, but let me tell you for me there was nothing magical about running with what feels like diaper rash for 26 miles. I also remember when the whole ranking system came in from USAT (our governing body) back some time ago. I wanted to be named to the All American team because I figured coming from such a small town the chances of anyone being named an All American from Socorro were slim to none. 2010 marked my 11th consecutive year as being named to the All American list from USAT. Simply meaning we are in the sports upper 2% or so, but for 11 straight years! (What do you think about that my stupid ass 8th grade track coach who laughed at my running form and made me feel like complete crap in front of everyone)? I guess I can safely say I have accomplished all the goals I have set for myself and really was considering throwing in the towel after a very successful 2010 season (where I overalled a whopping 5 races), but there are a few factors that will continue to stoke the fires for 2011. Being so close to twenty straight years and working really hard to keep the streak alive, not to mention I know how much of a bear I turn into when I don't workout for a few days are always on my mind, but the biggest reason is the fact that I am very lucky to say I will be be sponsored again by Trisports.com. Winning a triathlon takes so many different factors to be in your favor that nobody can predict he or she will win x number of races over the season. With that being said, I do promise to commit to training again and be in better shape this season then last and represent well! Tomorrow will begin training for the 2011 campaign. I am off work for two weeks and plan on using this time to jump start my preseason base building..