Now back to the picture. This one was taken outside the JW Marriott Resort and Spa in Tucson just before the team race. The interesting thing about this picture, to me, is that it has both the NM athletes and a two generational gap in between. See for years I have considered myself as the true original triathlete from the 505 (NM). I have seen so many hot shots come and go from the state, beaten most, gotten my rear kicked by a few, and didn't really care for the majority (being honest). Now in the picture I noticed my back is turned and the dude to my left is looking directly forward, so as if to say "let me in" (me being on the way out). The guys name is Rance Irvin and he is both fast as shit and young! As with the zip code, which is now split with the 575 prefix, things change and I am cool with it. The problem herein lies with the fact that I feel I can still throw down and maybe even a little better then before given all the training as of late. No, I have never and will never lay down and take a beating without a fight (and I have a lot of fight left) I do believe the inevitable will happen within the next few years and I also have no doubt this kid has what it takes to go "big time" pro, beat the best, and make a name for himself. I know he has a plan on becoming the best NM triathlete and to tell the truth it is quite refreshing hearing this from someone who not only actually possesses all the tools which will ultimately make that statement a reality, but perhaps and even more importantly, this kid is one of the coolest, fastest, and nicest young guns I have ever met (Neal Segal being the other). One of the main reasons I have stayed in the game as long as I have was simply because I wasn't ready to pass my share of the NM torch, so to speak to the ones I saw coming up. Don't get me wrong I am certainly not ready to throw in the towel just yet, and even when the day comes I will be giving it my all to finish line (the only way I know how)...
Back to the training week. Going into the week I was just a little tired. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel it as we ascended Mt. Lemmon on day one, but the fact that I was able to make it to the top, keep relative pace with some serious athletes, and stay on my bike for 7 hours without cramping will be a huge confidence builder going into this season.When we got back to the shop our lunches were waiting. We ate quickly and were in the pool for workout number 2 in about :30 min. Now the swim workout was actually really fun. There were a few sets which I had never done before. One in particular totally brought out the aggressive competitive nature in me. We were tethered together and took off toward opposite ends of the pool, objective being to reach your end before the other swimmer reaches theirs. Yeah, tie me to someone and tell me it's you or them??? No brainer. It will be me who, more times than not, will touch first (however I did cramp pretty bad).
The next day consisted of a bike ride to a secret workout at a location yet be determined followed by the bike ride back to the shop. The location was at a very beautiful JW Marriott tucked away in the Tucson foothills and the secret workout was a triathlon and a pretty challenging one at that. It would be a huge understatement to say there are some fast athletes on the Trisports.com team, these guys and ladies can flat out fly! We were lined up according to swim speed (I was 10th, Rance was 3rd) and given a :20 sec. gap between swimmers. We swam 2.5 laps in the endless river against the current after we entered the starting gate which was atop the water slide...FUN! The swim took a little longer then I thought it would, but after that it was BIKE TIME. I wanted to see how my legs would respond to all the heavy training as of late and respond they did! They were tired but did what I asked of them... go hard as hell and don't cramp! The reason I mentioned placement at the swim start was because I made it my mission to see if I could catch everyone who started ahead of me...especially Rance. See, I felt I would be letting the guy down if I didn't put out my best effort on the bike because he has come to expect that I ride hard and to do anything less would have been just a bit disrespectful to him. The run was just as unique and reminded me of an xterra run course. When it was all said and done Rance had repaid the favor by blowing by in the final half mile much the same way I blew by him on the bike:) Fun times for sure! Two very specific Mikeisms (as I like to call them) which helped in training happened the first two days. 1. If you follow my blog you would know that one of my workouts is both swimming and running against the lazy river at the local aquatic center and 2. I often tether myself to my boat and pull it for a while when it gets hot out on the lake. I think of these workouts as fun, at least until I get pegged by an empty beer can by one of my redneck buddies.. My third, funniest, and final Mikeism was a little later to come on the ride back to town and in the next paragraph.
On the ride back to the shop it was decided we would ride over Gates pass and down to the shop. We knew we only had a few hours before the taco truck left trisports and we were a little lax on getting going. Once we were off it didn't take long for the first (of many) tires to flat. One tire/wheel in particular would not stop going flat no matter how many times we fixed it. The more times we waited the better the chances were for the taco truck to be long gone by the time we arrived. By the fifth or sixth flat (I don't quite remember) the team was getting hot, tired, hungry/starving, and a little annoyed...Enter Mikeism numero 3. I noticed an old brown crew cab pic up pulling onto Ajo and I made eye contact with the driver. That's all it took I knew in a glance that this dude was all good so I leaned my bike up against the guard rail, walked over to his pick up and started talking to the dude. I explained that we were doing a triathlon training camp, which he misinterpreted as as an astronaut training camp, and that my roommate was having bike trouble about a mile up the road. I asked him nicely if he would go pick him him up and take him back to trisports.com on Palo Verde Road. I offered him all the cash I had (7 bucks) he said sure thing and drove off. Sure the other team mates were like who was that guy? Did you actually know him? Down with the locals? I explained what I did and waited, joked, and prayed for my belief in humanity to be restored (yet again). Yeah, I guess I forgot to disclose the condition of the pick up or the appearance of the driver. I actually didn't notice his clothing, only the fact that he had mini braids and was somewhat a big guy. As it turns out he was big and also wearing short (really short) cut off jean shorts and an old wife beater. See I told him not to take no for an answer, and he said "no problem man". He shows up at the top of the hill where Craig, Billy, Thomas,and Amy were were waiting, introduces himself as Johnny and make everyone completely nerve racked:) :) :) After about 10-15 minutes of coaxing, Craig puts his bike in the back of his truck and they drive past us. YES!!! We wait for the other three to get back to us, laugh some more, swap a few stories, then make our way to the tacos and beer! If you read my blog you will no doubt have read about putting a positive spin on things around you. I don't just write shit to write it I actually try my best to do as I say. We went from hot, tired, irritated, and hungry to laughing, joking, riding again, and knowing the cold beer and tacos would be our saving grace! All thanks to a local cool dude named Johnny who thought he was helping out a bunch of astronauts in training:) Fu####-A Johnny you restored the faith!
Craig's view from the back seat of Johnny's truck. If you click on the pick you can see the rest of the team riding in the background.
Our view of Craig and Johnny passing by.
Salud...otra vez!!
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