NEW! 2010 Boulder Altitude Camp presented by Gemini Multisport & Team Hendryx

Press Release




2010 Boulder Altitude Camp (Presented by Gemini Multisport & Team Hendryx)



When: The week of May 23rd to May 29th, 2010.



What: Join our expert coaches at altitude in the Rocky Mountains for a week of fun filled long distance triathlon training and education geared towards the 9 to 12 hour athlete who is looking to take their knowledge and training to another level. LT Testing, guest speakers, swim & run video analysis, welcome and camp-end group dinners, supported endurance ride, trail runs, group swims and rides, the best camp goodie bag around, and much, much more--all taking place in the beautiful triathlon Mecca of Boulder, Colorado. If you are looking for a peak mileage training week in preparation for Ironman CDA or Ironman USA, or if you just want to accelerate your season and knowledge about being your best, this camp is for YOU!

Camp Information/Registration: There are 15 slots available for the camp, for more information on registration:
 http://www.geminimultisport.com/10boulderaltitudecamp.html


Camp Directors: Kevin Konczak (USAT Level II Coach/20x Ironman) of Gemini Multisport and Sean Hendryx (USAT Level I Coach/M.S. Kinesiology) of Team Hendryx.

December 15, 2009

December 21st is the start of the new year for me (Winter Solstice). Not just a new race season, but each day the sun is out a little longer and the spring will rush up on us before we know it.


Time to start thinking about the when and where for vacations, house projects, getting the yard ready for the spring foliage growth, etc. So much to do and so little time. Each week my list of things to do grows by a few items, while time allows me to strike only a couple from that list. It isn’t a time management issue at all, but more of an overwhelming (at times) list of things that seem to fall in my lap. The many hats I wear day to day really need to be sewn together to make one big sombrero! It sure keeps me hopping though, and allows for an exciting year.



Last summer’s fence project was a doozy. The wind storms had snapped off the old fence at the bottom of the 4 x 4s, so my neighbor & I rebuilt it. I had only built one 20 foot section of fence about 5 years earlier with a friend, so I was going off of memory to do this right. It turned out great & looks pretty darned good. It did use up a lot of time resources and quickly became labeled as a “pain in the behind” project. But heck, I have a nice looking fence now! Too bad I have to build another entire section of fence yet—that will be more of a pain, but it too will look great when all is done.



One project that will be using up some time this spring will be the 2010 B.A.C. A charity event taking place late spring, which I will run along with another coach from Florida. The details are nearly complete, so stay tuned if you’re a triathlete and participate in Ironman events—because this will be designed specifically for those type of athletes. What does B.A.C. stand for? You’ll just have to wait a little while longer. Possibly the next blog entry. Since I write about two of them a month on average, it will be the next or the one just after that.



On another subject, when I raced on the cross country running team in university, we had a wacky team captain. Outstanding runner, so much talent, but a year after I left the town where I went to school, I totally forgot the guy’s name. I ran across that name on the internet yesterday, it sounded familiar—but I wasn’t sure who it was. I Googled his name and clicked on “Images” and found an interview with him. While I didn’t recognize him at first (Tracey Lokken), the name sounded as if I should know him. Later in the interview he became more “animated” and the 20 years that have passed since I knew/ran with him peeled away. There he was…Tracey, the same old Tracey, just looking a little older. Little did I know he kept running and worked hard; enough to become the 2009 US National Master’s Marathon Champion. Pretty impressive! His first ever marathon was more impressive—at 2:23! “That thar is a speedy old guy!” Good on ya Tracey!

Summing it all up 2009

Summing up a year is at best, a generalization of what is at the forefront of the mind. Let me rewind and speak specifically about family growth, with the little rascal growing I don’t know how many inches taller—but it sure seems like he went from a toddler to a post-toddler size overnight. It is amazing the memory capacity of the little ones, and how sponge-like they are in their observations of the world around them, as well as how helpful they really can be when they’re not being helpful (read as: making more messes than they clean up). The best thing about it is that it never really gets old and these really are some of the best of times to capture in my memory for the upcoming later years. Of course, my better half has been actively involved in teaching the majority learned things by the “mini-me”…while taking a backseat in competition to do so in 2009 with all the different projects I've been in this year. Then again, she actually raced more than I did this year! Looking back, I have reduced my racing this year (again), to limit it to a 5K running race in January, then a winter duathlon a couple weeks later, all for “funzzies” to test out the injury and assess what I would need to do in order to get ready for my real “A” race which was Ironman CDA in June. I had a lot of sharing/support from the better half this year to get back into things and chose to train rather than race a lot. After qualifying for the Hawaii Ironman (with what I consider a rather good race for me in CDA, given the physical issues the last several years), the rest of the season was set to be as much family time and preparation as I could for Hawaii.




There was the last-minute 5K I hopped in while visiting my parents on the 4th of July. This was a surprise to me as 12 days before I had finished a very difficult course at Ironman CDA. My dad told me about a 5K to be held on the 4th of July. Race morning I still wasn’t sure I’d do it, feeling a slight calf strain leftover from IM CDA. Finally, about 1.5 hrs from race start, I hopped out of bed, had a cup of coffee & jogged down to the start and entered. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was a tad nervous showing up to the start in my hometown with some of the top local runners there, including a guy from downstate who was an NCAA All-American runner in college & head coach of a track team. The long and short of it was the nerves were mainly from knowing I did a full Ironman only 12 days prior, now toeing the line in a race I never have even trained for since high school, against some decent competition (but far from decent compared to Boulder). I ended up starting in the second row behind some girls after a nice long warm up, then after about 100 yards I took the lead. I figured I may as well have some fun with it and “go-for-it” to see how many would fall off pace. It wasn’t until about a half mile before it was myself and some high school runner were alone—with him tailing me trying to draft off of me. I knew the imaginary rubber-band effect can be broken with mind games, especially at an inexperienced age of a high school runner. They are usually (not always) more prone to tactical games than someone my age. I decided to cut quickly to the left on the path then accelerate. When I heard him starting to follow my left direction, I moved quickly to the right. Then a few more times…before long, the zigzagging may have tired him out and busted that imaginary rubber band. From there I just tried to keep up with the lead biker, when he picked it up, I picked it up to try to catch him. At that point I didn’t really care who was behind me as I only tried to go as fast as I could. About 2 miles into the race, I started to tire and slowed the next ¾ mile. When I knew the finish was near, I picked it up. My Garmin 305 GPS told me I was 16:04 for 3.1 miles, a new PR at age 40. Not too shabby—to top it off, it was a course record. Had I known I was that close to breaking 16 minutes, I most certainly would & could have picked it up to chop 5 seconds off in that 2 mile-2.75 mile portion where I slowed down to try to recover. There were 223 racers which is a pretty good turnout for this small city.

I think my legs were sorer the day after the 5K than they were after IM CDA.



One highlight of the season was a pre-Kona long ride with one of my athletes I coach, Max. He’s been barreling through the ranks from an 11+ Ironman athlete to now a 9:12 finish at Ironman Arizona last week. I’ve worked with him for the past 4-5 years, and he has done everything I’ve told him to a tee—and fills out his log in such detail that it is like being right there training with him—watching (which I only did a couple times). I get regular power meter downloads, HRM downloads and tons of comments/feelings & feedback. I told him it would take 4-5 years if he did everything I said to get to Hawaii. This was the fourth year. We road 125 miles on a long ride up in the mountains, where I usually could pounce and drop him at will. Actually, that would be true for the flats as well. However, this was more for me to size up how his training had been going (a in person spot check I guess you could say). I needed to see how strong he was to finalize his training before IM AZ. After red-lining the entire day, for the first time ever he was able to drop me at will, and then…I knew he was ready to claim his spot for Hawaii. I lost count how many times he turned around or stopped to wait for me after disappearing up the highway at 9,000 feet altitude. All he needed to do was race and put it together—he was ready for sure. He is a swimmer by nature, and the run has become his strength. He raced just like I race…get a good placing on the swim, be competitive on the bike, and try to blow away the remaining folks on the run. Typical KK race style. In doing so, he surpassed my PR of 9:14 with his 9:12. While the swim course seems to be a little faster than the ocean (AZ is in a canal), the run seems to be a little hillier than IM FL where I set my PR, and so his time was even more impressive. I digress…the fact is, Max was ready and lean & mean. The power he had on the bike made me realize I was either aging & losing it, or I was really just being dusted by a now superior cyclist. After seeing his time at IM AZ, the latter was the apparent truth. Max finished 3rd in the 30-34 and 27th overall, stamping his first ever ticket to Kona. All the work I had him do on the bike this year took his weakness to his strength. Even more than his run (how could this be if his placing on the run was 2 spots better than his bike?) Simple, he had the 4th fastest bike in his AG but was still able to run with the 2nd fastest run. That shows his fitness on the bike was so strong it was only for that reason that he could possibly run so fast like the bike didn’t even happen.



Before Kona, I competed in my third Sombrero Ranch Trail Race. This is the hardest 3-something miles you’ll ever do. It gains 1,000 feet in about 1.25 miles. It was only 3 weeks out from Kona, so with rocks, tree roots, and the chance for twisting an ankle, it was a big risk. However, I love the race and wasn’t feeling too confident for Hawaii anyhow as training was not going that well on the bike anyhow (injury was acting up). If something happened I figured it would be minor anyhow, as my background initially is in cross country running. I ended up running more of the race in 5-7th place but with about ¾ mile left overtook Master’s running legend Andy Ames and started to slowly build a gap. I would have moved into second a little sooner but got caught behind some quickly tiring runners on some very rocky sections where I just could not pass for what seems like a half mile. Essentially, I was being held up by a few runners who weren’t really adept at downhill rocky trails. At the top of the last hill, I turned off course about 20 yards and Andy yelled over to me, “This way!” I turned around for a quick look and was back on course. At this point I felt he slowed up so I could get back into the same position I was in, since he wasn’t quite to the crest of the hill. Once heading downhill, I let my legs fly as fast as they could give the rocks and ruts on the trail. Andy was not able to overtake me downhill so I ended up second overall. It was good sportsmanship for Andy to call me back on course and not attack when he saw I went off course, but I’m pretty sure had I stayed on course I would have placed ahead of him by a slightly larger margin than what I did. Either way, he is a legend in the Boulder area and this was my first win over him.



The season pretty much ended like this:



Quaker 5K: 1st AG/18th overall

Chilly Cheeks Duathlon #2: 3rd overall

Ironman CDA: 3rd AG (Kona Qualified-fastest AG run split)

Firecracker 5K: 1st overall (course record at 16:04 & P.R.)

Sombrero Ranch Trail Run: 2nd overall

Hawaii Ironman: 66th AG/448th overall (UGH!)



From a coaching standpoint, I’ve had success across the board. Obviously the first to mention is Max, enough can’t be said about what he’s done in the past 4 years to become an elite amateur in any distance race. Next, Bob…was on pace to break his P.R. at Ironman Florida by over an hour until he had knee issues and stomach virus (next year Bob!) There was Bill, who went out to become Idaho state champ this summer in his Age Group, then there was Laurie who after much coaxing to do Ironman Florida, overcame her doubts and ended up missing her Kona slot by just a small margin, finishing in P.R. time and 8th in her Age Group—a testament to the talent she has. Those were just a few success stories from a few athletes. It was certainly a success year all around. There were a few athletes who fought some injuries through accident or because of the way they are naturally built resulting in biomechanical issues. There were those who stopped far too short of giving their aspirations an honest “go” from the start, but still ended up doing okay. Once those issues are tended to, then they should get back in the saddle and pick up where they left off, for working only a few months is hardly a fully-dedicated effort to succeed in Ironman racing. Athletes need to be honest with their initial goals and how realistic they are related to their motivation and dedication levels. Some did not keep good training logs; some made excuses and did not follow the program, then after a few months seemed to lose faith in them, and finally, others just didn’t even get off the ground after a couple weeks for some reason or another. I certainly hope they overcome this outlook, as that is what truly holds them back from their dreams. So many people go 99% of the way to their goals and stop when they are literally one step away…1% away. Ever wonder what the top 1% most successful people in any field have in common? They push through and give the 1% effort that the other 99% did not. If you want it bad enough and are willing to work for it, anything can happen. Anything.

Launching 2010

There are so many things for 2010 that will be going on it is not easy to figure out where to start. First, an announcement from Gemini Multisport about (here's the teaser)...2010 B.A.C.  It will take place here in Boulder--an event that is truly world class in every aspect. Triathletes from all over the country will be wanting to hear when the 2011 B.A.C. will take place. Nuff said, stay tuned to http://www.geminimultisport.com/latestnews.html for announcements by the end of the year.

The winter has stricken Boulder with almost 8 inches of snow the last 48 hours, with cold temps. The serpantine belt came off one of the vehicles so that put a damper on a planned cold run through the city. This weather makes you want to just rewind back to the summer time or at least forward to next summer. The good news about the sun going down so soon this time of year is in knowing that Dec. 21st isn't that far away--then the daylight slowly extends. Minute by minute every few days, but it is a sign that the warmth of spring is on its way. Now is a great time to spend getting those "rainy day" items completed around the house, as they will surely be replaced with another long list of to do things.

2009 Hawaii Ironman Race Report

2009 Ironman Hawaii Race Report/KK

The week leading up to race day went well, no blips in the radar to think anything would have affected me one way or another. I arrived in Kona lean and feeling quite prepared (but not quite as much as IM CDA). The run was “on” as I just finished 2nd overall in a mountain trail race three weeks before IM Hawaii. The swim has been quite “on” compared to the past as well, yet my confidence on the bike wasn’t there despite spending a lot of time in the saddle this year. My recovery from a two-year long injury just wasn’t 100%, so no matter what I did this year my biking hasn’t been too powerful (may next year eh?)

The issues that brought down the roof on this edition of Hawaii were largely self-imposed. #1, NEVER start next to the pier. I’ve started there only once and it worked out as I could swim “inside” the buoys, but this year there were nearly 100 surfboards linked together forming a barrier so swimmers couldn’t swim inside the buoys. When the gun went off, I was smashed up against the boards—starting in the third row. Immediately I was kicked, submerged, punched and forced to go into breast-stroke mode for several minutes. Briefly I contemplating grabbing a surf board just to get some air as this was the most cruel/rude group I’ve been with in Hawaii in eight attempts. It was as if safety and courtesy didn’t matter to anyone. Eventually, before the turn around I was kicked or punched in the nose which led to a slight nosebleed. Note to self next time around…start FAR left by the Body Glove boat and avoid the congestion. Better to lose a big of swim draft and have the freedom to swim AROUND the congestion in open water. I think this has been a common strategy for me in most Ironman races and it worked well. I can swim faster on my own in open water than with a group that is always fighting for someone’s feet—there seems to be a yo-yo effect in a line of swimmers. Plus, there seems to be a lot of dangerous elbowing and kicking by someone in a group because they don’t like their toes touched when someone swims behind them too closely. This ended up being a rather slow swim for me despite my new Blue Seventy speed suit (I’m sure it would have been much slower without it in fact.) The large amount of breast-stroke done this time around pretty much put the kabash on everything in the first leg due to congestion—there just wasn’t any open water to go to left or right. Right—surfboards. Left—about a few hundred swimmers…thus, trapped. Exiting the water there were carpeted steps (different from the ramp on the other side of the pier last time I raced here.) There were steps underwater and before anyone said anything such as, “Watch the steps underwater!” BOOM! I had tripped, ripping a 2-inch portion of skin off my right shin—falling to the ground. What a great way to start the day…slow swim, bloody nose and now a gash in my leg with an instant bruise. It has been a week now and has been healing quickly.

T1: Uneventful, as entertainment was provided by my decision to use DeSoto Cool Wings. Basically they are sleeves connected by material over the upper back, which you pour water over during the race in order to keep cool and keep the sun stay off your back. Try putting those on with wet skin—it doesn’t work so well. It must have taken a clear 45 seconds alone to put those on. Next time, I’ll use a full Craft Sun Shirt or something. At least I didn’t get burned during the bike all over my shoulders as I usually do.

Bike: There must have been around 600 bikers passing me—most all in packs. The groups of approximately 5-20 were common all the way to Hawi. Not much to say here other than if those passing me in the packs feel like they actually beat me this day, more power to them. There were marshals that would ride up to a pack of 20, nobody broke it up, and then the marshals just drove off on their motorbikes without taking a number or flashing a penalty card. Clearly, WTC did an extra, extra poor job of marshalling the AG athletes. I have plenty of video footage to prove my point as well. In addition, I saw the shadow of one guy for around a mile, practically so close to me that he was nearly on the same bike. I turned around and told him that if I wanted to ride so close with someone, I would have packed a tandem bicycle for the race. He muttered some expletives and peeled off my wheel. This is where I think the other part of my bike leg went in the drain: I missed my Infinit Nutrition “Special Needs Bag” bottle at Hawi. There was nearly 400 calories in that bottle, compared to nearly 150 I could take in/stomach through Gatorade Endurance and other aid station hand-offs. I simply ran out of steam from caloric deficit. In hindsight I should have stopped for the Infinit until they could run it to me…especially since I stopped for a bathroom break right at the turn around (there was a minute right there). I used Salt Stick tabs in addition to Infinit, this all worked well until I ran out of both of them on the bike. From Hawi back there was a constant headwind but the gusts weren’t bad this year. It was simply steady with 13 mph on some sections of flat in aero position. Tough, tough bike when you bike it fairly.

T2: Stopped for a bathroom break again but not much exciting here aside from a tough time standing up to run just after dismounting the bike. The old back was a bit stiff. At least heading out onto the run course…I saw two athletes just walking right out of T2. Methinks they went too hard on the bike.

Run: This went well at a 7:08 pace for the first six or so miles. Then my issues with heat management set in. I began to walk the aid stations after 10K, just to grab what I could to keep myself going. Figure about 20 aid stations (that’s a LOT of lost time). However, it went much better than the bike leg went. I was able to pass hundreds of athletes with few passing me. There were a few in my AG from IM CDA that I saw in the energy lab who I managed to gain a lot of time on here. The AG winner from CDA ended up being only 3 minutes ahead of me at the end of the day while gaining around 20 on the bike alone. To think—if I just hopped on the group of cyclists like everyone else seemed to be doing all day long, I may have gone sub-10 hrs. But I couldn’t enjoy my placing knowing I didn’t do it on my own. During the run, I was able to pass Andreas Neidrig (a pro) who has won Ironman races outside of the USA. There were some other notables I finished ahead of, but there were some not-so-notables who finished high today as well. Depends on how you choose to race a championship race I guess (draft or not). I finished in a 3:26 marathon with a final mile of 6:22. Pulled off an “okay” run considering how the day started. As the run went on, I felt better and better, wondering where all my power went on the bike and in the middle of the run. My lighter weight this season helped my running no doubt, However I may have lost a bit on my cycling leg due to that. I did not lift many weights this season due to recovery of the leg injury, so that will be something to look at for ’10. It was really a victory in itself getting back to Kona after so many years of turning down slots, and it was enjoyable this time around without the pressure. Sure some of the other competitors ticked me off in how they chose to curb the rules for their own gain, but it was fun getting back to Kona nonetheless. My main goal was reached this year, getting to Kona. My second goal of winning my AG in CDA didn’t happen (but I was 3rd so that was close!). My third goal of setting a Kona PR didn’t happen either (but those were tactical, nutritional, and strategic errors on my part). At least the #1 goal was reached, so with lofty goals it was a very successful but short season.

Notes for 2010 & lessons learned: Start AWAY from the pier to find clear water in Kona. Stop to get your race nutrition at Hawi, it is VITAL. Move down a tooth from 54 to 53 (too large of a gear given the terrain). Do NOT use DeSoto cool wings, instead use a moisture wicking light colored shirt like the CRAFT shirt Tbjorn Sindeballe used—it’ll be easier to put on & pull down rather than slip an arm through and get it around the backside. Ride close to the LEGAL limit of the draft zone and don’t get carried away with too much distance as that will cause you to drop back much faster. Be careful coming up the steps at the end of the swim. Finally, wear LIGHT colored clothes on the run, it could keep you from overheating early on along the coast where the humidity is high on Alii Drive. Besides that, keep reaching high and never give up. We all learn each and every Ironman, even the top pros—it is a continual process and is never completed until the last time we race. I’ve set some new goals for 2010, different from this year, and hopefully these will start taking shape in a matter of months. The season is over, it’s family time, they’ve made a lot of sacrifices for this trip so it is payback time.

Story of a real hero...

A long time ago in a land far, far away I began my career in triathlon, which developed through a lot of hard work and seemingly endless hours of post-midnight bike trainer rides in the basement of my parent’s house. It was in the wee hours of the morning after a 12 PM-12 AM, or 6 AM to 6 PM or whatever screwy hours they gave me…in a labor job during the summers between college years, when already tired—I pounded out the miles in the summer night heat of a small room with no air conditioning. After those rides I would usually take to the plastic covered concrete weights I inherited from my brother who decided exercise would not be part of his daily lifestyle. The only real reason I wasn’t heading straight to bed upon my shift’s end was because I didn’t like second place. Not in the overall standings or my age group…second was the first place loser. Fast forward to the race seasons during college and post-college years, when first place overall in my area was nearly an every race occurrence. There was a weekend where I won a triathlon on Saturday, then raced again the next day—winning both of them overall. It was not just by a small margin, but quite a bit—well over 5 minutes in both sprint races.

Was it a case of poor competition and small fields? Possibly, but not to those attending the races. I had heard of another fast guy from Green Bay that was lighting up the circuit around the US, in pretty much any town/any race whether it was on the national or world level. One day this guy showed up at a race I fully expected to win. I actually thought I was in the lead at one point until I got about a mile from the 10 K turn around of the run. This guy would have been at the 4 mile marker while I was only at the 2 mile marker…”What the…? *)@” Did this guy take a short cut and do the entire course? “No bleeping way…” I thought to myself. Later I found out it was the guy from Green Bay and it all made sense. I had a chance to talk to him…his name: Chris Peeters. A few years later he showed up again and I was able to close the gap on the bike…this time, my foe was only about a quarter mile into the run when I was arriving at T2. Finally, I was able to show myself Chris was in fact human by denting his large lead out of the swim. Little did I know I had blown my running legs in order to chase him down (but I had still biked faster so that was a small victory in itself). Over the years this guy was the carrot I chased in my training sessions, since he was the best.

Chris disappeared for a few years while going to medical school, getting his doctorate in Radiology. It took me a few years to improve and leap up to levels that included Team USA and multiple Ironman World Championships. When he returned to racing after med school, he came back to the sport stronger. Once again, he was faster, stronger and was able to take down the likes of even some of the strongest athletes in the world. Athletes who have become of legendary age group lore—many of whom I had already beaten multiple times such as Tim Hola from the semi-pro group Team Timex. Even when guys like Hola were at their very best at the Ironman World Championships, Chris’s best was better, faster. An unassuming guy who I got to know over the last two decades, Chris is a class act. Always humble and willing to share whatever knowledge about racing and training, Chris was far from protecting his routine. I admired the accomplishments both on the race scene and off the race scene. He is a whole 3-4 years older than I am, so not too much older…yet we raced each other for nearly two decades and I have never finished ahead of him.

Likely, Chris never knew it was he that would help drive me to become better in this sport. He was one of my biggest rivals yet I was nothing of the sort to him as he was so much faster—nor likely was I ever a threat in races to him no matter what the distance. Still, this is a guy that I placed a target on for nearly two decades and who over those years, became one of the few heroes I had in the sport. Not Dave Scott, Mark Allen, Scott Molina, or Scott Tinley, but a guy from Green Bay. He is a “real” person with a “real” job, not a media-driven full time sponsored athlete who pretends they have lived in the real world most of us live in while trying to climb the rankings of this sport. No salaries to buoy his training over the years by some sponsor, or months of just training in exotic places like so many pros at the top level have done. That is why I saw some of myself in him, and aspired to remotely reach even a sliver of what he has done in the sport. If he could do it so could I type of thing.

I was riding one day this summer with Barry Siff, founder of 5430 Sports, when he told me Chris Peeters was retiring from racing at a young age of 43. Turned out that he recently discovered he has M.S. If you don’t know what this is, it is a cruel sentence on the human body that debilitates those afflicted with it. There are many forms of it and degrees of severity, but let’s just say it isn’t something an athlete can really ever see themselves having because we are usually so used to being able to achieve the impossible with our body. I was at the US Junior National Championships coaching in the Mentor Program for USAT just a few weeks ago, running a clinic for over 100 kids, with about 6 assistant coaches. I contacted Chris since I was to be in the area, after not seeing him for some years (of course I fell out of touch and wondered where the heck he had been…)

He invited me over to his house for dinner, to meet his wife and 8-month old daughter. I was flattered to be invited to sit down for supper at one of my biggest hero’s home. I must admit, it was a great time. I passed on the beer and went for what was actually one of the tastiest spinach salads I’ve had (but picked the almonds out due to allergies). He had ordered pizza, so Chris, Laurie (Chris’s wife), and I sat around reminiscing about the athletes we raced against back in the Midwest throughout the years. Then…the awkward part of the visit came that choked me up (I tried to hide it best I could). I feel you should tell people of their importance in your life, especially, if they help you to become a better person or whatever. Just because they helped you in some way, shape or form—even if you don’t normally hang out together. I think Chris picked up on the fact I was bothered by his diagnosis and mentioned something about how people can have pity parties or just move on in life. I wasn’t there for a pity party certainly, but to tell him how much of a POSITIVE effect he has had on my life without him directly knowing it. The getting “choked up” part came about just because I care about people I think it is a raw deal he is getting…that’s just me. Regardless, I set out to do something I should have told him a long time ago, tell him. It may have seemed odd for him and his wife to hear, but what the hell, I’ve never claimed I wasn’t odd in some way, shape or form. In hindsight, I felt like a dork, but whatever.
I wondered why I never mentioned this to him before. All I could come up with is that I needed to keep my race face on whenever I saw him and not give up any power. I really honestly felt I could take him one day, now I’ll never know. One thing that is for sure, it doesn’t matter. In fact, what matters most is that he as served a great purpose in my life whether he knew it or not, causing me to aspire to become better than what I could have been without him as a carrot. I suppose it is a case of “if he could do it so can I” type of thing as I said earlier. I left his house feeling like I made contact with an old friend, sitting around having an informal dinner chatting about old times. It was pretty cool and I HOPE it wasn’t too weird for him to hear how he inspired me. Last thoughts here…I sure wish a cure for MS would become a reality with all the Labor Day millions in research gathered over the years. Last year, I also lost the manager that hired me last year due to MS, it is time a cure came about to battle it down to the levels of a head cold. What a great thing this would be with Labor Day just passing about a week ago. Besides, it sure would be nice to kick Chris’s butt in a triathlon at least one time!

Blue Seventy Rocks!

Just got back from a 50K ride with aero position intervals, upon returning there was a box on the doorstep. It was my Blue Seventy Kit for Hawaii Ironman Championships in less than 5 weeks! Talk about a sweet suit! The Point Zero 3.0+ fit like a glove & the mirrored goggles should be awesome for the hot Kona sun. Maybe I'll have to test drive it out to the Coffees of Hawaii raft floating in Kailua Bay, I'll be able to get there quicker now at least, and in style. If you haven't checked it out, go to KK'S POST tab on my website: www.geminimultisport.com for the latest post.

Also, congratulations to Dr. Molly Craven of Michigan, on her new baby. Molly is an ex-girlfriend that has always been an awesome person to stay in touch with, and all around good human being. An athlete herself and former kick-butt cross country skier, Molly offed to Med School and met up with an army doctor, got hitched and is now practicing in lower Michigan. She went for her dream and is now living it. Way to go Molly!