Racing Crawfishman Triathlon recently, along with the build-up to the sadly canceled La Tri had me feeling very nostalgic over the past month or so, but I have been formulating my thoughts on this blog post for a while now.  Each of us participate in endurance sports for different reasons and there will likely be a future post on your “why do you do it” but for now let’s focus on how picking events and having good training partners can be very powerful.  That photo may not be the best one ever taken considering the shadows on everyone’s faces but those folks were some of the best training partners I ever had.  Ironman Coeur d’Alene was the big team event in 2010 and everyone was preparing for the race, training together and holding each other accountable.  This year, Ironman Arizona will be our largest team event.  Showing up at the pool, meeting for runs or long rides is always a little easier when you have someone joining you for the workout.  Having an event on the schedule is a due date to show your work.  We should all have an idea of where we are fitness wise based on how much training we have done and “the sensations” we get from our body.  But racing is not only fun, it puts your preparation and execution to the test.

One of my goals with the team is to bring people together, challenge each other, and push each other to grow.  Find the people that you resonate with and hold each other accountable. Pick some events that will be fun to travel to, that will challenge you and maybe even scare you a little bit.  After that, do the work, show up, execute your plan, and have some fun trying to beat your friends but more importantly be your best self.