Por Amor al Arte

Now, for those of you who don't hablar español, the title here is a Spanish saying that roughly translates to "for love of the art." This is exactly what my race this morning in Longmont was all about. Sure, I had gone to the Nebraska/Wyoming football game the night before. Sure, I had finally gotten to bed in a smoking-allowed hotel room (they still exist??) at 1 AM, but I was going to race, and that's all I cared about. When I was out on the course today, I was reminded exactly why I love this sport.

Personally, I feel that too many triathletes get into crunching numbers about hours of sleep, calories, training, heart rate zones, etc. going into a race. Yeah, these are all great guidelines, and if they make you feel better, then go for it. I, however, prefer a much more organic approach. I obviously have to make some sacrifices in order to perform at the level I do, but I am not going to become a slave to triathlon just yet by giving up some of the things I love (like football, barbecue, and beer on a Saturday afternoon) just to feel better about my upcoming race. I quote the Olympic gold-medalist swimmer Amanda Beard in saying "If I am not having fun in life, I am not going to swim fast..."

Basically what I am saying is, don't get so caught up in the technical aspect of training and racing all the time and do what feels right. Ditch the GPS unit and run until your mind is clear, not until the $300 electronic tells you to stop. Screw the protein shake and eat a cookie with a half an inch of frosting on top after a workout because it sounds good. Enter in a triathlon on a whim because you want to feel the adrenaline of the starting horn and 60 sets of thrashing arms around you in the water, not because you want to get a PR. In my experience, if you do all of these things, the results will come... but they will also kind of be an afterthought to the journey getting you there.

I mean if I can do this in the morning...

 Following a night like this....

Then I call that a great weekend.

But who am I to say... after all, I came in 4th overall today, not 1st. Well, I can honestly say this has been my favorite post to write so far, I only hope you all enjoy reading it. Thanks for reading, and until next time, as always, FOLLOW THE PACERABBIT!