Slowly getting accustomed to 2012

As I stated in my last post 2012 is bringing on changes and new challenges.  The one that has affected us the most is my wife going back to work. She has been at home with my daughter for the last three years. She absolutely loves her new job as a concierge at  a boutique orthopedic hospital in the Denver area.  However, she now gets up at 4:30 a.m. on most days which has really thrown my sleep schedule out of whack both in the morning as well as the evening since I am now trying to get to bed before my normal 11 or 12 at night.  I am also now in charge of getting our daughter off to school every morning. Because of the new job Laila has started going to a Catholic preschool. She LOVES school and I actually enjoy being responsible for her in the mornings.. It gets my butt out of bed, gets me eating breakfast every morning and allows Laila and me some time to discuss the major issues in the world as well as catch up on Dinosaur Train.  However, the new routine has screwed with my training schedule a bit. Last year I would stop at the gym a few nights a week and then head home. Now I feel like we need to spend more family time together before everyone goes to bed. Thus I head right home after work.  I think the answer will be more late night workouts after everyone has gone to bed as well as more lunch time workouts.

Another change this year is that I have a new coach. Last year I was with Suzanne from Steel City Endurance.  Suzanne was phenomenal.  My improvement on the swim was nothing short of miraculous. I wold recommend her as a triathlon, swim or cycling coach to anyone who asks.  The one drawback is that she lives in Pittsburgh and is a Steeler's fan.  It was really hard for me making the change since I consider Suzanne a friend and not just a coach.

This year I decided to go with Sonja of Go Sonja Endurance Coaching.  The main reason is that Sonja is local and can provide me with a lot of great information as to local routes, group activities, races etc. She also has a ton of practical experience since she is an accomplished triathlete who yet again qualified for Kona this year and is looking to break the 10 hour mark.   She also has a number of athletes that are going to participate in IM Wisconsin so I am hoping the group motivation will help with my training.

 I have no idea why Sonja has accepted me as an athlete. She limits the number she takes on and it appears to me that all of them are highly dedicated, fairly intense, focused and nutritionally sound.  In fact a recent post on the team web page was discussing recipes for kale..yes kale...and not even deep fried. Heck, one of her athletes is scheduled to do 30 Ironman distance races..THIS YEAR.  And then there is me.  I am definitely the kid sitting at the back of the room throwing spit balls and cramming for tests. Hopefully Sonja has a lot of patience.  I know that the practical knowledge I gain from her is going to mesh well with everything I learned from Suzanne last year.

I have already met a few new people in the  Denver Triathlon community.  I had a bike fit done by  Scott Geffre of Fit and Tri.  Scott was able to look at my current bike and fit, take some measurements and tell me what make and model triathlon bikes will fit me. (I am hoping to get one in the near future but it is definitely a want and not a need).  Funny thing is Scott remembered me from a bike he sold me 8 or 10 years ago as well as through mutual friends.

Scott does his fittings at Kompetitive Edge in Denver.  If you remember Kompetitive Edge is the shop that sponsors my coach as well as my friends Christy and Doreen.  I had not been there before and was expecting the elitist attitude that one finds at tri stores in Colorado..especially those stores that can cater to the elite athletes in the area.  I was pleasantly surprised that the owner Jared and manager Ryan are great down to earth guys that understood the needs of a fat undertrained triathlete like myself as well as the elites.  I definitely recommend checking Kompetitive Edge out if you are in the Denver area or on the web at www.kompetitiveedge.com.

As far as training is going..it has been very hit or miss.  My nutrition has also been horrendous. However, I think my family and I are coping with and embracing the new changes and challenges that this year has offered.  Further, Sonja has answered my plea for help as far as motivation and nutrition with some great advice that I have already put into practice.  Lastly, my daughter Laila is keeping me on track..telling me when I have had too much sugar or fat during the day.  Seriously, I have no idea where she gets it from.  We stopped at an Arbys to get something to drink and I asked her if she wanted a shake..she responded she had already had a slush the day before at lunch and that it would be best that she have a water because she didn't want too much sugar.  Really??

Lastly..a shout out to my sister Rebecca and her husband Erick who had a baby boy...Aiden Michael on January 13th.  It is wonderful having another nephew and this makes ten cousins for Laila.

What makes Aiden Michael's birth even more special is that he was born on the same day as my younger brother Michael, who we lost to a drunk driver 5 years ago.  Mike is on the far left of the picture below along with my brother Ben and me; and with his son Finn below.

Our family has always loved sports but Mike was the true athlete.  He was a great football player, softball player and exceptional mountain biker.  I think part of the reason I took up this triathlon gig was to get back into athletics and enjoy sports like our family did when we were young.

I hope everyone's 2012 is looking bright and off to a good start.