Time to air some things out...

Well I think I needed that month off hiatus from blogging. I've been pretty consistent about blogging every week for the past three years. After a poor showing at San Diego International - I just needed some time to get away from triathlon mentally and neglecting this blog was part of that. I'm not going to do a race report on SDIT - I feel that it's behind me now and although it did leave a mark on me mentally and physically, it has made me stronger NOW and that's all I'm concerned with. I've had a lot of time to think about the sport and my involvement. Time to air some things out:

1. It gets pretty tricky when you get to the so called "elite" level. Everyone has their opinions on what elite is. Mine is simple - if you're FOP (front of pack) in legit races, you're elite. I consider myself there and when you're part of an "elite" team - such as Wattie Ink - you have duties/responsibilities. Promote the team and brand. A big part of that is promoting yourself. The more exposure I get, the more exposure Wattie and my sponsors get. So I've been pretty aggressive over the past few years. This means posting workouts to help promote sponsors, blogging/telling your story to help promote sponsors and being very active in social media - yup, to help promote sponsors. Our job is to create excitement and I feel I've done a good job at that along with a lot of my team mates. However, this is a little different approach from what I have always been used to. You know the saying, "Let your legs do the talking..." My old high school coach (who past away years back) was a big believer in that and so was I. Even through my college years we took the same approach. Here I was, from a little private school in CA lining up against the biggest/fastest 4x800 teams in the nation at the Penn Relays. Even dropping the baton we went 7:19 and took down some of the biggest names in the sport.

Fast forward to 2013 and I think things are a lot different now. Companies need triathletes to inspire others to buy their product. People don't buy the product you are using, they are buying you! Social media has completely changed the way companies market their product. If you are a fast triathlete that never posts, never blogs, just shows up to races and wins - you're not going to be ideal sponsorship material. Unless you have Craig Alexander talent, no one will ever know who you are. You'll show up, win your races for 5-10 years then fade away without making any kind of impact on the sport or those that follow it. Fine you say, but the reality is - you had inspiration written all over you. You could have been that person that got someone off the couch and into triathlon. You could have been that person that took a start-up company and helped turned it into a major brand. It could have launched a coaching career, a writing gig, a dream job, allowed you to explore the world racing and traveling. Being loud and having a voice may not be that bad after all...

I've chosen to be a little loud which comes with a lot of negativity. With a lot of random "followers" comes a lot of opportunity to take jabs at me. "Cocky" "Overrated" amongst other things. I have thick skin so it doesn't bother me (actually motivates me) but those that actually know me - know who I really am. Just know that I'm just doing my job on this team and trying to motivate others. This is a hobby of mine - I don't think I'm the next Andy Potts or anything, just doing my best to get as fast as I possibly can while doing my job on this team. Which brings me to my next point...

2. I've mentioned this before, but I don't do this for "fun." If I was doing this for fun I'd train half the time I do now and workout when I feel like it. Granted, there are times when I'm working out and I'm having a blast (especially going fast) but it's not the reason why I do this. I do it to compete. I've always had a huge competitive drive and once I switched from a sales job to a marketing position ten years ago I had an empty void in my life. Once I found triathlon three years ago - the void was filled and the competitiveness in me drives me every single day. Outsiders sometimes don't understand why I take it so seriously. The question is, why wouldn't I take it so seriously? Time is a very serious subject - we don't have a lot of it in this lifetime!! When you invest a lot of time and energy into something-especially away from your family, wouldn't you care how well you did at it? To not care about your outcomes is a lack of respect for the sport. It's a sport that challenges you every single day and I will always take my races just as serious as I do my workouts. And I'll be loud about it all...

If it wasn't for those loud triathletes that I've followed over the years I'd probably still be a recreational runner trying to loose a little weight and getting injured often. If it wasn't for those loud triathletes that posted their workouts, showed me how much time it takes to get good and how much suffering/sacrifice is involved to get faster - I'd still have that void in my life.

This is why I'm loud. I know it bothers some but it motivates others even more. Month in and month out I will continue to talk myself and my sponsors up and will always enter a race 100% committed to back it up. Sometimes I will, sometimes I won't - Either way I'll go out fighting.

For those of you that have always supported me, I thank you. Vegas is 7 weeks away and I am no doubt the best shape of my life and am excited to share the journey leading right up to it. If it wasn't for all of the praise, comments and feedback I've received over the years, I wouldn't have a punched ticket to the WC's. As always, thanks for reading.