Year end reflections...

Man it's cold outside. Heck, it's even cold inside my apartment. All this means that it is truly winter - no doubt about it. Working out outside in the New England winter can be very challenging. Cold weather, wind, snow, ice and 4pm sunsets can wreak havoc on your training.

I deal by layering up and throwing on the iPod to help make me more weather resistant? Why the iPod? I think that 90% of the way we deal with our surroundings is mental. If we can get away from what we are in the midst of, we can sometimes deal with it a bit easier. In other words, if we aren't fixated on the fact that it's 30 degrees outside, we can get away with a bit more than usual.

Don't get me wrong...I almost never exercise with music (unless it's inside). It is usually too influential on my effort level. There's something about techno that just makes me want to ride really really fast! :-) In the winter time, however, I will almost anything to trick myself into going longer...being outside beats training indoors every single time in my book!

Now all I have to do is get the sunglasses that are bright yellow so that every dreary morning will seem like the most wondrous summer day...would mae a great stocking stuffer... (hint, hint)

Stay Warm!

Patrick

Never Knowing...

We got our Triathlete magazine today…the one with Norman Stadler on the cover looking lean and mean. Having never seen his face with out goggles, helmet, cap or sunglasses, I have to say he looks nothing like I imagined. :-o But anyway...

A large part of the IM coverage was devoted to bashing Nina Kraft for her admission that she has used EPO in her quest to capture the World Championship. I have no problem with this strong stance – what Nina did was 100% wrong. It was bad for the race, for the sport, for the competition, for all the people who watch our sport – the list goes on. Nina is undoubtedly in a lot of trouble. While we are still awaiting her fate (to be determined by the WTC after the findings of the German Triathlon Federation), my guess is that the powers that be will not be very lenient. And rightly so.

Pressure
One of the biggest reasons Nina cited for resorting to EPO was “the pressure” to win in Hawaii. Pressure from her sponsors, her fans, etc. But we are all our own people. If anything, that is the biggest lesson that Ironman racing has taught me – it is that which lies within that gets us from the starting line to that glorious finish. The real truth is that Nina was putting pressure on herself to win. As kids, my parents made my brother and I pay 25 cents every time we said, “My brother made me do it.” The lesson was that no one can make you do anything you don’t want to do. No one was forcing EPO on Nina – she made that decision 100% on her own.

The Worst Part
It is precisely because of this decision to cheat – to take the short cut – that Nina has received her ultimate punishment. She will never know if she could have won the race on her own. Every time she thinks back on the race, she won’t know what % of the margin of “victory” was hers…and what was the EPO-advantage. She will never know whether or not the years of training, dieting, and focusing on iron-distance racing might have paid off. After having her title stripped by WTC and facing a 3-year suspension, Nina now has to face the truth that she might not race on the elite world stage again.

At the end of the day, everyone else will judge Nina. Let’s never forget, however, that the biggest tragedy she faces isn’t the prospect of not racing again or losing her title. It’s that she’ll never know her true potential.

Train on,

Patrick