"If you don't like it, change it!"

The Pittsburgh Triathlon Club is the best!! Principles make it so. Confused as to why? Allow me to fill you in. When a small group of us got together and started the PTC, the basis for it was unanimous; an entity that supported athletes within the multisport arena in and around Pittsburgh. As I remember looking at everyone in the coffee shop that day, I saw abilities that ranged from no experience to over 4 years competing. The 2^nd official meeting I saw more newbies with no experience and added tenured Ironman Kona competitors to the group. As the months went on, we repeatedly increased in all aspects of membership, the reason was simple. The PTC was based on the principle that helping each other would help our sport and would lead to bigger and better things for everyone.

Do you remember the people who didn’t believe? The ones that ignored us and chose to alienate themselves? It didn’t matter, we reached out to everyone and kept our hand out, knowing this was the right thing to do, the possibilities were endless, the benefits astronomical and potential was limitless. How about the support from local and national businesses? Myself, Chad and Sean would beat down doors to get our name out there and find that much needed support. Thank you to BikeTek, Fleet Feet, Steel City Endurance, Coach Chad Multisport, Fuel Your Passion, The Athlete’s Eutopia, Over the Bar Bicycle Café, Eckerd Siemans, Rudy Project, XTerra, EGel and Beaker Concepts for taking a chance on the unknown group. Or how about those first PTC kits we got? I still wear mine...proudly!!

This group is not without its serious athletes. (pay close attention to this part) I mentioned Chad Holderbaum, he has qualified for Kona countless times by going 2^nd at Placid, and AZ and now I see he won overall at Musselman, how about the top 5 performance (Elite) at St. Anthony’s, Eagleman…the list goes on and on. Kim Schwabenbauer, first amateur woman in at Cozumel, top 10 at New Orleans, Eagleman, St. Croix and more. Beth Shutt – huge wins at WV, Eagleman, Cedar Point, etc etc. Ill just keep naming, Chris Nocera, The Cornmans, Matt Mauclair, Chris Rotelli, Seriously I could name drop for paragraphs, but that is not purpose of talking about them. What do all of these people have in common? They all give freely to the PTC. They help whenever they can. They support the club by giving talks, taking leadership roles, helping out at events and most importantly – they take others under their wing at races to make sure their club members are ready to go. PRINCIPLES!!! Selfless!!! We all know they are fast, hell they themselves know they are fast, but rather than act like tri-snobs and be pretentious, they give back.

All of what I write is known so why go into it when the majority of people that read this are PTC members anyway? Because it bugs me and- this is my blog damnit! Oh and maybe… I MISS YOU GUYS!!! I miss my training crew – James Wrubel, Sean McBurney & Chris Rotelli. (except running and riding hills with Chris. “If you sing again, I will stab you”) I miss people like Sarah putting OWS together on Friday nights and going to get dinner after with Nikki and Bergin as we all smell like the Allegheny. How about the drills and free clinic that Suzanne Atkinson puts on prior and then swims with everyone just because she enjoys it! I miss walking into BikeTek, getting greeted by Franklin and bullshitting with Frank and Angelo. They put themselves out there for me from the start and took great care of the PTC. I miss Tuesday night Crit races and watching Lee-Ann blow kisses as she destroys the entire pack and getting to ride that same oval on Thursdays chasing Chad until I puke. I miss figuring out the world’s problems according to Ryan with Ken after masters.

There is very little of that here. I ride alone a lot and when I see other triathletes I wave but get nothing back. I run and see guys or girls in tri kits and will say hi and try to see where they train or who with…but nothing back. The groups have no continuity and the discounts…yeah not even close. I shouldn’t be surprised. When I arrived here I was fortunate enough to talk to someone who let me in on the scene and pretty much told me all of this. The problem though, I have trouble accepting it. I haven’t met a single person here who could take any of the elite’s in Pittsburgh, so I have to ask: Why so serious? You gain nothing and lose so much.

My advice to PTCers, don’t take what you have for granted. Step up and continue to give back, continue to grow what you have. People like the ones mentioned above and others that give night and day like Jill Schapiro are rare, and Pittsburgh is lucky to have all of you!!!

Angelo told me numerous times that the PTC was unlike any other triathlon club he had ever known. I was proud of that and even prouder to see it continue. Bravo!! So Im thinking about changing it up down here. A prior mentor of mine told me if I didn’t like something, change it. Hmm, considering launching something big, something Atlanta has never seen and something that will bring that camaraderie back to the sport I love here in the Atlanta. There are triathletes everywhere, why are we not working together? Race day is race day, go hard and reach your goals, but wouldn’t it be nice to do this with the help and support of others?

I have some friends here at The Sports Factory, North Atlanta Multisport Club, Endurance Concepts and The Atlanta Tri Club. Im thinking this is a great start and a fantastic group to get things going!! Beware Atlanta multisport athletes, you may just find yourselves becoming a part of something bigger…

Today is good

Its hard for me to believe that it is mid July already and that I have been in Atlanta for almost 4 months now. Acclimating to a new lifestyle, new surroundings and trying to find a balance with life, triathlon and forming relationships has its ups and downs. We all know the south is much different from the north, but regardless of location, I am still the same – at least I try to be. Why the post you might ask? Usually there is something that has happened or a funny story I share, but this is just babble and something I wanted to write down so I could look at it later. Enjoy the babble and read with caution as purpose, plot and reason have been left out.

So triathlon…We all know my love and admiration for my coach; Dr. Suzanne Atkinson. ( www.steelcityendurance.com) Bottom line – I trust her, fully! My biggest fear is to have a repeat of last year where I was laid up on the couch for two weeks with an overflow of Ketones in my blood…ie, severely over trained. I not only felt horrible but I was terrified! Have you ever attempted to walk up a flight of stairs and half way through your legs burn so badly that just getting to the top seems daunting and almost out of reach? Or laying in bed not sleeping because that same burning never leaves and even getting up to go to the bathroom is something that requires a self pep- talk and the theme from Rocky playing in the background? I have and I wont do it again! Here is where Suzanne comes in. Training under her expertise has been a major highlight as a triathlete!! I feel great!! I have learned an immense amount, I see gains where I never thought possible and my goals seem within reach more than ever before! I realize what a handful I am and she is courteous, responsive and “gets it!” Hmmm, “gets it”??? Let me explain.

Triathlon is a love of mine but so is life and living! I have set high goals and have aspirations to do well in my “A” race, but I also know that there is more to life then that 4:00 a.m. alarm telling me its time for masters swimming. Im not being a downer so don’t go there, actually the opposite! This post is just writing what went through my mind on my long bike ride today. (Well this and that I need more music on the mp3 because the songs started to repeat themselves…UGH!) So when I say my coach “gets it” Im talking about her responses & approach to my feedback on my training log, example: Ryan - I didn’t go to masters today because I had an awesome night with…(I need to clear it first before putting names here ) Coach – Honey badger don’t care…lol! There must be a balance and she gets it! She encourages it…within reason. I still need to beat macca…lol!

Ok, moving on – my thoughts often go like a roller coaster during long rides and runs. The conglomerate of emotions that go through my mind is inconceivable and some times I wonder what the hell provoked even just half of them. But after; after I feel like a million bucks! Like everything was worked out and the questions, problems and answers all came about around 150bpm. HAHA!

I started today with sore tired legs. Could’ve been the poor sleep I had last night which is the result of having a FANTASTIC Friday night and Saturday morning. I just couldn’t close my eyes. Regardless, I thought, go with it! We will see what happens in a few hours. 6 miles in my chain was confused. Yes confused. It didn’t know where it was supposed to be. A quick lever change, turn of the barrel adjuster and off we were. 18 seconds…I was ok with that. (Which reminds me I need to tune Chicky up a bit.) As I started this steep climb I could see the sun coming up. A beautiful orange and pink mix was on the horizon and I could hear a rooster crowing in the distance. I wondered who else was seeing this same sky and what they must be thinking about. There are two times a day when Atlanta is breath taking. Sunrise and just as the sun is almost completely set. The rest of the time its 9,000,000,000 degrees and you freaking melt just walking from your door to your car.

Mile 20’ish I was well into Roswell and decided to climb a hill that I typically don’t. Inspired from watching the tour, I became a hill climber. That will be enough of that crap! But, with regard to triathlon and life I will say this; As a descender, (why is that not a word?) there are no hills I wont climb because going down the other side is so much fun!!

Miles 30 – 45 I was having fun. My legs loosened up and I was singing to my music. (which was the second time through for the songs…) There was a cyclist in the distance riding a teal Bianchi. He was moving pretty well and I was in a good mood so I decided to try and hunt him down. I literally said out loud; “lets go hunting!” Why? I don’t have a clue, its just what I was thinking. If this is confusing please go back to the start of this post and re-read the first paragraph. If that doesn’t work, please let me know and I will come over and hit you in the head with a tack hammer. Upon catching him and passing, literally within a minute he flew past me and gave me a look. I was like dude, seriously? In the name of Alpaca, drop bars are gay, you must go back to where you belong…behind me. We went back and forth for a good couple of miles then hit a stop light. We shook hands, introduced ourselves, laughed, then he went left and I turned around to head back. It was fun!

Miles 50-60 had me thinking again and without a beautiful sunrise, a confused chain or a teal Bianchi to distract me, I started to work the problems of my world out once again. I pulled into my apartment complex and carried Chicky up the stairs. There was a text awaiting me. When I saw who it was from, and even before reading it…I had the sunrise once again. I thought…today is good!!

West Point Lake Olympic Triathlon Race Report – short and sweaty…

Racing in the heat is a fear of mine and it was justified when I raced at West Point. The goal of this race was nothing more than to race and have fun. I trained right through and the real goal was to learn about how my body reacts in the heat. The week leading up to the race I had one of the worst runs in my entire life. It was slow, seemingly never ending and did I mention slow? My hear rate was out of control and an electrolyte imbalance was very evident.

On race day I felt good. The race was very well organized and although it was hot, I didn’t think it was too bad. The swim took me a little bit as I decided to check out a different beach half way through. Yes, I swam way off course and got the reward of being hit with an oar from the lady in the kayak…lol! So my thought – get everyone on the bike.

Out of the water and onto the bike. My hr was crazy high and I found myself trying to get it down so I could push. About mile 15 it finally happened and I began to feel good. The course was extremely well marked, people at all the corners, traffic stopped…very fun bike! My thought – catch them on the run.

I came out of T2 ready to rock and roll. Feeling good the first 2.5 miles flew by. I saw a good friend who was hurt and I almost stopped to run with her. Again, this was a fun race and I was having a blast. Then it hit…the bridge. As I started to feel the heat and sweat start to decline, I looked down at my watch, over 200bpm! I freaked! 208, 212, 218…I was a nervous wreck and started to just jog. Still not believing this was accurate I kept checking it and it went down to 198, only to go back up. My head was pounding, and the aid station was ahead. I walked through it and took in a couple cups of water. I started to jog again and instantly my hr was back up in the 200’s. Just jog I thought, it will be ok. I started doing math in my head to see if I was coherent and I was so I figured it was ok. Across the bridge again and I walked the aid station and down into the shade. There was a short steep hill ahead and I walked that too. It was smarter for me to walk I kept thinking. My thought now – that milkshake Tracy was talking about sure sounds good!

I made it across the finish and felt like shit! After drinking a mix 1 I was sick to my stomach with a side stitch that is still bothering me. I found some shade and just sat down. On my way home I called my coach and my parents to get some input. No worries, not crazy, probably electrolyte imbalance and some people race at high heart rates. I felt calmed. Had a great after race meal and fun the rest of the night! All in all, a fun race, more lessons learned and good times with great people!!!

Ignorance isnt always bliss...

If you have ever talked to, or been around a triathlete, you will find out very quickly; A: they are not shy about telling stories of their conquers, & B: never at a loss for giving advice. A, is really not a problem. You can just shrug and acknowledge that the person is full of themselves and go about your day, but B – B is where we run into trouble. I have had the unfortunate experience of seeing this first hand and watched the irreversible effects it has had on some very close friends.

Let’s first take a look at coaching and what that encompasses. USAT puts on coaching clinics to certify people (doesn’t matter what your background or education) as triathlon coaches. There are different levels and as the denomination climbs, the more training the coach has had from USAT. HOWEVER – please be advised, there are no pre-requisites to start the training. So what does that mean? Basically, someone with no education or background in subjects like Anatomy, Physiology, Kinesiology, Biomechanics, Human Biology and yes throw in some Chemistry and Physics too, can still have a designation that says he or she is a certified triathlon coach.

Ok, so now you are prefaced and I can get into the real reason why I am writing, my friends. No, Im not naming people and fyi, this could be anywhere in or out of the country so don’t give me shit. Read unbiased, open minded and try not to think about you for a minute…!

Over the last few weeks there have been numerous races. Some large, some not so large, but none the less, very important to many… in fact “A” races. Whether it be a sprint, Oly, HIM or Full, these “A” races are what the season is all about for that athlete and the goals are set high. These athletes put full faith and trust in their coaches and training, to ensure they are well prepared and up for the challenge. But what happens when that coach or coaches are wrong? Out of their league? Or just not educated enough to help some levels of certain athletes? What happens?? Those athletes fail. Their races fall apart and their goals and dreams for the season are over.

I can already here the criticism, so I will put it to rest: a good coach makes sure their athletes set realistic goals, achievable goals, and attainable results.

So what happened? Simple, arrogance. Just because you are a triathlete, does not qualify you to coach. Just because USAT says you are a level 1 certified coach, does not mean you have the tools that are necessary to coach effectively. Can you see where this is going? Im mad, upset and literally feel terrible for my friends as they have been mislead and ill advised!! What makes things harder is to see it continue.

The sport of triathlon is rarely taken lightly. Even for the novice and beginner, large commitments are made both with time and money, two commodities that for most are limited. So what can I do? I can try to educate from what I have learned, what my coach teaches me and what other coaches I respect in the industry lead with. Let me also point out, the above can be completely opposite as well. I know some level 1 coaches who are very qualified to lead all types of athletes, they just don’t choose to further that denomination. So please be advised, this is not a one size fits all discussion.

Ill end this with a few suggestions.

- Don’t be afraid to question your coach. They should have no problem justifying your workouts and why you are doing something.

- Make sure you trust your coach. You can question things and still have full confidence in he/she. Communication is key with anything and this should not differ when it comes to having a coach.

- Check their credentials. They should be able to interpret data and build periodized schedules that include keys like recovery, proper tapering and attention to injury and limiters.

- Educate yourself. The more educated you are, the better you can converse with your coach and speak intelligently about your training and race plan. Two heads are better than one and a coach should not feel intimidated or be anything but receptive to new ideas and training methods. There are advances made daily in research of endurance sports, this is an ongoing learning process, be informed and have an active roll.

Good training to all!! I want nothing but the best for all of my friends. And if you are looking for a top notch coach, check out Suzanne Atkinson. She is my coach, I trust her fully and respect her immense knowledge, experience and commitment to the sport.

Trial & Error

I raced the John Tanner sprint triathlon this morning in Carrollton GA. The weather was a bit chilly for the natives today, but 50 degrees was plenty warm for me. Its an hour and a half drive to get to the race venue but there are benefits to the long drive…ie; one can think. Some things that excited me about this race was the sprint distance, zero pressure and an opportunity to meet some other triathletes in Atlanta. My aspirations were non-existent, although I went in trying my best as always. Im new to Atlanta and the words that keep ringing in my head when I go out to train with others is; “Ryan, leave your ego at home or you will find yourself training alone.” So I have with the exception of the pool, as I have people there to push me, and I had my ass handed to me climbing the mountains with what I hope to be my new training partners. Im allergic to hills, what can I say…it’s a limiter, and if someone is willing to push and help me in the pool, Im all for it!

So why do a sprint after coming off of Syracuse, Clear Water and a PR at the Miami half? Why not?! After discussing triathlon with others and talking about pipe dreams, it was said to try shorter distances and work on speed. Again, Im new to the area, and to this sport so I will listen to those who are willing to give advice and have experience. Well…sprints are much MUCH different than a 70.3…duh right? Fine, I can accept that and grow from it. Not every race is going to be stellar and not every race is going to go as planned. This distance however…not my style; that I know for certain.

The swim is usually not a leg of the race I like to emphasize, but I feel many inroads have been made in this area for me. I try not to put numbers up as I see it only being a way to inflate one’s ego, but I have done fairly well in my mind for only being in the water a short time. So a 600 swim…easy…go hard and move on to the fun part…BIKE! Honestly, I was thinking around 8minutes at the most… NOTTTTTTTTT!!!

About 200yds into the swim I had enough. Enough getting kicked, punched, swam over, grabbed, goggles getting pulled off (not knocked off, pulled off) and anything else you can imagine. So I picked my head up to see if I could find a lane and got clobbered again. Typical triathlon right? Maybe, but in the longer distances, things tend to thin out and you can usually find a lane or at least a semi clear path. As I breast stroked and watched the leaders pull away, I thought, now I understand why pro’s will sometimes drop out of a race. I did, I really did. Never before had I ever considered stopping, but this was not letting up and it seemed futile to keep getting beat up. I also realized that with such a short bike and run, there was no way catching anyone would be feasible. So why continue??? Then I heard her. (My buddy Bergin Smith who just started triathlons last fall) She is an amazing girl who took to this sport with reckless abandon and her enthusiasm and incredible attitude immediately engulfed me as we became friends.

Bergin designed a shirt for me and posted it on FB last year when I was suffering from some serious injuries and thought I wouldn’t be able to cross the line at Clearwater. It had a “DNF” with a circle and line through it. Pretty much my motto as I battled through injury after injury and repeatedly said, no matter what, I will always finish the race. So I put my goggles back on, head down and started to swim to the finish. I had to finish or I would let my young friend down. Im glad I didn’t stop because of a bad swim. Thank you Bergin!!!

On the drive home, (remember its long and I can think) I told myself no more sprints. Too clustered, too short for me to go hunting on the bike, but a great start to the season as it tested my mental toughness…something that is very important when doing anything in life, not just triathlon.

I haven’t given up on the shorter distance and will try the Olympic once again, but I would be lying if I said that my entry to a nearby 70.3 wouldn’t be in by the end of this month. My plan is to get some much needed help on my nutrition, start talking about serious coaching and set some real goals. Oh, and upgrade Chicky as everyone had some sweet wheels on their bikes and Chicky definitely deserves them. She doesn’t have an inferiority complex, especially as we pass them, but we both agree they look awesome!! Maybe some new bars too!!!

At the end of the day, I highly recommend the John Tanner sprint triathlon! It was well ran, well marked, well staffed and an awesome venue! Kudos to the race director, Im impressed!!

See you soon HIM…