Flat

The bachelorette wine tour!

No, not my tires. My Legs. That is the Long and the short of my Syracuse Race Recap.  I had a poor start on the swim, due to a last minute emergency. Luckily my Zoot Wetsuit slipped on and off and on again like a glove! After the swim we charged up a 10 mile climb. Joseph Major came around me, and I thought oh this seems manageable...for about 30 seconds. Unfortunately the same thing happened when Angela Naeth went around me about 10 miles later. This left me in no mans land behind the group I wanted to be running with. This lead me down a long road of negative thought, and slow running. On the plus side, I get to throw it out there the next two weekends as well! I hope I can shake off the flat feeling and really give it a go soon. The highlight of Syracuse was the support crew. I was rolling deep with local family and friends at the race site. This makes even the most lack luster performance FUN! That is why we race triathlon, right?

My Grandmother, constant Inspiration 

The Family Flying V

The real reason I am in Central New York is family and fun. On Saturday my sister became a wife. My girlfriend Amy, cousin Natalie, and I flew in from Arizona to add a little life to the party! Which we did, the wedding was a great time. It was amazing to see so many family and friends all together sharing memories and new stories. My gramma Vondracek did some serious dancing, when I commented on her skills she said, "Jesse, Always Have Fun."

Local Star Status

Secrets of Success

Secrets of Success. Well, not secrets, What everyone knows, and triathlete mag writes an article about every year. The new news is this: If it is your 100th triathlon, 56th Ironman, or your first rodeo, it is always important. So, all that nervous energy you honed in for your first race, laying out your "Super Hero" suit with your ankle strap place on the pillow of the hotel bed next to you, coffee maker preset, tattoos lying out...you know the drill. You did that for a reason. So, at my last race I took ALL of these things for granted, and expected to pull a PR out of my a**. Guess how well that worked?

• Travel ~ it is tiring, plan accordingly, extra sleep time, and rest time after. DO NOT show up at midnight the night before a race.
• Rest ~ sleep is important, the week leading up to a race, you need good sleep! So, do not have a race coincide with an event, like the last week of school that takes away from sleep.
• Stress ~ Racing is a huge stress, you need to be ready for it, you cannot go in  with other stresses. Some examples include, stress from the school year ending, fractured ribs, your girlfriend's marathon, students test scores, if your car will make the drive etc.
• Pre-race ~ even at Ironman 100, dinner the night before and the rest of the meals prior are important. It is a bad idea to race on car snacks.
• Acclimate ~ humidity, altitude, heat and cold; these conditions make a huge difference. Your body needs days to properly get used to this. 6 hours is not enough. 

Okay, that is it, just a few quick reminders going into the summer racing season. Remember, it is okay not do these things, just align your goals accordingly! A PR means you were well trained and well rested. Train Hard, Race Smart!!