I am SO excited to announce a partnership between two entities I am extremely passionate about……  Qt2 and Score This!!! are joining forces in 2012 to bring you even more quality events and preparation for those events!

Here is the official press release:

QT2 Systems is very excited to announce a brand new partnership with Score This!!!, a Western New York-based race management company. Under the agreement, QT2 Systems will serve as the official coaching and nutrition group to the Score This!!! Multisport Series which, after 11 years, continues to produce the region’s finest events. This will provide a great opportunity to  athletes who register for a series event, to gain access to any number of the services provided by the nation’s leader in triathlon preparations. QT2 Systems Founder, and Head Coach, Jesse Kropelnicki says of the new partnership, “Knowing the reputation that Score This!!! events have developed, over the course of the course of a decade, we couldn’t be happier to team up with such a dynamic group of like minded individuals. Score This!!! serves athletes of all abilities and  experience levels, and we are very excited to help them to achieve their athletic goals, whatever they may be.”       

            2012 is proving to be an expansive year for QT2 Systems, as they continue to become more involved in race series and with triathlon teams throughout the nation. Score This!!! has a very large presence in the state of New York, and all of its races offer competitive fields. Long-time associate of both Score This!!! and QT2 Systems, Mary Eggers is very pleased to see these two parties unite. “Triathletes, here in central New York, have always been lucky to have such a dedicated group of  event organizers, year in and year out. And now, they’re even luckier! Score This!!! provides events that are fun, safe, and challenging throughout the summer months, and to now see them joining forces with QT2 can only mean that our area’s athletes will be more prepared than ever.”       

Camps are unique. You come together as a group of thirty strangers and you leave as a family of sorts. At least we do. Now that I have experienced QT2 camp on the athlete and on the coach side…. I can say with all honesty…. and if I didn’t think this I wouldn’t say anything at all…… these camps are something special.

During Friday’s 6 hour ride one of the guys confessed to me he hadn’t slept the night before camp, he was just plain terrified of what he was getting in to. He left with the camp champ award, that’s what he was getting into.

What you are getting into with us is four days of swim, bike, run, mechanics, nutrition… it’s total immersion in a sport that we all love and live. During rides we designate a coach for the groups of differing abilities. We have the incredible Brian from Fast Splits sag waggoning the rides and providing nutrition support. You get coaches at your disposal for whatever you need outside of the topics we have on tap.

I have been running a Lake Placid camp for ten years up in Lake Placid. When I came to QT2 they jumped on and made that camp more than I ever could imagine it would be. On thise side of things I think the value is excellent. Click here for the Placid Camp agenda, it’s really good and join us in June. You don’t have to be a QT2 athlete to camp with us (just be warned that you might feel the need to be one of ours after).

I learned a lot during this camp. Last year I learned a lot as an athlete, this year I learned a lot as a coach. I learned what I needed to come and learn. The universe always gives you what you need as they say.

As I pulled into the driveway last evening (and I had zero travel issues + wifi on the flight so I was even productive!) I felt instantly grateful. My career as a coach and my passion as an athlete have allowed me to travel all over the world (literally). Not because airline tickets land in my lap…. that’s hardly the case. But because I worked hard for it and that’s the kind of thing this type of work brings. I am lucky I have been able to make a career in this world of triathlon as a coach, a race announcer, a writer. It’s allowed me to keep the athlete part separate and that’s allowed me to really have the right reasons to be an athlete (for me).

As I came into the house and got the biggest huggs from the best guys in the world I felt even luckier that I get to share all of this with them. They don’t come on every trip (I wish they did) but they are part of it. Having a husband fully entrenched in this sport is everything for me. He gets it. I would be able to do none of this without his blessing and support. And with the support of my really awesome parents who always jump in when needed.

The hard work is paying off, that’s for sure.

A special thanks to my BFF Pat Wheeler by the way. He works tirelessly behind the scenes at QT2 to do put these camps together (among many other things). I have to sit back and laugh. He’s done a 9:17 in Kona, which for some reason gives others this impression that he’s a high end sponsored pro who works from home which must mean he trains all day and lays in bed. I can promise you, it’s the exact opposite. I think he works more hours for us at QT2 than he even admits. He’s got no free bike, he’s got sponsors sure but nothing comes for free. Working from home….. I do that as well and believe me… it doesn’t mean lounging around in recovery boots all day long.

So a  giant thanks to him for all his work in getting this camp together.

And thanks to Jesse, our fearless leader of course for all his incredible work. It wouldn’t even exist without him.

Now I have to switch gears for just a moment and touch on the Lance Armstrong issue, as so many have asked me about it. You noticed my Face Book status yesterday stated I was thrilled that he was second at Panama 70.3 yesterday. Because I am. I saw a lot of whining and moaning about his performance and his presence in our sport. I saw everything from he got prize money and I didn’t….. he got to start at the front and I didn’t…… he got ______ and I didn’t.

Is that what you teach your children too?  Wah. Woe is me.

I have no opinion on whether Lance Armstrong doped while he was a a cyclist. I was not privy to his urine samples, any testimony, or any blood results. I am only privy to gossip. And gossip means nothing to me. Those in charge are there to represent me and if they deem him innocent, then it’s enough for me.

Here is what I do know: I have been more entrenched in the world of Cancer than I ever want to be or ever will truly admit. Only certain people understand what this world is like. This is a man who does. Who has looked down the barrel of a smoking gun just like everyone else who has had Cancer has had to do. This is a man who never had to do anything about it. He could have still fought and won and took his money and retreated to his house in Texas with his family.

But instead he realized that he has the power and the finances to make a giant difference, and he’s done exactly that. Look at what the Livestrong Foundation has done. Everyone will run around with their yellow bracelets and yellow t-shirts …. but do you understand what it means? Do you understand the far-reaching impact the dollar goes?

For this I celebrate Lance Armstrong. For this I shout “Come to our sport, start in the first wave, collect all the prize money for all I care.” It won’t go to his own pocket, he’ll put it to where it needs to go. If you watched his performance yesterday you know he’s the real deal. He’s not some celebrity who has no business being in the front and is there because they are famous. I bet he needn’t even try to qualify for Kona. He could buy a spot to Kona for god’s sake.

But he’s not.

As we like to say…. haters will always hate. Their topic this week just happens to be Lance. Next week it will be someone or something else.

Trust me… you don’t want to live in Cancer world. At the same time however…. it’s one of the most beautiful places to live. And that’s what a man like Lance Armstrong sees. You don’t know it unless you’ve walked through that door. That’s the common bond, the common thread, the piece that ties it all together.

So thank you Lance Armstrong. Thank you for bringing a spotlight to our sport. Thank you for bringing with you the Livestrong army. Thank you for bringing a way for all of us to make a difference in this fight against Cancer.

I dont’ know about you but I imagine the guys up front there were drooling. To be on the starting line with a 7 time Tour de France Champion? It’s be the chance I have waited my entire life for. If I were Chris Lieto I’d have been in my glory. And I’d never wash my ass again, because I am sure Lance gave him a pat on it at some point during the race. I’d run around pointing to it and screaming “Lance put his hand HERE!”

But that’s just me.

Charlie and I discussed giving up the sauce (coffee) at about 5:30 am. We came up with a few plans…. switching to Blonde Roast, cutting down to 2 cups a day….. but we are so close to being gold members at Starbucks….. but we really should drop the habit…….. and we made a pact to begin tomorrow. No sooner did that conversation end, Wheeler walked around the corner with plans to head to Starbucks. Hell yeah.

Later that evening I was sitting on the couch in the lobby in the hotel with Cait Snow. We were watching the Whitney Huston News and I was having a Klondike Bar. (G*A*S*P….. I treat myself every now and then, it’s camp!!!!!!). I looked over at Cait and said, “I don’t want this to end.”

“I KNOW!” She cried out. “I eat my ice cream with a really small spoon because I want it to last forever!!!!!” I paused, and smiled.

“I meant camp.” I clarified. And then a boatload of laughter followed. For the record, she was not having a Klondike Bar.

Saturday at camp meant it was a big swim day and the day of the much-anticipated 50 kick off between Wheeler and I. Between the training and the lack of sleep I have allowed myself to get I had a small amount of worry throughout the day. We had decided that we’d kick off in the presence of everyone else at camp, at the end of a near 6K swim. Since I was on deck coaching the swim I was at the NTC a bit earlier to get 4K in myself.

Either way fatigue was going to be a huge issue in this event.

The morning began with a nice easy 100 watt ride (that’s where we aim to ride our recovery rides…. one of the biggest secrets of QT2 to be honest) and I got to run with one of the guys off the bike. I don’t get to run too often with people so I grabbed that chance pretty quick. Then it was off to the NTC for me while Jesse captured video for our running analysis. Here is the 50 meter outdoor pool (you can’t take pictures IN the NTC.)

After my swim I camped myself on the deck for a good 30 min. I had been so tired I was concerned Molly was going to ground me from any further activity until I got some rest. So I got some rest. I have good friends and I listen to them when they tell me to sleep. Plus the 50 Kick was coming up and I needed to be on my game.

I got to coach another round on the deck at the NTC. Two legendary coaches were on deck, and I felt like I belonged. My group of swimmers did awesome, you could see fatigue from the camp setting in but the changes we had made to strokes was holding. Again it’s such a rare opportunity to be on deck with triathletes and coach them through a set. You get the chance to correct mechanics on the spot. You get to see progress right in front of your eyes.

If you are former collegiate swimmer you kind of fall in love with swimming all over again.

It’s funny because when I began working with Jesse as my coach I had rules about swimming. I swam masters only. Don’t look at my stroke because it’s not going to change. Don’t tell me to bilateral breathe because I don’t. To be honest he never, ever challenged my swim rules (he probably laughed instead). At first he let it be. By the end of my first season with  QT2 I had the idea that I would work his swim program for one season and I would allow my stroke mechanics to be looked at. My Masters teammates were floored, and trust me so was I. I still had rules though. I won’t ever swim over an hour. When I swam my 57 Ironman swim I did it on 6K per week. Swimmers know how to swim .

We looked at my stroke mechanics and I couldnt’ believe I had any flaws. I had many. So I took my time and in a year corrected them. Now I have pretty darn good mechanics, yet there is always room for improvement. I am in the pool alone for over 4,000 yards because I want to be. So in a very strange way he has brought me past many swim blocks that was the result of swim burnout. Happens when you spend a good majority of your life staring at the black line. I didn’t know I could ever come out of it.

When it came time for the 50 kick off I felt a strange sense of ready and weak. My legs felt horrible but I knew Wheeler’s felt worse. We were both smoked in general so the playing field was even. But my swimmer Ego was on the line. If there is one place my mental fitness is untouchable it’s in the water. Put me in a  race situation in a pool with someone who does not come from a swim background and I have the advantage. I can work walls like it’s no one’s business.

Too bad we were in a  50 meter pool.

To be fair Wheeler made two strategical errors. If you are racing me in the pool….. never give me control of the clock. You give me control of the clock, you give me control of the whole situation. The pace clock had a green arrow and I announced “Green arrow on the top” which gave us thirty seconds till we began.

“Which clock?” He asked frantically. There were about 7 clocks at the pool. Clocks are synched at a pool like this, so it didnt’ really matter, but it panicked him so I pointed to the one on the wall. I got in position and he made his second error. “I am having foot cramps already.” I smiled. This was mine. Never…. ever…… EVER put forth an excuse in the pool when you are racing me before we begin. Now his excuse was valid, he was having foot cramping issues….. but never admit it. Instead what he should have done was confidently said “Let’s go on the next top.”

Our teammates were at the end of the pool and I had that feeling of sheer terror. you know the kind…. the kind that makes you feel weak yet if you know how to use it you take a deep breath and prepare to ride that feeling instead of allowing it to destroy you; Use it to your advantage.

Go time. We were off and kicking. Now let’s be honest. We are bad kickers. In the world of swimming watching this race was a lot like watching two turtles race from point A to point B. But it was game on nonetheless. I had six inches on him and he was working it. I reminded myself that this was my element and that I was a swimmer. And I took it.

I am the 50 kick CHAMP!

I got him by about 2 inches. Charlie got video and I will have that shortly. But I am the champ.

Good lord that hurt, but it was fun and fun is really what it is all about.

After a good nap we hit the conference room for some catered dinner and run analysis. I loved listening to run mechanics, and I love watching all the different videos and how we address certain things. I love seeing different athletes and learning how to address this, leave that alone, work on this other thing.

I don’t want camp to be over. I am having too much fun. I love this group of people. I love these athletes.

It’s actually cold here in Florida this morning so our final day we will do a different sort of thing. Wheeler and I and a few others will hit the NTC and long run on the treadmill. I dont’ necessarily want to run on a treadmill but I don’t get to long run next to Wheeler that often. When I asked him if he had an iPod and he said no….. I smiled. “Good, we can chat then!!!!”.

I have never in my life seen someone’s eyes roll quite that far back into their head.

I will scooch my treadmill forward about 6 inches ahead of his and then I can say I ran in front of Wheeler. He’s so lucky to have a buddy like me.

Until then, here is a video of day one at camp. This is our elite squad, including Wheeler, Jesse, Cait, Jennie (and more) and a future track rock star. I was sure to sign her afterwards.

Thursday

We are all staying here at the Hampton Inn, which is where we have some of our deliciously catered meals and our daily meetings and clinics. for some reason, the beds in this hotel are to DIE for (plus we are exhausted which makes them even more comfortable). I am rooming with my fellow QT2 Coaches Molly Zahr and Tara Rasch. I feel like I am in college again. Our room is an absolute disaster, we’ve got a pile for each of us. Instead of makeup and hair supplies we’ve got training gear all over the place. The three of us have become really good friends throughout the past year. Just being around these gals solidifies my happiness in my decision to come to Qt2 as an athlete and coach. It’s one thing to talk training, but to be able to talk coaching with them is priceless.

After the campers gathered for breakfast and our camp orientation, we headed over to the NTC…. where my lifelong dream was finally realized. If you are an interior designer you go to Frank Loyd Wright houses. If you are a swimmer, and a swim coach at heart you dream of coaching on deck, outdoors at a facility like this. As a triathlon coach you don’t get this kind of chance often. To stand on deck and work with swimmers hands on at one of the best facilities on earth……  I died and went to heaven. My group was motivated and eager to have their strokes looked at and worked with. It was absolutely awesome.

Swimming is my thing and I have fallen in love with stroke mechanics. Win win situation.

Afterwards we hopped on our bikes and rode a nice easy 2 hour loop. I rode with another one of my good friends and QT2 colleague Jaime Windrow. Jaime also helps run our Core Diet program. As we rode and talked again, I was grateful. This group of coaches is very unique. We are close even though we live in different parts of the country. We are friends and colleagues. I feel like I have become part of this….. family. We utilize each other for coaching expertise, we are friends and there is a lot of heckling that happens amongst us. It’s awesome.

After our bike ride we headed over to the NTC track for our camp 5K. The point of a 5K this late in the day on the track at this point of the season was not for time. It actually was not about time at all. It was about putting our athletes in a situation that is stressful and makes them nervous and recreates an environment we might see on race day.  This time of the year as Jesse reminded us, we will be about 1 minute off our best 5K performance from last season. So if you came into camp running a 21 minute 5K in 2010 we’d expect you to be running somewhere around a 22 +/-. If we are hitting a PR now we are in a bit of trouble.

So again, time was really the least important part of the event. The mental fitness…… was critical. I have some great pictures and a terrific video of it that I will post tomorrow. Everyone absolutely rocked it.

That evening we listened to a wonderful presentation by one of our main sponsors, Kestrel (and got some schwag). I got to take a look at my new bike for 2012, and I am happy to say it’s on the way thanks to a wonderful new partnership I have to tell you  about. But that’s next week.

Thursday evening ended with a Q&A session and me absolutely collapsing into bed. Day one, in the books.

Friday

By 6am Wheeler, Spinney adn I were on deck at the NTC …. and it was long course meters. Outdoor long course meters with two colleagues / good friends. In the lanes next to us were the age group swimmers swimming a 7K recovery swim before school. you know I was pacing off them. Nothing like trying to pull ahead of a 12 year old age group swimmer from Florida!!!! Glory Days!

Then Spinney said the magic words to me… “Mar can I sit in your draft?”  I smiled. Wheeler added in “Yeah, me too.”

Can you boys please repeat that? In fact can you repeat that so I can record it? Of course you can sit in my draft. Wheeler fell off the back. (something about 800 miles on the bike this week, 50 miles on his run legs and 20K in the pool. His back must also hurt from carrying the cross. In all fairness though, the ony person who looks more beat than me right now is Wheeler).

So I pulled those two for 1K. See the things I have to do?

Next up was our long ride. I love this ride, this is where the magic at camp happens. I got to ride with a fabulous group of guys. We rode out to the trail. always forget what this trail is called but everyone here knows what it is and that it’s the mac daddy to ride on. We got in 6 hours and over 100 miles. The sun was shining and we were outside. We have 30 athletes of 30 different abilities and for some this was their longest trek yet. To share that experience with them was an honor.

We transitioned to a nice hot run and jumped in the hotel pool for a good ice bath.

Then it was time for dinner. This si the night we kick back and relax and have some good solid food….. it’d been hours since we’d eaten something real!

The evening finished with a fabulous workshop given by Jaime ….. on the Core Diet. Every time I listen to her talk I swear I am going to go ahead and give up the sauce (coffee). This time I just might. I know the benefits and I want the benefits. But that’s another story for another day.

Each night I swear Molly, Tara and I talk two hours more than we need to. But I don’t get to experience this on this level too often so I will sacrifice some sleep for quality time with the girls. These are so my people. This whole team is my people. I am at home with this crew.

Last year I came to this camp as an athlete and this year I am here as a coach. I have the freedom to bring what I love to bring to camp. I get to coach on deck and I get to connect with some really fabulous people.

I always get asked about Cait Snow. Yep she’s here. I get to interact with her frequently as I work for her, and she always impresses me. Here is why.

I really study the professional athletes and how they conduct themselves. The women who have impressed me over the years have been Lisa Bentley, of course Chrissie, and hands down Cait Snow. If Cait was having a bad workout you will never hear her complain. If she’s overconfident she will never say. Her time in the 5K….. I don’t even know what it was…. but I watched as she smiled and put her head down and executed. Like every other athlete on that track it likley was not a PR for her. Probably a minute or so off like everyone else. You’d never know with how she carries herself. She rides one of the most even keels I have ever seen and that is why she is as successful as she is. She makes no excuses. For our athletes and our coaches she’s the definition of role model. She trusts the system and works it. She’s only 30 and I feel proud of someone so young possessing such a degree of professionalism.

It truly sets her apart from many.

Today….. Saturday is another big day. Breakfast, ride, run, run analysis and then…… the big swim. I will be on deck at 2pm for our long course metered workout. I am dreaming….. yes, dreaming of having a land next to the wall with my group so I can walk up and down the  lane and make those corrections as they swim. We’ve got relays to execute as a team, and then………………………….. what we have all been waiting for.

QT2 camp is rocking.

Thursday brought a chance to coach on deck at the national training center, a ride and then our camp 5k. We have an incredible group!

A few of.us are.headed to the ntc to swim….. Full update tonight!

I could be the parents of the beautiful teen who passed away this week (involved with Teens Living With Cancer). I could myself be in a  hospital staring at four walls, waiting for my white blood cell count to come up so the people I love could walk in and give me a hug without wearing a hazmat suit. I could be staring out a hospital window at a world that goes on and doesn’t even seem to notice there are kids on the fourth floor who won’t breathe one single breath of fresh air this week much less today. Who wish it would snow because they just want to see it. It might be the last time they do. Who’d love to know what it felt like to hold just… one…. snowball. And have enough energy to throw it.

Our second week of workouts in our Teens Living With Cancer Fitness program went well. This week we used milk jugs filled with water as our weights. I want to teach these teens that fitness is anywhere, everywhere, as long as you are willing to be a little creative. They can gain their physical and emotional health back wherever they are.

It’s so strange to be on this side of Cancer.

I am used to holding heads over a pink basin and wiping away tears. I am used to requesting another dose of anti-nausea or pain medicine, and allowing a parent to collapse in my arms when they step out of the room for just a moment. I am used to last breaths, last goodbyes, last tears.

But now I get to be part of the other side of that fence. The recovery. The fight back. The progress. There is progress in the fight against Cancer itself but I mean the progress of coming back to health.

They all set fitness goals for last week and they nailed them. Sometimes nailing a goal is realizing when you overshoot it, overestimate yourself. It’s also when you undershoot or don’t give yourself enough credit for it. As we did squats and wall sits though… they were sore. Not from what we did last week but the combination of what they did throughout the next 6 days. They hit targets and they felt their bodies again but this time in a really amazing way.

I got to see smiles and laughter and a bond that is really beginning to happen. We have an incredible group and now that we are three sessions in I dread the completion of this program.

There honestly isn’t much to report this week, except that we are rolling along and in our short time so far we’ve seen progress. I am interested in how our second and then third assessments go. I have a real good feeling about this.

We’d like to give a great big thanks to our friends Angelo Rose and Toby Reh of Fluffy Lamb Fightwear for their generous donation of these kick ass shirts to our kids, aren’t these awesome?

What I love about this community is how everyone is willing to lend a hand. Whether it’s a T shirt, a milk jug, a hundred bucks. To us it goes so very far.

I also think that when you are the parent of an 11 year old…. people tend to forget that you ever did have a newborn baby. Just because you have gotten regular sleep for over 5 years now…..doesn’t mean that you didn’t spend the early years up all night and chasing baby around the world. I always smile when the kids (I call em kids) these days tell me how life is. And then I think…. oh honey you haven’t seen anything yet. I have more life experience at 38 years of age than I really care to, and the past eleven years have been the best of my life. They don’t come easy though.

I can’t explain what it’s like to be at hour 12 of labor, crouched on the side of the bed with a belly so huge you can’t bend forward anymore. Your husband on his knees and snot running down your face, mixing with tears as yet another contraction comes your way the moment they are inserting the epidural needle into your spinal column, which is the same moment your water breaks, which is the same moment you hit pure exhaustion because as I said….. it is hour 12 and Pitocin has launched you into a special place of hell. And you’ve got well over five hours to go.

And good god FaceBook and Twitter aren’t around to share your special moments of joy.

“I was incontinent” I sobbed to the nurses taking care of me. Who kept reminding me to stop being a nurse and start being a patient right about now. Knowledge is dangerous in this situation.

I got the four person boost to the top of the bed.

I can’t exactly describe the feeling of not being able to feel your legs but your husband is holding one up, and even wiggling it around… can you feel that?  How about that? To try to bring some humor to a dire situation.

It was the day of the Bush/ Gore election. At 7pm my nurse left as she said to me, “When I come back tomorrow morning at 7, we will have a new baby and a new president.”

At 7am the following morning, we had neither. Bitch.

I remember my OB trying to decide whether we C section it or go for another hour. I hadn’t done an Ironman yet but there was something about finishing this up before hour 17 that was motivating to me. After all this work I didn’t want to have a C section…… but at the same time ice chips were not cutting this Ironman. I didn’t care if they pulled him out through my nose. The pain… it was tolerable after the epidural. I had always thought I’d go the natural way. Until Pitocin. I would have snorted something if I could have.

Something happens to you the moment your child is born. When your child is born in distress it’s a whole separate sort of hell. You think you know love, fear, pain and exhilaration. You know none of that. None of it. When that child is on the outside of you…… you suddenly feel all of these emotions deeper than you have ever felt anything in your life. Ever. Trust me on that.

When all was said and done and they placed him in my arms……. it was the best feeling of my life. One I can’t describe. That feeling has never gone away, never faltered. Never.

As I look at this young man now, eleven years old, that feeling has not faded but strengthened. It’s like you go from a place of toddlerhood and keeping all of the balls in the air to……. having this amazing person that you hold actual conversations with. You listen to dreams. You watch them achieve and you stand back and allow them to fail. Failing is a part of life. Where better to fail than in the home of people who love you more than anything.

I look at this kid and I laugh. I didn’t sleep for years with him. I didn’t have a non sticky kitchen floor for years. I was new to town and I didn’t have a great social support just yet. But I smile when I see these moms with young-uns and I think…. oh sister I have been there.

There are lessons you learn in the years along the way. Some are good. Some are hard. Your relationship with your spouse will be tested and tested hard. That statement seems to scare a lot of people. But it too, is a part of life.

Our biggest test was open heart surgery for our son. Nothing, and I mean nothing puts life into the right perspective quicker than sitting in a waiting room, knowing your child’s heart is on bypass (code word= stopped). Yours is stopped too. When we got to his bedside he was intubated (breathing tube) and trust me when I say this people…. you never want to see your child intubated.

When they extubated him (pulled out the tube) he sat straight up in bed, shook his head, made one of the funniest statements of his life, then laid back down and went to sleep. The nurse who was taking care of him shook his head “In my ten years of pediatric ICU nursing I have never seen a kid sit up like that out of open heart surgery.”

The action fit the kid. Trust me. I am told he learned that from me.

Parenthood relaxes you in more ways than one. Things you used to think about pre children, don’t bother you at all. You learn what strength really means. You learn what love really is. You learn what soul mate is truly all about.

I remember telling my friend the month after he was born…… that I couldn’t imagine going through this experience with anyone else but Curt. On a daily basis I look at Curt and I think the exact same thing. I can’t imagine living this life with any other person in the world.

As I told him his trainer was too close to mine the other morning, please move over.

If I had to give advice for the future for those just starting out, it’d be this; chill out. Look at the big picture. Don’t worry about the small stuff. And having a baby is like Ironman in a way….. you never hit the submit button thinking “Now I am totally ready”. Because the moment that little pink line goes from a dash to a “+”……. everything changes. In the best way possible.

Enjoy the ride, it gets better every day.

I swear camp connects us like summer camp did when we were kids. Things happen during four days of training…. snot rockets, pacelines, and things you just wouldn’t ordinarily find funny unless you were on hour 19 of a 22 hour training week. Those become the things you remember. Thos are the things that make you giggle during a meeting when you are supposed to be serious. Those are the things you text each other and ….. it just makes you smile.

Some of my athletes are coming, many of our QT2 athletes are coming, and there are some who are coming to see what it’s about. It’s always the greatest mix of people, it’s always just the mix that you need.

Molly, Tara and I are rooming, and I am pretty damn excited about that. I hope our room is next to Wheeler’s. Or at least Hansens. I need someone to absolutely harass. Since I am flying with Hansens though, I should be nice. They should feel relieved that I am over my fear of flying. At least if we go down we go down together.

Poor Curt Eggers. He’s had to deal with my fear of flying issues.

Camps are not only a ridiculous amount of fun, they are wonderful for getting a very focused block of training under your belt. Especially in the dead of winter when your first race is still weeks away. Head down and train. With the sun on your back and gators crossing your path. A total change of scenery with good food and good people. Learning mor about the sport we are so passionate about. Memories that carry you through the whole season.

When I began the Lake Placid camp so many years ago (good gosh it’s almost ten!) that’s what I dreamt it would be. Now that we’ve got a Placid QT2 Camp…. click here for that information…… that particular camp will be everything I dreamt it to be. What I love about our QT2 camps is what you learn no matter what level of athlete you are. Even as a coach you learn.

No worries, we will have daily updates beginning on Thursday morning. Wednesday is the travel day and if you know me at all…. you know that may involve some sort of insane adventure. Last year my cab driver kept falling asleep at the wheel. He took out an entire row of construction cones….. so I took him to Starbucks. I tend to attract a little bit of craziness.

As it looks right now it will be the last trip my beloved Cervelo P2 Carbon takes with me. I get somewhat emotional about bikes (which is why I keep them so long). This one however will be used by one of my athletes for the season. So I know he will do her proud. Looks like I will have the Kestrel in my grubby little hands shortly. But before that….. a few miles on the Garuda to close out six awesome seasons.

QT2 CAMP OR BUST!

The deal we thought we had with Berts, apparently never was. The two months of classes and clinics I have been doing for free…… well it put me in touch with some excellent people. I really really enjoyed those Thursday night spin classes. It was like getting together for coffee on a weekly basis. Unfortunately…… I am not in a position to work for free. With everything that I do it’s just not in the cards and the time that gets taken is the time with my family. I only have so many years with these guys. I am not home enough as it is.

So working with Berts has been incredibly fun, I loved every minute. But an agreement is an agreement, so going forward we have to cancel all we had planned. Which is really a bummer.

However…… when  one door closes another door will open. A partnership opportunity came to me yesterday that I am very excited about. I am in a wonderful position where I can be choosy about who I promote and represent. I believe in taking responsibility for my own sport. I don’t jump on any partnership or sponsorship without great thought. More to come on Monday but I am leaning towards this beauty of a  bike to carry me forward for the next 6 years…..

This is the Kestrel 4000 Pro Ultegra. I am debating between the Ultegra and SL.

Spending $10K on a bike is just not for me. Even if I had that kind of cash, I still wouldn’t. I do well for myself as an athlete, but there is nothing I need in a 10K bike that training can’t give me.  I see why this sport can be so intimidating to those just getting started. The prices are high, but honestly I can do this sport on any budget. That’s a whole separate blog though.

What attracts me to the Kestrel is the bang for the buck that this bike package gives. I don’t need electric shifters. It truly doesn’t even matter to me what color it is. What matters is the engine that rides it. I only need this: good components and a great fit. This bike will be more than enough to fit my needs. Kestrel has a long standing reputation, and the bottom line is this: they just make a great bike. Plus Kestrel is one of our big sponsors at QT2!

Either way I am pretty excited. I am especially excited about the possibility of this new partnership and the ability to work with someone I really respect and who has treated me incredibly well over the past year.

I am sad about the Berts situation. Really sad. And there’s no drama. I would highly recommend the company. I will still go there, it’s right down the street. They are great people. Thanks to everyone who joined us in our spinning classes and the clinics. It’s more than exciting to be able to connect with athletes new and experienced. We can still offer lots of clinics to meet your triathlon needs….. just hop on over to the Score This !!! page and get in on our Learn This series!!! (stay tuned, we have a giant Score This!!! related announcement coming up this week!!!!!!!!)

2012 is looking to be exciting. I have some really awesome partnerships in the works, our age group elite team has signed on some pretty darn awesome sponsors, and I will outline all of that this week!

Ain’t that the truth.

We began the evening with 20 minutes of cardio and that consisted of walking through the building. Boys on Andy’s team, girls with Leah, Katie and I (We have an equal number of boys and girls if you can believe that). We walked and everyone did really well, seeing the others in the hall turned into fun and we laughed so hard as we talked about why we were even doing this program. What was the motivation?

Each has their reasons but the theme of all of those reasons was this: I want to be a normal healthy kid again.

One of the girls has missed the assessment last week, so she went to the Physiology lab located in the University. She talked about how strange it was to walk down the halls of the hospital to a fitness assessment, after she had spent so much time there being sick. She said it was surreal. The smell of hand sanitizer gives her chills. She said she handled it well but it was still odd.

Imagine that. Just imagine that for a moment. You are 15 years old and for months on end you are in and out of this hospital receiving treatment after treatment. Throwing up for weeks on end. Losing your hair. Becoming so weak you can’t even stand. And your friends are choosing prom dresses. Your friends are applying to college and you are behind in your school work. Your teachers send assignments and tutors to try to  help you keep up but all you want is to sit in the classroom and be normal and not staring at these four walls of a hospital room with a revolving door of doctors, nurses and everyone else in the world.

What you would give to just be a normal kid.

She faced it with more courage than I realize a teenager has. And I have spent years taking care of kids who are sick.

We moved back into the gym to complete our strength training segment of the evening. Our chosen equipment this evening was resist-a-bands. Throughout this whole program we will be using things that you can have at home. I want to teach them that fitness is anywhere and a resist-a-band is one of the best pieces of equipment there is. It’s cheap, portable and heck, you can even use it as a sling shot (off the record)

We can't show them (research study) but we can show me. Joy.

They worked it. And I am not afraid to work them. There were groans, but there were no tears. There was no disappointment. Another beautiful thing about resist-a-bands is that you can work at your level. It can be made as easy or as difficult as you’d like it to be.

Each participant was also given a very interesting little device called a Fit Bit. (I got one too). This Fit Bit is a very small … thing….. that you wear all the time, night and day. It tracks your steps, it tracks how well you sleep. It even uploads itself when you are within 15 feet of your computer. We are all using it to track our daily activity and our sleep through the program. We will be connecting together online and setting fitness goals throughout the week so that TLC Fit Night isn’t the only night we are training. Using a device like this is a great tool to help us take a good look at how much activity we get during a daily basis.

At the end of the workout there were smiles. There was a sense of accomplishment. We gathered and talked about setting goals for the next week. We talked about motivation and what our “why” was for being here. I wan tot keep that “why” at the forefront. It’s so important.

This whole program is so important. Monday when I walked into the Y I walked past the LiveStrong program signs and I shook my head. “You missed someone” I thought to myself. “You missed the kids.” I just can’t get over it. I think it’s a big failure. But this is why we are here. to change that.

Many of you have asked how you can help. One of my former athletes Richard held a Horseshoe Tournament with all proceeds going to TLC. We’ve had several generous donations of $100 thanks to the swim challenge of Professional Triathlete and QT2 Coach Doug Maclean. Some of the donations have been anonymous. Thank you so much. To a bigger organization that $100 doesn’t go far, with TLC, it goes far. This is not a giant non for profit organization. It’s a mother who lost her daughter to Cancer 10 years ago, and a 34-year-old Cancer survivor. (Lauren and Leah). Leah works there on a grant that will run out in June. And she doesn’t worry about it. She’s vital to this whole program so we need to keep her there.

How can you help? How about ride a bike for an hour, for $20. Studio Move out in Mendon has chosen TLC as it’s charity this week to benefit from Cycling for Charity. $20 gets you a spinning bike for an hour. So you get to work out. It’s truly that easy. The 9am class is full. I will be spinning with Lauren at 10am and there are bikes open. Please come on down and spin with us. If you are not a cyclist why not split a bike with a friend and spin 30 min each? How about four of you split a bike and ride 15 min each?

To register just click here.

The picture of the T Shirt at the top stated this: attitude is the mother of luck. Think about that. How true it is. Think about your attitude each day, think about how it sets the tone. I see a lot of people who adopt the “Woe is me, poor me” attitude yet they have healthy and able bodies. If there was ever a group who I could justify a woe is me attitude, it’d be these kids. Look at what they have been through.

But they don’t. They want to get up and do. Their attitude is their deal maker when for others it is their deal breaker. One of the few benefits of being a Cancer survivor is this: you’ve seen the worst. You’ve stared at the bottom of a toilet enough times to make the promise that if you are given another change you will never, ever allow it to go to waste. You’ve waited through enough MRI’s and CT scans and waited for the results of the tests from the labs…… you understand what it is like to have your life hanging in the balance.

So woe is me. Doesn’t cut it here. My life sucks…. doesn’t stand a damn chance.

I love these kids. I love what they bring to the table. I love their hearts. I love their smiles. I am so honored to be a part of this. We are small, but we’ve got a giant bite. And we are here to take a bite back. Cancer took it out of them, and that fired them up.

Sorry Cancer, you lose this round.

Andy and I did a push up challenge, 38 pushups for my 38th birthday. I have to declare a redo. I don’t think I went low enough. In Yoga we do pushups with our arms very close and our elbows pointing to the back wall, so my regular pushup form seemed compromised. We will redo this next week.