Whats New Pussycat ! Whoa uh Whoa uh

As the coolest dude in Vegas would say....... The last week or so has been hectic with work,training and my chickas racing at West Point.

I'll start off with training updates:

Went HUGE the last 9 days.

I did a 1/2 Ironman training day ( 50 min hard swim+2:45 ride on MtB+7 mi Run) on Aug 5th.
The next day I took my athletes that were doing the West Point Sprint Tri for a race sim day at Queechy Lake where we did a 550yd swim+15mi hill climb+5K @ race effort.

Man ! They were so awesome! Troopers all of them.

I love coaching newbies.

Then I did a solo adventure race inspired by my interest in Lewis & Clark.

I called this the Dorson's Rock Challenge.

Its a super tough bike course from my house that I did on my hardtail steelie. The course navigates thru all the winding back roads and dirt switchbacks in Old Chatham-through the Bird Sanctuary trails where one encounters super narrow trails that can be described as treacherous at best. Lots of sections that are so technical that dismounting and carrying the bike are a must. The reward is hitting the summit of Dorson's Rock where you are treated to a breathtaking view of the Adirondack & Berkshire Valleys.

Of course there's the bitch slapping you need to endure on the way down....cuz its a steep mofo to the bottom. I have to say that I did not fall once. I did land on the boys real hard more than once,but a few days later I found that all is well down there ; )

I feel super fit right now. Better than I did before LP actually. I think I peaked a month out of Ironman.......and right now is obviously my 2nd peak of the year. So, I need to stay in a holding pattern and ride this wave into the Vermont Sun 1/2IM.

Next year I think I'll be able to be more sensitive to peaking at the right time.

Enough about moi......

So this past Sunday was race day for Mandy and C. They were signed up for the West Point Tri . The event is held at the famous West Point Military Academy near Bear Mtn,NY. Hallowed ground so to speak.

Mandy was doing the Kids race on Saturday and C was in Sundays race. So we made it a weekend thing. Our friends Tom & Karen Cook were there as Tom was doing it for the 2nd time.

Mandy did awesome as usual ! 4th out of the water and top 10 during the bike.

But what the highlight for me was her total PRO dismount off her bike. She came in screaming into transition and threw her leg over the top tube just like the pros.Sprinted into the rack and off she went to reel in a 15yr old boy that was about 100ft ahead of her....and by the end of that road she past him.

I absolutely go nuts watching her race. She is a site to behold . Her physique is that of an elite in the making. Tall,lean slightly muscular. She never shows pain in her face. Always calm with tons of confidence that I'm sure intimidates her peers.

Her running form is flawless ! All this in a 13 yr old.

We decided to let her try out for the Sienna College swim team . Its not college level but rather a competing swim team of HS and College kids sposored by Sienna College.
4-5000yds each day !

She wants to be the best she says- so I'm going to encourage her. To be honest I'd love for her to go Pro and get a swim scholarship. She's that good. Watching her Freestyle is live watching an instructional DVD.

C's race was great.

It was her first triathlon and man was she nervous ! She suffers from performance anxiety.

The swim was the toughest for her., She's got a long way to go in technique which we're hoping to remedy this month.
Once out of the water, she reeled in some athenas during the bike and ran an awesome 5k.

She PR'd her 5K time all together so not a bad day for her at all.......and now she's hooked ! Yikes ! I think I've created a monster.

She's thinking maybe 1 more Sprint sometime in mid September.

So here I am back in the ranch. My desk is cluttered and so is my brain.
I think I need to find some time today to meditate and decompress as the last week has put me into lala land as far as focus.