The last time I slogged, LAHP was 36 weeks pregnant with Jack, who was the size of a cantaloupe. Judging by the looks of him now, it's literally been a lifetime since I posted to The Slog.
Jack: handsome, outdoorsy, and the future bringer of world peace
Recently, Lauren and I have made BIG, exciting changes to our lives. Lauren accepted a position at Google last fall and is finally working in the stimulating and challenging environment she's craved. Even I contributed to her application process when she mentioned our years of virtual training via gchat!
On my end, I
joined Australian coach Darren Smith's international squad of
triathletes. Darren is a world class coach who has a knack for
developing nobodies into somebodies in the sport. In the last Olympic
cycle, six of his athletes made the Olympic team from his or her
respective countries, and his top girls finished 2nd and 4th.
Given that, it's no wonder that "Train with Darren Smith's triathlon squad (they spend December in Kenya)"
has been on my life list which I put together a
few years ago. I'm finally doing it! And it's cool that being part of
this group helps tick off a few other items, such as: interact with
people from diverse backgrounds on a regular basis AND plan more in
advance to give myself a cushion and be considerate of others. The timeliness piece is actually part of how we do business, so it's been a compulsory transformation.
I've
been at camp in Chula Vista, CA since the start of the year with nine
of my squad mates who hail from AUS, NZL, France, Italy, Great Britain plus two
fellow Americans. We have a Dutch physio/massage therapist, Rick, a
Swiss sports science intern, Nico, and Darren's wife, Liz Broad, our
dietician extraordinaire. My personal support staff, Kevin, is along
with me at camp too, doing his training and making me coffees and egg
bombers on demand. Or something like that.
To glean some insights into the Dsquad and our coach, check out this Competitor Radio interview that Darren and a few of us went on together.
Post-interview with hosts Bob Babbitt and Paul Huddle on the ends. L-R: world #2 Jodie Stimpson, Under 23 bronze medalist Declan Wilson, me--the token American, and Darren.
I have a few weeks left in sunny
SoCal getting fit before I start a worldwide trek with my coach and
training partners. First up, we head to New Zealand for training
camp with two races thrown in. Early April we fly to Cape Town, South
Africa for another camp and race. Our journey continues onto Pretoria,
South Africa (near Johannesburg), and then possibly
rounding out the first half of the year with a race in Yokohama,
outside Tokyo, Japan. It'll be my first time visiting all the countries
mentioned so woohoo to the new adventures ahead! While I'll be back in
the states for a month or so, I'll head to Europe for the summer races. I
am also joining the French Grand Prix triathlon team, Poissy, and will
be competing for them at some point later in the season. Definitely lots
to write home about.
LAHP and I typically close out a slog with some kind of dog photo, but instead, we have photographic evidence that mountain lions DO roam wild in LAHP's part of the state.
A gratuitous cat photo:
LAHP and I typically close out a slog with some kind of dog photo, but instead, we have photographic evidence that mountain lions DO roam wild in LAHP's part of the state.
A gratuitous cat photo:
