Be the Beast Triathlon Coaching

I haven’t written an “about” section to my blog yet but one thing you should know about me is when I decide upon a goal I am often quite successful in following through in some capacity.  When I was 4 I wanted to go to college in Cape Town, South Africa. My dad is a civil engineer so the agreement was made that I could go if I pursued a degree in civil engineering. Ironically, I ended up with a degree in civil engineering and headed to Africa with in days of graduating college.

Somewhere along the line as an athlete I set my sights on promoting a race.  Somewhere along my bike tour with Lydia through the South in 2010 I decided it would be cool to live without a bike. Last but not least I decided months ago that it would be great to work where Kennett has worked for the past year and a half.

Which brings me to this weekend. I’ll be directing the Gebhardt Automotive Cycling Classic, selling my car, and starting work at Kennett’s old job.

This is more transition than I normally take on at once. I like shaking it up a bit but normally the best and easiest opportunity I find to do this is moving my bedroom furniture.  Kennett moved the bedroom furniture a week ago so I guess I had to go big this time around.

The car:

My car, affectionately named Sydney, was my first car and has been with me since college. She died on the side of the road while Kennett was driving her a few weeks ago. It didn’t happen at a convenient time because it would have been nice to have her for the race this weekend. Truth be told it is never a convenient time to get rid of a car because they are a convenience in and of themselves.

My parents weren’t initially as stoked about me getting rid of the car.  My dad’s email included the following: “You may need a car from time to time.  What happens if you hear a major storm is headed your way and you need to buy 20 or 30 rolls of TP for emergency preparedness.   I am sure there are other situations just a critical, but at the moment I can’t seem to come up with any.”

Every once in a while I may need a lift or may need to borrow a car (and it may be to get the big bundle of toilet paper) but I think that will actually be better. Sometimes it is good to depend on each other. It builds community and hopefully I can repay people and contribute back by helping others. Within 24 hours of my car dying I had a girl whom I had never met offer to drive me up north to drop off race flyers at the post office. Lydia and I bike toured it was really amazing to see how people helped us out and took us in. I anticipate Amity, who drove me the other week, and I becoming good friends.

The race:

It is coming up soon. Depending on my moment I will either yell at you for even mentioning the topic because it is too overwhelming or I will talk your ear off about progress made and sponsors gotten.  Choose your time wisely!

I dove off the 15-meter diving board into the deep end with this race.  There have been challenges every step of the way but I have learned a ton.  I’ve most recently learned that it is best to screen phone calls from Loveland and Berthoud to avoid nasty phone calls from residents around Carter Lake.

My mom is coming out from Pittsburgh to help.  She asked what she could bring from home and I said she should bring some sanity. So many other people have been supporting the race and me and it’s going to be fun seeing it come to fruition. Look for a post-race blog. At that point maybe my brain will be able to dissect what has happened over the past few months and I’ll let you in on some future projects.

The job:

This fall the conversation came up about Kennett’s work hiring once he left and we discussed the odds of my taking his position. Kennett said I wasn’t qualified. He wasn’t being mean, he was being honest which is why I like him. He’s not the kind of guy you date for his car, his haircut, or his nicely tailored shirts so you have to like him for those inner qualities.

As time went on I realized it would be a great job so I had Kennett train me on some of what he does and I practiced. It had entered into the realm of those goals I strive to achieve and I wasn’t going to sit back passively. I sent my resume in on New Year’s Day. I studied up on bikes and racing. I interviewed. Now I have the position.

I am really excited to be working at Smart-Etailing.  I’ll be writing about bikes and accessories and learning more about the industry. I’ll be working with great co-workers and I’ll get to ride at lunchtime. It is going to be a great parallel to the projects I am starting outside of work and it will give me a way to connect with Kennett while he is racing this season.

I’d like to think after this weekend everything will calm down. It will be great to reconnect with friends and take some time to enjoy having Kennett around while he isn’t working. It will be good to have the energy to ride my bike again since my cortisol levels won’t be through the roof talking to residents living around the racecourse.

At the same time I hope it doesn’t slow down. I finally feel like I am entering into the career phase of my life and there are a lot of avenues to explore.  There are also a lot of races to be winning on my bike! While I won’t get to ride this weekend I do have my sights on Tucson Bicycle Classic.