Pontevedra Bound!

 

Flights changed, shouldn't have any hurricane impacts, all is good (as of now). 

Looking forward to getting there, enjoying a vacation, enjoying Spain, and enjoying the race and race experience!

Update on goals:

1. Qualify for Team USA 2024 - ACHIEVED!
2. Qualify for Team USA 2023 (new goal after rule change) - ACHIEVED!
3. Win NCTS Series for Age Group - Had some bad luck with a course where I was redirected. Was in first place. Went 5 extra miles on the bike. Guy who passed me got a huge NCTS number and an absurdly large USAT number. Really bummed about it because it makes me now have to rely on good luck to overcome my bad luck with this goal. I'd say its more likely than not this gets achieved proving that with some goals its better to be lucky than good. 
4. Win SCTS Series for Age Group - First place AG in first race (worth the most points). ACHIEVED!.
5. Get All American Status -- Currently at 96.483. My score inched up to 96.929 and this is good for 41/673 as of now. Can't stamp this one as achieved until February but all but certain.
6. [STRETCH] Be the top ranked triathlete in North Carolina for my age group - Ugh the guy from #4 got a big number and I did not. If i had even got top 3 (not even the 1st place I was in) the worst I would have gotten would have been 97. This would have kept me in first place. But alas I'm chasing a high 96 at some other race. Not for nothing but neither the other guy or I technically should be (or likely will be) 1st in state since there is some error with scoring for the guy who is ACTUALLY in first. So even if i overcome the guy currently there, it is not possible to get past the other guy. Could there be some kind of USAT glitch where the guy who SHOULD be in first DOESN'T get it? Should there be an asterisk if there was some bug? I've concluded no since the USAT scoring magic seems to have a mind of its own and if you put any value in the metric it will certainly break under any scrutiny. I'd rather not take a sour grapes approach. Whomever is ranked first is ranked first for better or worse. Right now, I'm second and working to pass he who is in first as of now.

So to summarize it, I'd say its 90% likely I achieve all 5 goals and I would say I've got a 33% chance to get goal #6 if they don't correct the system, 0% if they do. But that WAS a stretch goal and I did have 1st place for better part of 8 months. 

Did some analysis as to where I am. I have 3 races this year i'm signed up for with 1-2 more this winter. I'm down slightly in the NCTS/SCTS tournament from a like for like perspective but I've concluded the races I've scored lower on are actually because better folks showed up. The USAT measure (which takes this into account better) has me up a 1.8 points over last year. 

When I dig into triathlons that I've done year over year I am seeing that my swim times are very much improved. And me with a wetsuit is downright fast. My bike times are stagnant or down, my run times are on par, but my T times are near world class. I've said it before, doing tons of triathlons may not make you great at any particular event, but it does make you great at triathlons and that means transitions. It goes as far as when I see someone a full minute ahead of me on the bike or swim I feel like I'll get them out of transition. It's crazy how often that happens too. 

So net net, I'm a better triathlete this year then I was last year. When you look at the USAT progression score wise since 2009, I've gotten better and better nearly every year. So maybe I'm the best triathlete I've ever been right this second? As my 3 year might say, "maybe yeah"

Still a go for Spain...

 For now, we are still a go to leave on schedule. 

Here is a heart thumping video produced by the Pontevedra Race folks

Wow! Going Back to Spain!(?)

 

It was 12 short years ago that I found myself in uncharted waters. The year before, I had qualified for USAT Nationals for Long Course, attended the National Championships and came up JUST short on making the team.

In 2011 I recommitted to do whatever it took to make the US Long Course National Triathlon Team. It was incredibly stressful to me actually. Luckily, the work I did paid off and I was able to get 9th in my AG at Nationals. So, in 2012, I headed off to an amazing adventure in Europe that started with a race in Vitoria.

FAST FORWARD TO NOW....

I set the goal at the beginning of the year to have another go at it. But as chance would have it, I had the opportunity to make Team USA for not just next year 2024, but also a shot (Due to a series of strange and unusual events) a shot for Team USA THIS year. The fact that it was in Spain made it extra attractive and interesting since my family is always looking for Spanish immersion. But I needed to get top 5 (?!) in my age group. Seemed unlikely. BUT, spoiler alert, I ended up getting 4th! So off we go!

Not so fast. There are 2 hurricanes directly in the way of getting to Spain from JFK (where we fly out of). What's going to happen? Will we ever get there? More to come...