"Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." - Nepoleon Hill

First off some music, check out this video, great song, wicked band, awesome video, very funny.

The Black Keys - Tighten Up

Ok to take a step back first. Going back, way back to before Des Moines. I had the very exciting arrival of my new steed. My Cervelo S2 arrived set up with SRAM red and sonic Wheels. Still have yet to come up with a name.... Such clean lines and colours to match my cycling  and triathlon kit.

Training had been going well with lots of running and many miles of riding as the weather in Victoria began to resemble that of summer. I was out for a long ride one Saturday when I was sprinting out of the saddle to merge with traffic. My old training wheels jammed causing me to be flung over the bars. This is a lesson in wearing a helmet in which I most certainly was. I landed mainly on the back of my helmet. I rested on the side of the road for a bit before riding the majority of the way home when I was picked up by a friend. I ended up getting a minor concussion. The next week leading up to the Ders Moines Hy-vee world cup I trained very little in order to ensure a full recovery from all concussion symptoms and road rash.

Des Moines was an interesting day. With a changed swimming strategy. I sat in for the first 1000m of the swim. With 500m to go I began my attempts at the $5000 swim prime. However the two Russians, Brukhankov and Polyansky worked together making my efforts futile. I came out of the water second. All 65 athletes ended up in the one pack making for a rather frustrating ride. I spent the entire ride fighting to move up into good position. I would get into a strong position thanks to many accelerations and sneaking through gaps risk after risk. With such narrow roads athletes were crossing the center line in order to advance position forcing me back into poor position. This battle continued for the entire 40km ride. Off the bike my run reflected my many efforts during the bike either from the 'accordion effect' or my attempts to move up in the pack.

Back home we returned back to training quickly. With frustrations regarding how the season had been unfolding I needed to settle the mind, take control of my emotions and focus on process. My sister invited me out to meditative Yoga. I am hooked. I leave these sessions absolutely focused on the ‘now.’ Add dinner at Green Cuisine or on Moss Rock with Jenny n'Noah and I am a happy guy. Here is a poem I have taken from one of the sessions that I would like to share by Ganga White called ,‘What If.'

‘What If’

What if our religion was each other,

If our practice was our life,

If prayer, our words.

What if the temple was the earth,

If forests were our church,

If holy water - the rivers, lakes and oceans.

What if meditation was our relationships,

If the Teacher was life,

If wisdom was self-knowledge,

If love was the center of our being.

The Key line I take from this poem is, “If the teacher was life, If wisdom was self-knowledge” because we all know the answers to our questions/troubles as long as we are able to see past the mess of clutter that is our fleeting thoughts.

Now I am awaiting my flight home from Montreal. Again with disappointment as the event unfolded with unfortunate circumstances. My swim was good. Felt in control of the race. Stretched it out with hopes of breaking up the race. Out of the water a pack of 4 of us were working pretty well together. However like last year some team tactics brought first and second pack together. I re-focused on setting myself up for a good run off the bike. On lap 4 of the bike I got caught up in one of four accidents. I didn’t go down but slamming on the breaks it was enough to leave me soloing off the back for the last 2.5/6 laps. I did everything in my power to limit the damages. I had images of Fabian Cancellara time trialing. Off the bike motivated by the crowd I ran through all the fatigue that had been accumulated in my legs on the bike. I ran through about 8 athletes but with a minute and a half deficit and tired legs into t2 my gains were little. After a rough night we spent the day in old Montreal and thanks to Phil saw some amazing sights. Played some cards with the boys. All n’all a very pleasant day.

Next for me is San Francisco but more on that later,
Ciao for now,
Andrew