2009 Around the Corner

I was so tired at the end of October, I didn't want to train and I certainly didn't want to race. My last race of the season, Pumpkinman, had this cute 5 mile climb to transition (Halfmax course had about 6500' climbing, the Olympic about 3100'), about 100 meters of flat and on to the run. The race wasn't flawless, but beyond that, I was done racing. I did ok, ended up 4th and scored points for TCSD for the team national championships. I was however happy to be done racing for the year. 2008 wasn't a great season for me, too much going on, work, life, moving, etc to allow the racing season I wanted, but overall, not a bad racing year.

After witnessing the tragic military plane crash last week in San Diego where a man, father, husband and son-in-law lost his entire family (his wife, 2 young children and mother-in-law) in an instant, I had to ask myself why. Why was I meant to witness this tragedy? My answer is - to live life and just go for it. You never know when a plane may crash into your house.

With that, I am thankful for my family, my friends, my teammates, my colleagues and the people that motivate me.

As it is that time of year - ready for a new one... on come the resolutions. As usual, I resolve to have a better year. Be a better person, race a better race, better my performance at work.

So what's on the agenda for 2009....

January:

1/17 - Velo Bella camp, SLO

February:

2/8 - Fiesta Island Time Trial (FITT), San Diego

2/28 - Bulldog Road Race, Oceanside

March:

3/8 - FITT, SD

3/22 - Palm Springs Triathlon, Palm Desert

April:

4/5 - FITT, SD

May:

5/3 - Wildflower, Paso Robles

5/10 - FITT, SD

5/17 - Encinitas Triathlon, Encinitas or Tempe International, Tempe AZ

June:

6/14 - Redondo Beach Triathlon, Redondo Beach

6/28 - San Diego International, SD or Ventura Breath of Life Triathlon USAT Regional Championships, Ventura, CA

July:

7/26 - Pacific Coast USAT Sprint National Championships, Newport Beach, CA

August:

8/22 - USAT Olympic National Championships, Tuscaloosa, AL

September:

9/12 - FITT, SD

9/13 - Big Kahuna Long Course Triathlon, Big Sur, CA

9/27 - OC Tri, Irvine, CA

October:

10/11 - FITT, CA

10/25 - Soma Long Course Triathlon, Tempe, AZ

I'm sure I'll add, subtract, substitute, tweak, fudge as necessary...

As for you - I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, give a stranger a smile, call a relative you haven't talked to recently and take a moment to be thankful for all the wonderful things.

In the meantime, happy riding!

Raja