The Volunteering Lifestyle

HITs Ironman/Half: I had the privilege of volunteering on Saturday during the Half/Full Ironman here in GJ,CO. I arrived at Highline Lake just a few moments after 5am and checked in with Katie T. She asked me for my T-Shirt size and instructed me to head on over to the bike transition area and seek out Dave. Dave and 3 other volunteers were standing at the entrance and asking for wrist bands and playing security. I was happy to grab a marker and start body marking the athletes. Race number on ether shoulder and opposite calf.
I met people from all over the place. ID, KS, NM, AZ, CA, TX, and a whole team from Puerto Rico. And tons of Front Strange racers. At one point, Dave walks over to me and asked me if I am always this damn happy. He expressed how pleased he was by how I could read the racers so well. How I could tell if some one was in that zone and I left them alone, how others were way nervous and how I calmly talked them into ease, and how I joked with the funny athletes that were just ready to start and get the jitters out.
Basically, I was having a blast!! These bodies were sexy, firm, full of life, and VERY COLD!! You see, mother nature was allowing a very light sprinkle to fall upon us the whole time leading up to the race. You didn't need your windshield wipers but everything was wet out. Next thing I knew, it was about 5 min before 7AM, just me and another volunteer stood by. The state park was so quite, calm, wet, and beautifully lush for a desert environment.
Here comes the 1st place guy after the swim and he looked stiff due to the cold temp. And Another, And Another, and they were coming in frozen. How does one warm up on a bike, soaking wet, raining, and that wind chill of riding faster??? CRAZY!!
How about 15min transition times?!?!?! The one that stood out was a smaller muscular woman that was frozen beyond belief. She was having trouble mounting her bike and I had to stop her. No way was I going to allow her to ride a bike without any control of her bodily functions. NOT THAT KIND BUT the simple task of judging distance or braking from a corner. I grabbed a towel and rubbed her back and the next thing I knew she was pinned against me shaking like crazy. She told me that her legs cramped during the swim but she is feeling much better and feels strong enough to ride and I let her go, finally. Truthfully, I didn't want to let her go.
No Full Distances Racers DNF At That Point, Only 3 Half racers DNF in the transition area, and only one lady didn't make the swim. Thats crazy impressive!! Water temp was 57F and yes, light rain was still falling off and on.
My next job was standing at the dismount location were the Half's were coming in and the Full's were turning around. My first HOLY SH*T moment was a women coming in frozen and couldn't unclip her shoes. I was so thankful that she was a little gal because I bear hugged her to stop her bike and kept her from falling over. Her girlfriend ran over and quickly instructed her to turned her hold her heel and turn it out to unclip her feet. After her, I was back on my A-Game. I totally dig checking out all the different set ups on the bikes and all the killer tri bikes that are out these days. Back when I was wrenching at Brown's Cycles, I was asked if I would rather have a Ferrari or Lamborghini. I said a Ferrari for sure but why that question??? The shop manager told me that its impossible for me to buy a $120,000 dollar Testa Rossa but I could possibly own a $10,000 S-Works, Felt DA1, or a sweet Cervelo R5ca. That stuck with me and now I see these racers on dream bikes because non of us can afford our dream car.
And so the 56 mile racers continued coming in hot, frozen to the core, and snot bubbles flying around everywhere. I would guess that 90% of them really had a hard time dismounting from their bikes. I mean this in a positive way because its very difficult to find your running legs after a ride but the frozen factor adds a new dimension for sure. So many of them envisioned jumping off their bike and "running" towards the transition area. But after the 1st few running steps in cycling shoes and stiff bones, they slowed way down to a more manageable walk. But each and everyone of them were so damn inspirational!!! Purple Lips And All

Clients: New clients are walking in almost everyday. Its amazing. It being word of mouth referrals. And I have noticed a trend and how clients think they are coming in for a "foot" issue and are totally shocked by the BLANK that doesn't hurt anymore. They didn't mention the other "spot" but it just worked out that way. I worked with my first meniscus tear and explained to the client that I can't fix this but I will help the body educate itself on how to deal with the tear. That client was so stoked to walk again without pain!! If they had $1,000 in their wallet, they would have handed it over. Worked on a bodybuilder that felt great but wanted to see what the Ortho thing was. We had a huge shoulder release and explored a few of his organ relationships. Talk about feeling like a spring chicken. Off And Running He Went, Awesome. I am looking at holding an Open House in JUNE because Sheri is out of the office almost the whole month of June.

Training: The gym has been radicle!! I am so much stronger and have been really enjoying controlling the weights during each exercise. Its that feeling of holding the weight and feeling the core muscles contact. And how those last few reps can be a mental struggle but experiencing the reward of pushing through. Keep this in mind, I am talking about only the bar when I am at the bench press but 3 sets of 25 reps. Thats what I mean by contacting the core!!
I have been riding the commuter bike with authority before AND NOW after lifting. My core feels more organized, my quads are engaging, and my quick sprints are so much more powerful and responsive. Totally Dig That!!!
Shadow Boy and I are still on our no excuse loops in the AM but he has passed on some of the evening walks because of the rain. He just doesn't jive with the rain. He is so funny when I jump on the commuter bike when its raining. He give that look like, " Human, can't you see that its raining???" and he has that head tilt, ears up, and you just know he headed for my bed. And Thats OK.
And the big news…….. Signed up for the Half Ironman Aqua Bike for May 14th 2016 because its only $80.oo….. Oh Boy…. Get Ready To Freeze My Cojones Off

Weather: Its been a time lapse dream so far this month. Clouds, wind, rain, and incredible sunsets. This week will be the standard convection theory, land warms up, heat raises, cooler air fills that empty space, and afternoon thunder storms build. Its Beautiful!! Dig the high desert in the spring.

Inspirations/BB King: I wasn't sad, nothing like that, but it was sad to hear about the passing of BB King. I was very lucky enough to meet him 3 different times. The last time, working at the same hotel, he claimed to remember me when I carried his bags to his room with him. The scar on my neck was the giveaway. He was gracious, easy going, and just had that twinkle in his eye that some people have. RIP Mr King. On my wall I have INSPIRATIONAL BLOGS I READ…. One of them is Wild Defined at http://www.wilddefined.com She is amazing, a race director, and the proud owner of a Karelian Bear Dog. And GZ at http://georgezack.blogspot.com and he has been posting V-Blogs, tales of his travels from around the world, and training for the LeadMan Series. Damn Cool Dude!!! Another cool dude JIM at http://50after40.blogspot.com and our common factor is Baseball. I enjoy how he writes, catching up on his data, and watching some of his videos. Thanx Jim!!! And http://www.onecrazypenguin.com is another inspiring writer. She is real, she is a newly wed, and she is a gamer. Meaning, she dabbles in everything and knows how to smile. Go Penguin!! And A San Diego Gal at http://katiehartmorse.com totally rocks!! I love her photos as they take me back to the late 80's. She just smoked the St.Gorge 70.3 and traveled with her wonderful father. How Cool Is That?!?!?! Last But Not Least, I haven't met him YET, but its Fast Cory at http://www.fastcory.com I never know what he is going to blog about and his photos are unreal!!! He Is The Man!!!

Indy 500: Simply Put…. I Cant Wait…. Its My Day… I Have A Shirt That I Only Wear On Race Day…. Its Hanging Up And Ready To Wear…. Bring On The Indy 500