Age Group Nationals

Melissa Mckendry nailed yet another solid performance this past weekend down in Alabama for USAT Age Group Nationals. Melissa is going to shut things down a bit now, but we're already talking about what lies ahead next year and let me tell you Melissa...this was just the beginning. You're going to crush the competition even more next year. If I were a female in the Hampton Roads area I'd be watching out at any local multi-sport event.

Unfortunately, Steve Mckendry, Melissa's husband could not race this past weekend. Steven is a Navy SEAL and had other important things to do for our country. When I think about what some of these guys are doing for our country it makes what I do seem so little. These guys truly are heroes and often put their lives on the line for us. Be safe over there Steven!

Things are going great here. Rachel and I just got back from southern MI for her sister Susie's wedding. It was a lot of fun and it's always inspiring to see true love! These two are a perfect match that's for sure.

On the training/racing front I'm pretty much shut down right now and in what I call my transition phase. I am going to be laying a very solid base this late fall/winter in preparation for a big tri season next year. I have pinpointed some very specific things I need to work on and have been planning a ton. The plan I have in place thus far is going have me ready when I most need it. Lots of hard work, but now I'm more so just enjoying getting out and doing whatever I feel like. With how my season went (6+ weeks off from my broken collerbone) there is no need for a complete 2 week off break like I normally do at season's end. I am going to stay active, just very unstructured. Today I ran with the high school xc kids. It was really fun and I think I'll be joining them on Mondays until their season is over. They have a couple of studs and hopefully this can work both ways...they don't really know how to push themselves and I haven't found anyone here yet to push me on the run front so hopefully it works out well for both of us.

We got to see my sister for her birthday yesterday and her little boy Brody. Having him around is giving Rachel the itch more and more to have one of her own. We shall see!

Thanks for reading.

Barefoot Tri, 1st week of school, & jrmtraining.com

It's been a busy week so I'm just getting around to putting a little something together from last weekend. I raced the Barefoot Tri on Sunday in Traverse City. It was an olympic distance with a 27.5 mile bike. It was a tough bike course, but to my advantage with the hills. This was a pretty small event like most are up here in northern Michigan, but there was still a good 250 people racing. I felt great all day and this was probably my best race I've had all year as far as how I felt in relationship to my fitness level. I have done basically no hard running still since my collarbone incident and to be able to run 6:00 pace off the bike was a good feeling. I can tell all the hills on the bike and run front are starting to really make me strong. My legs felt a lot fresher coming off the bike than normal. It was a lot of fun and once again having family there for support was awesome. My little brother (pic above) is definitely the best cheerleader out there. He's already quite the little athlete himself.

On Labor Day Rachel and I spent the day with her family at her grandpa's cabin. It's a very nice place and we're hoping to get there more frequently now that we're a lot closer. It was nice being able to hang out with Rachel's sisters and all of their husbands.

The first week of school has been great. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous heading into Tuesday. It had been 3 months since I've taught (2 extra weeks b/c of my surgery) and I thought maybe I had forgotten how:) It was also going to be different teaching high school and in a completely different school district. So far everything has been smooth and I really like how things have worked out. The students at Mancelona have been fun to work with and my fellow teachers/staff have made me feel like home. I'm excited about what lies ahead this year on the teaching front.

Lastly, Janda has launched our new coaching website. Go to jrmtraining.com to see more.

Hopefully you are watching college football this afternoon. Go Blue!

Duathlon Worlds

A quick shout out to Melissa and Steven Mckendry for an awesome race in Edinburgh this past weekend at Duathlon Worlds. Melissa came 26th out of 42, while Steven was 26th out of 77...in the world for their age group! These two have been a pleasure to work with and have earned every bit of this. The work ethic of this couple is very impressive. What's even more impressive is how kind they are. It's an honor to be able to work with people like the Mckendrys. Up next...AG Nationals in 3 weeks!

Local training grounds

Here are a few short clips of my ride this morning. Enjoy!