After talking with 2 experienced and knowledgable guys (thanks Andy and Pat) it was deteremined that the next step is keeping at it, and moreso than last year. Missing Kona by 9 minutes is tough; plain and simple. The thing about it is that I knew when I was passing on a workout earlier in the season that it may have repercussions. Those ill effects added up and led to a less than optimal bike and a run that was about 10-15 minutes off of my projected time. Both of those would have put me on the Big Island.
Between missing Kona and the opportunity with purplepatch it is clear that I need to commit! Pat and Andy agree that my biggest limiter is my durability (my body's ability to maintain high levels of exertion over extended periods of time without failing). With Ironman Lake Placid being my next attempt at Kona, the plan is to do another full Ironman build this year, rest shortly and then go in to another ironman build for LP in 2012.
With that said, all I can do at this point is train. Pat said it in a way that really stuck, "train more than just about everyone else" I know many of you will respond by saying its not the quantity its the quality. Knowing where Pat comes from when he says this, I get what he is saying and I know damn well what it means. Do Work!!
Today it worked, most likely because it was so fresh in my mind. I went for a run at the res with Ochoa and man was it cold. The plan was to get in at least 6 or 7 miles however the wind was brutal. After 3.5 miles we called it quits. Luckily I had a gym bag in the car and was able to go directly there. I hopped on the tready for an additional 5.5 miles totalling 9 on the day. After 4200 in the pool yesterday and 9 on the ground today I would have to say that this week is off to a good start. My challenge will be to maintain throughout the season. For now, its time to go flip through magazines and find various motivational items. Training is going to have to get done if I want Hyannis to be a success in 3 weeks.
Paul
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The Response
"Thanks so much for applying to the purplepatch farm project. I am very sorry to tell you that you just missed out on this trip. Please make sure you apply and you were on the very final list of athletes (in fact, you were in the final two men), and we just could not find room. If you applied again my bet is that you will have every chance to make it.
You were an exceptionally strong candidate and very much enjoyed chatting on the phone. I think that you will continue to evolve and I would highly recommend you apply for the next time through. I thought I would talk 'off the record' to provide some helpful insight to you for future applications (as well as framing your own sport) Take this as you will, but I hope you receive it in the spirit of me trying to help.
The successful applicant displayed similar skill-sets to you, but was highly succinct in his vision for his sport, where he wanted to be in three years time, and had a great grasp of personal strengths and weaknesses. It all came out well in the discussion.
I thought you did tremendously well and were very close to achieving a spot, but wanted to provide some feedback to help you succeed next time.
1. Where do you really want to be in three years?
2. What is the path to get there?
3. What do you need to work on to get there?
I would say that everyone wants to be 'as good as they want to be'... but defining it and being able to create a self-vision is important!
Regardless, please stay in touch and keep me in the loop with how your season goes. I would LOVE to see you excel this year and think highly of you as an athlete. I think you have potential to move on and become a great performer in this sport. Please throw your name in the that again, for next time!
Please let me know of questions. Next project: May - Southern California. Make sure you apply!
Cheers
Matt"
You were an exceptionally strong candidate and very much enjoyed chatting on the phone. I think that you will continue to evolve and I would highly recommend you apply for the next time through. I thought I would talk 'off the record' to provide some helpful insight to you for future applications (as well as framing your own sport) Take this as you will, but I hope you receive it in the spirit of me trying to help.
The successful applicant displayed similar skill-sets to you, but was highly succinct in his vision for his sport, where he wanted to be in three years time, and had a great grasp of personal strengths and weaknesses. It all came out well in the discussion.
I thought you did tremendously well and were very close to achieving a spot, but wanted to provide some feedback to help you succeed next time.
1. Where do you really want to be in three years?
2. What is the path to get there?
3. What do you need to work on to get there?
I would say that everyone wants to be 'as good as they want to be'... but defining it and being able to create a self-vision is important!
Regardless, please stay in touch and keep me in the loop with how your season goes. I would LOVE to see you excel this year and think highly of you as an athlete. I think you have potential to move on and become a great performer in this sport. Please throw your name in the that again, for next time!
Please let me know of questions. Next project: May - Southern California. Make sure you apply!
Cheers
Matt"
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Looonnnggg Shoooottt
So I took a bit of a long shot a few weeks back. I had read about the Purplepatch Farm Project on one of Linsey Corbin's tweets. It is an opportunity to train with and learn the approach of Matt Dixon's pro team. Some of his athletes include Chris and Matt Lieto, Luke Bell, Sam McGlone, and Linsey Corbin. The farm project would kick off in Tucson, AZ at a training camp with the Purplepatch pros and be followed by planning my race season and utilizing purplepatch's approach.
I figured it was a shot in the dark, but about 2 weeks after I submitted my application I got an email from Matt. He wanted to know a few more things about me including how I designed my training, hours per week spent training, weaknesses, etc. I assumed this meant I made it to the next round. Still no idea how many people were left but thought it was a good sign. Yesterday I got a phone call from Matt. My phone had died and when I checked the voicemail from my office phone I found a message from Matt stating that I had made it down to the final 5 or 6 people and he wanted to talk for 5 to 10 minutes about my thoughts on the future, my application and so forth. I called him back and left him a message and have been waiting anxiously since then.
This would be a pretty cool opportunity to train with some talented individuals and learn yet another approach to the sport. I should find out by February 7th whether or not I made it. Either way it has been an interesting experience.
-Paul
I figured it was a shot in the dark, but about 2 weeks after I submitted my application I got an email from Matt. He wanted to know a few more things about me including how I designed my training, hours per week spent training, weaknesses, etc. I assumed this meant I made it to the next round. Still no idea how many people were left but thought it was a good sign. Yesterday I got a phone call from Matt. My phone had died and when I checked the voicemail from my office phone I found a message from Matt stating that I had made it down to the final 5 or 6 people and he wanted to talk for 5 to 10 minutes about my thoughts on the future, my application and so forth. I called him back and left him a message and have been waiting anxiously since then.
This would be a pretty cool opportunity to train with some talented individuals and learn yet another approach to the sport. I should find out by February 7th whether or not I made it. Either way it has been an interesting experience.
-Paul
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