First off, let me just say I'm sitting in my new house in front of my big screen tv totally hyped to watch all things Olympic and I'm staring at the damn Dish screen that reads "Complete Signal Loss". It's Saturday afternoon, not a freakin cloud in the sky, I already rode this morning and I planned to spend at least ten hours sitting on the couch this weekend drinking my last six pack of Guinness Stout before Age Group Nationals (all the kids are gone except for the baby!!!!). I cant get a technician out til Monday morning, so . . . welll, let's just say I'm pissed! I'm not LOL! Boy, have things changed. I sorta made a name for myself as this "Trucker Triathlete", training and racing from the road. Now, I no longer drive the truck. My consulting company Fitness Trucking is doing well, having signed a major commercial carrier as my first corporate client. Now, I live in a new city, I have a 9 to 4 job, a desk and a business card. Yikes.... This is the first "regular" job I have had since....well,...I really can't remember. And what I have learned so far is that it is significantly more difficult to train for triathlons as a "regular" person than as a truck driver. Before, I could stop the truck and workout when and where I wanted to. I had the excitement of a new training location everyday, even within the same day. I could think about triathlon all day or night while I was driving, Now, I have much more limited time to train, more domestic responsibility. If I don't get it in in the morning chances are the workout won't get done, and there are tons of other things on my mind other than triathlon. So I have a deeper respect for my fellow triathletes, having experienced what I think is the more common experience. TRULY, THE AGE GROUP TRIATHLETE WITH A JOB AND A FAMILY IS AN EXTRAORDINARY CREATURE. When I was training for Ironman South Africa (my first), I was preparing for a test that I did not want to fail. I took time off and wasn't working. I was focused. I paid attention to detail. I did the extra things - nutrition, yoga, foam rolling, special exercises to strengthen my ankles and shoulders. I followed a disciplined training plan religiously, tracking heart rate, cadence, etc. My training is far less focused these days, and Im lucky to get in anything beyond the basic swim, bike and run. And I've taken to drinking Guiness Stout after work. Boy have things changed. I want to win at Age Group Nationals. I want to be the first African American to win a USA Triathlon title. But I can't seem to really push myself like I did for IM South Africa. I'm kinda just going through the motions. Since I'm only doing the sprint this year, the race itself doesn't scare me. I can do a sprint - that's like a workout. But all my life, I go into something giving 100%, knowing I have done everything possible to perform at my very best. This time around, I can still perform at my very best if I happen to be "on" on race day, but in the back of my mind, I know I could have done more. My swim is the same, I'm a much better cyclist than a year ago, but my run is a crap shoot. Will I be able to run a sub 18 minute 5k? ....Any other time I would KNOW what I could do.... A lot of what I want is outside of my control: depends on who shows up for the sprint race, really. It will be fun, and a different kind of test for me. And I won't be driving and sleeping in my truck this year, I'll be flying and sleeping in a hotel! And this year, I will have new teammates as well. See you soon!   SIPHIWE'S TOP TEN ACTIVITIES SINCE MOVING TO SPRINGFIELD, MO IN JUNE 10. Unpacking boxes 9. Riding 6.1 miles to work and then 6.1 miles back home, Monday thru Friday 8. Watching back to back episodes of "Chopped" with my wife 7. Going to the store 6. Building shelves 5. Intending to post on EFRT website 4. Drinking Guiness Stout 3. Watching every stage of the Tour de France 2. Helping truck drivers lose weight 1. Making a a comfortable home for my family.