2:50am MST, St Petersburg, Florida
The alarm goes off and I awake from somewhere deep and relaxing. There’s a yearning to stay with the bliss but then I jump out of bed and begin preparing the body and mind to test it’s limits against athletes from around the globe. Athletes that are on the frontier of human endurance and expanding the boundaries of what we are all possible of doing. It’s a blend of science and art to peak yourself for a performance and it is so rewarding to go through the experience. No matter your trade, learning the ebb and flow of your abilities is something we should all strive to excel at. For me, it is thrilling to travel to a community that sets the stage for many of us to do just that. Every year St. Petersburg has about 5000 triathletes take over the city and challenge themselves to be better. Triathlon is a simple sport, swimming, biking and running are the most basic forms of movement we have. However, perfecting your ability to move is a complex and rewarding struggle to improve your health. When you start the journey towards better health you dive into an ocean that encompasses every aspect of your life. Part of getting it right, means having fun and enjoying the process and realizing you can always be better. It all comes back to love and balance. 4:50am MST 50 pro men tred water all creeping forward with some getting upset and others joking. ‘C’mon guys move back’ someone shouts. The announcer yells 5 seconds! I laugh and know what is going to happen next. The creep becomes a full on swim, there is no time to hesitate. The athletes are in a full out sprint just before the actual start but it’s fair enough for a 51.5 kilometer race. Filip Osplay & Sarah Haskins Defend Titles at SA Triathlon The swimmers in this field are fast, furious, and deep. I consider myself one of these swimmers and for the first 1100m I prove this by pushing the pace just off the front. Then, turning the last buoy for the final 400m I start losing pace. This is my strength in swimming, using my endurance to close out a swim, but today I find myself moving backwards through the field. I lost a full 20 seconds in this stretch!? With hindsight, the fix is easy; more LCM and lake swimming will solve this. Luckily, the lakes are warm enough now and they are my preferred workout. I’ll be frequenting them soon enough. Even though I closed weakly on the swim I was still confident that I would be with the leaders on the bike or catch up to it. I was wrong. Probably, just by 10 or 15 seconds. Once on the bike I rode well and strong putting in a few all out efforts to close the gap. I made some progress, but it wasn’t enough. The group was right in front of me but I was redlining and just one more immense effort from catching on. While I’m trying to close the gap the talents up the road are doing the same on three leaders that have impressively separated from the rest. Collins, Amberger, and Dye are moving at unprecedented speeds. They have successfully gapped a large handful of the best athletes on the planet. I’m in the dreaded no-mans-land. Just off the lead group (chase pack of about 12 athletes) and in front of the 3rd group. I make the easy decision, (I’m still wondering if it was the right decision) to hold up for the 3rd group. There is no drafting in the race, but having guys around you to pace and gauge your effort is paramount for staying in control. The pace is comfortable the next 15 miles. Not a good sign when racing the best athletes in the world. You need to be pushing the limits! It wasn’t until just before mile 20 when Greg Bennett flew through the group like we were on tricycles, that I decided to push my limits and go with him. It worked well and I lingered about 20m behind him for the next few miles and well ahead of the group I had been riding with. I had too much energy in the closing 5 miles of the bike. I felt good with SCOTT’s race rockers on my feet and ran very much in control. Again, probably not quite the effort I’m afforded when racing these talents. I started the run with some of the best runners in the business. Vanort, Foster, and Atkins went on to run low 31 minute 10k’s and would move up the field. However, most of the athletes in front of us were running so fast that no one had a chance of moving up that much. When Greg Bennett and Matt Reed get 17th & 18th (they have both won the race), you know the field is incredibly fast and competitive. I finished in 22nd position. I am most excited to finish the race feeling strong and recovering within seconds of finishing. My fitness level is very high and with a few tweaks I believe that my next race or three is going to be something special. The race was very successful because for me the sport is about being as healthy as I can be. That is a never ending quest that boils down to love and balance. I am first a husband and a father who coaches at the Y with the community (ages 7 to 76). Together we are all growing and finding a better understanding of what true health means. Keep on struggling and improving! Enjoy the journey!
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Nautica South Beach Triathlon
April 9, 2012 at 2:18 pm | Race Reports Posted by Kevin |
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Race Results
Tweet at 8:22pm
achi11e5 Kevin Everett
Tasty French dinner, lamb, cake, champaign, wine. Little problem, I still have a run to do.
It’s my father in-law’s birthday and the family is celebrating like only the French now how, a ‘nothing special’ supremely satisfying dinner. We toast some champagne for 66 years of life and eat some appetizers. The main course is with lamb followed by a salad. For dessert it is my wife’s famous chocolate cake. Only taking one helping of my favorite food is unusual but I have hopes of still completing a run after dinner!
Time with my family is most precious. There are few things on earth more satisfying than eating dinner with your family and seeing your busy 17 month old daughter laugh and play. Time lingers, life is good.
My wife and daughter head to bed early and I’ve had about 20 minutes to let the dinner ‘settle’. I don some running attire.
Stepping out of the front door the transformation is immediate.
It’s dark outside and my eyes adjust while my breathing picks up. It is a calm night, the night after a full moon. Beginning the run in the middle of the street is standard issue at this time of day. The Nightrunner moves freely and takes liberties as the king of twilight. Taking tangents across streets, through manicured lawns, down alleys mostly in the direction of choice the whole city feels like a personal playground.
Making my way to the State Capitol Building’s grass lawn I meander over to the Occupy Boise scene and see a few people milling about near the common kitchen area. I then head towards the heart of downtown and run south on 8th street. Everyone here is out entertaining, eating, and drinking, I feel out of place and love it. My entertainment for the evening is top shelf.
But I run to 8th street for more than the downtown scene. 8th street is the Ironman Boise 70.3 finish and I’ve been running the last half mile. I project, reminisce, dream and fantasy about running the race that I’m training for right now. Then, I mostly appreciate the random run down the center of 8th street on a Tuesday night in January. It’s the process and the piece by piece challenge to reach a peak performance that is so rewarding. True, the event itself is the test but it’s the lessons along the way that fill one’s heart with the richness to achieve something more.
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NightRunner’s Merry Christmas
December 25, 2011 at 10:38 pm | Training Tips Posted by Kevin |
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Returning from a full day of family celebration to our home left me wanting to extend the joy in my heart for a while longer. It feels late. It’s been dark for hours and it’s freezing outside hovering around the high teens and low twenties but it’s only 8:30. Many of us think nothing of going for a run in June at 8:30pm, but when it’s cold and dark outside, you have the whole great outdoors to yourself and a few foxes, owls and mountain lions. Instead of watching a movie or some football the thrilling idea of heading out into the wilderness took hold of my focus. This was not a run about training or keeping holiday weight down but rather the simple pleasures of being human.
My body instantly began priming itself for the excursion. Part of the challenge of running in the cold is dressing appropriately, and I love getting it just right. To do this you need to be OK feeling a bit cold when you start out. I find the key is a supreme pair of mittens and having the ability to vent the arms. I’ve ran in single digits and had to pull up my arm sleeves to keep from sweating too much.
I step out of the warm house with my wife and daughter already fast asleep and become the NightRunner.
My breathing is deeper and fulfilling, the eyes adjust to the darkness, and my legs propel my 160 pound frame gracefully through the Christmas Lights of Harrison Boulevard with families hanging out in kitchens and living rooms enjoying the warmth of each other while my ears pick up the subtle sounds of near silence under a sky cloaked in star light.
Something deeply rewarding invigorates my soul and it’s really simple. Being healthy and moving while thriving in conditions that challenge one to enjoy their passion on another level animates the soul. My moon shadow streaks through the streets of the North End and after only a few minutes I enter the wilderness leaving almost all sights and sounds of man behind.
Yes, this is what I’m looking for. It’s a tremendous recharge. Maybe I’ll see a mountain lion? Errr, yikes, that might not end up to well for earthier of us nightprowlers.
I see no one. I run. I breathe. I love this. The natural night light resembles so many candles and Christmas lights that adorn the city houses and buildings. But out here, on a trail a few miles northeast of Boise I take in the view of the universe feeling utterly all alone yet surrounded by so much natural splendor that I feel more connected and plugged in. Yes, all this from a simple little evening jog as the NigthRunner.
I’m sorry when my run approaches its last few steps before entering my house. I take off my hat, mittens and thermal vest and the cool night air leaves my warm body with a wonderful sensation. Entering the house it feels hot and I take off my long sleeve shirt and notice that I nailed my attire choice for the evening. Almost no sweat on any of the outer layers while running comfortable with minimum protection means the run is almost perfect.
Breathing in the Christmas Spirit!
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Boise Lunar Eclipse
December 10, 2011 at 4:59 pm | Training Tips Posted by Kevin |
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It felt like the whole town was sleeping when I began running with absolute calm in the North End. The quiet refreshed my spirit. Mostly it was the lack of any car engines that are hard to escape. Running down the middle of the empty streets with glee in my feet and the moon yielding spectacular shadows of earth’s surface I appreciate my health. I hear a few people at Camel’s Back up early and enjoying the show and continue my journey into the wilderness cloaked in chilly darkness. For a full moon run the eclipse made things very dark. I run east into the single-track of the Boise foothills and keep turning backwards to make sure not to miss the show. Then, about 10 minutes in, the excitement of running alone, under the stars, with a creek trickling beautifully meditative sounds of running water under moon shadow like I’ve never experienced came a million dollar moment. Maybe a billion dollar moment (time will tell).
It swept over me suddenly. The power of it wrapped me with joy as the gratitude intensified. I laughed out loud almost feeling like a crazy person but it felt so good. I let it flow, my gratitude overwhelmed me like 1000 souls joining forces inside my spirit, all expressing thankfulness for a precious moment. A simple, beautiful, humbling moment of wonder and awe for this wonderful life; “Thank you, thank you, thank you” I spoke out loud. I wanted to let the universe know how fortunate I felt to be breathing and thriving in the twilight of a Pacific Northwest Lunar Eclipse.