Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Don't Call It A Comeback...




After just finishing my "off season" I am back in the swing of base-building for 2010. The big news for 2010 is I will rejoin my Adventure Racing Teammates on Team nuun-FeedTheMachine.com for the Checkpoint Tracker Series and possibly one or two Expedition Races in North America or overseas.

Right now I am enjoying training more than ever. I am rebuilding my running, riding and paddling aerobic base after a few weeks of unstructured training and relaxation. The next step is picking up where I left off in November of 2008, actually right where we won the Adventure Racing National Championship in Blue Ridge, Georgia...No, literally! My first race back will be the North Georgia 24 Hour Adventure Race, January 16-17th. This race will be extremely competitive, with over 50 of the best teams from the Southeast as well as our west coast team and the new 2009 National Champions from New Hampshire. Standby for pain!



Team nuun-FeedTheMachine.com will be Glenn Rogers of Gig Harbor, Washington, ME, and Jennifer Rinderle of Atlanta, Georgia...our ringer of a "hired gun" who actually races for one of our greatest competitors, Team CheckpointZero







In other news, I left my job at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals today and am on vacation until the end of the year. I am pursuing new opportunities and hope this calculated risk allows me to find the right fit to leverage my personality, skill set and passions into a rewarding career. When you get into your "comfort zone" you become stagnant and it's time to move on to a greater challenge. Just like endurance training. I believe that life is short, and this is not a dress rehearsal. CARPE DIEM!

Upward and Onward,

Sean

Thursday, November 5, 2009

World Championships: PORTUGAL



OK, I'm not racing, but 4 of my nuun-FeedTheMachine.com teammates will be competing in the Adventure Racing World Championships that start on the 8th in Lisbon, Portugal. The 59 international Teams are expected to be finished and off the course by the 13th.

We would like to see the team improve over last year's 6th place finish at the World Championship at ECO MOTION Brazil, however this year's unique format may make luck as big a factor as fitness, navigation, teamwork and cunning. Along with the mandatory checkpoints from point A to Z, there will be Optional checkpoints available on the course. Even the teams with the best navigation and fitness can lose the race if they Opt for an optional checkpoint and wind up bogged down in terrain or circumstances that are not on the map. Speaking from experience, even the newest maps are not always 100% accurate and can be misleading to even the sharpest navigators.

It will be fun to watch!

This time I get to bring the popcorn while THEY bring the pain!

Actually I will be going long this weekend...paddling on the ocean on Saturday and running and mountain biking in the Santa Monicas on Sunday.