In Twenty Ten, Turn it Up to Eleven

Thanks Nigel, for that "extra push".

2009 was certainly a successful "transitional" year! In my inevitable Ironman triathlon relapse and myriad other challenges such as solo cycling and swimming events I rekindled my PASSION for racing. While not all of my racing goals were achieved, I was able to spend hundreds of hours training with my good friends: doing the activities I love most while "sharing the passion".

That is success! That is Victory! That compels me to jump out of bed at 4:30 on a Saturday morning to meet the gang for a 7 hour ride in the Santa Monica mountains with 14,000' of elevation gain or perhaps the classic Henshaw Loop in San Diego when it is 100 degrees. Try doing that alone! Not as fun or fulfilling... It is so much better to share that type of torture/fun, as an opportunity to share stories while creating new ones.

These hundreds of hours invested will pay dividends in 2010 and beyond, in many ways, just as my nearly 20 year old aerobic base does today. Only half of the equation is fitness-related. The mind-bending experience of pushing your body to extremes-with a view-provides lifelong memories. I am extremely fortunate to have like-minded physically and mentally strong friends who just happen to share my passion for the lifelong path of discovery that is endurance sport. I am confident as we roll into TwentyTen that the best is yet to come.

This is not a dress rehearsal. One of the benefits of training for triathlon or any other endurance sport with specific goals is the daily reminder to Carpe Diem, putting the day into a reality-alarm context.

2010 will see a bit more variety, but an even sharper laser-focus on a couple "key" races. In 2009 I trained specifically for only one "A" race: Ironman Coeur d'Alene. While 9:51 and 54th overall out of 2,600 is a respectable result, I needed a ~9:20, top-20 performance to qualify for the Hawaii Ironman World Championships. The game has changed. I plan on raising my game and applying the tough lessons I learned from that experience and racing to my full potential in the future. With better planning and execution I know I have that performance in my legs and look forward to letting it rip in 2010. While reaching full potential and tearing a race course apart is extremely fulfilling, at the end of the day it's all about the journey and sharing it with others. That said, sometimes it takes a heart-breaking failure to light a fire under your butt to re-evaluate and redesign your strategy for the next go-around.

I raise my glass high (of West Coast Green Flash!) to TwentyTen being a RIPPER of a year, the best year of our lives. The only way to make it happen is "turning it up to ELEVEN" to make the most of every day.

I can't settle. What was good enough is no longer sufficient. No more sleepwalking. As far as resolutions, I plan on chiseling away the time and productivity-killers and focusing on what matters in the moment. I know I could have done a better job of that in 2009 and the mountain of lost moments wasted haunts and motivates me. I want those days back! I'm getting more organized and taking that time back in 2010 and taking this game of life to the next level.

No Opportunity Wasted in 2010!

Cheers,

Sean

Thailand & Japan

Merry Christmas everyone!

While I am a warm weather person, the Christmas season is truly the most special time of the year for me. I hope you have had a fulfilling and rewarding year with positive momentum into Twenty Ten!

I am headed to Cleveland to visit Lisa's family for a week. No trip home to Vero Beach, Florida this year.

Looking back, this was certainly a transitional year...more on this in my next post.

Things have been quite crazy here at Casa Clancy. I have balanced a rigorous job search, run/bike/kayak/strength training for the upcoming North Georgia 24 Hour Adventure Race, and a quick trip to Thailand and Tokyo!

Some highlights from Thailand were:

Having a drink at a bar that hangs off the edge of the top of a 64 story building in downtown Bangkok at night, with panoramic views of the 14 million person megalopolis, with an old friend who was actually one of my sales reps when I managed a fantastic sales team in 2002 in San Diego...

Several interesting runs with Lisa through Bangkok's neighborhoods near Rama IX park...

Coasteering around Krabi's Railay beaches, including fending off aggressive, kleptomaniac monkeys...and avoiding sea urchins!...





Spectacular rock climbing at Railay...




Longtail boat transportation...yes, that is a car engine hanging off the back...




Walking to an island, buying Pad Thai and a beer from a Longtail boat, sitting down in 85 degree water eating my lunch...

Hiking into the rain forest via Ko Phi Phi's Tsunami evacuation route...

Ao Nang Cobra show...







Riding elephants through the forest in Krabi, barefoot, toes rubbing against the ears while I rode on the massive head...








I have over 100 photos posted on Facebook as well. We took a total of over 1,000 photos on two cameras and still need
to sort through the memory cards...

Tokyo (Harajuku and Shinjuku Christmas shopping) photos will be up later...just need to download. I did manage to see the Sunrise and Sunset in Japan...and yes, it was a bright red sunrise! Beautiful. Getting around Tokyo on the trains was "interesting". Experiencing downtown Tokyo's train stations at rush hour was quite an experience.

More news soon on 2010 Racing Plans with Team nuun-SportMulti (aka nuun-FeedTheMachine, aka DART-nuun), solo racing plans (and now for something completely different) and other life changes on the horizon.

Twenty Ten is going to be a fantastic year, full of new challenges. But 2009 isn't over yet! Plenty of adventure left to cram into this year...Don't give up on 2009 yet! Change starts now.