Peace out, Old Man Winter!

As the old saying goes; if you can't beat it, get in your car and drive seventeen hours south.  This is the position I found myself in with this year's winter.  Growing up in Ohio, I can remember some bad winters, but this one takes the cake in my mind.

Awww... sunshine!

As I wrote about in my last post, I had the opportunity to come down to Clermont, Florida in January to train with my coach for a week and then followed it up with racing the Bone Island half iron in Key West.  This was a great boost to my overall fitness and definitely reinvigorated my training in general.  After I returned home, I used this boost to increase my overall training load and see what the true potential of this season may hold.  It was around this time that I also began receiving inquiries about my expanding coaching roster.  This is something that I have really kept on the down low, but something I'm extremely passionate about.  In the past, I have helped several individuals to attain their weight loss goals and I found this to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  Helping athletes achieve their triathlon goals just seemed to the natural direction that I would take this lifestyle.

When  I began developing my growing roster of athletes, I felt that it was only right that I informed my coach, AJ Baucco, of my intentions and goals for this area of my life.  As I expected, he was more than supportive and even offered his assistance for any issues I came across.  After a few days of chatting back and forth on this subject, he bounced the idea off me of becoming the first associate coach of AJB Coaching.  I immediately saw this as an incredible opportunity to increase my knowledge and also bring a superior product to my current athletes.  This idea quickly turned into a plan for me to travel back to Clermont where I would live, train, and learn with AJ as we develop our expanding coaching business. 

After packing up what seemed like half my apartment, I made the trip to Florida and moved into what I affectionately call "The Tri Frat House".  It is an incredible training environment here in Clermont.  I frequently swim, bike, run and socialize with professional triathletes from all distances.  It is a true eye opening experience to see what it truly takes to take the sport to that level and something I'm doing my best to embrace.  What may seem like an extended vacation to some is actually a series of days with meticulously calculated applied stresses, continuous recovery efforts, and a nonstop focus on nutrition.  That's not to say that we don't have fun doing it, because we definitely do!  We are here because we have a passion for this sport and lifestyle.  We work hard, we play hard, we eat hard, and we recover really hard.

I'm happy to say that in just the few weeks that I have been here, I have improved my coaching knowledge and services immensely.  Not only do I have my instructor in the next room, but I also have my own coach who I can watch as he tweaks my personal plan as he sees fit.  It is a best possible case scenario on multiple levels.  If only I could see my beautiful girlfriend, Kim, and my best buddy, Jet, each night :(  They are sorely missed, but very understanding of me taking advantage of this opportunity.

Next up on the never ending list of adventures will be Ironman 70.3 Florida on April 13th. With my current training, fitness, and location, I have high hopes for this event!  It will also be my first race representing my 2014 racing team; Team Perfect Fuel Chocolate Elite!  Just this week, I have glued up my new Gray Cycling wheels and mounted my new ISM Adamo Time Trial saddle - it's almost time to let it rip!!

For anyone out there who is looking to take their training and racing to the next level, please reach out and see if I can be of service to you.  We offer full time, in depth coaching as well as individual nutrition plans for all distances.  Also, please check out our current team of athletes at AJB Coaching!!

Be safe and go fast!
Ryno