Happy QT2 Anniversary!

At this time last year I was completing my very first QT2 training week from coach Tim Snow.  It was a recovery week as I had just come off back to back 70.3s.  My first QT2 workouts were a recovery swim and a recovery ride, both of which I got disciplined for going too fast (a recurring theme throughout the next several months until I finally caught on).

Becoming a part of QT2 has been a great privilege and one of the best decisions I've made!  I've learned a ton over the past 12 months.  What have I learned?  Well, I'm glad you asked!

1) Recovery means recovery.  Oh Lord have I learned this.  Over and over and over.  Like 50W rides, 9:30 paced runs and swims so slow you don't even keep track.

2) The devil is in the details.  And there are a lot of details!!  I laugh now at just how naive I was about a lot of things, all of which were details I felt like I had a really good handle on!  QT2 has a "protocol" for it all.  And it makes a big difference.  There is a caffeine matrix.  There is a beet juice protocol.  There is a restoration checklist.  There are exact HR averages to hit.  There are mental fitness tools.  The list goes on and on...  And there is no messing around!  If you want to know that you've taken care of EVERY detail when you're standing on the starting line of a race, QT2 is the way to go!

3) In an individual sport like triathlon, being on a team is really awesome.  And I do mean team.  Being at the QT2 pro camp this past winter was one of the best athletic experiences of my life.  But really the QT2 "team environment" goes well beyond camp, even when we are all training by ourselves at home.  It's an amazing group with vast experiences and therefore major resources.  When I graduated from Penn State I remember feeling very sad that I wasn't going to be on a "team" again, in life.  Little did I know what was in store!

Dont' be fooled, everyone is smiling in this picture because Jesse has just announced that our final camp workout was completed!  :)

4) Having a detailed race plan AND fueling plan for each race makes a huge difference!  DUH!  But how many people don't do this?  I know I raced for 6 years, 1.5 of that as a professional, without having either!

5) Improvement takes A LOT of work.  Of course!  I think most everyone understands this concept.  But after working with Tim this past year, I've realized that it's much more work than I originally thought.  Hours and hours and HOURS of hard work for YEARS.  Years.  Probably much more than most people realize.  Certainly more than I realized.

6) Having a great coach is a game changer.  NOT in any way does this suggest that my previous coaches were not good coaches!  On the contrary, I'm very thankful for all the amazing people I've gotten to work with through the years - from my first middle school track coach to my all triathlon coaches!  But one thing is for sure, the QT2 coaches are truly invested in the success and happiness of their athletes and the level of dedication they ask from you is 100% returned in the dedication they give back.  It's pretty amazing.

Mile repeats under the watchful eye of Jesse.  (and that evil little black book of his...)

Here's to many more years of QT2 success!