Five different states and six different events! What a weekend it was for Full Circle Endurance athletes!
Neil Beck and Carolyn Classen headed to Maryland for their first multisport race of the season! They each raced in the Olympic Distance of the Rock Hall Triathlon in Rock Hall, Maryland on Saturday, June 4, 2022.
Neil and Carolyn are great friends who really enjoy training and racing together. This weekend’s adventure was no different. The water temperature was 82ºF (which means that wetsuits were not allowed). So, they completed their pre-race routines and headed into the water together.
Both of them had good swims, but unfortunately, Neil got a little confused about where the swim finish was. He ended up swimming an extra 50% (800-ish meters)!
I’m really, really proud of Neil for how he managed this. First of all, he acknowledged that this was his fault for not knowing the course as well as he should have. Our first instinct as humans is to look for someone to blame when something happens to us that we don’t like but often, the buck really does stop with our own selves.
Neil acknowledged that his mistake in navigating the course wasn’t the race’s fault, the support personnel’s fault, or anyone else’s. He then moved on, knowing that the only thing he could do was focus on executing his bike and run. There was nothing - and I mean nothing - that he could do to undo or change what had been done. With that in mind, he focused on what was in his control, and went on to execute a solid bike and one of the best runs he’s had since we’ve been working together.
Carolyn went on to have a strong bike and one of her strongest runs to-date as well! Carolyn’s performance was solid enough to earn her the top podium spot in her age group! (Second place was a mere five seconds behind her; seconds matter in racing, folks!)
Congratulations to both Neil and Carolyn for executing such smart races!
Geena Silvia crossed a major personal milestone when she rode her first 100-mile bike ride as part of the Tour de Melon in Chiefland, Florida on Saturday, June 4, 2022!
Geena is preparing for a BIG goal later this summer, and this ride was a very important step enroute to that goal.
Geena’s first love is running, so cycling can be quite the challenge for her! I am so proud of Geena for continuously venturing outside of her comfort zone and pushing herself to do things that challenge her.
The Tour de Melon challenged Geena in many, many ways but she did not give up, and rode 100 miles for the first time in her life - in the hot Florida sun to boot! What a wonderful personal milestone!
Congratulations, Geena!
Beth Tucker and Natalie Metz raced at Paige’s Butterfly Run in Syracuse, New York on Saturday, June 4, 2022! This race is a local favorite, as the funds from the race go to support pediatric cancer patients and their families.
Beth has been coaching a group program called No Boundaries at Fleet Feet Syracuse, and this race was the goal race of that program. The athletes Beth coached reached their goal in this race, and Beth had a solid race herself!
Natalie had other training on her schedule that day that was specific to her big goal for this season (coming up next month!) as well as her first triathlon of the season on Sunday, so she showed wisdom and restraint by walking the race instead of running it. Natalie reported that this was harder for her than pushing hard at the end of a race when she’s already been running hard for a long time. It was a great illustration of the truth that actually being tough doesn’t necessarily mean that you do the thing that is physically hard. True toughness is doing something you do not want to do or doing something that is difficult for you mentally.
Congratulations, Beth and Natalie!
Deb Chucoski raced at Leon’s Triathlon in Hammond, Indiana on Sunday, June 5, 2022!
This was Deb’s third race this year (after making her elite racing debut back in March) and the second race she raced in as part of the USA Paratriathlon Development Race Series.
Since Deb last raced in March, we’ve been working on increasing her power on the bike as well as strengthening her swim. We’ve been aiming to make gains in her running as well, but we had some big gains in running over the winter, so we’ve been focusing a smidge more on the swim and bike since April. Deb’s training has been going really well and we’ve been seeing some strong numbers in her training workouts. We were excited to see how all of this work would manifest in a race situation!
Deb and her guide Ericka Hachmeister had a great swim, their fastest bike split to-date, and a strong run. This landed them at the top of the podium in first place for Female VI athletes!
Congratulations, Deb and Ericka!
Natalie Metz raced her first triathlon of the season on Sunday, June 5, 2022 at the Sprint Distance of the Silver Serpent Triathlon in Silver Lake, New York!
Natalie’s bright post-race smile says it all about her race went; she swam, biked, and ran her way to third place in her age group!
Congratulations, Natalie!
Leslie Smith first registered for the Covered Bridges Half Marathon in Pomfret, Vermont way back in 2019. She registered for the 2020 race, but, well. At this point, we all know how races in 2020 went.
After a couple of years of cancellations and deferrals, Leslie was finally able to run this race. It was especially important to her since she had signed up for it with her good friend and her daughter. They were excited to have a fun girls’ weekend in Vermont and to enjoy the experience of running this scenic race.
For Leslie, we didn’t set any goals for this race other than to have FUN. And have fun she did! Leslie reported that the course was absolutely beautiful and that she loved running it. Mission: Accomplished!
Way to go, Leslie!
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