Leadership and announcement tomorrow

When I left racing after last season and decided to concentrate on coaching, I did it for a number of reasons. Some were:

• Competition getting tougher
• Travel expenses rising
• Sponsorships becoming tougher to get
  
• Prize money staying the same, or in some cases going down, (XTERRA)

Basically, everything pointed to negative. All of this contributed, but there were other things, like wondering if I had the mental commitment required to continue to race at such a high level. After all, these factors certainly upped the mental ante.

I was starting to look more at the opportunities triathlon was costing me, and not what it was giving me. I left teaching to race professionally, because I loved the sport, not because of money. Somewhere along the line that changed, and I wanted to go back to loving the sport.

I saw so many things the sport needed, which I had a desire to chase and make happen. I came to realize triathlon didn't need another pro-triathlete. What triathlon needed was leadership. Leadership in coaching, teaching, journalism, development, and growing the sport.

Since this realization, I've forged ahead with the same effort and intensity that I brought to my training and racing, near it's peak. Some of these things have been:

• Coaching a weekly track workout, on Tuesday nights, trying to grow the event, and make it a learning experience for the athletes, not just a hard workout
  
• Coaching an open-water swim workout every other Wednesday, because it was clear the community of athletes were lacking race-specific skills
• Running my first training camp in Tucson, in March
• Clinics on a variety of skills
  
• Giving monthly talks on training topics, at B+L Bikes, on heat training, using GPS and power meters to monitor and track training, swimming, and much more
  
• Expanding into other regions of the country to do the same things, (Chicago, Orange County, and soon New Orleans)
• Coaching and working with elites, like Renata Bucher, to help her make the jump to the top step of the podium this season, (hopefully)
• Working with celebrities, (Parvati Shallow and Matt Hoover), to bring more attention and new exposure to the sport

This has all been great, and I am happy about the decision I have made, and I think the sport is better for it. I hope to return to racing at some point, but right now, this is what the sport needs from me, and needs me to continue doing.

Last night, at the open-water swim workout, two people from USA Triathlon happen to be walking by, in town for a collegiate conference, and saw what I was doing. They came up and talked with me for bit, and seemed impressed with what I was doing. It was assurance that I am doing the right things, which the sport needs.

So tomorrow, I will announce the next step in this personal mission to be a leader in triathlon, and help raise the profile of the sport. I'm excited, and I think you will be too.

Vance