An "Ott" Experience

I learned a long time ago that when you are offered the opportunity to learn from someone who has "been there"...you take it. You don't hesitate to grab at the chance to learn..and to grab every ounce of information possible!!

Today...I got that chance with an Ironman triathlete named Susan Ott.

She wrote to me late Friday afternoon on my favorite Tri Site: www.beginnertriathlete.com and asked if I was up for a bike ride at Van Fleet Trail. I gotta tell ya, this is my favorite trail because its long, its usually pretty windy, its hot and its JUST LIKE Ironman Florida. It goes for 29 miles with very little interruption of traffic and at the hour I usually like to ride, there are very few people out there.

Not EVERYONE has my appreciation of an early morning workout so I was kind to Susan as she called and told me she had gotten up at 4am and was already at the trail by 610AM. This trail is about 40 miles from my home but its worth the drive. I rolled up at 615 and we were on the trail right at sunrise.

Susan is a great cyclist. She is skilled and very fast. She was incredibly kind to me as we paced together the first 10 miles. She slowed her pace to about 17 for me..and I kept up...but as the minutes and mile went by, we realized that i had a hard time pacing myself and holding form and speed. One of her suggestions was to go our a little slower so I would be sure to have enough energy at the end to get me through.

Susan is also a Doctor and she gave me a lot of information on nutrition and what she eats during the Ironman. We talked about the mental game and how you combat the hours on the bike. To say she was a good resource would certainly be an understatement.

I finished up my workout morning with a short run...but I felt bad for Susan. She was headed home to do her own workout at a much faster pace!! Isn't it nice to know that there are people in this world that still wanna help someone who is struggling to attain a dream??

Thanks Susan...You're a pretty amazing lady!!!