I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter

Dear Ian,


Coteau was another rough go for you this year. You swam about 3 seconds slower than you had to, and the only way you were going to make up for it was in a flawless transition. You didn't have one of those, and for the umpteenth time, you just missed pack. But we're getting there. Up until now you've been missing pack in 750m swims. A 1500m swim was a new challenge and you'll now know that next time you have to risk going out too hard to catch onto faster feet. The washing machine sucks when it lasts for twice as long. And show some f*cking desperation out of the swim exit, you know those are the most crucial 5 minutes of the race!


Not much to say about the bike. A pack of 3 is almost always going to lose time to bigger packs out front. You're certainly not strong enough right now to pull a group up. But the three of us kept our heads on and got to T2, Pat a little back from a flat 1km out.


You went out and ran steady, wanted to at least give yourself the option of feeling good late in this race. We were so far back that you were only able to pass a couple guys, but you should be ok with running close to the leader's times from out in no man's land. You know that you can often assume too much in this sport if you take out a mistake you made here or there, but damn it, Ian, if you had just practiced putting on that helmet a couple more times you would be sitting here with ITU points, QFG points, and a finishing position that doesn't make you cringe and want to crawl into a hole. So let's start getting things done so you don't have to keep blogging about mediocrity.


You have just less than 5 weeks until the Hometown race, Ottawa Sprint World Championships. Due yourself a favour and stay focused until then. No more five-day 'mental checkouts' and let's get back into the chin-up routine you were rocking in the spring.

Sincerely,
Skull Head