Featured Athlete Justin Harris Update

Working hard

The above picture kind of highlights the past several weeks for me.

Worked.

I had a tough start to the year due to new and growing responsibilities coaching at Vassar College. I knew it was going to be more work upfront while it provides better opportunities on many levels in the long run. However, I actually got to a point where I was contemplating calling it quits as an elite triathlete.

Not something I was proud of but, it forced me to really reflect on the past few years and made me realized that to reach my goals I'll have to really commit more to getting in the training I need to be successful. Which is something I'm afraid to do. It's scary to know you tried your hardest and you're still not what you thought you could have been. As I figured out in college - I rather be a has-been than a never-was and I'm in the 4th year of my 4-year plan so its time to put-up-or-shut-up!

To have the clear mind needed to train all day I've had to be a bit selfish about my time and what I can say "Yes" to.  It explains partly why I have been MIA and not in the shop. Luckily I've had amazing support from GM Doug Cory, the Bikeway Staff, my sports psychologist Mitch Greene and Team Bikeway.com members.

The past few weeks I've been swimming about 15,000 yards, riding around 300 miles and running 50 miles a week. So, yeah most days I look like the above picture! Honestly though, I'm still just hitting the lower limit of what most of the elite triathletes are hitting -- well, at least those making a living from it.

I now set my sights for having a very strong string of races from Aug-Oct. I've been getting in a lot of volume and have been playing around with the idea of going long.

We shall see...

Best,
Justin