Subject: The Completely Unofficial BT "Thanks Fred!" Thread As my summer race season is coming to a close in a couple of weeks and I begin to look forward to next year, I thought it would be a good time to send out a public shout out to Fred Doucette for all the great advice he has shared with me over the past year. Even though I have lots of years of racing under my belt, I am still relatively new to BT, having only joined Fred's Fall mentor group last year just about the time I decided to finally give long-course racing a go. Despite his extraordinarily busy personal, professional, and training schedule, in the year that I have been a member here Fred has always found the time to answer my questions, often helped me understand what I should really be concerned about instead, and overall helping me to gain a much broader and more nuanced perspective of this sport-like competitive hobby. For me he has proven to be both an inquisitive and (perhaps more importantly) skeptical student of the sport as well as a patient teacher.
While there are many, many particular and specific things for which I could thank Fred, I think perhaps the most important thing he has done for me is to share publicly his true, personal goals for racing this year. He actually dared to say that one thing out loud that rattles around in the back of many of our heads but that we are all too afraid to whisper even to our closest friends and loved ones. That difficult act on his part helped to set me off down my own particular multi-year path, which I know may in the end not get me to my goal, but thanks to Fred's experience, advice and mentorship along the way here on BT, I know it will be one heck of a journey.
"I wonder... Maybe, just maybe, I can....?" Thanks for planting that seed, Fred. For what do you have Fred to thank? |