Tha past few months:

Yes, yes it has been quite a long time since I have posted. I haven't gone anywhere, I am still as dedicated and consistent with my training. But its been nice to take a step back from being so focused and competitive with the sport and hit the "refresh button".  Here is a recap of whats been going on since June, this is kind of long!

JUNE:

T1 at Ironman CDA

Pops, me and Uncle Terry, day b4 race

Ironman Coeur D'Alene- The day did not go exactly as I envisioned it during the hundreds of training hours leading up to the race. I needed to finish top 4 in my age group to qualify for Kona. I had an ok swim-1:06 (27th in Age group). I cruised through transition and quickly found myself on my bike rolling through the field. This was my first Ironman and my coach and I were just a tad too aggressive in our gameplan on the bike. While I climbed my way up towards the front of the race, I was burning a long fuse that was about to reach its end before I blew. At mile 90 of the bike I was on track to go sub 5:05 for the 112mile ride--way too fast for me. I started hitting the wall, with very low energy, lots of sweating, aching eyeballs, man it sucked. I putzed through the last 22 miles and ended up riding a 5:15 bike split (21.30mph for 112miles). This is not a bad time at all, especially for my first Ironman. However I did not evenly pace myself to a 5:15 split, I fell apart into a 5:15 split---big difference! And I still had to run 26.2miles after. A little concerned, I still flew through transition and onto the run course with the new game plan to run about 30second per mile slower than I had planned for the first 5 miles to see if my body would bounce back. It never bounced back. The damage I did to it on the bike was too much. I hung tough, and finished 5th in my age group with a time of 10hrs 10min 29sec. I ended up in the medical tent with 6 doctors trying to find a vein that was not too dried up to stick an IV in. I made the podium in my age group, got a cool trophy, but missed out on the World Championships by one spot, and walked away a humbled athlete with some valuable experience and much respect for the distance and my fellow competitors..... Coach has analyzed the data and we know what I am capable of come my next Ironman in May (IM Texas)

JULY
I took two weeks off of training and paying any attention to my passion and the best thing ever happened to me. I met Ashley (thanks for the matchmaking Paul & Annie). I cant put into words all the great things about Ashley and still do her justice. She is that great. Lets just say, she is the best thing that ever happened to me, she makes me a better person, she supports everything I am about, I support everything she is about, she balances out my life. Everyday I am thankful to have her in my life...I am in love...a new "passion & dedication" in my world.

Ash & I @ Lake Shasta

Ashley, her bff Ashley, and bff baby Mackenzie

On July 5th, I officiated my first wedding. My best friend Adam Rich and his new bride Misty Rich. What an experience! It was an incredible feeling playing a huge role in the most important moment of their lives. Cheers Adam & Misty!

AUGUST
With Ashley now a huge part of my life, I still was getting the training in, but did not have quite the "tunnel vision" I once had for Triathlon training and racing. I now had balance in my life. I really credit her for my race result at the Midsummer Olympic Triathlon at Blue Lake. I ALMOST broke 2hrs. But had a great race (biking 57:25 and running 36:16- both pr's at the distance) and finished 3rd overall, with Ash and her fam cheering me on throughout the day. Craig Dean has a great race recap here:


I also wrote a guest article, in defense of Alternative Schools in Portland that was published on the Oregonian website. You can see it here

By the end of August I was gearing up getting good training in and feeling fit to race another Iron distance race- Rev3 Cedar Point- which GU Energy had set me up with a "comp entry" into. All cylinders were firing! Then I got into an unfortunate bike accident that would sideline me for 3 weeks w/ a badly bruised left shoulder. To make a long story short, I crashed into an older woman named Shirley, who was walking down a bike path. It was the fault of no one, but we collided hard. She would go on to tell me "you are the sweetest man I have ever ran into"  :-)

SEPTEMBER
I will not lie, after a long season with a lot going on it has been a little tough to have the same "go get it" attitude that I had when I was training my ass off for the first Ironman. I never stopped training. I still dont miss workouts, dont party a lot and I recover well. But I honestly hardly ever lay in my bed at night and fall asleep visioning myself sprinting through that finish chute to take first place. Sometimes I find myself on my bike rides and long runs never even thinking about a race. I have always, always, ALWAYS thought about my races in training. Instead, I think about the future for Ashley and I. I think about my growing business. I think about my role on the Board of Directors at Open Meadow. This is a good thing, I am sure of it. This does not mean I am any less competitive. This does not mean that I have stopped Reaching, Believing, and Achieving in this sport. I think maybe I am just pacing my mental strength and saving it for race day......


OCTOBER
Beaver Fever Duathlon (Corvallis, OR)- 5k run, 18mile bike, 5k run
Thank you ATHLETES LOUNGE! Saturday before the race, Chris Bodreaux (co-owner and Pro Triathlete) offered a chance to win a new pair of Oakleys if I could beat two young guns (who were doing the race as a relay) into T2. All I had to do was come off the bike ahead of Dave (my go-to bike mechanic) after Eric Lagerstrom (a very fast young triathlete, with a remarkable racing resume) ran the first 5k. I really wanted to win this race, but I may have wanted those Oakleys more! I surged on Eric, Jaysun Pyatt and Joe Tysoe after about 1.25miles of pack running, and came into T1 with a nice lead in first place in 16:18 (5:15 pace). I was excited and motivated throughout the day to win this race wire-to-wire with my girl and her family there watching and waiting for me. During my T1, Dave (who was waiting for Eric to finish the run and tag him), yelled to me that he was going to catch me. I was also worried about my training partner, Aaron Jenniges, catching me on the bike, but I had about 90 second lead on him after the run. I kept my focus and hammered the bike at the front of the field. I rode hard up the two mile hill on the course and was determined to stay in first place through the end of the bike and get those Oakleys! Aaron had gained a minute on me and was only 30seconds down. Starting the second run (5k cross country course), I knew I would win the race and was thrilled about my new pair of Oaks I would be getting. I cruised through the fun two loop course, zigzagging through trees and around the school. The finish was 300m on the track where Ashley, her dad and brother were waiting, cheering me on as I broke the tape at the finish line. First win of the year.
 Vancouver, Washington athletes, Aaron Jenniges and Jaysun Pyatt rounded out the podium.

Eric and I on right, pre game smack talk!

and we are off!

Running hard into T1 (16:18 for 5k)

First into T2, I want my Oakleys!

Chattin' with the boyz after race

Next up is the Silverman Half Iron in Las Vegas on November 7th. This is arguably the toughest triathlon course there is. Next year it will be the site of two world championships, so there should be plenty of competition showing up to test out the terrain. Aaron and I will show up again, hoping to put Vancouver, WA near the top of the race results.