Happy Halloween!

 My friend, Ayla, and I decided to go to this huge Halloween dance party as part of our off season fun.  The party was awesome, quite possibly the best party I've ever been to.  The combination of  costumes, great music, and a huge dance party made for one sweet celebration. Thanks to Ayla for going with me so I didn't have to go alone. Plus, dancing is great exercise so technically I think I am covered here. 

 

*The detail of the jaw bone blows my mind, no idea how I got it to look this good.

 

A few days before Halloween I got this idea that "I have to paint my face as a skeleton," a legit one at that.  I studied how to do it, bought the supplies and after 3 hours of prep and an hour of actual painting we had the mission accomplished.  I think it was pretty cool. There were some insane costumes there, this one guy went as Predator and took the $3,000 grand prize.  Runner up was Bernie, from Weekend at Bernie's. I personally think Bernie should have won because he was in character the whole time, even doing Bernie's saunter while on the dance floor, he made his own costume, and he was spot on to the movie.  I digress.

 

*Ayla went as Sandy from Grease, I know that at times she was thinking "What did he get me into?"

 

One of my favorite things about the whole night was telling people that I liked their costume and seeing their genuine appreciation for the compliment.  Some people worked really hard to create their costumes, it was obvious the time they spent, and I, of all people, am one to appreciate effort in creative self expression.  It was a really fun night, the people were super nice, and we all had a good time. 

 

*Moonwalking skeleton

 

I went as a skinny-jeans skeleton, and yes, my dance moves were the hit of the party.  All those years of watching Youtube and practicing my dances moves paid off.   

 

Halloween always marks the start of the holiday season, Thanksgiving will be here in an eye blink, I hope everyone is resting up and recovering.

 

Tri Cities Marathon Relay

The more time I spend with Evan the more I see that we were meant to be friends.  This was probably the most fun we have ever had.  As you can see we are really two peas in a pod.

 

 

I hope Evan won't mind me saying this; Evan was born deaf and, from my understanding, has not heard anything his whole life.  However, that doesn't define him, and it certainly doesn't limit him.  I have always been impressed that even though he can't hear, he successfully made his way through public education without special classes, graduated from college, has a great career, lives in his own house, has excelled at triathlon, and is emerging as one of the best distance runners in Montana.

 

He certainly doesn't need me there, but I understand my opportunity to help him live his adventures on all these trips.  We are getting pretty good at talking.  I don't know sign language, but we have it figured out now that neither of us have to use a pen and pad.  Through a combination of lip reading and gestures we can both understand each other. 

 

Evan loves food, fancy food, and he always has places in mind that "we have to eat at."  I can't tell you how many times we have had a dinner for two before and after races.  The place he picked for Saturday was delicious, but we timed it perfectly so that we had our table among all the homecoming couples...awesome.

 

*I razzed him good about the candlelight dinner gesturing, "Why did you bring me here?!?"

 

For this race we were competing against all relay teams; two-person, three-person, and four-person teams.  There were about 100 teams competing and I knew that if we wanted to do well then we would have to combine for a sub three-hour marathon.

 

The day before the race I got sick and I was really worried.  Racing sick is never fun, it added a lot of pressure that I was a critical part to the race.  If it was just a regular half marathon then I probably would have just watched Evan.  I didn't have that luxury given it was relay, so I prepared myself to just do my best.

 

 

*The cable bridges are awesome!

 



 

Evan ran the first half marathon of the race and took it out strong.  He did a really good job putting us in a good position.  After I watched the start I made my way to Veteran's Park which was the transition point for us.  It didn't take very long before I saw Evan.  He took his 13.1 miles out in about 84 minutes, which is ridiculously fast.   

 

 

 

We made the exchange and I took over.  I really enjoyed the Spokane Half Marathon two weeks ago, I ran it and it was effortless.  It seemed like I would blink and the miles would fly by.  I ran 94 minutes there and had a blast.  I am not going to say I didn't enjoy this race, but it was nowhere close to being as effortless. 

 

*Let's do it!

 

For this race the miles went by a lot slower.  Part of it was because I was sick, another part of it was I didn't want to let down the team and get passed.  This was a race after all.  I ran and ticked off the miles the best I could (still enjoying myself for sure).  I see why people love distance running the more I compete in it.  A funny note; my race plan involved stopping every two miles to sniff up a bunch of nasal spray to clear my sinuses. I carried with me, if that wasn't a sight to be seen. lol



 

 

8 years ago I ran the full marathon here, but I have not been back to the race since.  It was really nice to be back in the Tri Cities running again. The miles ticked off as I ran next to the river, enjoying the view.  The fall colors were pretty to see and run through.  

 

 

Evan took it out in 84 minutes, and I brought it back in 94.  That was the best I could do, it was a grind.  Mile 12 was really tough, so tough that I had to stop and stretch out my cramping legs, you can see it all over my face at the finish.  I still enjoyed the race, but it was tough. 

 

*Grinding to a halt :)

 

Overall we did a good job, we ran 2:58 which was good enough to win the relay by about a minute.  I wish I could take credit here, but Evan was our team's saving grace.  He did a great job getting us a good lead, a lead that I used up completely while I drug my anchor to the finish. lol.  I am just happy with being there, with finishing, and with not letting our team down.



*We won wine glasses as the winning relay team.

 

Evan had a Mexican restaurant in mind for after the race.  The owner, Victor, knows Evan and was very gracious in conversing with him, asking about his parents, and just taking a general interest in what we were up to.



We stopped at an apple factory.  They had every treat you could imagine, and the apples were the size of  softballs.  Evan bought a huge $30 box of Fujis.

 

Overall it was a very fun adventure.  I had a lot of fun and laughs.  Even though I was sick, the race was still somewhat enjoyable and I am glad I was able to run it.  There is something very special about distance running. Thanks to Evan for being part of it, and thanks to his mom for all the treats.

 

 

Preview of something BIG!

The post will take a little while to get all the necessary elements in place. Some of my friends have already seen a portion of it on TV and in the newspaper.

I can't really grasp the adventure I am on right now, I am working on the post, but here is a small sampler. 

*This is the teaser:  I am holding an award, and the girl next to me is 4 time gold medalist and world record holder, Dana Vollmer.

Spokane Half Marathon



"The best part of the race was putting on a run kit, pulling my hat down low to my sunglasses, and just being one in the group."

 

 

One of the opportunities that came my way this fall came in the form of having the chance to run some longer, easier paced, fall runs.  After resting up from tri season, I put in some very enjoyable running miles, taking foot-tours of random places at my leisure and just enjoyed myself.  My friend, Evan, was running the Spokane Half Marathon, so I decided to join and run the 10k.  The night before when we were picking up our packets I had this gut feeling that I should switch to the half.  The Spokane half was the last half marathon I had run, that was 5 years ago to the day in 2008. 

 

I worked the Brosious charm on the registration folks and I was in.  I planned to run "for fun" and enjoy it.  It is a pretty special thing to have a lifestyle and level of fitness that allows me make the decision to run (safely without risking injury) a half marathon 12 hours before it starts. 

 

*My parents took us to dinner on Friday, and Evan graciously took us to his favorite place, Franks Diner, on Saturday.

 

*Uriah ordering, lol.

 

It was a pretty fun race, my parents, Uriah, Ayla all joined us to cheer us on and take pictures.  Evan is in focused training for a marathon in a few weeks so I knew he was going to rip it, which he did running inside the top 10 and winning his age division with a personal best. My other friend, Kate, ran the 10k and finished 3rd in the women's race, great job to her.  

 



 

*We are in this mass...somewhere. Over 700 people finished which made for a fun day.

 

My motivations were less race oriented.  I wanted to have a little fun and more importantly, wear a sweet outfit.  :)  The race was super cold, I didn't warm up so the first few miles were my easy warm up.  I ran the first couple of "warm up" miles at about 8 minutes per mile, and let me say that is a very enjoyable pace, it's been a long time since I have been in the 8-minute group at a race, it was nice.  I picked it up a little with each mile and made good use of the "goodies" at the aid station.  It was nice that they stocked Hammer Nutrition for us.

 

 



*Enjoying the scenic course, thanks to Ayla and my dad for the pictures.

 

 

In addition to looking sharp, I sorta', kinda', almost wanted to run a decent pace.  I figured a 7:15 would be a pace that allowed me to accomplish all my intended goals of the race.  I started out slower and let a lot of people get out a head of me.  I prefer to run from the back because in triathlons I am always racing from the front trying to hold off the charge.  At the running races I prefer to start slower and finish stronger, which allows me to catch a lot of people throughout the later parts of the race.

 

*Moving on up through the field, such an enjoyable section of the race.

 

 

 At mile 10 I was still moving up through the field and loving life.  Ayla joined me on her bike at this time which was nice.  I was doing the math in my head, I needed to run a little faster to get my pace to where I wanted it to be.  I had to make up for those glorious, feel-good 8 minute miles at the start.  I ran mile 11 in 6:37 which put me right back on pace where I needed to be.  That was the only portion of the race that I had to push just a little, the other 12 miles of the race just ticked off one by one and came with ease.  I ran to the finish with an average pace of 7:13 which was perfect and I can say I had a blast. 

*Evan up at the front, good job to him.

 

This race was fun, I think I finished in the 30s or 40s out of 710 people, no grand fist pump celebrations, I didn't even get a medal in my age division, but that is okay, I was just happy in being there and running a half after 5 years.  The only thing I was in contention of winning was best outfit, and probably best attitude. :)  I was okay with letting those finishing in front of me have their moment, they deserve it.  

*This is a sweet picture...

 

That's about it, I am now reminded why people love the half marathon distance.  I have run them before, but in the last 5 years forgot how fun they can be.   It was nice to have my family and friends at the race.  It was also fun to just be one in the group. 



Good job to everyone, thanks for letting me crash the half marathon party.

 

Triathlon Season 2013

The challenge of a good writer is to get the message across while keeping the text short.  In past years I have written long posts at the end of the season, re-posted dozens of pictures, and revisited all of my adventures and the amazing people I shared those adventures with. 

I am not going take that approach this year. 

I very much appreciate my family and friends who supported and shared 2013 Tri Season with me. I don't even need to say that because my family and real friends know how much I appreciate them, but I say it anyways.

Although this is a public forum, it's easy to get lulled into a false sense of security.  I reasoned with myself that my followers appreciate my intense commitment and honesty.  I am a real person, if you aren't, then people see right through it, and your message means nothing. Perhaps being intensely committed to things is a fault at times, but that intensity has led me to some great success in 2013.

Tri Season 2013 ended perfectly, I was fortunate enough to win the Budu Sprint Series Championship, which was awesome and another thing that I am thankful for on the growing list of grand achievements in 2013.

Throughout the year I won six races and finished 2nd place at four others. That's 10 races finishing 1st or 2nd, which is beyond what I could have hoped for. I won athlete of the year and the Budu Championships Series. 

However, I am more proud of the moments when I could help, inspire, and challenge people to set, meet, and achieve their own goals and success.  I am thankful for opportunities like Ellensburg, the Peak Tri, and Lake Meridian which were races to learn how to let other people have their moments, be happy in  instances when the  successes aren't necessarily mine, and opportunities to be re-grounded during a season of soaring high.

2013 was by far the most successful year of my whole life on and off the race course. You may be surprised to hear that it started off...rather shaky... at best.

One of the best things about me is I can take things that are frustrating, annoying, hurtful, etc., and channel them into a plan for progress.  We all have things in life that leave us feeling frustrated, hurt, shorted, and often times asking, "Seriously, what the heck?"  That is life, and I am not immune to it.

The winter was tough, I broke up with a girlfriend, had some friendships drift apart as they sometimes do, and felt the general stresses of life and growing up.  When things like this happen I channel it.  Let's just say I did a lot of wood chopping, mountain running, and training on the ranch this winter. 

"Life is sometimes tough out here for a kid!" :) lol

The people who are successful, often times, have something to prove.  I am very thankful for all those tough things because they made me feel like I had something to prove and when I trained, I did so with a chip on my shoulder.  I was able to compartmentalize that energy into a positive outlet and minimize the effect on other aspects of my life...that's the ultimate form of recycling.  I really felt like I was being given an opportunity, despite it being really tough at the moment.

Some of the days were great, some less than.  The important thing was to stay focused and just keep going.  I admit that most days I didn't know what the goal outcome was, but I knew I had to just keep preparing so that I was ready to exploit the opportunity when it presented itself. 

This whole path was an awesome opportunity to better myself, reflect on the path I was on, and change course as needed.  It was the most focused and most fulfilling training year.  It was satisfying because it arose out of a challenging time, a time of being let down and frustrated, a time when I wasn't really sure what to do other than to keep training like a machine because that alleviated all the stress.

Looking back across the whole season, as hard as some of those things were, I am really glad I had the opportunity to experience them.  I honestly wish that everyone has the same opportunity to rise up and succeed in the face of difficulty and turn a negative into the most succesfull year ever.

It may be a tough day, but the day will get better if I push this weight, run this mile, or climb this hill.  Winners are defined during the times of challenge.  Sometimes things are difficult, it is during those times that you have the opportunity to face that challenge, succeed despite that fear and anxiety, and get what you came here for.

One of my most appreciated things this year was developing stronger friendships with a lot of people.  The lesson I have learned from this winter is to appreciate small things, which I think I do a great job of now. I really made an effort to tell people that I appreciated their friendship and being able to spend time with them.  I think because it's a competition we often overlook opportunities to tell people we appreciate them.  Ask anyone who passed me during a race and they will say that I did my best to compliment them with a "Good job, dude." or "That-a-way, big dog."  There's an important lesson in that, I've learned that I can be best friends and complimentary at the same time we are trying to run each other into the ground.

It sounds ironic, but that chip on my shoulder from being hurt and frustrated, has made me a better friend and competitor.

Going into the winter I almost find myself longing for that stress, for that anxiety that helped me learn so much about life the past year.  For the entire season I was able to flip that switch when it came time to train.  When I was tired I could turn that fire off and relax.  That was a great life skill to develop because there will always be stressors in life and the challenge is dealing with them.  I am really looking forward to fall and winter because even though my opportunity slammed shut sooner than I desired at Lake Meridian and Lake Sammamish, at least a dozen more opportunities have opened as a result.

During those tough times, if  you look hard enough and just keep going, you'll find the opportunities.

If you would like to revisit any of my races from 2013 feel free.  Thanks for following, motivating, and sharing in my adventures. 

I appreciate your friendship, even the ones that have drifted apart.  Maybe my opportunity for the winter is to re-establish those.  What an amazing season we all shared.

The Lake Loop - one of my favorites
Spring Classic
Bloomsday
Peak Triathlon
Spring Festival Triathlon
EWU Triathlon
ML Family Triathlon
Bozeman Triathlon
Yakima Training Camp
Spring Meadow Triathlon
State Games
Ellensburg Triathlon
Seeley Lake Triathlon
Lake Sammamish Triathlon
Lake Meridian Triathlon
Athlete of the Year