Wenatchee Swim Meet Preview

I had the best swim meet of my entire life.  There is a lot to smile about.

Race report to follow.

The Training Montage...Where The Heck Is It?

After thinking about it, working on it, and updating it countless times, I have made the decision to not post the training montage.  “Why?” you may ask.  Well I went through a lot of effort to get it exactly the way I wanted it.  I mirrored the scenes of some of my favorite movies; I had all these great shots of me doing pull-ups, push-ups, lunges, and other muscle-busting workouts.  The problem was, as many times as I rewrote it, tweaked, and went through painstaking efforts, I couldn't get it to reflect the message that I wanted.

*The dogs had an amazing time running freely through the mountains

I try to convey a message with my posts, and I couldn't get the training montage to convey what I wanted.  I love to workout and do manly things, and I am very proud of the hard work and sacrifices I make.  It isn't easy to get my body to look the way it does, but the message I want to convey here is not one of vanity.  People who know me, know that vanity is not my message and I wouldn't want any confusion to come from that.

*My sister inspired my winter training.  This is her ice climbing in some crazy place.

I tried my best, but just couldn't make the training montage what I wanted it to be, you can always revisit the 2011 training montage.  Maybe next year J

Great Endings Make For Great Beginnings

With the closing of 2012, I took an opportunity to reflect on all the success throughout the year.  It was a successful year well beyond what I hoped for.

*The best thing of 2012 was the arrival of my niece, Baby P.!

I can’t help but think how lucky I am for the endless possibilities for success in 2013.  I have so many gifts to utilize and the support of my family and friends.  I have everything I need to achieve my dreams. The ability to make my dreams come true rests right at my own fingertips.  That has come as a result of years of hard work and support of many important people.  There are no guarantees of anything, however, lots of hard work still separates the possibility from actual achievement. 

I’ve heard that everyone has the will to win, but only a few have the will to prepare and do what it takes to win.  I feel that is very true in both life and sport.  I have said many times that it isn't about winning, it’s about doing the things to test, measure, and develop your body and mind.  This sacrifice and focus puts you in a position to win and a position to be your best, the latter is ultimate success.

I have a lot of 2013 goals encompassing all aspects of sport, life, friends, and love.  I don’t usually share my goals publicly until after I have achieved them, because until I do the things that I have to do to achieve them (usually the things that others don’t want to do) it is only talk, wishful thinking, and words typed out…meaningless.  

There are a million little things that must go into the achievement of one major thing, and that is what I love about goals.  So many times people get overwhelmed when just focusing on the end result and achievement of the goal.  Often times it comes down to simply taking that first step. I read an Asian Proverb that said, “A journey of a million miles starts with one step.”  That is a perfect statement when thinking about goals and resolutions.

The first step, the start, can sometimes be the toughest.  Just get out of your head about it and make that step.  Sometimes you have to just put your head down and trust your gut that continuing when times get tough, and continuing to do the things that it takes to be successful, even when facing doubters, is what you should be doing.  

I try to do my best to convey my message across to the readers here, and that usually involves personal things.  My hope is that people will read this and it will benefit them in their life.  I am not ashamed to say that I had some tough days in the past month or so.  That’s life.  It took a lot to just continue pressing through despite setbacks, stress, and apprehensions. Everyone knows how it feels when life temporarily gets in the way of stuff. I knew what I needed to do and where I wanted to be with the end of 2012, and that wasn't easy.  The reason why it was so important to not avoid, but to face these challenges head on, and choose not to run from fear, was because just like in a race, it’s not how you start, it is how you finish. Also true is it isn't always the end result that matters, it is often times how you handle the challenges in the process that define success.

It is so true in both life and sport that good endings make for great beginnings.  Sometimes the endings are effortless, sometimes they are tough, but always remember, that your ending of one goal or aspect of life is paramount to the success in the achievement of the next.  Failing to see one goal through to the end before beginning the next is robbing you of your achievement.

Okay so I said I don’t share my goals before they are achieved, but a recent outing inspired one of my goals, I will share it, I want to bowl a 200-point game in bowling (300 is a perfect game, btw).  

*I want 200!

The second thing I will share is my main goal of 2013. As it was of previous years, my main goal is to be a good example of a “man being a man.”  There is a concerning lack of role models, and an overwhelming amount of carbon copy men who fail to fulfill their obligation of being a “man.”  I am lucky because I have had some tremendous role models in my life and it is my goal to further that to as many people as I can.  Okay, that's all the shares for 2013 goals, the rest remain with me only for the time being.

If you what you want in life to is to be "average," then the best advice I can give you is to do what everyone else is doing.  However, if you want to be great in your own right, be your own hero, and be the best version of yourself, then you are going to have to find that inside of yourself and be willing to get it out.  No one else in this world, but you can bring that potential and passion out.

I am so excited about 2013 because I feel more motivated to find those special things inside me that make me unique and make me feel good about being me. As I said previously, those things are the things that make you the best person you can be, and those are hard things to find within yourself because they take a lot of work and effort.  I know it won't be perfect, and I always have my fair share of short-comings, but I know I can achieve my goals and it will be worth it.  It’s always worth it in the end and I (and you) can do it.  J 

Great endings make for great beginnings, as a result, I feel the best I have ever felt going into a new year. There is only one thing left...The winter training montage. :)

XC Ski Training

I am very lucky because I have some very special people who love me.  Christmas was great, I spent it with my family and we all enjoyed it. I also had the opportunity to visit Ed and Patti for some great ski training.

*Patti and I getting ready to hit the trails

Ed and Patti are special people to me.  Patti is a very dedicated athlete and loves training much like I do.  She graciously invited me down for a training camp.  Patti is a ski instructor so I had the best of both the training and instruction.  

*Lots of Snow at 7000+ feet, altitude training at its best.

*Patti is a heck of an athlete, her xc skiing is no exception

I was a little out of my element as I have never skied in the traditional technique.  I have cross country skied, but only in the skating technique.  After a few minutes with Patti I was feeling much more confident and finding the hang of it.  

The trails were amazing, there was so much snow and epic mountain scenery.  Pictures and words won't do it justice, it simply cannot be put into words.  The moments I shared on the trails with Patti were some very special moments for both of us.  I am her adopted grandson, which is very moving for me because all of my grandparents passed away when I was young.  A friendship that spans two generations, sharing a common training bond, is a very rare and special thing.  The one thing that I am most proud of is that I am able to recognize special moments and not take them for granted.

*The skier's lodge, only accessible by ski or snowshoe

*Bunk house in the top of the lodge

*A treat to warm the skiers during a break in the training

*Lots of wood in the cellar for the cold winter

*If you stopped and held your breath, all you could hear was absolute silence (oxymoron), it was incredible.

After 4 exhausting hours of skiing, Patti and I were ready to head home.  We had a great talk in the car about a lot of things; training, competitions, and love :)  It was a treat and a very special moment to be with Patti doing what we love to do.

Ed could not ski with us because he had a sore foot, that was a bummer, but we did spend time together at the house after skiing.  Patti made an excellent dinner and we all watched Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.  Patti challenged me to a game of table tennis and gave me a run for my money as we ping ponged the ball back and forth.  Even in table tennis our competitive side showed with friendly efforts to win the sets.  

*Ed and I sharing a moment

*The delicious and nutrious post-ski meal

*Ed carving up a delicious roast

*Roast, green beans, and spaghetti squash.

*Patti, Ed, and the adopted grandson :)

It was such a treat to spend the day with Ed and Patti, I am counting down the days until I can return to their house, and share the spring swim meets with them.  These are special moments, the worst mistake that anyone can make is taking the ones they love, and the joy and support they bring, for granted.  I made the most of every moment with Ed and Patti and my family over Christmas.  I hope you are doing the same :)

Keep on skiing...kick...glide...kick....glide.

Updated: Holiday Fun

I love the holidays, the arrival of snow, and the beginning of winter training. Lots of things have been going on the past month or two.

*My sisters and Baby P.!

After I made my big end of season triathlon campaign I was totally adrenaline-drained and trained out.  It was a long season and other than a few swim meets, I took some time off.  I had a lot of fun distractions and good memories.

*This photo of Uriah and I received 100 "likes" and I don't even have Facebook... :)

I took some time to enjoy the rest and spend time with my family.  My nephew Uriah is a at a really great age and is really fun to be around.  Baby P. arrived this summer and has been a treat.  My niece and nephew are the treasure of our family and we all love them more than anything in the whole world.  They are so cute, so fun, and at times, such little turkeys.  I love to be around them, I am a lucky uncle.

*Playing trains, "cho cho!"

*I went with my sister to see Santa. This is Uriah's "I'm only going to sit here to get my Christmas present" face.

*I attended Uriah's swim birthday party

*Spending quality time with Baby P. at the party.

*My dad made some epic nachos...yes they are worthy of being in this post

*I did a little cooking of my own.

I spent some time with my friends Kevin, Anne, JM, and Leanne who all came over to my house for a holiday weekend.  I spent a fair amount of time with Ayla as well.  I visited Evan and his parents, they took me in just like family (like they always do) and allowed me to celebrate a Swedish Festival of Lights dinner.  Evan's parents cooked some delicious things.  We all laughed, smiled, and enjoyed the company.  I also received a couple of great gifts from Evan and his family, which was very thoughtful.  They are a great family, very special to me.

*Only the finest Swedish delicacies 

*Why do we look guilty? :)

*One word, delicious.

I spent a few days at the most special place on earth, the Tri-Pad. When I was there I had a dream in which I was running, gliding, and flying across the ground effortlessly.  After injuries and layoffs I always have a dream of running when I'm ready to return. That's my subconscious way of saying, "Let's do it." A couple nights after the running dream I had a dream of looking at a huge clock.  Everything was dark in the dream except a huge ticking clock that towered over me as I stood looking up at it, the ticking was pounding in my head during the dream.  When I woke, I muttered to myself with a smile, "The clock is ticking."

*At the Tri-Pad, pondering the ticking clock dream

*This is the place for porch sitting and thinking

Like I said, the past couple of months have been a good reduction in training after a long season.  I had a lot of great times, and allowed my body to absorb all the past year of training, but I also picked up a few things that caused me anxiety and suppressed that fire to compete. I had a little bit of a transition period getting back to the focused-athlete lifestyle. I had to change and eliminate a few of the things that caused me the anxiety, and I am so glad that I did because the killer-instinct to train hard is back, and it's stronger than ever.  The last few weeks have been the best I have felt in months.  I am the lightest I have been in the past four winters (which is an extremely motivating thing), and my muscles feel great.

*Still thinking, only this time I look cooler with sweet shades, see what I did there?

I am rested, recovered, and ready.   My friends have been asking me over and over about another winter training montage.  Well guess what, it's coming!  Brodacious is back, bay bay.  :)

Happy Holidays!