Dream Adventure 2015

Every year I have a dream adventure.  My past few adventures have reflected my childhood heroes  It makes me feel like a kid to compare myself to super heroes and test myself in trying to achieve new levels of success and learn new things.

In 2013 I was Superman in winning Athlete of the Year.

 

In 2014 I was He Man at the Northwest Natural Bodybuilding Championships.

 

For 2015 one of my adventures also reflected one of my childhood heroes. I will post the adventure soon. It is very near and dear to my heart....

Bloomsday 2015

Happy Bloomsday everyone!  I returned to run Bloomsday in 2013, but last year I had to miss the event because it was the same weekend as my bodybuilding show. It was fun to be back running it for 2015.   

 



#legitstyle

 

Thanks to Ayla for sharing in the weekend of fun, I always have so much fun on our adventures. We had a blast together.  A funny side note: For those who know me you'd know I rarely cook.  Well, I cook, but it barely meets the definition of "cooking."  For example, when I make noodles I don't boil the water and then add pasta because that is two steps. I like one step; put the water and noodles in a pot on the stove and let it heat up for an arbitrary amount of time until I think about it again. Sometimes they are soggy and other times they are dry and nuked. I eat them regardless because that is how I do it. Most of the things I "cook" just barely meet the scope of lunch or dinner in that they are food in some form.  Taste, texture, and appearance are not strong suits of mine. My dad, not me, is the cook master.

 

When I whipped up a flash boiled dish of quinoa noodles slathered with red sauce that quickly became a mushy, goopy, bland mess I thought to myself, "This is gonna' be delicious!!!" For some reason the bland, mushy mess did not score well with the food critic at my house.   Ayla is the nicest person I have ever met so she would never say it, but I knew what she was thinking, "That is sooo sick." More for me, I guess. Bon appetite.  lol

 

I digress.  Running in Bloomsday is a unique experience that I recommend it to everyone.  It is fun, and despite the HUGE crowd, it never gets uncomfortable or claustrophobic as impossible as that sounds. 

 

*50,000+ chomping at the bit. Photo Courtesy Spokesman Review

*Doomsday Hill madness. Photo Courtesy Team Better Photo

I am hoping that this event will help me find my grove. It was great to be back to Bloomsday. Don't miss out next year.

Spring Swim Championships 2015

The University of Idaho is one of my favorite swim venues.  We were lucky because they again hosted the spring championships.

*Stretching in the 500 freestyle

 

I won't lie, I've lost my mojo and have been struggling to find it. Despite that fact, I swam a very hard schedule of events that included the 400 and 200IM, 200 butterfly, 500free, 200back, and a few other races and relays.  While my times were not my fastest, I was somewhat satisfied that I was fairly close to my best times, and that I worked through the level of fatigue in doing such a hard schedule. 

 

*Mini adventure that only I appreciate

 

This is weird, but one thing I always look forward to for the Moscow Idaho meet is sock shopping.  Ross is right next to campus (and there is nothing else to do in the town) so every year I always go to Ross after day 1 of the meet and stock up on socks. This is the only time I visit Ross and the only day I purchase socks. I actually look forward to the mini adventure every year. Every time I leave Moscow I leave with happy feet.  

*The snacks at Moscow are always the best on the circuit.

 

*Thanks to Stephanie for going to the Saturday Night Swim Social and for cheering for me. Somehow the punishment of the 200 butterfly seems slightly less having her at the end of the lane cheering.

I can't believe it's April already, the clock is ticking.

Spring Splash Swim Meet

The Spring Splash in Coeur D' Alene, Idaho is one of my favorite swim meets, ever.  I have not competed in a swim meet since the summer so it was nice to see all my swim friends, I have missed them. 

 

*Stephanie, Patti, and me before the 200IM.

 

Being the first meet in a while I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I am just now starting to turn up and get focused on my big adventures of the year.  I had somewhat consistent training even though it was not swim focused, and for the month of February I eliminated processed foods.  I only missed two days; once when I was home and didn't want to pass up home-made Monster Cookies, and the other at a nice dinner party for the Elite Spa and Salon. Other than that, I nailed it, and I find myself ready to flip that switch to focused training.

 

You may ask what have I been doing with my time.  Well over the past year I have picked up a new hobby, here is a video to check out my new moves, at 0:25 I turn the lights out.  The song is The Illest by Far East Movement (clean version) and it has a sick beat.  Speaking of sick beats, the song for the Spring Splash theme was Beyonce's 7/11.



 

 

 

 Last year at this event, me and my friend, Lana Lawrence, along with two other people, swam the "Spring Splash Sweep" which consisted of 16 events, including a brute squad on Friday Night (400IM, 200 Fly, 1500M free).  It was the hardest swim event I have ever done.  I received this T-shirt for my efforts.

*Lana is quite an artist, she helped me mix my freestyle bodybuilding music, and she also drew the shirt designs for the "sweepers."  She said she used the picture below in drawing it...or maybe she was just shoomizing me after beating me in the 200IM.

 

 

This year I only swam 12 events. I knew I was going to lack race speed so my longer distance events were my stronger showings. My 400M freestyle was effortless speed.  The 100IM lacked top end sharpness and I struggled.  The 200IM, a mix of endurance and speed, was a little better at only 7 seconds slower than last year when I was a machine at the meet.  Overall, no PRs set, but I know what I need to do. It is time to turn up. 

 

This is going to be a big year for me! I have another swim meet coming up, and a few adventures that I am SUPER excited about...but I am not sharing those yet, I will soon though.  Other than training and Inland Championships, there is an adventure in Stephanie's prep for her first figure competition.  After my bodybuilding dream last year it is nice to have some perspective to share in her adventure.  It was nice of her to go to the swim meet with me. We had a lot of laughs and fun.  

 

*I ruined the best picture we had...but it's not like anyone was looking at me anyway. :)

 

Thanks for reading, BIG dreams and adventures to share soon! 

  

Aren't You Scared?

2013 was an amazing triathlon year. I dedicated myself completely to it, I was relentless, and it paid off. Fairly soon after winning NCSG Athlete of the year in 2013 I felt the waves of change. I have concluded that my "thing" is finding adventure. It's simple, I find things that intrigue, scare, and challenge me, things that make me say "I don't know if I can do that"...and then I do those things.

*Evan's dad, Eric, sent this to me. This is amazing and I was hooked as soon as I saw it.

I dedicated myself to the natural bodybuilding champs for the first half of  2014, and that adventure was flippin' awesome.  I did the half ironman in September, but I never found that missing piece that triathlon brought in previous years. I haven't ridden, swam, or run much since the September half ironman.  I relentlessly pursued triathlon for 10 years, and I find myself thinking "Maybe 10 years and a room full of awards is enough, and it's time to find new things" 

My appreciation for coordination, functional strength, and nutrition are more at the forefront, and I am obsessed with Frank Medrano, his calisthenics, and body-weight exercises. The simply-satisfying aspect of harnessing control and balancing the movements of your body...and being shredded like a cheese grater...intrigue me. Your body is one of the only things in the whole world that is truly yours, and mastering its strength and weaknesses is so simple, yet so complex at the  same time.  Your central nervous system is like a computer that can be programmed to eventually do things you couldn't do yesterday, and it fascinates me.

*I've just been hanging out lately...The iron flag

*Frank Medrano. The master.  Do you want your mind blown?  This guy, like Tony Horton, is age-less and incredible. They both credit weight training and a clean diet.  I hope I can be like either of them in my mid-fifties (yes, he's over 50, for real).

When I tell people I'm not doing triathlons they are surprised. "You aren't doing triathlons?!?! Aren't you scared, that's what you do!"  No, bro, I ain't scuuuuuuurd!

I'm 29,  and I have a heck of a lot of adventures to chase. There is no time like the present. I chase adventures and challenges...THAT is what I do...and I love it.