Time to start things back up!

Holy crap!  Apparently I blacked out for about 20 months, because the last time I wrote a post was back in March of 2014! So thank you to all of my faithful readers who contacted me to make sure I was ok after not posting for so long. Oh, wait, that didn't happen. Sniffle. Sniffle. Moving on!  I was kicking around the idea of running an ultra marathon and had a few other plans on the horizon.  Now, I hope you are sitting down, because A LOT has happened since I wrote about that possibility back in March of 2014, and it's now December of 2015! Yikes! So, mom, since you're the only one who reads this, I'll give a quick recap of what has happened, and what is going to be happening in my little athletic world next year!

Going back to my last (sooooooo long ago) post.  First off, thank you so, so much to anyone who donated to help build that water well in Uganda! We may never actually meet the people whose lives we have changed, but providing water for one person, let alone a village is so hard to grasp! Awesome job you guys!

Throughout last year, I sort of changed gears. I took a break from triathlons and focused just on running. My goal was not to get faster, though. It was to go farther than I had ever gone before. I started off with a 50k (31 miles), then continued my way on up, planning on doing that big run through Death Valley with my buddy. Unfortunately, things did not work out, and that run was cancelled. However, I did sign up for the Javelina Jundred (2014).  I will post my race recap later (I actually wrote one, ha!), but the surprise ending is that I finished! The sad thing is that I think I got really burned out and decided to take a break for a year.

And just like that, my break is over! Ok, I didn't totally take a break. I ran a half marathon with my kick butt wife, did a couple mud/obstacle runs with a buddy of mine, and worked on the 4th triathlon discipline...eating.  Needless to say, it has been a relaxing year. I think my wife really misses me training and racing though, because she keeps saying, "Don't you need to go train or something?" She asks me like 3 or 4 times a day...she's so supportive!

For this coming year, I will be looking to set a new PR! I'm going to try and break my record of 6 (I think) lifetime Ironman finishes, and make it 7! You see what I did there? I tricked myself into thinking that no matter what my time is, race day will be a PR!  Just a little psychology trick for you to put in your back pocket for later use. No big deal.  Aaaaanyway, I'll be racing Ironman Arizona once again, and am already looking forward to my rematch with Eric Byrnes! Unless he was too scared to sign up! You'll have to stay tuned to find out!

Aside from IMAZ, I'll have a few other races throughout the year, and most importantly, a new team to be a part of! But, that announcement will come as soon as I find a team that will take pity on someone who has been sitting on the couch for the better part of a year (insert sad face emoji here).

Until then, please check this website and your email religiously, because you never know when I'll put up another post!

(Since it's the Christmas season, here's our Elf on the Shelf. He got stuck in the Octonauts Octopod the other day, so they got revenge!)