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!)

Uh, where did I go?

I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was sitting down in the comfort of my home to compose the most epic blog post of all time, sure to receive some type of award (but definitely not for proper use of grammar or spelling...ha!).  I reached over to take a sip of my new favorite sports drink, PowerCoCo, and then BAM!  The Ironman is over, the Phoenix Marathon is over, in 2 and a half weeks I'm running a 50k (why!?), and then in July I'll be helping a buddy of mine run over 700 miles through Death Valley.  What in the world has happened between November and now?

To be honest, I'm not really sure.  It's kind of been a tornado of family, holidays, triathlon, running, vacations, working, eating, sleeping, eating some more, less sleeping, eating some more, working a lot more, etc.  All I know is that I have committed to help my buddy Rick Cheever attempt an amazing feat.  During the month of July, he will be running over 700 miles through Death Valley.  He has actually put together a small little support team of other athletes, and our goal as a whole is to raise money to build water wells in Uganda.  What's the name of this epic adventure you may ask?  Well I'll tell you!  Rick has come up with the catchy and creative name of Quintessentially Well.  The name has a few different meanings, but in short it relates to the 5 wells that we want to build in Uganda, the 5 crossings of Death Valley that Rick will be doing, and we have 5 team members!  Oh, and because Rick is 5 times crazier than the rest of us (ha!).

So that's what I have been up to.  I'll try to post more regularly, but I make no guarantees.  And for my Ironman Arizona recap...it might show up one of these days.  But again, no promises.  Oh, and my Boston Qualifying attempt!  I didn't really make an attempt.  I know, two negatives, both right together.  So let's end on a positive...

This epic journey in July all comes down to one major concept...there are places in Uganda (and many other parts of the world too!) that don't have clean drinking water.  Their children are forced to walk for miles to get water from dirty rivers and lakes (the same rivers and lakes that they bathe in).  This a huge cause of disease.  We are trying to build 5 water wells (which will cost a little over $50,000) in hopes to provide many villages and future generations with the benefits of clean drinking water.  Please consider donating to our cause (none of the money goes to us...it all goes to the well-building efforts!).  Every $1 helps!!!!

Water 4 Kids, International

Team Quintessentially Well

Team Quintessentially Well blog

Donation page

I'm back!

Wow.  Life has been crazy busy!  I'm not even really sure where I left off, and what my last post was about.  Oh, wait.  It was about Eric Byrnes.  That's right.  To summarize, I was contacted about an article being written about Eric Byrnes on Active.com.  Well, I don't believe that article came out yet (or if it ever will!).  But what I do know, is that Mr. Byrnes is one sneaky individual!  Let me explain...

I would say that it's fairly well known across the galaxy that there is quite a rivalry between myself and the one they call Byrnsie.  It all started a few years ago when he challenged me, or maybe I challenged him, or maybe I imagined it all - oh whatever - to a head-to-head race during Ironman Arizona.  It pains me to say that he won fair and square, though I am still looking into the helmet that he wore on that fateful day.  Anywho, he has moved on to race in a few other Ironman races, such as the brutal Ironman Lake Tahoe.  And honestly, I have to give him some major credit for that one.  Apparently there was ice on some of the bike saddles in the morning!  Yikes!

Photo from Competitor.com

Fast forward to my Ironman Arizona 2013 race.  My swim went as planned (I didn't drown!) and my bike went slightly faster than planned (a new bike PR!).  As I was out on the new Ironman Arizona run course, I was frequently looking at the other athletes heading back the other way (as they were ahead of me at that point).  I was racing with a lot of family and friends, so I was trying to keep an eye out to see if I recognized anyone.  Around mile 5 or 6, I just happened to look over and who do I see?  None other that the blasted Eric Byrnes.  What!

I spent the next few miles trying to figure out what his angle was here.  Had he secretly registered under a different name in order to catch me by surprise?  I came to the conclusion that he had heard through the grapevine that I was trying to put in some serious training and he was obviously intimidated.  Therefor, he probably became ill at the thought of telling me that he was going to test his luck against me for a second time.

As I ran by him the first time, I yelled, "Eric Byrnes!"  He looked over in total shock, and immediately picked up his pace.  I stopped to try and offer him a very sportsman-like high five, but he just turned and continued on.  This really set me off!  I couldn't think of anything else except for what I was going to say to him if we crossed paths again.  And in about 13 miles, I got my chance.

We were crossing under the Mill Ave. bridge, meaning he had about 2-3 miles left, and I had around 7. As he was just about to pass me, I yelled out "Byrnsie!  I'm coming for you!"  It may have sounded a lot like "Yeah Byrnsie!" to him.  But I promise you, I was most definitely NOT encouraging him.  I was instilling the fear of God in him!

During those 13 miles, I had made up some ground, but not enough.  Probably only about a mile, if that.  I did the math, and knew that there was no way I could catch him...this time.  So I carried on with my little truffle-shuffle run and focused on finishing this thing out with a new PR.

When I came across that finish line, my first thought was, "Where is Eric Byrnes to rub in his victory and pour salt on the wound?"  Luckily, he was nowhere to be found.  He probably took his moral victory and got the heck outta Dodge!

Aside from this little surprise battle during IMAZ, the rest of the race went pretty well.  I will be writing up a full report in a bit, as well as a season report since I got busy (or lazy) and didn't really write much this whole season.

But bigger things are on the horizon!  In just a few short months, I'll be making another attempt at qualifying for the Boston Marathon, since I choked by twenty-three seconds last year.  Until then, enjoy this little video of some awesome ear candy: