It is amazing how fast time flies. As I write this, I am trying to finish up my last project of my undergraduate career at the University of Dayton. Today, however, marks the 4 year anniversary of the day my dad died. As some of you may know and others of you may not, my dad suffered from alcholism and struggled with it for many years. This is the reason why to this day I do not drink, and never have, as I know I possess those same addictive qualites that he once did; this is one of the major reasons why I love the sport of Triathlon as well, because I can transfer those qualities into a sport that I have come to deeply love and become quite competitive at. It is those qualites that have helped me become the triathlete that I am today and will continue to carry me into the future.
I wish he was still here to see me compete and to be here this weekend to see me graduate. He was always so proud of everything I did, as well as my 2 older sisters, and I know he would be very proud of me this weekend for graduation and for my all of my successes in triathlon thus far.
Today is about remembering my dad. All of the good times that we had together; going to baseball games, going to baseball card shows, watching our cleveland sports, going to cedar point, and so many other things. It makes me sad to think back to four years ago when he passed away the day before my sister's college graduation and how he won't be there for mine. However, I know he will be there in spirit.
My mom and sisters, brother-in-law, and niece are coming into town today for my graduation weekend. It will be good to all be together on this day, something that has not happened since four years ago.
I just want to end with a few words: You never know when you might lose a loved one so make sure you tell those people in your life how much you love them and how much they mean to you and enjoy the time you get to spend together, even when they may get on your nerves, because once they're gone you will miss them more that ever. Do it today for me, in remembrance of my dad, but do it everyday or everytime you talk to someone special in your life; life's too short not too.
Dad, I love you and miss you each and every day...forever you will be remembered and in my heart
Friday, April 30, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
PowerBar Team Elite and Collegiate Nationals Recap
It's been a while but I'm back and hopefully will be making updates on a more regular basis. Training over the winter went well. I competed in two indoor triathlons at UD and Ohio State and took first place in both of those races. About a month ago I found out that I made the PowerBar Team Elite! I am very excited to represent PowerBar and their great line of sports nutrition products. They are and have been one of the leading sports nutrition companies for the past few decades and I feel very fortunate to have their support as I go forward in my triathlon pursuits. I just got my first order of product a few weeks ago and was excited to have a great supply of products, both ones that I have tried and other new products that I had not tried yet.
This past weekend I traveled to Lubbock, Texas for the 2010 Collegiate Triathlon Championships with the UD Triathlon Club. We left Wednesday morning and arrived in Lubbock Thursday afternoon after we stopped in Witchita Falls, Texas Wednesday night for a quick night's sleep. When we got into Lubbock on Wednesday it was raining and it would continue to rain almost non-stop until Friday night before the race. A few us went for a short run in the rain Thursday afternoon to shake out the legs after the long drive. Thursday night we had an "Ohio Dinner" with all of the collegiate triathlon clubs from Ohio. A lot of us have gotten to know each other over the past few years so it's fun hanging out and socializing with each other over dinner.
Friday rolled around and sure enough it was raining. We had a quick team meeting and headed to the race site, Buffalo Springs Lake, to get in the water and check out the course. It decided to start pouring right we got there, along with being windy and about 50 degrees. I got my temporary new Vortex 3 Wetsuit on (will be getting the Vector Pro X2 by Xterra very soon) and got in the water for a nice 1000 yard or so swim, checked out the transition area layout and got back in the car so we could drive the bike course.
Getting blown by the wind and rain after our short swim the day before the race in my Xterra Vortex 3 Wetsuit
We got back to the hotel and I decided to hop on the trainer instead of going out in the cold rain. After that I went to the pre-race captains meeting and rules briefing and then we went to the Texas Tech Rec Center for a free pre-race pasta party. Dinner was good and a bunch of teams came dressed up in all sorts of different costumes as there is a spirit award given out during the awards ceremony after the race on Saturday. We through in a little UD chant as well. After dinner we made a quick walmart run and got our stuff ready for the race.
Saturday was race day and the rain had finally let up. The race didn't start until 9:00 which gave us a little extra time than some races to "sleep in". We got up a little before 6 and got to the race site. The swim ended up getting cut in "half" (more like 1/3 or about 500 meters) due to the weather conditions and cold water temp (54 degrees, although last year it was 53 degrees and it felt A LOT colder last year). I got in a few strokes before the start of the race and it really wasn't too cold. I finished the swim in 6:28 with the 26th fastest swim. I headed out on the bike which is a very challenging course, especially with 20+ mph winds and 30+ mph gusts! I finished the bike in 1:07:45 which was good enough for 28th overall on the bike. At the end of the bike I started cramping up and new that it was going to carry over into the run. I started the run and started to cramp up. Within a half mile my legs were on fire and I was literally hobbling at one point and forced to a slow jog for about a half mile. The pain subsided and I was able to pick up the pace a little bit, but had to keep it under control to make sure the cramping didn't return. The run was a 2 loop 5k course so I was able to see where I was after the first lap; I was about 12th with a few guys in front of me. I kept pushing away and was finally able to pick up the pace in the last 1.5 miles and finish strong coming across the line in the top 10, although I finished 18th overall and 14th of the undergraduates. Run times were slow and someone had a GPS on the run and it was apparently 6.5 miles. My run time was 39:17 which was good for 25th overall in the run.
We all enjoyed the rest of the day after the race including the MWCTC (Midwest Collegiate Triathlon Conference) awards ceremony which I took home the award for top Male triathlete. Additionally, UD took home the awards for 1st place female team, 2nd place male team, and 2nd place team overall.
Overall I was pretty happy with the race. I was really hoping to be in the top 10 but am OK with 18th especially considering the cramping on the run. I know I have a lot of work to do to get to where I want to be. This was my first big race of the year and I know that things will only go up from here. Next up the race schedule is the American Triple-T, which is 4 races in 3 days, which I will be doing with Adam Brown. I know we both have high goals for this race which is now only a month away.
A few other things going on: I graduate now in less than 2 weeks (May 2nd). I cannot believe how fast time flies and how quickly these last 4 years have gone. This fall there is a good chance that I will be at Florida State for my masters in Sports Nutrition which I have already been accepted into.
This past weekend I traveled to Lubbock, Texas for the 2010 Collegiate Triathlon Championships with the UD Triathlon Club. We left Wednesday morning and arrived in Lubbock Thursday afternoon after we stopped in Witchita Falls, Texas Wednesday night for a quick night's sleep. When we got into Lubbock on Wednesday it was raining and it would continue to rain almost non-stop until Friday night before the race. A few us went for a short run in the rain Thursday afternoon to shake out the legs after the long drive. Thursday night we had an "Ohio Dinner" with all of the collegiate triathlon clubs from Ohio. A lot of us have gotten to know each other over the past few years so it's fun hanging out and socializing with each other over dinner.
Friday rolled around and sure enough it was raining. We had a quick team meeting and headed to the race site, Buffalo Springs Lake, to get in the water and check out the course. It decided to start pouring right we got there, along with being windy and about 50 degrees. I got my temporary new Vortex 3 Wetsuit on (will be getting the Vector Pro X2 by Xterra very soon) and got in the water for a nice 1000 yard or so swim, checked out the transition area layout and got back in the car so we could drive the bike course.
Getting blown by the wind and rain after our short swim the day before the race in my Xterra Vortex 3 WetsuitSaturday was race day and the rain had finally let up. The race didn't start until 9:00 which gave us a little extra time than some races to "sleep in". We got up a little before 6 and got to the race site. The swim ended up getting cut in "half" (more like 1/3 or about 500 meters) due to the weather conditions and cold water temp (54 degrees, although last year it was 53 degrees and it felt A LOT colder last year). I got in a few strokes before the start of the race and it really wasn't too cold. I finished the swim in 6:28 with the 26th fastest swim. I headed out on the bike which is a very challenging course, especially with 20+ mph winds and 30+ mph gusts! I finished the bike in 1:07:45 which was good enough for 28th overall on the bike. At the end of the bike I started cramping up and new that it was going to carry over into the run. I started the run and started to cramp up. Within a half mile my legs were on fire and I was literally hobbling at one point and forced to a slow jog for about a half mile. The pain subsided and I was able to pick up the pace a little bit, but had to keep it under control to make sure the cramping didn't return. The run was a 2 loop 5k course so I was able to see where I was after the first lap; I was about 12th with a few guys in front of me. I kept pushing away and was finally able to pick up the pace in the last 1.5 miles and finish strong coming across the line in the top 10, although I finished 18th overall and 14th of the undergraduates. Run times were slow and someone had a GPS on the run and it was apparently 6.5 miles. My run time was 39:17 which was good for 25th overall in the run.
We all enjoyed the rest of the day after the race including the MWCTC (Midwest Collegiate Triathlon Conference) awards ceremony which I took home the award for top Male triathlete. Additionally, UD took home the awards for 1st place female team, 2nd place male team, and 2nd place team overall.
Overall I was pretty happy with the race. I was really hoping to be in the top 10 but am OK with 18th especially considering the cramping on the run. I know I have a lot of work to do to get to where I want to be. This was my first big race of the year and I know that things will only go up from here. Next up the race schedule is the American Triple-T, which is 4 races in 3 days, which I will be doing with Adam Brown. I know we both have high goals for this race which is now only a month away.
A few other things going on: I graduate now in less than 2 weeks (May 2nd). I cannot believe how fast time flies and how quickly these last 4 years have gone. This fall there is a good chance that I will be at Florida State for my masters in Sports Nutrition which I have already been accepted into.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Best of the US Triathlon
Well I am finally going to start tracking my races using this Blog. I have thought about it for a while but figure it will be a good way for others to read about what is going on with me, particularly with my races.
This past weekend I was in California for the Best of the US Triathlon; an amateur triathlon competition consisting of one male and one female from every state in the US. Friday after classes I headed up to Columbus to fly out of the Columbus Airport. I was flying Southwest with stops in Nashville, Denver, and finally Santa Anna California. At the Columbus Airport, I lucked out not having to pay the $50 dollar fee for my bike (it came in at 49.5 pounds and the lady was nice enough not to charge me as it was still an oversize item!). It was a good start to a great trip. The flight's were not too bad and after the first flight I was able to move up to the Emergency exit row which gave me some extra leg room for the remaining flights. I arrived in California, got my bags and headed to the hotel. I was staying with some other athletes that I had not previously met.
I woke up Saturday morning at 7:45 (10:45 eastern time) on my own. It was nice having the extra time and a full day to take care of everything. I put my bike together, ran to the grocery store with the 2 girls I was staying with, and came back and went for my pre-race ride. We were in Mission Viejo, California which is about 45 minutes or so south of LA. It was gorgeous out. Sunny skies and 90 degrees (much better than the rainy 65 degrees it was when I left Ohio). There were mountains and palm trees which made for some great views as we went on our ride and checked out the bike course. After the ride we went and checked out the swim venue and got in the water for a little bit. I was able to get a free speedsuit from Xterra wetsuits and was excited to give it a test run before the race; Thank you Xterra for your genorous contribution! The rest of the day Saturday we had a pre-race meeting with all of the Best of the US triathletes and went to get some dinner at a local Italian restarant. After that we all made sure we were ready for the race and got to bed pretty early (around 10:30, which for me is pretty early for the night before a race).
Race morning came and I was really excited for the race. Me and the people I stayed with biked down to the race start from the hotel and got all set up. It was setting up to be a perfect day for a race. The Best of the US athletes were in the first wave. We all towed the line of the beach (Lake Mission Viejo, not the Pacific) and the race had begun. I hung with the lead group for the first 500m or so and then dropped back and ended up leading the 2nd group for a while. I came out of the water in 19:21 which was my fastes 1500m swim (and was a non-wetsuit swim too!). I came out of the water somewhere around 19th place made my transition to the bike. The bike was pretty hilly! It was up and down the whole time. I stayed in my big chain ring and plugged away the whole time. I passed a few people early on and a few more throughout the bike course, getting passed by only 2 or 3 others. The bike was very scenic and overall a very solid bike course. Onto the run and I hit the pace fast right from the start. I wasn't going to leave anything out on the course. About 1-1.5 miles into the bike, my inner quads started tightening up BIG time! I may have put a little much into the bike but this wasnt the first time this has happened. I kept going and eventually it wasn't too bad. The run course was very tough. A lot of different surfaces and a couple of tough hills. There were 2 guys in front of my for the final 4 miles and I just tried to keep them in sight and not let them get away from me. The last half mile finished downhill and back into the beach area where we started the day. I finished in 1:58:02 and 8th place overall! I was very excited about my race and where I finished.
This was one of the most competitive races of the year and one of the most challenging courses I have ever raced! I loved it! It was a true test of everyone out there. The post race party was awesome including free food from Trader Joes, Cliff Bar, a local smoothie place (delicious!), as well as FREE MASSAGES!!! It's always great getting a nice relaxing massage after a good solid race.
This was the best race of my life so far. It was a great event to be a part of and it was great meeting so many nice people!
After the awards ceromony we headed back to the hotel and got our bikes packed back up and everything ready to go. My flight was not until 6:45 that night so I was able to go to the beach for a little while and got a burger from In 'N Out Burger which I had heard great things about from other people (triathletes) before. Burger, fries, and milkshake were a nice treat after a great race. One of the girls I was staying, Meghan, dropped me off at the airport and I began my 12+ hour trip back to Dayton. I didn't get as lucky on my way home and had to pay the $100 fee for my bike (US airways) as well as a $20 fee for my bag....oh well. I got a Jave Chip Frapachino (sp?) in the airport as another nice post race treat; two conclusions; they jack up prices big time at the airport ($5.25 for a grande!) and I should have paid the extra 50 cents for 8 extra ounces...next time. I left Santa Anna at 6:45 and arrived in Phoenix at about 8:15. I was there for 3 hours and took off to Charlotte at about 11:15. I arrived in Charlotte at about 6 am eastern time. During my walk to my next terminal, I saw Greg and Laura Bennett! I was very excited and wish I would have said hi...Eventually I made it to Columbus around 9 am and then drove back to Dayton arriving there around 11:30 easter time, over nearly 14 hours after my flight left Columbus. It was quite the trip back to say the least....
Overall, my trip to California was great and I feel very fortunate to be able to go and race with some of the best in US. Now I am taking 2-3 weeks off of training. Recovering physically, mentally, and getting caught up with school work. It will be a nice break but I know that I will be ready to get back at in preparation of the 2010 Collegiate Nationals in Lubbock, Texas in April and the rest of my races for 2010. Congrats to everyone that competed and thanks to Trudy and Jerry and the Orange County Triathlon for a great race and a great weekend! I love this sport!!!
This past weekend I was in California for the Best of the US Triathlon; an amateur triathlon competition consisting of one male and one female from every state in the US. Friday after classes I headed up to Columbus to fly out of the Columbus Airport. I was flying Southwest with stops in Nashville, Denver, and finally Santa Anna California. At the Columbus Airport, I lucked out not having to pay the $50 dollar fee for my bike (it came in at 49.5 pounds and the lady was nice enough not to charge me as it was still an oversize item!). It was a good start to a great trip. The flight's were not too bad and after the first flight I was able to move up to the Emergency exit row which gave me some extra leg room for the remaining flights. I arrived in California, got my bags and headed to the hotel. I was staying with some other athletes that I had not previously met.
I woke up Saturday morning at 7:45 (10:45 eastern time) on my own. It was nice having the extra time and a full day to take care of everything. I put my bike together, ran to the grocery store with the 2 girls I was staying with, and came back and went for my pre-race ride. We were in Mission Viejo, California which is about 45 minutes or so south of LA. It was gorgeous out. Sunny skies and 90 degrees (much better than the rainy 65 degrees it was when I left Ohio). There were mountains and palm trees which made for some great views as we went on our ride and checked out the bike course. After the ride we went and checked out the swim venue and got in the water for a little bit. I was able to get a free speedsuit from Xterra wetsuits and was excited to give it a test run before the race; Thank you Xterra for your genorous contribution! The rest of the day Saturday we had a pre-race meeting with all of the Best of the US triathletes and went to get some dinner at a local Italian restarant. After that we all made sure we were ready for the race and got to bed pretty early (around 10:30, which for me is pretty early for the night before a race).
Race morning came and I was really excited for the race. Me and the people I stayed with biked down to the race start from the hotel and got all set up. It was setting up to be a perfect day for a race. The Best of the US athletes were in the first wave. We all towed the line of the beach (Lake Mission Viejo, not the Pacific) and the race had begun. I hung with the lead group for the first 500m or so and then dropped back and ended up leading the 2nd group for a while. I came out of the water in 19:21 which was my fastes 1500m swim (and was a non-wetsuit swim too!). I came out of the water somewhere around 19th place made my transition to the bike. The bike was pretty hilly! It was up and down the whole time. I stayed in my big chain ring and plugged away the whole time. I passed a few people early on and a few more throughout the bike course, getting passed by only 2 or 3 others. The bike was very scenic and overall a very solid bike course. Onto the run and I hit the pace fast right from the start. I wasn't going to leave anything out on the course. About 1-1.5 miles into the bike, my inner quads started tightening up BIG time! I may have put a little much into the bike but this wasnt the first time this has happened. I kept going and eventually it wasn't too bad. The run course was very tough. A lot of different surfaces and a couple of tough hills. There were 2 guys in front of my for the final 4 miles and I just tried to keep them in sight and not let them get away from me. The last half mile finished downhill and back into the beach area where we started the day. I finished in 1:58:02 and 8th place overall! I was very excited about my race and where I finished.
This was one of the most competitive races of the year and one of the most challenging courses I have ever raced! I loved it! It was a true test of everyone out there. The post race party was awesome including free food from Trader Joes, Cliff Bar, a local smoothie place (delicious!), as well as FREE MASSAGES!!! It's always great getting a nice relaxing massage after a good solid race.
This was the best race of my life so far. It was a great event to be a part of and it was great meeting so many nice people!
After the awards ceromony we headed back to the hotel and got our bikes packed back up and everything ready to go. My flight was not until 6:45 that night so I was able to go to the beach for a little while and got a burger from In 'N Out Burger which I had heard great things about from other people (triathletes) before. Burger, fries, and milkshake were a nice treat after a great race. One of the girls I was staying, Meghan, dropped me off at the airport and I began my 12+ hour trip back to Dayton. I didn't get as lucky on my way home and had to pay the $100 fee for my bike (US airways) as well as a $20 fee for my bag....oh well. I got a Jave Chip Frapachino (sp?) in the airport as another nice post race treat; two conclusions; they jack up prices big time at the airport ($5.25 for a grande!) and I should have paid the extra 50 cents for 8 extra ounces...next time. I left Santa Anna at 6:45 and arrived in Phoenix at about 8:15. I was there for 3 hours and took off to Charlotte at about 11:15. I arrived in Charlotte at about 6 am eastern time. During my walk to my next terminal, I saw Greg and Laura Bennett! I was very excited and wish I would have said hi...Eventually I made it to Columbus around 9 am and then drove back to Dayton arriving there around 11:30 easter time, over nearly 14 hours after my flight left Columbus. It was quite the trip back to say the least....
Overall, my trip to California was great and I feel very fortunate to be able to go and race with some of the best in US. Now I am taking 2-3 weeks off of training. Recovering physically, mentally, and getting caught up with school work. It will be a nice break but I know that I will be ready to get back at in preparation of the 2010 Collegiate Nationals in Lubbock, Texas in April and the rest of my races for 2010. Congrats to everyone that competed and thanks to Trudy and Jerry and the Orange County Triathlon for a great race and a great weekend! I love this sport!!!
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