Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Rant

Ok, so my purpose in starting this blog was to write about what's on my mind. On a daily basis, so much stuff passes through my cranium, it's nice to have a place to get it all down. Most times, I talk about the things I love: Kristen, Triathlon, my Family, etc. Today, well, here goes.....

Elitism.

I HATE elitism. It has to be one of my biggest pet peves. In any arena, it's just so freakin' annoying. Whether it's athletics, politics, academics, whatever, I just can't deal with it. Most often, in my line of work, it has to do with athletics and vanity.

Being a personal trainer and coach, as well as a competitive athlete myself, I see so many people putting one another down in some way or another throughout the day that it makes me want to vomit. I think in a lot of ways, the local triathletes on Long Island are huge culprits of this. So many times, I've seen people become excluded from a group or "team" because of their results in a local race, or the equipment they use. (To that douchebag on the PC3 in Mountauk, if you're better than me, why did I blow you're ass away on my Aluminum Felt with the training wheels on it? Can I borrow your pump now? Sorry, I had to get that one in.... :-) )

First of all, any of us who are successful in the local races are decent athletes. However, we're still big fish in a very tiny pond. Just because so-and-so came in first at the local duathlon/triathlon, gives them no right to knock down anyone else. As it is, I'm sure Mr. So-And-So would get his or her ass handed to them if they were even to train one day with a real pro. However, just because they are faster than the newbie, they feel entitled to ignore the newbie's existance, instead giving them a slight glance of disgust because they finished their first tri on an old rusty mountain bike.

I say, it takes more guts and testicular fortitude to toe the line knowing that at T1 you're going to blast away on your old Huffy. The first timers are what this great sport is all about. We're all lining up to embark on an adventure. Some of us may finish before others, but the essence in the sport lies in uncertainty.

"Can I do this?"
"What have I gotten myself into?"
"Am I going to die out here?"

These are all questions I'm certain we asked ourselves in our first race. The third one came to me 500 meters into the swim of my first race. But you know what? I finished the damned thing and I'm blogging about it right now. Sure I've gotten faster, fitter, and more successful in the sport, but the adventurous nature remains the same. Whom am I ever to discount anyone on their journey in this sport?

Basically, what I'm saying is this: We all need to remember where we came from. Not just in triathlon, or at the workplace, or even in relationships, but in everything we do. Not one of us is better than the other in any way, shape or form. Everyone needs to take a step back, enjoy life, and not be so concerned with those around them.

Go out, kick some ass, and smile while doing it! At some point, I guarantee, you're gonna be the one who's ass is getting kicked. Be just as gracious in losing as you are in winning, and you'll always be a champion.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

25,5,25,5,25,5...

Yesterday was one of the hardest training days of my life. In all the years I've played organized sports, nothing has ever compared to the pain of yesterday. I would even go as far as to say that if you took all of the accumulated conditioning sessions done in those years, they would not come close to what I did yesterday.

I met up with my training partner Stefan yesterday to do a layered brick workout. For those of you not familiar with the triathlon world, a brick session includes doing back to back workouts, usually in a bike-run format (i.e. a Forty mile bike ride followed by a four mile run). In this case, Stefan and I were to ride 25 hilly miles, followed by a 5 mile hilly run....three times back to back. At the end we would total 75 miles on the bike, and 15 miles on the run. Definately not a workout for the faint of heart.

The day started quite easy, with the first 25-5 combo coming to a close with my legs still feeling quite fresh. The second bike session was more of the same, but I do have to say I was starting to feel my legs quite a bit on the second run leg. The third bike leg began well, but the last ten miles were excruciating! I just kept trying to move the pedals and turn the cranks. Thank God I took that damned computor off my bike before we started, otherwise I think I would have been severely depressed by all the single digit speeds it would have been giving me going up the hills.

The third run leg gets its own paragraph. Now, there are certain times in your life when you feel like you've come to an ultimate point-a defining moment so to speak. This can be anything from your first kiss, to your first child being born, your first job, or a number of things. This defining moment of my life was sponsered by my machine of a training partner, Stefan. Let me tell you, there's nothing like getting your ass kicked by someone who you can smile and joke with the whole time!

I have never known what it means to have such a disconnect between my brain and body. When it comes to sports, I've always been a very competitive person (especially when it's a one on one battle like a running race or a sparring session/fight). I've always been able to will myself to move as fast as I could, or fiight as hard as I could. I may not always have won, but I knew that my body was moving as fast or as hard as it could to get me where I wanted to be.

Yesterday, all bets were off. No matter how fast I wanted them to go, my legs stuck in one speed...SLOW! They kept moving, but it was at a pace similar to refridgerated maple syrup. (If you don't know what that looks like, try it sometime and get back to me....it's freakin' deadly slow!) So I finished that last run session, albeit a bit behind Stefan. I'm proud of myself for not folding during the whole training session. For finishing it and getting the miles done. Very easily, I could have made the excuse that I had been training hard all week and I was done. In the end though, would I realy have been happy? Yesterday was a gut check. I realized that many things are possible if you just stick with them. Even when times are tough, and you're one step away from quitting, don't give in. The prize at the end is worth the suffering to get there.

As Martin Dugard always ends his blog:

Keep pushing, always.
(He's right)

Friday, August 22, 2008

Today, Kristen, Yesterday, and Tomorrow

Good day today...busy but good. I got a lot done work wise and explored some things I haven't done in a while. It's nice when days like this come along. They make you think about your life, the state of things, and all that stuff that usually gets knocked to the back of your mind when you're coasting through the week.

Kristen comes home in Sunday, so this weekend definately could not have come soon enough. It was interesting not being with her this week. It's good to know that I missed her so much. We don't live together, but nearly every bit of my free time is spent with her. I can honestly say that I felt a big piece missing when she was gone. I think a lot of times that when couples spend so much time together, they almost welcome time apart from each other. It's like a needed break from one another. I didn't feel that "break" feeling whatsoever. We have so much fun together that I really missed her from the moment she left and can't wait to see her Sunday!

Ok, enough with the mushy stuff. Yesterday was a good two hour spin on the bike. This week has been my biggest volume week of the summer (pretty sad considering I will barely break 20 hours of training for the week). Last year I spent much more time training-and less working too! With work getting busier, I really have had no choice to put my training on the back burner. However, working with my new "plan" and no longer making up workouts as I go, I feel better at this point than I did at the same time last year. Funny what a little planning will do.

Tomorrow will be the biggest day of the year. The day calls for a layered brick, consisting of 25 miles on the bike, followed by 5 miles running, three times. In other words, 25mi bike, 5mi run, 25mi bike, 5mi run, 25mi bike, 5 mi run. Both the bike and the run sessions will be done on hilly routes as to get us ready for the American Zofingin in October. I have to say that I'm a little nervous about this workout as I've always been a bit injury prone doing bricks like this. I'm gonna play it by ear and at least complete the first two rounds. If everything is holding up well, I'll go in for the kill on the third. Either way, it's gonna be a long morning. Wish me luck!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Why I do it...





This is why. Because of endurance sports, we are awarded the opportunity to take ourselves and others to places that are not possible in everyday life. Just because this is a hobby to more than 90% of us doesn't mean it can't be at the forefront of our lives.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

"You can't buy what you got."

This evening I recieved the best compliment I could ever hope to recieve not only as a personal trainer, but as a human being. A client told me, "you can't buy what you got." This was probably the most flattered I've ever been. Though I probably didn't show it outwardly, I have to admit that I was really touched by this comment. So often in life, we go throught our daily routine, often thinking along the way that what we do really doesn't have any effect on anyone. I think we get so bogged down in our daily routine that we forget that there are others around us that we effect, positively or negatively, each and every day.

In my first post, I touched on how people influence others and how regardless of the impact you have in this world, you're bound to leave some sort of imprint, good or bad. Today I realized that what I do has an impact on the people around me in ways that I might not ever have imagined. Now, let's not kid anyone, it's not like I'm making miracles happen, but thankfully I've found that I have been a positive in the lives of others. In all I believe that's why I do what I do. I want to impact people in such a way that they can feel a little bit better about themselves and their lives. It's my hope that in some way or another, whether through positive talk, workouts...whatever, the people I see can smile a little bit more after they've seen me. I hope that my role in their lives extends to more than just sets and reps. To all my clients, Thank you so much for being the wonderful people that you are! I hope that I have been able to make your day better, and hopefully give you the gift of health and wellbeing! (Sorry if that sounds like a Hallmark card, but I'm feeling a bit sentimental right now, hahaha :-) )

On to my own training:

After yesterdays rides and hill repeats, my legs were a bit shaky today, but in a good way. I'm feeling the volume, but happy with the returns I've gotten from it. Today was pretty easy. I ran a good little tempo run with a client around noon, and then hopped on the bike right after. The legs were a bit slow to come around at first on the bike, but soon my pedal strokes felt effortless. I love days like this. I think my body is becoming aware of the demands I'm putting on it and reacting accordingly. It's nice to actually have some sort of a "plan" to train with. I've never put much thought into training before-I usually just wing it. But the idea of setting up a plan for several weeks has already started to prove invaluable.

Ok, off to do some yoga, take some supplements, and call it a night!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Good Training, Good Day, and One More Day Closer to seein' my girl...

Good day today. I was up early from a really good nights sleep, and felt ready to go the second my feet hit the floor (actually the crusty t-shirt on my laundry infested floor-but that's another story). I had some clients to see early and then it was out the door for bike session number one. This one was a thirty mile, 80% effort that went very well. From there it was on to more clients, teaching kickboxing (which turned into me blasting my core and working some good strength moves as well on the swiss ball-God I love that thing!), and going for a run with hill repeats with another client. We only did about 3 miles, but we had some gnarly repeats in there. After the last of my clients it was off to run some errands, get home, take the dog (Lucki-my favorite doggy in the world!) out for a poop, grab a quick shower, and head out for Bike Session Number two. This was an easy, hour and a half ride with some decent climbs, but no more than a percieved effort of about "man I wanna go a bit faster!". It's nice to have a ride like this to literally enjoy the scenery and smell the flowers. So often I find myself hammering like hell that I never actually get to see what a beautiful area I live in. After the ride, it was another shower, some good leftovers for dinner-thanks mom, and on to some more clients.

All in all a pretty damn productive day!

Now I'm off to bed, super early! Again, I figure the more I sleep and train, the faster it'll be until Kristen gets back! I think I've discovered the blueprint for a time machine...just sleep and kill yourself physically and time moves pretty fast....ok, cheesy I know, but work with me here!

Quote of the day:
"If you compete, there's a chance you may lose. But, if you never compete, you will always lose."
(Somebody said it way better than that, but you get the gist.)

Sunday, August 17, 2008

"You have a beautiful body, man."

These were the words I heard on my long run today from a driver as I ran shirtless on the road. I have to say that I was a little shaken by these words becuase it's not often, at least out here on Long Island, that you hear those words from another man. When I modeled and acted in Manhattan, now that's another story...

The interesting thing about this is the fact that, in our society, this man would automatically be seen as gay for having said such a thing. Unfortunately, this is the way things are. Now, I've never personally given another male such a compliment, but I definately don't think it's wrong to assume this guy's sexual orientation from the fact that he was perhaps only giving a compliment. However, I could be going way too PC on this and the guy could have been two steps away from asking me out on a date, but either way I'm choosing not to discriminate.

Otherwise today was a good day. At 6am I made the executive decision to sleep through my run with the Port Jefferson Road Runners. I had scheduled a client this morning and figured I would go back to bed until I had to get up to see them. I would then complete the run later in the day.
I think this was a good thing to do because it gave me a little extra sleep and allowed me to run during a hotter part of the day. For some reason, I've always like to train in tougher conditions than usual...hot, cold, snow, humidity, rain, you name it and I love it. A "nice" day by most people's standards doesn't give me that "get up and go" feeling like a "crappy" day does. So it was a good run, about 15 miles worth, and a beautiful ice bath after. I'm really getting into recovery big time as I really think I've been neglecting it for some time.

So now it's off to do a half hour of yoga, eat some more, and hit the sack. While Kristen is away in Canada this week I'm going to try to sleep my face off. I really miss her a ton and am hoping to sleep and train away most of the time until she gets back. :-)

Friday, August 15, 2008

Another good day of training

I'm training with more focus than I have in a while. Maybe it's the Olympics, maybe it's the inspiration I've gained from those around me, or maybe it's the fact that I have mountains to climb (literally) in October at the American Zofingen.
Today was an easy day, 45 minute trail run and some yoga later in the afternoon. I barely get the yoga in as I find myself constantly procrastinating (sp?), but when I finally get it done I feel great.

My fitness is really coming along as things just get easier and easier. I've taken to the habit of keeping a detailed journal, as well as hold myself accountable in this blog, and I must say that it really has made a difference. Just having some sort of reference point from which to work really has made me a smarter self-coached athlete. I'm super into learning more and more about multisport, and this has really been my best attempt yet. I think the past two summers competing have just been a warmup. I've reached the point now where I actually NEED a plan. I'm no longer getting better or faster by just going out and making it up as I go along.

On a different note, Kristen is heading up to Canada with her fam for the next week. This will be the longest that we've been apart since we started dating. I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but I'm really gonna miss her a lot. She has really made such a great, positive difference in my life. To combat missing her I'm giong into full on "hermit" mode. For the week she's gone, I'll only be training, working, sleeping, and training some more. Hopefully this will make the time go faster!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Age is but a number...

Today, while training one of my athletes at the Port Jefferson Highschool track, I had the good fortune to run into one of the most inspirational people I've ever met. Marie-Louise Michelsohn is the world record holder for the mile in the 66 year old category. I believe she also holds the record for the 5000m as well, but I'm not 100% certain. Looking up her profile, I see that she's put up some impressive numbers and has run sub 20 in the 5K on several occasions. She explained to me that she's only been running seriuosly for the past 13 years but just enjoys everything that it does for her, mentally as well as physically. I was very impressed with not only her speed, but also with her personality. It's not often that someone competing at such a high level is so personalble, but she came right over and spoke with me as if we were old friends. At a time when most people of the world are looking at the great Michael Phelps for inspiration, I'm looking to the 66 year old track star I met at the track today. Marie-Louise Michelsohn is my new hero!

For more info on Marie-Louise, you can read an article from the running times at http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=7577&PageNum=&CategoryID=

Also, she is competing this weekend in Washington, D.C. Go Marie-Louise

One more inspiration:
So after I met Marie-Louise, I finished with my athlete and went for my own training run. As I've mentioned before, I'm racing the American Zofingen this October so hill work is my best friend. After a nice hour in the hills, I returned to the track to do some strides. I returned to find my good buddy Joey Z flyin' around the track. I'd have to say that Joey, who has been on this great planet for almost 60 years, is a true badass in every sense of the word. I used to train Brazillian jiu jitsu with Joey and the dude would seriously HURT! I can't remember a time ever sparring with him where my face wasn't sore for at least a week after. He's just a total freak of nature...oh and I forgot to mention that he weighs about 150 lbs soaking wet! When we would train, I tipped the scales around 215.

Anyway, Joey and I talked for a bit, and after seeing me doing my strides, he decided to join me for a couple. Let me just say that the guy can move! He matched me, stride for stride, for a 100 meters! Let's see, me, 27 years old, Joey 60 years old...who would you put your money on?

All in all, today has got to go down as one for the Baby Boomers! Between Marie-Louise and Joey Z, I've been truly humbled. Keep up the good work!

Oh, and if you're ever in the Port Jefferson area, make sure to visit Joey at his restaurant, Z-Pita...great Greek and Italian cuisine!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Ideals and knowing too much for your own good...

It's interesting the ideals that we are presented with in this day and age. There's fashion, dating, careers, houses, belongings, wealth, and just about anything else that you can see on primetime television. No matter what subject you approach, there is some sort of 'ideal' aspect involved with that particular thing. Nothing is safe.

Take the Olymics for example. Beyond all the medals, the competition, the guts, blood sweat and tears, there is an unbelievable amount of advertising. And for what products you might ask? Fast food, softdrinks, and STUFF. Every third commercial is for McDonalds or Coca Cola. These companies sell ideals. They attempt to put you in a "happy place", enjoying their food/beverage and the "wonderful times" that go along with it. Why? I can't have a "wonderful time" eating the turkey sandwhich I just made? Or is that tap water I'm drinking not going to influence my happiness? This is all not to mention the fact that they show OLYMPIC ATHLETES consuming these products! I almost laughed my ass off when I saw the awkward sight of a shredded track runner holding a freakin' Big Mac. Do people really believe this crap? And what type of a messege is that sending to the mostly overweight children in our country? "Hey Bobby, you too could swim like Michael Phelps...just down this Quarter Pounder and..." Seriously, what the hell?!

Ideals are not always bad however. When directed properly, they can be a very powerful motivating factor. In athletics, we learn that we can all reach a certain level of 'ideal' performance. The only issue with that is that we must seek our own ideal and not someone elses. We're taught that if we do the right things (i.e. train hard, rest hard, and leave the damn Big Mac alone) we can create in ourselves, an ideal atmosphere for success. However, as simple as this may seem, we often times find ourselves stuck in the sludge of our own minds. We compare ourselves to others, often analyzing their performances much more than our own. We're only setting ourselves up for failure in doing so.

I totally admire the outlook of Ironman World Champion Chrissy Wellington. So much has been made of the fact that in winning (in her first attempt no less) the Ironman World Championship, she didn't even know many of the "big names" she was competing against. To me, this says volumes about not only her, but her coach, Brett Sutton, as well. Psycholgically, she was set up to be racing truly against herself. They created the ideal environment for her to succeed. While so many athletes, whether they consciously know it or not, set themselves up for failure, she was in a position where the only option was to just go. She kept it simple and let her hard work and discipline shine through on the course. Without a doubt, she's the "big name" now.

So in putting this into my own life, I can say that in many ways, ignorance is bliss. It's taken me a long time to put some things together in my life, and I'm still working on a lot more. From what I've learned, putting your focus in a positive direction and allowing your brain to be concerned with only the body that's below it is paramount. I can't say that it's easy, but I believe it's safe to say that true success comes from developing your own, true ideal.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Good Day

After my post yesterday, my day went to Sh*t. Sorry to put it in that language, but that's just what it was. Emotionally I was drained. Truly, "life is what happens when you're making other plans"-especially when you're trying to have a restful 'rest' day. Frustration got the best of me and I headed to the trail for a good Caveman Run. No watch, no heart rate monitor, no ipod, just me and the trail. I think the run was around an hour, but the relief was worth days.

Today was the exact opposite of yesterday. Work was good, I lifted weights, got in a hilly run, and put together a pretty sweet bike ride to round it all out. I'm tired but certainly in a good way. I love this part of training. My muscles are sore, my feet hurt, but I know my fitness is coming together. Slowly but surely I'm going to be ready to crush the mountains in October.

More than anything, I've taken from yesterday that the people around you can have a huge impact on you. I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have found the girlfriend that I have. I always tell her that the best part of my day is when I get to see her. Last night she cheered me up in ways that are beyond words. I honestly have never felt the support of anyone as much as I feel hers. It's a great thing! I just hope I can be every bit of the guy that she deserves in her life!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Rest Day or Laziness?

Today, like every weekday, started for me at 4;30am. I'm out the door by 5 and usually get to my first client at a quarter after. This seems early, but for this particular client I would get up at 3! Not only are he and his family the nicest people I've had the pleasure to work with in a while, but he just gets it done. He's easy goin' and doesn't complain. As a trainer, it's a total pleasure to work with such a trusting client. So after working with him and several other, equally as fun, clients, I was done for the day around 11:30. This is where the trouble began.

Yesterday I had a great long run and really put a dent in my fitness for the American Zofingen Duathlon in October. (I mean dent in a good way). Since signing up for the race, my training has been the most consistant it has been all year. To say I'm pumped for this race is an understatement. I really want to do well in this race but have backed myself into a training corner as I really need to put in some solid work for the next two months. Anyway, this is where my dilemma lies. I'm still a bit beat up from the run yesterday, as well as tired from sleeping only about 4 hours last night. I decided to make today a rest day. Logical right? Well, I feel lazy as hell. I can't sit still, and all I wanna do is get out for a run or a bike or just something. Maybe it's just that type A athlete coming out in me, but I feel like such a lazy ass today.

In the past I've always erred on the side of more rest is better than overtraining or even getting injured. I just feel so unsettled today. Overall, this is definately the best reason why I need to hire a coach and have them tell me what to do. Too bad I'm so poor.

Ok, just needed to get that off my chest. I'll go pay some bills and see if I don't feel better. Cheers!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Training....

I went for a run with the Port Jefferson Road Runners today. We ran for about 2 hours in the hills on the North Shore of Long island. We held a pretty good pace and worked in some stairway repeats toward the middle of the run. There is a gnarly set of stairs that run up a cliff overlooking the Long Island Sound that we use for training. And when I say gnarly, I mean it. These things are about as old as time. I'm suprised no one has fallen through a step yet!

I would have to say that overall I felt pretty good, especially the day after a race. I'm happy that my fitness is starting to come together and my climbing is really getting strong-all those hill repeats are really starting to make a difference. Today was a great training day, and a victory for my fitness!

On another note:

Do you ever wonder what makes people tick? And why one person's make up is so different than another? I have someone in my life very close to me that suffers from bi polar disorder. For my entire life with this person, I've had to adjust my behavior around them so much to the point that it makes me question, at times, who I really am. When you spend your whole life catering to the actions of another, it really takes a toll on you emotionally-one that you may not even recognize until years have passed.

It's a very tight rope that you walk when you live with a bi polar person. Some days are fine and dandy, and then suddenly everything switches on a dime. You leave to go to the store and they're feeling happy and you leave them smiling. Then you come home a half hour later to discover that you have started World War III.

At times this makes me cry. But why is that? Is it because I feel sorry for them? Or do I feel sorry for myself? These are the questions that have tormented me for a lifetime. I'm always second guessing myself around them. And because this person means so much to me I have trouble with decisions that would otherwise seem normal and easy to other people. I guess in the end my troubles stem from the fact that I know who I am in the world with everyone else, but do I really know who I am with one of the closest people in the world to me. I hope I can find that person.

I love you Mom.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Port Jefferson Biathlon Race Report

This morning I competed in the Port Jefferson Biathlon. For those of you not familiar with this race (and I imagine 99.99% of you are not), it is a small town swim/run event. The distances are approximately a "500 yard" swim followed by a "5k run". I put these in quotes because the run measured 3 and 1/2 miles on my buddies Garmin, and God only knows if the swim is short or long. It's small, fast, and fun, not to mention the start is about a quater mile from my front door so there's really no excuse for me not to do the race.

If you're from Long Island, or most likely any of the Northeastern states, you'll be familiar with the problems we've had with Jelly Fish this summer. Those bastards have really made it difficult to get open water swims done this year! Ok, in reality, I've just used that as an excuse all summer as the reason why I SUCK at swimming.

On to the race-
So we start down the shore from the finish, and like most other swim starts, it's a free-for-all. Over the course of the past year or so that I've been involved with multisport, I've learned that since I'm not fast, I need to start well to the sides of the start...not today! I was right in the midst of all the college and masters swimmers. Basically, this was my "screw you guys, I'm gonna try my damndest to stay on your toes". Suprisingly, I was able to do just that. I threw some elbows and before I knew it, I was out of the water somewhere in the middle of the pack (I would have been nearer the front but a group of us went off course and almost wound up in Conneticut!).

The run began a little slow as I lost a ton of time in transition geting my stupid wetsuit off. I'll refrain from naming the wetsuit company that makes my suit (it rhymes with "schmintana schmoo"). I really hate that thing. If there weren't so many stupid jellies in the water, I definately would have left it at home. Anywho, there are two major hills on the "5k" run. The first right after the transition and another at the beginning of mile 2. I'm currently training for the American Zofingen Duathlon in October (thousands of feet of climbing on the bike and both run portions) so I was able to manage these climbs rather easily. The last 1/2 mile of the run is in the sand along the shore. It's soft and sandy in some spots and rocky and wet in others.

All in all I was able to make up time on the run and finish in 11th over all and 2nd in my age group in a time of 29:40 I'm dissapointed in my result but realize that the last time I was in the water was most likely at a triathlon in early June. Either way it was a fun way to start a Saturday.

On a side note:
This summer has been really tough for me work-wise, so I really haven't been able to do a lot of multisport races. I've done a bunch or road running races and concentrated mostly on my running for the summer. It was nice to get back into the swing of the multi-sport crowd and see all my buddies again. They've all really progressed a lot since the last time I raced against them. For today I was just a wet runner and they were great multisport athletes. Good Job Guys!

Congrats to Stefan Judex (1st overall), Doug Moyer, and Chris Gomez (Sorry if I got your last name wrong Chris, it's been a while :) ) You guys all rocked out there today!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Starting from the "BIG"-inning

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. First and foremost, I want to say that I have no idea why I chose the name "Thoughts on a Masterpiece". Maybe it's some unconscious and random way that I see the world. I hope that this blog will help me to sort through the conundrum that is my life and allow someone to make sense of it all.

I guess I consider myself to be a deep and thoughtful person-whatever the hell that means. I guess the only thing that really means is that I talk to myself when I'm alone. I think a lot. Not always on things in sequence, but just randomly. I guess that's why I'm intriuged by endurance sports. They allow me time alone to think. We're confronted on a daily basis with so much STUFF that we have no time to appreciate the simplicity of life. Simply put, we're born, we live, and we die. Hopefully we can make some sort of impact on the people around us in the time we're here...whether it's a good or bad impact really doesn't matter, as long as we make it. Thank God that for the time being, most of us choose to make a positive impact on those around us. I have to say that I'm honestly afraid for the future.

Ok, so with all that said, I'm happy to be here. I'm an endurance sports junkie and competitor with the hobby of going to my day job every day. I hope that if you choose to give my blog a read you enjoy the minutes I've taken from your life and hopefully gained something from it. This will be my positive contribution.