Noosa!!!

Australia here I come! Well, there is a lot to do before Tuesday at 3:30, when I leave for a long 29 hour flight to get me to train with the best in the business of Triathlon. How did this all come about? I was supposed to train in Florida with my boy Scott, who got an invitation to train with Brett Sutton and team TBB, what an opportunity! So, my coach Brent Lorenzen and I had to come up with a plan. Do we go to Cali, Florida, or Australia? I never thought the last would be the place. He called Hilliary Biscay, Ironman Wisconsin winner, for she is there training with Belinda Granger, Luke McKenzie, Greg and Laura Bennett, and a host of others to see if there was room for me to come train, and within 24 hours there was a place to stay and the ticket was booked. This is going to be an amazing journey for the next 6 weeks! I will update as much as possible. My training will still be an intense focus on swimming and will start to add the running and biking into the mix. My first race looks to be the 2012 Talent ID race in Lubbock, Texas in April, with St. Anthony's to follow, but not before putting on the Dogwood mile in downtown Knoxville on April 24. Well, as I always say if you can't Dream Big what is the use in dreaming? This trip is proof, dreams come true, but you better get to living!!

The "off" season!

Dang the "off" season is tough. I know why the big time pros go down under to train. I am swimming with the Lady Vols and I had respect before and now I have that much more. I am swimming 7-8 sessions a week 35-40k and feel like I could die weekly. I run twice a week and bike twice. These past three days I have been broken. Sleeping about 15 hours a day, yeah I know what you are thinking, "must be nice"! Well not really would rather be training but he the cards have been dealt. I am also working on my new website which will be up and running shortly and just added a twitter account so I am trying to get with the program. My goal this year was to brand myself and figure a way out to make a bigger impact on LIFE. Taking any suggestions!!! Also look for the upcoming press about the road mile I will be putting on, April 24 the Dogwood Mile run will be run on Gay Street. This will be huge and I hope all will join me, to come out and run and enjoy a party!
Dream Big Baby!!

My first of many 70.3s to come!!!

I know it has been forever since I last wrote to update. So here it goes. I after my last race in Dallas talked with my coach and since we had planned on doing a 70.3 we to a look and there was one in Arizona called the Soma Half. I was excited yet tired and would have days of great workouts and then be tanked, my recovery was taking a bit longer than usual but that is what happens at the end of a season. My best workout before the race was 20x400 ave. 72 all on the 2 min. It was a great workout both physically and mentally. I didn’t take the race prep serious as was evident when I went the weekend before to visit my brother in Southern Mississippi with mom and his girlfriend. I struggled bad the last week and in fact was only in the water one time over the last 7 days prior to the race, well enough excuses. I flew to Phoenix two days prior and was seriously thinking about bagging the whole thing but as always being in the environment always gets my juices flowing. So race day came and the I just told myself to grind all day, started the swim and well got off course twice so bad that a paddler had to tell me “you’re way off” and so got on the bike after a lame 30 min 2k swim. But knew that a bad swim wouldn’t break my race, but a fast first loop on the bike which was a three loop course would break me and so the first loop I was patient, and there was a lot of traffic so I just kept grinding. After the first loop I was feeling great and started to open it up and wow I had a great bike split for my first 56 miles race went 2:11 and then the run started my plan was to take the first half out easy and then let it rip the last half. All was going great, I was feeling great except for the dryness in the air would not let me keep cool for my sweat was drying faster than it could cool me, but that wasn’t the problem, at mile 9 I felt a pain in the inside of my knee that felt like someone had stabbed me and I thought dang my day is done. I was just praying I could hold on to the last 5 miles and the death march started and I just held on to finish the race. I did finish in 4:07 running a lame 1:23 half at end of the day. I believe that the knee problem cost me at least 5 min but all in all it wasn’t a bad day. I was top amateur and 11th overall, I loved the distance and plan to race at least 4 of those this next season. I have taken about 3 weeks off and started back this week, just light and this Monday my road to racing pro next season starts. I will be swimming 8 swims a week, 2 runs, 2 bikes, 2 yoga, and 2 trx sessions. I am committed and can’t wait to see what my second off-season training will do for me. I will try to update every two weeks, for it will be merely just talking about how training is going. I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and am thankful for such and incredible season with both mountain top highs and some lows leaving my skin on the pavement. Thanks and Dream Big!!!

Long Time To Make Up!!!

Well, for one who says they are going to update like every week, well I have let myself down. I am sorry, I realize it has been a while and I have raced three times since the last posting. I will give a brief race report from all three to get everyone caught up. The first race was Malibu tri, a beautiful place to race on the PCH, and with some of the best athletes in the world. I was humbled, this was a last minute decision to race and it was in-between L.A. and Nationals. I started with the pros, the swim was again an ocean swim, which I actually am beginning to really enjoy, I had a decent all around day, was top amateur, but who cares when the best pros in the world are beating me by 14 minutes. I have a big jump to make to race with the big boys, but hey there is plenty of time to make things happen. I stayed in Irvine CA with Blake Goodfellow and his wife and kids, had a blast and also stayed with Lauren a friend from Knoxville who recently moved out to LA, I am thankful to both parties for hosting me for 2 weeks! Then off to Portland for US Nationals, this race was going to be tough, the course is very tough and the competition even tougher. I ended up 4th overall missing out on third by a mere 3 seconds. Had a good day all in all. Strong swim still need to work lots this winter, but we will get there. The bike was great had lots of people to keep in close contact and lots of hills to climb. On the run course it was very hilly, went out on the run with a guy I knew could run but had no idea it would be as tough as it was, I thought I dropped him until at the turn around, which was 5k into the race, he was right with me and I was like dang he is not going away, he eventually took the lead and it was all I could do to hang on, the run has just not quite been there since the bike wreck. I eventually held him off to come up on the 3rd place guy, I went around him fast thinking I would pass and he would not react but he did and not only did he but he sat on me and passed me with 20 meters to go and I had nothing to respond back and therefore the 3 second defeat for a podium spot. Great day and was faster than last years winner, but there were guys who had better days, such is life sometimes. Now on to this past weekend. We were in Dallas where the Us Open Championships were held. They flew 20 of the best athletes in the country in for this elite championship event. I had earlier in the week a track workout, where I had pulled my sacrum, and that caused me trouble all week. I was just hoping with my mom’s help I would be able to race. Flew in to meet Eddie and I just was like give it your best and see what happens. I knew that David Kahn and Adam Webber were there and word was whoever won would be the leading candidate for US athlete of the year with the other two as runner-ups. So race day was upon us the swim was typical for me with the exception of looking directly into the sun on the way back in and if you have ever been in water and looking into the sun coming up it is hard to see anything your vision is blurred and tough to swim in a straight line. Finally our pack made it and off to the bike where I was ready to roll after taking it easy for the first 5k of the bike to get warmed up I felt amazing on the bike and had one of the best splits of the day. On to the run where I felt the injury the most just, never felt comfortable and ran one of my worst splits of the year and ended up finishing in 3rd, not a bad day and finish for the amount of talent there. Trip was a blast and the cowboys game was just one of the many highlights to the fun-filled weekend. Well now decision time, either take time off or go to Arizona to compete in a half ironman, this being my first. I Have a few friends Amanda and Eddie who will be racing the Best of the US race that same day so it looks like I am leaning to doing the race to finish off an incredible year of racing before I bury my head in the water this winter. Well, hope this finds everyone enjoying the fall weather and Dreaming Big. Sorry to be so winded and that’s what I get for being a slacker!!!