Hello all,
Today marks the 9th month of my crash back in last July, and the start of my trip from hell. For those of you who do not know my symptoms and ailments, my TBI(Traumatic Brain Injury) is causing me to lose my vision, gives me constant migraine cluster headaches, and is building inter-cranial pressure. Doctors I have been seeing have tried nearly every treatment for me so far, to no avail, and my body is unable to tolerate the massive amounts of drugs being forced into me to try and alleviate my symptoms, any longer. So, as of now, it has been a long time since I've blogged, trained, or really, done anything related to triathlon recently. Motivation and drive is crippled as pain takes over your mentality, incapacitating you from doing anything you try to put your mind to.This has brought me to an inner conflict over the past weeks and months, because as the drugs wreak havoc on my body, they also torture the mind. As I've battled with my thoughts and feelings and pain, I have come to the decision that I will retire from the sport of triathlon.
For the time being, I need to focus on battling this mental disease, and if I regain my health, then make a return to sport. But for now, I will not be racing any longer, and training has stopped completely. My body needs time to rest and recover and heal, and hopefully by taking off a year or so, it will have recuperated. This has truly been the most difficult decision of my life, and I hope and trust I will be able to come back from it. I love all of my followers for your continued support and encouragement, and I sincerely hope the best for all of you in the upcoming season.
Happy training, guys.
Through all our races, you've gotta have some fun out of it. This is my first time just casually swimming in White Lake.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Yurbuds!
Hey guys,
As I've moved more training time into the gym, I've found that you need a good pair of headphones to help you get through painful, muscle burning exercises. I was using some off brand headphones that wrapped around your ear, and they worked alright, but they kept hurting because they were in my ear too long and pulled on my earlobe. So, recently, my friends over at Yurbuds sent me a model of their headphones that would save me all of my problems: The Inspire Duo. This pair of headphones is amazing, to say the least. They don't tangle, because the wires are wrapped in cloth, and they have Yurbud's Twistlock technology to ensure that they never fall out. The headphones, made of silicone, are very comfortable and don't hurt your ears, and they are designed to be worn in any conditions, and so sweat and rain don't affect their sound or performance. They're a great headphone, and they've already made a lot of my workouts a lot more bearable, getting me through hard sets and helping me push through the pain. And they don't lie either-I was exercising on a shoulder press and my phone, which I was using to listen to music, was on my lap and I forgot about it. I stood up, and my phone fell off my lap and towards the ground-but it never hit the ground! My Yurbuds were in my ears and they don't fall out-period. It took the full weight of my phone falling towards the floor and caught it and stayed put in my ears-pretty crazy. They are great headphones and I recommend you go out and try them sometime!
In fact, I'm going to do a giveaway of two pairs of Yurbuds-the original Inspire-one for men and one for women. These both have a retail of $29.99 and are a fantastic pair of headphones! The Inspire headphones have Twistlock technology, allow ambient sound in, are made from that soft silicone, are sweat and water resistant, and have amazing sound quality!
Comment below with your favorite race mantra-I'll pick a winner on March 2nd! Comment and share this around. Good luck!
Happy training guys!
As I've moved more training time into the gym, I've found that you need a good pair of headphones to help you get through painful, muscle burning exercises. I was using some off brand headphones that wrapped around your ear, and they worked alright, but they kept hurting because they were in my ear too long and pulled on my earlobe. So, recently, my friends over at Yurbuds sent me a model of their headphones that would save me all of my problems: The Inspire Duo. This pair of headphones is amazing, to say the least. They don't tangle, because the wires are wrapped in cloth, and they have Yurbud's Twistlock technology to ensure that they never fall out. The headphones, made of silicone, are very comfortable and don't hurt your ears, and they are designed to be worn in any conditions, and so sweat and rain don't affect their sound or performance. They're a great headphone, and they've already made a lot of my workouts a lot more bearable, getting me through hard sets and helping me push through the pain. And they don't lie either-I was exercising on a shoulder press and my phone, which I was using to listen to music, was on my lap and I forgot about it. I stood up, and my phone fell off my lap and towards the ground-but it never hit the ground! My Yurbuds were in my ears and they don't fall out-period. It took the full weight of my phone falling towards the floor and caught it and stayed put in my ears-pretty crazy. They are great headphones and I recommend you go out and try them sometime!
In fact, I'm going to do a giveaway of two pairs of Yurbuds-the original Inspire-one for men and one for women. These both have a retail of $29.99 and are a fantastic pair of headphones! The Inspire headphones have Twistlock technology, allow ambient sound in, are made from that soft silicone, are sweat and water resistant, and have amazing sound quality!
Comment below with your favorite race mantra-I'll pick a winner on March 2nd! Comment and share this around. Good luck!
Happy training guys!
Monday, January 6, 2014
Good News!
Hey guys,
So, as of this week, I got a very nice surprise in my e-mail inbox-I've qualified for the 2014 Olympic Distance US National Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!! For my performance at Lake Royale of this year(the one where I broke my wrist starting the run), I had qualified and could run at Olympic Nationals! Now, this was super exciting to experience, just getting that e-mail was really cool, like eye-opening, almost as if it was a reward for such a hard 2013. But you all know how tough the sport of triathlon is, physically, mentally, and emotionally-but don't forget financially! I am regretful to say that due to my current financial situation I will not be able to afford to go to Milwaukee this year, but hopefully I will still be able to save up some money for years down the road. It's hard to fund all of your races and gear and travel! So, an up and a down, but regardless, this is a plus-definitely a good experience to have had! Maybe I'll be able to swing getting to a Sprint National Championship sometime down the road, we all can hope! Just an update.
Happy training guys!
So, as of this week, I got a very nice surprise in my e-mail inbox-I've qualified for the 2014 Olympic Distance US National Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!! For my performance at Lake Royale of this year(the one where I broke my wrist starting the run), I had qualified and could run at Olympic Nationals! Now, this was super exciting to experience, just getting that e-mail was really cool, like eye-opening, almost as if it was a reward for such a hard 2013. But you all know how tough the sport of triathlon is, physically, mentally, and emotionally-but don't forget financially! I am regretful to say that due to my current financial situation I will not be able to afford to go to Milwaukee this year, but hopefully I will still be able to save up some money for years down the road. It's hard to fund all of your races and gear and travel! So, an up and a down, but regardless, this is a plus-definitely a good experience to have had! Maybe I'll be able to swing getting to a Sprint National Championship sometime down the road, we all can hope! Just an update.
Happy training guys!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Commitment Day 5k
Hey guys,
Happy New Year! After all of the festivities and parties of last night, I headed to bed early, resting for the January 1st Lifetime Fitness Commitment Day 5k. This is a 5k race that Lifetime has developed to inspire people to commit to a healthier lifestyle for the year. This race actually had a great turnout, with over 700 people! It was ran by FS Series, which did a fantastic job of putting on a great race, despite different start and finish locations. Moving along, the weather was really great, not too cold and sunny.
The countdown started, from 15 seconds to zero, and we started-FAST! I recently bought the Garmin 910XT, and I used it for this run, and for about our first minute of our race we were running below a 4:30 mile pace. But eventually, myself and another runner broke away from the group, and we were running alone, side by side, battling it out. At around a mile and a half, I made my move, and gained about 5 meters on him. I waited to see if he would respond, and after about 15 seconds, he still hadn't, and so I put on more heat. I got out of his range of sight, as we were on a winding greenway, and maintained as best I could. I did my best to hold on, but I could tell I was fading fast in the last half a mile or so. But, as we got closer to the finishing stretch, I was able to kick it up some more, and held on for the overall male title, which was great! An amazing way to start the New Year, I think.
I hope everyone had a safe, fun, and happy New Year! Let this year be your year, stay motivated, inspired, and hopeful. Be careful with injuries, with races, and with your gear, of course! But just enjoy training and racing, above all else. Have a great 2014 everyone!
Happy training!
Happy New Year! After all of the festivities and parties of last night, I headed to bed early, resting for the January 1st Lifetime Fitness Commitment Day 5k. This is a 5k race that Lifetime has developed to inspire people to commit to a healthier lifestyle for the year. This race actually had a great turnout, with over 700 people! It was ran by FS Series, which did a fantastic job of putting on a great race, despite different start and finish locations. Moving along, the weather was really great, not too cold and sunny. 
I hope everyone had a safe, fun, and happy New Year! Let this year be your year, stay motivated, inspired, and hopeful. Be careful with injuries, with races, and with your gear, of course! But just enjoy training and racing, above all else. Have a great 2014 everyone!
Happy training!
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