2011 Year End Review

2 Jan 2012-

Well 2011 has come to an end, and fortunately I was able to be home for it this year.  I had been planning for quite some time to come home and surprise the family for the holidays.  I hadn't been home for the holidays in 6 years and I figured I would surprise everyone.  I had to tell a few little lies along the way, but in the end my immediate family had no clue.  A few of my cousins were in on the whole thing so thanks to them I was able to pull it off.  Below is the video of all the surprises:

So to say the least 2011 ended on a high note.  A few weeks back I got some exciting news that I was selected as the Osan Air Base Male Athlete of the Year as well as the Pacific Air Force Male Athlete of the Year.  I have not won an athlete of the year award at a Majcom level, so this was something that I was hoping to achieve this year.  I believe the packages are still up at the Air Force level, but have not heard who was selected as the Air Force Athlete of the Year.  A few days after receiving that news I got an email informing me that I was selected to the US Military Cycling Developmental Team.  The Military Team has been around for a few years and is slowly growing, this year being the biggest expansion of the team.  The team is having a camp in the beginning of February in Florida and I will be headed to that to put in a solid 7 days of training and two races.  I am looking forward to this great opportunity and being able to represent the Military during my future cycling endeavour's.

I am focusing on the Tour de Korea which is in April, and have made some changes to my training and coach for this off season.  I am being coached by AF Capt Zach Garrett, a long time cyclist and also a member of the US Military Cycling Team.  Zach is putting a strong influence on my cycling for the next 4 months with a little bit of focus on my swim and run, just trying to maintain.  I will be back with Scott Defilippis come May and we will be back at it with hopefully a focus on Kona.

Looking back on 2011, to sum it up with one word: UNBELIEVABLE.  I sit here and look back on it and still don't comprehend how everything feel into place.  It wasn't because of what I did, it has more to do with who I was surrounded by.  I couldn't of accomplished everything that I accomplished last year without the great group of people that I am surrounded by and supported by.  I trained more than I have ever trained before.  I achieved all of the goals, plus some that I set out to accomplish last year.  I was lead by a great coach and trained with some amazing people.  I had huge support from my supervision at work, and thankfully for their support I was able to travel and race quite a bit this past year.

Below are some random stats from over the year of 2011:

Swim- 260.6 KM's/86h17m- AVG 1h40m a Week
Bike- 7,692.5 miles/409h56m-AVG 7h45m a Week
Run- 1,247.5 miles/158h53m-AVG 23.5 Miles a Week
Total- 9,102 miles/655h7m- AVG 12h20mins a Week
Raced- 2 Running Races/8 Tri's/12 Bike Races Total 22 Races
5 Overall Wins/5 AG Wins/7 Top 5's 

66 Off Days/3 Countries Visited/Crossed the Pacific 6 times via plane/

 Some random thoughts about the above numbers:

If I hadn't raced the TdK, I would of raced a lot less this year than years past.  I biked 3X's as much as last year, and my total training time is almost double from last year.  I only missed the podium for triathlon in my AG at IM Korea and Kona and I finally made the overall podium in a big race.  I actually trained with a goal in mind this year, and stayed focused to accomplish that goal.  All in all I like the above #'s, except this random #, I took OFF 66 days this year.  I have found consistency is huge, and I was a lot more consistent this year, next year I would like to see that 66 # down in the 20ish range.  Someone asked me the other day if I ever "relax", my response was YES, I went out and rode my bike for an hour today.  That is RELAXING to me ;)

All in all I am extremely happy with how 2011 went and I am looking forward to 2012.  I believe it is going to be a breakthrough year for me and things are already starting off on the right foot.  Once again I can't thank everyone enough for all of their support.  All of my family is behind me in my passion for what I do, and everyone else that continues to support me I thank you.  I have been told that I inspire people, but the funny thing is, those are the people that inspire me to keep going and doing what I do.

Here are some photos from the year:

Exciting News: Representing Team RWB for 2012 and Beyond

12 Nov 2012-

Some of you that have been following me over the past 3 1/2 years may recall a blog I wrote back in 2010.  “Running for a Purpose” , It was then in September of 2010 that I changed the way I raced.  I had a conversation with a good friend of mine and fellow runner.  She had told me that running for yourself gets boring and the satisfaction of your results are not near as great if you run for something more.  Yes, it is great to run and do well and the feeling of succeeding is great.  But when you are out on the course and you have to dig deep, knowing that you are racing for something more than yourself makes it that much more rewarding to dig deep and battle it out.

Since that race in 2010 I have raced for different reasons every race.  I have never asked anyone to donate to a foundation or cause and have never represented a company or organization.  For 2012 and many years to come I have decided to team up with Team RWB.  I had heard about Team RWB a little bit here and there from fellow military triathletes and had been doing a little bit of digging into what they were about.  So what is Team RWB about?

“We are a veteran support organization whose mission is to enrich the lives of wounded veterans and their families. Ultimately, we aim to transform the way wounded veterans are reintegrated into society when they return from combat and exit their position in the Active Duty Reserve force or National Guard.”

               

So where do I fit into all of this?  Well after doing some research and connecting with Team RWB I met one of their representatives out in Kona, Kurt Larson.  I spoke with him at the awards banquet about Team RWB and was able to ask some more in depth questions about the organization, which opened my eyes and made me want to join the team.  The next morning I woke up to an email from Mike Erwin, founder and Executive Director of Team RWB.  He asked that I join Team RWB and be an “Elite Ambassador”.  This was an amazing email to receive and opened my eyes to the difference that I could make.  I could use my athletic presence and help spread the word about Team RWB.

             

I have taken my time and ensured this is an organization that I want to represent.  After doing the research and having the same hopes and vision that they have I am glad to be joining forces with them.  They already have some big names involved with the Team RWB Triathlon Team with Timothy O’Donnell, Jessica Jacobs, Nick VanDam and fellow Air Force athletes, Kathy Rakel, James Bales, and Jolene Wilkinson.  To join ranks with these amazing athletes and help spread the word about Team RWB and network with other current military athletes and the wounded veterans is something that I look forward to doing and representing Team RWB the best that I can.