Year 50

Firstly, my apologies to you and myself for not having had a new post in 20 months. MY BAD!

Yes, its' been coming for a long time, my 50th year.  Turns out that there were many significant events in history that occurred since I was conceived: President Kennedy was shot, the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, Innsbruck Olympics, Vietnam, race riots, and Bewitched, to name a few.  So why not make my own mark in my own life's story?  The answer has been brewing for 7 years, maybe much longer.  On July 27, 2014, four day's before my 50th birthday I will compete in my first Ironman at Lake Placid. 

Mik and Joey with me at our volunteer post at Ironman Lake Placid last July.

Little do we realize when a "seed" is planted.  For me this "seed" was planted in 1980 when I was 15.  I was there for the first Oxford Triathlon watching athletes exit the water on the Bellevue shore.  I was SHOCKED and in AWE.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could possibly do such a thing, much less WANT to do such a thing.  But, here I am on the cusp of my 6th Eagleman 70.3 and less than 2 months from my first full Ironman.  I get teary-eyed just typing this; I am blessed and so very thankful for these opportunities.

The 2013 spring racing season was awesome; I had many PR's in races which culminated in a very good Eagleman, besting my previous best time by nearly half an hour.  But, I also finished with a case of Plantar Fascitis in my left foot.  I struggled with pain through the summer, and after an August eight-mile run, I decided I needed to stop running to try and heal myself.  I didn't run for 2 months, but kept swimming and biking heavily.  The PF did not get any better, worse if anything. 

I had already plopped down an ungodly amount of money on IMLP registration, but more than that I wanted to be whole again, race again, be competitive again, and maybe find something out about myself.  In October, right after the sailing season, I hired a Triathlon coach, Tracy MacCherola; best thing I've done in a long time.

I've known Tracy for 7ish years through Cambridge Multisport (CMS) as a tough competitor, coach, and a supporter of her CMS teammates.  She has brought me a long way, helping me shape some goals for triathlon and life.  I am a stronger athlete because of the work I've done over the past 9 months under Tracy's guidance.  But, she's not alone.  It takes a village to create a happy person/athlete/triathlete.  I am that person (with plenty of room for more growth) because of the help and support of several key people in my life, the most important being my wife, Carita.