Catching Up On Life

Wow it has been a while! Things have been ultra busy with graduate school and living the college life. I am currently on Spring Break, and while all of my friends are visiting California for break I am tucking deep in to my 'triathlon training camp'.  But before I get into any triathlon talk I want to throw up some pictures and whatnot.

I finished another quarter with all A's and high Passes.  This quarter was extremely time consuming with: 

Bike Economy Studies, Reports, and Presentations

GHG Emission studies and calculations and reports and presentations on the future of Sustainable Electricity 

Writing my thesis paper on stormwater quality treatment at Hayward Field and the University

Programing software that simulates scenarios of what the future landscape will look like based on Climate Change Impacts and Planning Decisions.

Last but not least Leadership in Critical Conversations in the workplace (and life).

I had fun and really look forward to this coming quarter as it will be less intense, which will allow me time for other things (not partying ahaha).

THIS IS A PICTURE OF MY BACKYARD ON A CLEAR WINTER DAY. IT'S THE WILLAMETTE FOREST.  I DON'T GET TO GO INTO THE MOUNTAINS A LOT, BUT THAT WILL CHANGE AS SPRING AND SUMMER ARRIVE. SURROUNDING EUGENE ARE ROLLING MOUNTAINS AND OAK PRAIRIES.

I TRAVELED OUT TO MOUNT BACHELOR A COUPLE TIMES.  HERE I AM AT ONE OF THE PEAKS, OR AT LEAST THE HIGHEST PEAK AT BACHELOR.

SNOWBOARDING OUT IN OREGON IS INCREDIBLE.  I COULD LITERALLY STAY OUT HERE FOREVER. THE TWO PEAKS IN THE DISTANCE ARE APART OF THE 3 SISTERS MOUNTAINS.  I CAN'T WAIT TO HIKE THEM IN THE SUMMER!  BEND, OR IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLACE AND MY NUMBER ONE PICK TO MOVE TO IF I CAN FIND A JOB OUT THERE.  OUTDOOR REC IS CRAZY THERE, NOT TO MENTION THERE IS SOMETHING LIKE 16 LOCAL BREWERIES THERE.

THIS IS SAHALIE FALLS.  THE WATER THAT FEEDS THIS RUNS FROM THE 3 SISTERS MOUNTAINS.  WE GOT LUCKY AND GOT HERE ON A BEAUTIFUL SUNNY DAY IN THE WINTER.  YOU CAN'T TELL BUT WE ARE STANDING ON 3-4 FEET OF SNOW.  LAVA ROCK SURROUNDS THE AREA.  THE WATER IS THE BLUEST YOU WILL EVER SEE. THE RAINBOWS ARE COOL TOO.

MORE OF SAHALIE FALLS.  IT IS IN THE WILLAMETTE FOREST. ITS ABOUT 90 MINUTES FROM ME IN EUEGENE.  ANOTHER GOOD SPOT RIGHT NEAR BY IS THE COUGAR HOT SPRINGS!

THIS IS TAMALITCH POOL, JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM SAHALIE FALLS.  ITS A GLACIAL POOL FED THROUGH WATER THAT TRAVELS IN LAVA TUBES AND FEEDS THE POOL FROM UNDER.  IN THE WINTER IT IS REALLY DEEP, THE WATER COLOR IS A BIT DARKER THAN USUAL.  THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL RIVER THAT IT DUMPS INTO. TO GET HERE YOU HIKE ALONGTHE RIVER FOR A COUPLE MILES.  I CAN'T WAIT TO VISIT IN THE SUMMER AND JUMP IN!

THERE ARE A LOT OF GREAT CONCERTS THAT COME TO EUGENE.  THIS IS BONE THUGS N HARMONY. FIRST TIME SEEING ALL FIVE OF THE GUYS LIVE AND PROBABLY MY FAVORITE CONCERT EVER.  BUT I'VE BEEN TO MANY OTHERS LIKE IRATION, SOUND TRIBE SECTOR 9, EXCISION, MATISYAHU, AND NOT TO MENTION TECH N9NE IN A WEEK FOR MY BIRTHDAY!

SOME OF THE CRAZY KIDS I HANG OUT WITH.  WE HAVE ABOUT 5 BARS THAT WE REGULAR HERE IN EUGENE. LOCAL BEERS ARE ABUNDANT AND REALLY TASTY!

So on to Triathlon...

The hard truth is I haven't legitimately trained in 10-12 weeks.  The toll of the triathlon life was heavy.  Triathlon is a very very lonely sport.  Training to be a professional triathlete made me miss out on a lot of things in life like friends, love, and hanging out and just having a beer or eating a burrito (veggie) at 3am and sleeping in!  I needed to breakup with triathlon to enjoy life in other ways.. sometimes unhealthy ways but fun ways! All I did for 2 or 3 years was work and train and race.  Having said all that, I loved being in elite triathlon shape and the way it made me feel and being outside all the time.

The break from training so hard was needed though. All I could think about was training and I wouldn't let myself give time to important people like I should have adn I regret that.

Also, overuse injuries were building up.  My shoulder was a bit injured from overuse as I was sore from time to time after swimming, and my right foot was still giving me problems even after the shots I received.  My injuries started last May 2012 after winning the Half Ironman in Charlottseville.  My foot was not healing and it was causing other problems in my run stride.  I would come home from every long run with foot pain.  I raced through 70.3 World Championships over-trained, tired from travelling and hiking, no rest, no recovery, and just unprepaired.  I was in the best shape of my life going into World Championships, but I didn't rest my body enough to utilize that fitness.  Lesson learned!

Currently I am all healed with no injuries.  Rested is an understatement, obviously...

I did not exactly plan to dive deep into the college life as much as I did.  I didn't think graduate school would be so demanding of my time outside of class either.  There is a reason why there aren't many elite triathletes that go to school and race at the same time.  Also I am broke as a joke, triathlon is crazy expensive!  I finally joined the Triathlon Club here at UO a month ago.  The majority of the kids on the team have never actually done a triathlon. The club unfortunately doesn't offer much in regards to training partners. The team is not very competitive and the direction is not great and I have no time to fix the team or help coach. I also have no time to go to training meets either (I am hoping that changes this coming quarter).  But, nontheless I get great deals on races, like I get to race Wildflower on May 5th for free and travel is free, well free minus the steep club fees that cover things like uniforms and whatnot.  

I guess I just revealed that I am racing Wildflower.  How can I do this when I have gained 10+ pounds over the winter and haven't swam in 12 weeks? I am not exactly sure, but it involves focus, eating extremely healthy (no beer) , training my brains out, and pain and pain and more pain.  I started up training again the first day of Spring Break.  I am so out of shape!! This is all relative to the way I was in August-September 2012 at the peak of my condition. But I feel like I am starting all over. Especially in the pool.  I could barely swim 200 meters without getting tired my first day back.  And my stroke feels like shit.   I have been biking on the indoor machine in the UO rec center as well as running here and there, but nothing specific for a long while.  I am not completely starting over. But for the races coming up..

Racing Wildflower will be more about putting my ego aside and enjoying the experience of the historical race event.  Wildflower is the mecca of triathlon also known as the Woodstock of triathlon. Me and the team will be camping out there for a couple nights.  Also, my triathlon buddy tells me Long Course Duathlon Nationals  are at the end of April in Washington.  If I can get my ass in decent shape I will also race that.  

I can only train so much (my body can only handle so much training) and I cannot expect to get back into shape like I was in September over a month.  Oregon is an amazing place to train for triathlon and I will use the environment as motivation this coming spring and summer.  The sunny days have finally arrived after 3-4 months of darkness and rain.  My bikes are getting all tuned up and I cannot wait to explore my new environment for everything its worth (as long as I have time).  I hope to surround myself with people that love training as much as me by getting more involved with the Team and the Cycling Shops.  It all just requires time.  After three or so years of dedicating my time to work and triathlon, I now know I need a more balanced life and if that means I cannot be a professional triathlete one day then I am okay with that.  I need to balance classes, studying,  my relationship, spending time with friends, and triathlon all together to be happiest.  This is certainly not a rare conundrum I need to deal with as many athletes struggle with this balance.  I just hope I can stay motivated to get through the rough training ahead of me.. I know what I need to do, it's just a matter a making a few sacrifices to make it happen.

So much to do, so little time. This spring quarter is going to go by fast and I want to enjoy every minute of it before I graduate in the end of June!