The Beach and the Big Chainring

It's no secret that I'm a huge Georgia Bulldogs fan. It's my undergrad and there are very few things I love more than supporting University of Georgia football. In fact, both of my dogs' names have something to do with Georgia football. Yes, Dooley's jersey is signed. By his namesake, Vince Dooley. It says "Go Dooley! Love, Vince Dooley" There's this motto the team has this year, and I've seen it everywhere: "Keep Chopping." After I'd heard it around for a while, I started googling what it meant. It's short for "keep chopping wood." And what the players and coaches mean when they say it is this (my paraphrase): Ignore everything else. Ignore the hype. Don't look at the rankings. Don't let the fans get you too high and don't let detractors get you too low. Don't fall prey to the temptation to compare yourself to others. Keep doing the things you know make you a better football player. Work har

I've had this thought rolling around in my head for a few years now. And after it came to me again today, I decided I wanted to put it down on "paper." It's something that I'm not sure I can articulate, but I want to try. Until about 5 years ago, I had a pretty boring life. It was (and is) a life I was proud of. I had made big strides in my young career and had great friends and a fantastic family, but if you asked about the adventure part of my life, it was severely lacking. There was rarely anything new. I wasn't traveling places that made my heart happy or taking risks that had my heart beating out of my chest. In 2012 I registered for my first triathlon, a half Ironman. That wouldn't be the first triathlon I completed (I completed a sprint and an olympic on the build to 70.3), though. And started to do things that scared me. I got a road bike and rode it on a road with cars. In my mind, that was not an activity for the faint of heart. I bought bike

The last few months have been nothing short of a whirlwind and yet at times they have dragged on more than I could imagine. Back in April I said that I was going to dust off my bike, running shoes, and gadgets and get training for Ironman 70.3 Maine. Well, I did just that. In the middle of July I experienced some pretty monumental life changes. It's funny. When you go through a big change and you feel like your world has been momentarily turned upside down, you fall back on the things you know. And the thing I know, the thing that helps center me, the thing that reminds me how strong I am, is triathlon. So, I threw myself into training. For a multitude of reasons, despite absolutely adoring Old Orchard Beach and the race, Maine didn't go as I had hoped or planned. But I knew I wasn't done with racing for the season and wanted another shot at the 70.3 distance. So I signed up for Ironman 70.3 North Carolina, just 10 days away now. While I certainly have missed raci

Wow! It's been a while since I've updated this tiny piece of the internet that I write on. In fact, it took me a while to even figure out how to log back in, much less attempt to update. Looking back at the last post I wrote makes me realize how much has changed since then. In triathlon, I finished another Ironman (in the toughest racing conditions I've ever experienced; maybe I'll write about that sometime). At work, my practice has steadily morphed over the past few years, and now, my job looks almost nothing like it did the last time I posted. In terms of family, Dooley got a baby brother (who is now two making "baby" a real stretch). Ironman Maryland 2015 While I chased and pursued these dreams and opportunities and experienced major life changes over the past few years, triathlon took a back seat. At first, not intentionally, but after time I realized something had to give. And the thing that needed to give, that I would allow to give, was triath