Back at it again

Tonight I had the fun opportunity to get back working out and swimming after nine, yes 9 hard days of being sick. I was feeling low, out of energy a few weeks ago and decided with my new work schedule that the best thing to do was push thought it. I had a few low days and then had the damn break. I went to the doctors a few days later and we together found an ear infection and pneumonia. The doctor said sleep, rest and staying down would be the best way to get back to normal. He said I needed to stay away for 24 hours until the meds kicked in and I was no longer contagious. I took that as advice from some novice and was back at work 1 day later. I suffered the bounds of Hell for the next few days and almost 10 days later I am back on my feet feeling well enough to start working out again. HOOOORRRRAAAAAYYYYYY

I jumped in the water and did a very slow build and kept a good mellow pace. 2000 yards later I was done and feeling tired but really happy. My life seems to be getting back into balance after being in disarray for the last few weeks. Training has suffered but I am learning that I train because I want to, it is not a must. I do what I can because I am a dad of 3 and a husband that believes my wife still should come first after 10 years of marriage. I am a triathlete because I want to, not because I have to, must be, or can't live any other way. I love the sport and feel I am a better man because of what it offers me in the end of each workout and race. I feel that I can become a better dad and husband but with some huge cost involved. I thank my family for letting me play in the sandbox of this sport and realize that I still need to come home for dinner when I am called and that I always should play nice and be kind to all that I play with. I look forward to St Anthony's next week and will have such a good race because I know I am just getting started and the season is not just this race but many over the next few months.

I am thankful to Steve who knows my life and works within it trying to make me better all the while. I love the PC family of athletes and look forward to a good season with you all. I am looking forward to smores on Saturday and a good climb up city view on Sunday.

Life's good at the office, I feel that we are getting some traction that will allow us to hit the lofty goals that we committed to at the start. Each day Rusty and I are pleased with the way we are treated and helped by those at corporate and those who wear the badge of honor called support. We will make the Denver office a great success and do so at a good pace and stride that will be something we can be proud of down the road.

I miss my parents and hope that they continue to do well in a far away place. I am hoping that they get out of this mission what they need to and can come home and love us just the same. I miss them and wish they knew that they are needed here almost as much as they are in Lebanon. They do so well and feel like they are making a huge difference and I wish they saw the same results her at home. I really miss them.

Florida here we come in a 8 days with the fury only PC can bring. I look forward to the season kicking off and getting started.

Anne I love you and thank you for the time allowed to play this game,

Love you,

Tyler

Why I like track

Running track is a hard workout, it always had been for me. I do enjoy seeing everyone and to run with someone next to me keeping me on pace is good. Yesterday I was in the 2nd group and ran with John M for the day. We kept each other honest and had a good time. I look forward to summer months where it is not so cold, but will accept the season as it is. Good day'

Love you Anne, thanks for letting me run and be away from home a little longer than normal.

Tyler

Running of the Green

Ok so this past weekend Anne did here first race of the year and kicked some serious tail. Steve and Andrea and Sonja ran the race also so Troy, Me and the kids played Cheer club and did a fine job at it if I say so. The temp was very cold but we kept everyone warm with cloths and when the gun went off we yelled like mad. We saw the lead group take off and then went to a spot just before the 4 mile marker and waited for the racers to come thought. The leaders came running by super fast, I was very impressed at the speed they hold on a 7K course. When we saw Jordan Jones he was among the top and smiled at us as we yelled his name like a couple of crazed fans. Steve, Sonja and Amy were also among the leaders and did really well. I am impressed at how graceful they look even though they are running very fast miles. Anne, Andrea, Christopher came with the wave of runners and it was hard to spot them. Anne was able to see us and came and gave the boys a high five. I was very impressed with her success and was glad we were able to watch and yell. I love to race and enjoy going to events. I was uncertain of how fun it would be taking care of 3 young kids and trying to support the racers we new but strange as it was I had a blast and can't wait for her to run again. I also am excited to support a tri this summer and volunteer. I love being around athletes that are wanting to do well and are trying their best to do so. I look forward to this summer and the race season. Good job Anne you are great and a sub 9 pace for your first race of the year is very impressive. Keep it up

I love you Anne,

Tyler

Waterton Canyon

Just finished my first run of the season up Waterton Canyon and what a great run it was. I did not have much mileage to run, just 6 so I was able to enjoy and soak it up. The sun was out and the wind in the canyon was not too harsh and I was able to run alone. Most of the PC group was either at Moab or Snow Shoe nationals and I hope that they all did well.
I had a run easy out and then a descending run back 30 seconds per mile and so I was moving on the last mile. I felt proud of myself to be able to stay steady on the out and then was able to keep a good pace each mile on the way back. I feel good when I can follow my schedule and actually do what it says. Steve would be very pleased. Tomorrow I am hitting City View with all those that did not go out of town and it should be good. Have a great day.

I love you Anne,

Tyler

Any given Saturday

On any given Saturday you can find riders, runners and people just enjoying the outdoors in Colorado. This Saturday I decided to meet Anne at 24hr Fitness so she could teach me how to some additional core exercises. I needed to get my workout in first which was a 6 mile run and then I would head over to 24hr. I thought that I would make it easy on myself and would run over to the club and finish the distance on the treadmill. I started out slow and was surprised how easy it was to get into my new run form. I was playing a new mix on the ipod and for some reason early on is seemed that it was going to be a good run and in fact a good day. I had to run on main roads all the way to 24hr fitness which most of the time would bug me but today it was ok. The weather was in the mid 40's and so I was able to wear shorts and a two shirts and it was nice not to have to layer so much.

After signing into 24hr fitness I made my way over to Anne who was finishing her run on the treadmill. I was able to take the one next to her and finish my distance by running just over a mile. The exercises she had me do were both hard and fun to learn, working out with her was totally fun. Anne is very good looking so its really funny to see all the guys and yes girls check her out as she works out. She is getting really ripped and so she sticks out as not only good looking, small, but totally ripped. I wonder why I am so luck to be married to such a wonderful woman. She beat me up for another 45 minutes and then the workout was done. We showered and picked up the kids and finished our Saturday as normal. I really enjoy the days where we are able to have a good time and get done all that we wanted to. I love to spend time with my wife when it is just the two of us so my desire to go to 24hr Fitness again is pretty high.

I love you Anne,

T

My First Time

I am approaching the end of my first year with Practical Coaching and as I look back I sure am surprised what this year has turned out to be. I did not expect to have the ride that I did. I did not expect to meet the Friends that I did or see such a change with me. My original goal was that I wanted to compete and get better at a sport that I new little about and a whole new world was opened up to me and I loved it and embraced it all. I look back and remember running the steps at Red Rocks during my first few weeks and running in the snow. I think that Nicole wins for the most slips this last winter. Can you say snow shoe 10k for fun. I remember making it up High Grade for the first time and thinking "wow I can't believe that I rode for so long and climbed so high" it took me around 2 hours. Next came "City View" "Shadow Mountain" and we finished early spring with a ride from Bergen park to Echo lake, 16 miles straight up hill, and I finished each of those rides and was in amazement at each ride I did. Steve decided to shake things up and in late spring we rode to the highest road in the US. Yes that's right 20+ crazy people rode 30+ miles straight up hill to the top of Mt Evans. I think that we had a GPS show 14,300+ feet. What a day that was, I did something that I thought I would never do. Running started with a long run of 6 miles and I felt that I was maxing out at that distance. A few weeks ago I ran 21 and now I am not sure what to consider long any more. Swimming was the most familiar to me and so I decided that it was time to swim a 5k at Lake Powell and did it cause I could.
The race season was crazy, Sprint, Olympic and to finish the year I did a half Ironman in Boulder and pushed though and finished it with a smile on my face. I really finished every goal that I set up for myself at the start of the season for Triathlon and I am really proud to say I am a Triathlete. I really enjoyed the whole year and am so grateful to my family to allow me the time to do this. I feel strong about being healthy and showing my kids that being fit and setting goals and accomplishing those goals are hard, and worth it.
In may I entered the lottery for the St. George Marathon because I felt that I could finish the race and well I wanted to run a Marathon. At the end of the tri season I started to ramp up my mileage and found that I was pushing my IT Bands a little more than they wanted to be pushed and on my 24 mile run I only ran 21 and stopped because of the pain and did not finish. I have tried over the last few weeks to get the pain to go away and to my disappointment it has not. I decided to cancel the St George Marathon because of it not working with my family's schedule and switched to the Denver Marathon the weekend after. To help get me ready I rested during the week and went to PT and more Ice and rest. I had my last run this morning to see if it was getting better and would be able to run the Marathon and as the title of this post states My First Time I will not follow my original plan. I will not run next week and will have to change my goal to happen on a different date. My fist injury has been hard on me but in a way that is good. Everything in this sport is hard, Getting up when you don't want to, pushing the last part of a tempo run when your body say no. Racing and really pushing the limits longer and harder than you have before. It has been a hard year of which I would never change. And today it is hard to say I need to get better and run some other time. All my friends are racing and I am sad I will not be with them. Their seems to be a lot of first marathoners racing this Marathon Season and to you all I wish you the greatest success. I don't say luck anymore because of what you have done to get to this point. Work got you here not luck so go and kick some Ass and at some point of the race think of me and know that I am thinking of you.
My first year has been filled with more than I could have asked for. My family has allowed me the time to become a Triathlete and for that I am thankful. I look forward to the off season and getting ready for next year. Yep I am going to go after it again, new set of goals, new desires and new days to get faster, stronger, better. And yes to those asking the question I will have a Marathon on my schedule next year. I want to have that victory and I am OK with it taking a little longer to get.

I love you Anne,

Tyler

Life always changes

Ok so this week was fun, Track on Tuesday night we had a 4 mile Cross Country run, I was still sick so I thought I was just going to hang out. Anne came with me and did the warm-up alone and I still was not going to run. We all headed over to the starting line which was in Cherry Creek Res. and lined up into 6 teams of at least 6. One of the runners mapped out the 4 mile course and put everyone into groups and was going to lead the run on his bike. I had on my workout clothes but was going to help Steve with the timing then all of a sudden something strange overtook me and I jumped in line right behind Anne. She turned and smiled and said "I thought you were not going to run" The only response I could come up with is I just really want to. How lame is that....I am willing to admit today that I am a competition junky!!!!!Yes I need help.

The gun went off (not really a gun but all races should have a gun so pretend that this one did). I started to run with Anne in the mid pack and after a few hundred feet I noticed that the groups were splitting and so I told my wonderful wife good by and took off for the lead group. I did not warm up at all and so I tried to stay with the back of the lead group for the first few miles and then I would pick it up. I found Mike whom I had run many track laps with and sat on his heels and when we passed mile one I asked the pace and he said 7:18. Pretty fast but felt good, I decided to stay on his heels for the next mile and then I would pick up the pace. Mile 2 came pretty fast and he said 6:42. Wow pretty fast but still feeling good and the course for the next little bit was flat so I picked up the pace pretty aggressively. I did not have a watch so I do not know mile 3 but by the start of 4 I had passed 3 others and had 2 more in my sights. Mile 4 started with a two little hills climbs and on the first on I sat on the heels of Brian and we started to work on reeling in another guy I do not know. Brian kept a really good pace up the first hill and by the second we had caught this guy and I made a surge to pass them both. I pushed it really hard to the end and my lungs were screaming. I did not have a watch because I gave it to Anne because I was not going to run but in talking to Brian and another guy I figured I came in some where in the neighborhood of 26 Minutes. PR for me on a 4 mile course for sure and I am pretty happy with it for no warm up and having a head cold.

Sonya you kicked some serious tail out their also, I tried to catch you but you were wicked strong and I could not even come close, good job to you and to all the PC runners. You all rock and look good.

On to the real news,,,,,,,,,I am a Husband and a Dad first and an athlete second and sometimes that causes problems. I signed up for the St. George Marathon because it was a race I grew up knowing about. Winning my lottery spot was really exciting and then to find out Eric B and Jeff L were going to be running it also made this seem perfect. I am really looking forward to these guys having a good race and wish you the best. Family matters came up and I am not able to go on this trip. I need to be home and so it kills me to say this but I am not going to the ST. George marathon......I have know about this for a few days and it has killed me to cancel my trip. It makes me even more disappointed to know that I had put in all this work and would not be able to run the race I was working towards. Anne came to me on Tuesday night and said how sorry she was I was not able to go and the she heard of some of the PC athletes going to the Denver Marathon the following weekend. I looked it up and the race is not full and I am able to make that date because of how close it is to home. I get to sleep in my own bed and then run my first Marathon in my home town. I am sorry to all those that I committed to running with but hope you all can understand that this happens some times.

Talk to you soon,

I love you Anne,

Tyler