A New Beginning

There has been much happening the last several weeks. Some good, some great, a little sad, and some mad. After the Memorial Herman Ironman 70.3 I took an easy week to fully recover and absorb the hard effort I put in down there. The end of the school year had also been rapidly approaching and I was itching to be done and finished with classes. "Please oh please just let me pass Statistics 505." Also, I was about to move into a new house with three other friends of mine, Matt, Taylor, and Xavier. Unfortunately, the time between when I had to be out of my dorm and the time I could move in to my new house was about two weeks. It would be the first time in my life I wouldn't have an address associated to my name. I was going to be...gulp...homeless.

When I started training again after the Memorial Herman half ironman it felt like my bike fitness had just jumped to a new level. It was great to see progress on the bike; the one leg of my triathlon that gave me so much trouble last year. At that time the Kansas 70.3 was 5 weeks away and I was getting excited to race again. But it's funny how different you can feel about your fitness day to day. I felt like I put in some decent consistent training but after 3 weeks it felt like I was back to zero. I started feeling fatigued and heavy like last year. Immediately realizing the situation, it was time for a rest week.

When I returned to training I felt great but after 3 hard days the feeling hit me again. Now less than a week before the Kansas 70.3 Ironman I feel as though I have done next to nothing this last week. I suppose this is a normal feeling leading up to a big race. You always think that you could have done more, done something different or used more rest. I still feel like a beginner in this sport because I keep hearing my ego say, "More more more!" I try to put my ego aside and not listen to what ridiculous training volumes my other competitor friends are doing. I need to remember to keep listening to my body and realize that rest is key. Hopefully things fall into place and I am able hold onto what fitness I have and to rest and refresh my body and mind for this up coming Sunday. Regardless of what happens I look foreword to the day and what it will bring. (How's that Brianne for a kiss-ass inspirational piece of writing?)

I also wanted to mention here that my good friend Brianne was kind and willing to let me stay with her for the two weeks I was homeless. Things worked out pretty good in the one room studio apartment but living in such close proximity for so long had its drawbacks. For one day I was actually truly homeless. Mostly it was my fault and I could have chosen other options but it eventually all worked out and I am more than happy to say that today, Brianne and I are still good friends.


For two weeks this was my home. No I'm not a plant hoarder but thanks for asking.


I convinced Brianne to plant a small garden. I agree, very lovely.

I am not sure If I mentioned this or not before but I have been granted some field space for vegetables of my choosing at the New Mexico State University Leyendecker Research Farm. I will try and take some pictures throughout the season to monitor its progress. I need to be taking pictures of my 'Mesilla' cayenne chile anyway for my masters project so it shouldn't be any trouble at all.


Planting chile seed at Leyendecker Farm.



I didn't talk about this adventure on my post but here is Brianne and her father hiking in the Sacramento Mountains in Southern New Mexico. It was a nice trip.