Just over four months ago I completed my first "blog" entry. As soon as I pressed the "post" button, I felt quite confident that these entries would become routine to me in the following months. After all, how difficult would it be to post a new entry every week or two? I suppose this once-unquestionable presumption has proven to have been a bit premature; not only did these 'future entries' fail to become routine, but they failed to exist at all until now. Of course, I can sit here and try to justify my lack of effort by pretending that the fault lies within the "no-show entries" themselves, but I think it's time for me to "man-up" and take responsibility for my actions (or lack thereof, rather). I have no excuse for my four-month vacancy from the blogging world, nor for the millions of people simply waaaiting with bated breath for another scintillating update from this oh-so fascinating blog of mine. All I can really do at this point is apologize and promise that such an absence will probably never happen again. At least in the near future. I'm pretty sure of it. I think.
Phew. Alright. With that off my chest I can move on to the new (and somewhat recent) developments that have occured or are currently taking place in my life. Shortly after my last entry, I got a temporary job working with the Midwest Conference (a collegiate athletic conference) in Ripon, WI. Because I was already planning on living in Ripon for the remainder of the semester, the duration of the position was perfect; the MWC needed help catching up with various items until early June, which just happened to be the date in which I planned on moving back out West. I ended up working there for just over three months and I loved it -- being in a sports-related atmosphere all day is a pretty sweet gig. Plus, I got to assitant coach track and field for Ripon College from January until May, which was truly the exclamation point to a sports-filled day. Aside from a huge number of PR's, countless broken school records, a couple of historic team-finishes at the indoor and outdoor conference meets, and a Coach of the Year award for the head coach, Bob Duley, we also had two of our athletes, Freshman Derek Nelson and Sophomore Cory Zimmerman, make it to the National meet in Ohio. These achievements only extended the fun for another week! I couldn't be prouder of all of the hard work all of the athletes gave this season, day in and day out. It was inspiring, to say the least.
Only days after my last entry, I also learned that I had received a sponsorship in Triathlon from a company called Gear & Training (gearandtraining.com). Gear & Training is an awesome company that specializes in selling and distributing all sorts of active and outdoor gear -- running, cycling, swimming, backpacking, climbing, and of course, triathlon gear. I, along with 39 other triathletes from around the U.S., get to sport a G&T uniform during races in order to promote and support the company. Gear & Training has also been generous enough to give us pretty substantial discounts on nearly everything we order through them, which has been an incredible help in terms of affordibility in the oftentimes-pricey world of triathlon. With G&T's help, I was able to purchase some very quality triathlon items (a TYR Cat 5 Hurricane wetsuit, for example), as well as an excellent triathlon bike for racing (a 2011 Cervélo P3 Ultegra). The bike is my new 'pride and joy,' and it flies like nothing I've ever ridden. If anyone out there is ever in the market for some new gear, check 'em out (again, gearandtraining.com). You can even use my code "BD10" in order to receive 20% off + free shipping on orders over $150. Good deals. Quality stuff. Awesome owners.
Aside from work and training, I had the great fortune of living with my oldest friend (as in, "known-the-longest," and not the "eldest," as she likes to point out), Gwen. Although Gwen and I have known each other since before we could call ourselves kindergarteners, we had never gotten the chance to live together. After my mom passed away late last fall, Gwen suggested that I live with her and another friend during the Spring semester while she finished up her year at Ripon College (yes, the same 'Ripon College' I had graduated from a year-and-a-half prior). Because Ripon was only an hour away from home, and because I wasn't ready to leave my family quite yet after all that had happened, I thought it would be a good "transition," if you will, back into the "real world." Never could I have expected my seemingly-short five months under the same roof with Gwen to have gone so well. We are very different in many ways, which could have caused conflicts, but rare were the times when I didn't feel completely content, comfortable, supported, and happy with her around. "Gwennie" helped me through a great deal that I'm sure I will never be able to repay her for. I am very blessed to have such a friend and to have had the opportunity to share some unforgettable experiences with her for an extended period of time.
Fast-forwarding to the "more-present" day, I have been living in Boulder, Colorado for the last three weeks now. I knew the West was still calling my name, but I was unsure of exactly where I wanted to go. I had already spent a few summers in Washington up on the tiny San Juan Island and I had already lived the better part of half a year in Oregon in the big(ger) city of Portland. Returning to both of these locations crossed my mind many times, but looking back now, I suppose I felt like I needed a fresh start somewhere that wasn't associated with anything before Mama's death. My life had changed in so many ways throughout Mama Sue's struggle this past year that I didn't think I could go back to living in either of these locations without memories mixing, overlapping, or overshadowing. I still don't know exactly how to describe the sentiment, but I just knew I needed something different with no prior connotations or ties to the past.
So why Boulder, one may ask? Well, although I had never visited Boulder, it appeared to be about the right size that I was looking for -- not too big, not too small. It had my "prerequisite" of having visible and accessible mountains for training, hiking, climbing, backpacking, and playing. It had a well-known reputation of being one of the "greenest," healthiest, and most progressive cities in the U.S. It was home to the University of Colorado, which plays host to several graduate programs I have considered getting into. And perhaps most importatnly, it carried the title of being one of the "best triathlon training cities" in the world. All in all, the place sounded like a personal utopia made just for me; the only thing left to do was to get out to Colorado to explore it! After taking a week-long roadtrip to Boulder mid-March with my other Colorado-loving friend, Abby, I knew this was the place I had been looking for. After much trial and error via Craigslist, I was fortunate enough to land a small, centrally-located, one-bedroom apartment that I couldn't be happier with. Once again, I have been blessed. I can't help but think that Mama has been playing quite a role in all of my good fortune the last six months or so. And, for what it's worth, I thank her for it every single day.
Since arriving here, my days have been filled with many hours of training, an hour or two (...or three) of reading, the occasional hour (........or two) of microbrew tasting (Colorado is home to the second-most breweries per capita of all the states in the U.S.), with several hours of city and mountain exploration "thrown in" for good measure. I am soaking up every one of these wonderful days before the inevitable and impending days of work arrive; I am on the hunt for a job right now, so it will only be a matter of time before work and training almost solely dominate my days. Until that day arrives, however, any time away from training and exploration will undoubtedly continue to be spent with a good book, a local brew, a live band, a baseball game, or a combination of all the above.
***NEXT ENTRIES COMING SOON (for real this time): Race Reports on Galena Triathlon in Illinois (from May) and the Boulder Sprint Triathlon (from mid-June)
