Dawn to Dusk Race Report

Sometimes you just have to get out and ride. Saturday was the Dawn to Dusk Mountain Bike Endurance Race. The plan was to ride beginning at official sunrise, or 7:19am and go until sunset at 5:20pm. I decided to do this as my first real endurance event, in my prep for the 24Hrs of Old Pueblo in February. I'm still not sure why I'm doing this. Frankly, it scares the daylights out of me. But I digress...

I show up early and got my area set up. I took over a plot of real estate and dumped my bag of extra clothing; a crate with bottles of Hammer Sustained Energy and HEED, Hammer Gels, and some electrolytes; my cooler with water, an extra hydration pack bladder and some backup food--Snickers, PB&J and Red Bull for when/if my body rejects the good stuff; and a spare wheelset. It looked strangely like a garage sale. I got my gear ready, warmed up, stretched, and hit the porta-johns. Ready.

Equipment: 2008 Cannondale Scalpel Carbon with Lefty Speed Carbon rolling on Stan's ZTR Olympics with Michelin XCR Dry2 (regular tires run tubeless thanks to Stan's juice), Crank Bros Egg Beaters. Diadora Team Racer shoes, Rudy Project Actyum helmet and Horus sunglasses. Zoot Cyclefit arm warmers. Chamois Butt'r. Huge Thanks!!!

Here's what went through my mind...

Start: It's 7:15am. Am I really going to ride until 5:30pm??? Goal: 6 laps. That'll be 94 miles. That's enough. Does it matter that my longest ride was 4hrs? How bad can it be? Just start out slow and ease off from there.

Lap 1: This ain't so bad. Just ease into it. Grrr...Why can no one ride in sand? Oh, no! This sand will suck on lap 6. This downhill is fun! What are all these water bars? They're huge! Stopped to fill bottles. Lap time 1:06; Cumulative time 1:06

Lap 2: Easy does it. Get in nutrition. These water bars are getting annoying. I like this track. It's good to be riding again! Stopped for water and new Hammer bottles. Lap 1:09; Cumulative 2:15

Lap 3: This is starting to hurt. What am I doing out here? I can go home and take a nap instead. Sun's getting high...sweet. Stopped to remove knee warmers and vest. 1:10; 3:25

Lap 4: I need food, real food. I also need to train...yup, training would help. Maybe I should take that up. What's up with these flipping water bars???? Stopped to grab a PB&J sammich for the road. 1:09; 4:34

Lap 5: The short break (2 mins) was nice. Just go steady. This saddle is starting to hurt. I wonder if I have another lap in me. Its great to be riding again...I could be on the couch in a cast again...nope, riding is good! Body need real food...stopped to fill bottles and grabbed a Red Bull. 1:11; 5:44

Lap 6: Crap, the guy who just passed me is solo also. That's it...I'm counting these friggin' water bars. There must be 100 of them per lap and they keep getting bigger. Stopped for a Snickers. One more lap...you can do it. 1:10; 6:55

Lap 7: Why do they put the transition area at the bottom of the long hill so you feel good and keep going??? 368 $%^ing water bars per lap?!?!!? What??? Why am I spending every daylight hour today on my bike? Oh yeah...because I can! (Euphoria setting in). Legs getting numb now. This is now my longest ride since the crash. Stopped for water and another Red Bull. 1:12; 8:07

Lap 8: Unless I go under 1:00, I won't make the cutoff for another lap...I'm ok with that. There's the guy who passed me earlier. See ya! Now don't make him think I'm about to fall off my bike from fatigue. These hills keep getting larger each lap, too. Water bar # 2920, 2921, 2922, ... Ah, the last hill. Halleluiah! Good, no one behind me. Smooth sailing. My longest ride ever. Sweet. 1:19; 9:26

Finish: Owwie. I want my mommy. I need a new lower back. And a new saddle. And butt.

Success: 11th of 52 solos. 8 laps; 125 miles. It's the longest ride I've ever done, and the longest amount of time I've been on a bike (for good reason). Only my Ironman races have been longer events. No mechanicals--every thing ran smooth and easy. Makes a huge difference. Lessons learned: I like this stuff! Bring Chapstick next time. I need to train.

It's good to be back on the bike. Thanks for supporting me in my adventures...all it takes is a touch of insanity to truly live!

Off-Road Triathlon Training Camp

For the last week I’ve been gearing up for my winter Off-Road Triathlon Training Camp held in Tucson, and I’m really getting excited. I’m partnering with XTERRA pro and coach Trevor Glavin as the other coach, and bringing in XTERRA Regional Champion Brian Barrett, Ironman swim champion and Kona qualifier Bill Daniell, and NORBA pro Jill Grasky to lend a hand.

The camp is going to be a blast. While the rest of the country creates pools of sweat under their Computrainer, it’ll be 60-70 degrees in Tucson. We’ll be riding among towering saguaro cacti, dodging the occasional javalina or coyote, and running the canyons Tucson is famous for. We’ll have an outdoor pool for our swim sessions including video swim stroke analysis, and as much technical riding, climbing, and twisting on the courses as you can take. Put that with a great group of people, great coaching staff, and great food, and you have a time in Tucson you won’t forget. Oh, and the training and knowledge learned will set your season on the right track.

I don’t run my camps as purely training camps. We learn a lot—we talk about stretching, strength training, core training, aerobic training, season set-up, building power, racing, recovery, injury prevention and rehab and a slew of other topics as much as the attending athletes desire. I know I don’t have all the answers, so I bring in the other coaches and pros to help out. And we have fun. Work hard, play hard.

This year's camp is also held in conjuction with TRIFEST. Show up a day or two early and attend the best expo, trade show, conference around, including some of the industry's top people speaking on everything you can think of. TRIFEST is like Interbike for the normal person, only completely triathlon-related! Campers get a discount to the conference.

If you’re interested in checking out this camp or any other I put on, go here. I guarantee you will gain confidence and fitness, learn a ton, and have fun here. Everything (except travel to Tucson and a few dinners) is included in the price. We've got some great sponsors signed on as well, so athletes won't go home empty handed!

And you can’t beat Tucson’s Mexican food!

Committed

I'm not sure if this means I am committed because I signed up, or I should be committed for signing up. I'm entered in the 24Hrs of Old Pueblo in Feb 2009. This race starts noon on Saturday, 14 Feb and finishes at noon on Sunday, between which I'll ride my Cannondale Scalpel mountain bike on the 16 mile loop course as much and I can (or desire to). Jill and some friends will be my support crew, and other friends and sponsors will be out to help here and there. Wish me luck. I've never done this before but am looking forward to it. If you've never ridden at night, give it a try. There's nothing like it.

Free at Last!

For those who haven't been up on the situation, I broke, no, shattered my leg in May of 2007 in a mountain bike crash. I was racing in the NORBA National XC race in Fontana and took a spill on a corner and my foot got trapped in the pedal, resulting in my toes pointing north and my knee pointing south. Not good in my book--generally on the bad side of the "Good-Bad" scale. Through the process I found a great surgeon and physical therapist, who, along with all the kings horses and all the king's men put me back together: 5 surgeries, 23 pins and screws, 2 plates, 4 infections, a picc line, one subsequent fracture, 15 pounds, and a partridge in a pear tree later I'm in one piece and training again. Good stuff.

My surgeon took a look at the x-rays the other day and came back with good news. I'm all clear. There's some nerve damage that will most likely be permanent that will bring some pain and soreness, and the ankle is still tight, but no the pain brings no damage. No more visits to my favorite surgeon! It's a bit sad, really...going to the surgeon's office got to be somewhat like Cheers. Everyone knew me...I'm not sure that's good.

Anyway, I'm out training and will be racing full-up again in 2009. First step will be the 24hrs of Old Pueblo. See you out there!

Brian

Best of the US Championships and XTERRA Worlds

The Best of the US Championships are tomorrow. The BoUS is a race series that takes the top amateur, regardless of age group, from each state and pits them head-to-head in an Olympic distance race. It's a great opportunity to see who's who and to race against the best...if you can qualify.

I qualified and raced the championship in 2006, and it was one of the highlights of my triathlon career. The series championship was an outstanding event, and Jerry and his crew do stellar work to make the athletes feel like royalty.

There are two very cool things about this year's BOUS: 1) the championship is in Phoenix, right up the street so I can go and watch; and 2) one of my athletes is on the starting line for AZ. Kathy Rakel has a great shot at placing top 3 in the race but there are some very fast girls here that should not be underestimated. It'll be a fun race to watch and we'll be cheering on Kathy. She's proven herself with a 5th at collegiate nationals, but we're hoping she does better than her coach did at BoUS...I was 20th in 2006 after a terrible swim.

The other thing going on this weekend is XTERRA Worlds. Brian Barrett is there, with a very good chance to take the men's 25-29 podium. The unknowns are the Aussies and Europeans, but he should be one of the top American amateurs. I also did this race in 2006, but had issues with flat tires (4 of them) so, again, hoping Brian outshines coach.

This is a fin weekend for me: two athletes racing at events I have a history at. Good stuff. It's time for the new crew to take over from the old guard. Is this the weekend?

Good luck also to Brian N and Brad at Soma. Brian's due a good race and Brad is on a killer streak. More on this later...

Brian

Cyclocross

Cyclocross: si’-klo-kros n 1. cycling race involving off-road riding skills and barrier obstacles. 2. the most sadistic among cycling sports. 3. Pure evil.

I decided it was time to start racing again, not because I’m in shape, but because I need a boost and motivator to resume training to get back in shape. So what better way than a marathon MTB race followed a day later by a cyclocross race. Yeah, Jill doesn’t mistake me for being too smart either.

I chose the wrong tires for the marathon. Lightweight tires and the rockiest course known to mankind makes for a poor combination. I flatted out at the half-way mark in the marathon. It’s just as well…I had only just recently realized I had to race CX cat 2 (as opposed to 4) due to my NORBA semi-pro card.

The ‘cross race was 55 minutes. Not too bad, I thought. Yesterday’s race was 1:30a nd I’d been doing some training in the 2-3 hour range. No sweat. I had my new ‘cross bike, a CX frame from Trisports.com that I loaded with SRAM Force and Reynolds carbon. New Michelin CX Jet tires on the Reynolds Solitude wheels and I’m all set. Truth be told I got the CX bike for commuting to work. It works great for that, but I decided to take off the rack for the race.

Cyclocross is a different animal. For one, it’s on grass. Or dirt. Or mud. And you’re on a road bike. Sorta. Second, it’s a good opportunity to bring all the local MTB and roadie pros and elite standouts together for one race. Third, there are obstacles you must get off, run with your bike on your shoulder, and get back on, all while maintaining forward momentum. I thought that as a triathlete I can run and I can ride, so this can’t be too bad. Little did I know that the course was to be lined with pockets of pain you must ride through.

At the start, I stayed with the main group for a short bit, before being dropped like a ProTour rider with EPO track marks. The blistering pace made me see stars, and my lungs and quads began searing as if on a BBQ spit. When I came back around I was glad the warm-up lap was over.

The race started in a narrow alley of cones, just shy of a 180-degree turn and a set of barriers. It was as if they designed the racers to start out in a mass gaggle, accelerating headlong into certain treachery with near deadly consequences. Then it dawned on me…they did. Then we raced in the grass to the first series of climb-sharp corner-descend-off camber sharp turn-barrier-run up the hill-sharp corner-accelerate like your life depended on it-ease off and let your heart catch up. There was a mild reprieve…for me. The rest of the pack continued to accelerate and I was dropped. Then came the next series of climb-descend-rinse-repeat. A discovered two phenomenon with CX: 1) the hills look to be only mildly steep and a few meters tall from the staging area, but are snow-covered and clouded mountains steep enough for ropes and 22-34 gearing when you get to them on the bike; and 2) the barriers get taller each lap, culminating in a leap that Carl Lewis would be proud of to clear by lap 12.

As I got so far behind I could barely see the main pack, I took inventory. My quads were toasted, my lungs searing, my back was seizing, and my heart rate was in the range that I’d never before seen. This was only a 55 minute race, and based on my being covered in sweat, out of energy, on the verge of a bonk that will last a week and being in more pain than after USAF prisoner of war training, I must be at 40-45 minutes by now and nearing the end. I looked at my watch. I’d been going for 4:32. It’s going to be a long day.

I finished. I got lapped by the top 6, but I finished. I ended up 12 out of 18. Not bad for an out-of-shape fish out of water triathlete recovering from injury. And I learned an important lesson: cyclocross is a brutal, masochistic, evil, painful, ugly sport. And I love it! (I’m already sign up for the next one!)

Brian

Refueling

One of the good things about getting to fly a multi-role fighter is that we get to do something different every day. Last weekend I led a flight in which we fought against other fighters on our way to a target complex, dropped a combination of ‘dumb’ bombs from a dive from 25,000 feet and Laser Guided Bombs, and then fought our way out. Today we refueled in-flight from a KC-135, and then worked some 2v1 air combat maneuvers. It beats having a real job!

On the tanker were members of a Phoenix vocational school’s Junior ROTC corps. These would be high school kids, trying to learn about their possibilities after graduation, while learning about the military and its structure. Today they were learning about the Air Force and its mission, apparently.

As I took on fuel and could see the kids taking photos and waving, I waved back, reminiscing about my own time in JROTC. I was a member of my high school’s JROTC program in order to learn what I could while applying to the USAF Academy. I did get into the Academy, and there did well enough to fulfill a life-long dream of flying. These kids are looking into their future to figure out how to fulfill their own dreams. Kinda brings a new perspective to life, eh?

Now, 15 years later … 15 years??!!!?? Can’t be. Yup, it is. Now I feel old.

Brian

Interbike!

Hello from Las Vegas! I'm here at Interbike schmoozing with industry folks and eyeballing the latest and greatest of what's coming out in 2009. It's been a blast!

We got in Tuesday late afternoon after a bumpy flight and went straight to eat and sleep. No Outdoor Demo days for us. Wednesday and Thursday we went to the show, Friday fly back. We're stopping in Flagstaff because we have the mountain bikes with us and it's too hot to go straight to Tucson right now.

The show is unbelievable. For the manufacturers and distributors this is their chance to show off the '09 product line. For the retailers, it's the chance to see what they'd want to carry in their shops and get ready for their preseason orders. For the rest of us schmoes it's a way to hob knob and network.

Actually, Interbike is a great opportunity to meet those sponsors who've helped out Grasky Endurance and give them a handshake of thanks, and to talk to other potential sponsors and partners.

So how'd it go? I'll have to tell you later. Exciting stuff indeed, but nothing's finalized yet. Sorry to keep you hanging.

Highlights of the show...

Bikes:
- Scott's Plasma 2 is my pick for the hottest bike at the show. Very stiff, very aero, very beautiful. The Cervelo P4 was the hype, but it looked flimsy and goofy to me.
- For Mtn bikes, Scott takes it again with the Spark. Velo Vie has a cool MTB carbon hardtail in the works, and Litespeed is always a good bike.
- For custom, go Rue Bikes. Beautiful carbon work, beautiful paint, sick light.
- Didn't see Cannondale there. Bummer.

Components:
- SRAM is about the same, Shimano is coming out with a carbon version of Dura-Ace that look nice. I still like the SRAM better. more comfy. I didn't check out Campy. Sorry.

Wheels:
- Zipp has some pretty cool innovations out for '09 like adjustable bearing pre-load, stronger hubs, and color options. It's a very nice wheel for '09.
- Reynolds took the already-lightest wheelset and made it even lighter. Their DV46 is in the realm of sick-light now, at just above 1000gm for the set (yes, for a 46mm rim). Their 32mm rim wheelset is under 1000gm! (Check out the media section of Reynolds' website!)

Nutrition:
- Hammer has a great new flavor in their HEED and Recoverite...Subtle Berry. MMmmmmm!

Stuff:
- Zoot has training shoes now!! The are introducing the industry's best compression gear, and their cycling gear is going to be top-notch. I was highly impressed with Zoot's '09 line!
- Genuine Innovations is always the leader in CO2 inflation!
- ESI Grips is coming out with white and pink colors for '09!
- DuMond Tech has a new "Green" chain lube and grease that's biodegradable and environmentally friendly! Look for this at the '09 GEC Training Camps!

One of the coolest parts was the racing. Wednesday night was a huge cyclocross race. Man, that's exciting to watch. All the names were there, including LANCE ARMSTRONG! He had a rough starting position (you don't get points when you're retired) but moved up well. He finished about 14th or so. Still very exciting to see. Then on Thursday night was the USA Crit Finals. Owwie. Huge pros, everyone there, and tight corners means rough crashes. (Did you know you can smell burning flesh after a crash at 35mph on pavement?) And holy cow to those guys move! I even got Jill to stay up past 9pm for this one!

Oh, but if you want to attend an almost equally exciting show (and one for consumers) check out TRIFEST. TRIFEST will be in Tucson in March and will have all the elements of Interbike's trade show but directed toward consumers, but will have speaker sessions--including top pros, coaches and industry folk--for 2 solid days, training camps, and a bike ride up Mt Lemmon with over 100 riders including big-name pros.

Until next time, rubber side down.

Shift Up!
Brian

Collegiate Triathlon

The kick off of the school year here in Tucson means the University of Arizona TriCats are getting revved up and going again. This will be my third season as their head coach, a job I look forward to each year. It’s not without its challenges, but I thoroughly enjoy watching the students grow in triathlon and in life, through the challenges that triathlon brings.

I learned a lot about managing a team of 65 my first season. Sometimes it was herding cats, but all in all it was good. Coaching a team was new to me, but as long as the 65 stayed 65 I was fine. The second season started at 100 TriCats. Wow. Now this year it looks like 120 or so. This is good growth—and we’re all growing in our ability and relationships.

The leadership this year is good and motivated. They have some great ideas and look to be working to make them happen. I’m excited to be working with them.

The highlights from last year were the weekend training camps and the USAT Collegiate National championships. The camps were a blast, and a good way for the athletes to learn more about triathlon—and themselves—in such a short period of time than they had all season up to that point. We culminated the fall training camp with a mock race and the spring camp with a real race—the Desert Classic Duathlon. We’re planning similar camps this year.

Nationals were a great time and we performed well. From Kathy placing (read about her on my site) and Alex doing very well, to the other members of the team who all either PR’d big or overcame huge obstacles to finish, I was extremely proud of the team.

We’re also looking into a winter break camp for the collegiate teams in our region. This will be a great opportunity for those schools under snow in January to come to the perfect triathlon playground of Tucson for some winter cycling, running, and swimming.

I’m looking forward to some great performances out of the Arizona TriCats this year. Keep up with them throughout their season here.

GEC Sweep!

Today, Tucson's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base held an aquathlon today as a memorial to a lifeguard who was killed in a flash flood a couple of years ago. Angela was a sweet girl a fun lifeguard and was missed by the entire base and Tucson community.

The aquathlon is a cool way to remember her--her friends and coworkers put it on and did a great job. The 800yd swim and 5k run were on the base; in te outdoor pool and along the flat empty roads.

I'm glad to report that GEC atheltes took the top three finishing spots overall! (OK, there were only a handful of people there, but that's not important!) I had a decent swim and exited first, about 100yds ahead of second. Caryn was out in third I think, and Brian (GEC webmaster) soon after. When I saw them on the run, Caryn was in 2nd, Brian in 4th. At the finish line, I had won, Caryn was 2nd, and Brian was slightly back in third! GEC on all steps of the podium! This isn't the Olympics, but we'll take it! (Note: I think this makes Caryn undefeated in the season's aquathlons for women, as well!)

It was a fun day and a great time for a little race to get the blood moving.

-Brian

Ahhh, Vacation!

I’m up in Glacier National Park this week on a family vacation. My folks live up near here and once a year we get the family together (two older sisters, one younger brother and their families) for a shin-dig in Glacier.

We decided to try our hand at fishing today. I used to fly fish quite a lot but it’s been a while. The wind was picking up and the water was too cold to wade out too far, so we took the rubber rafts across the lake to a calmer spot. My brother, relatively new to fly fishing but an amazing athlete in every sense, pulled in a little 10” Rainbow on his first cast—I’m not kidding. Not to be outdone, I spent the next 2 hours casting while the rest of the crew sat on the shore. Nothing. On the way back across the lake I tied on a spinner and trolled. I pulled in a little 12” Cutthroat! Ha! (No camera on the boat, dang it!) Since the mountains are still patched with snow, the water was too cold for swimming. Besides that, I’m on vacation!

Also a few GEC athletes did some fishing this weekend—fishing for podiums and PRs! Bec and Scott P. both qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships at Vineman—HUGE CONGRATS—and Brian and Caryn both PR’d (Brian by 36 minutes!!!) in Olympic Distance at the Camp Pendleton Int’l Triathlon. Congrats!

For me, it’s more fishing tomorrow and I’ll try to bring the camera!

Brian

First Race Back

This past weekend I was lucky enough to be in San Diego for work—July is a good time to be away from Tucson. It just so happened that Sunday was a day off—and the Carlsbad sprint triathlon was that day. This is one of the oldest continuously run triathlons in the country, and is held on beautiful beach-front roads with nice pavement and a lot of spectators. Not a bad place to make my comeback into racing after 15 months off.

[Note: For you who may be reading for the first time I decided to see how much force it would take to rip one’s foot off their leg in a mountain bike crash 15 months ago. It took 6 months on crutches, 5 surgeries, countless medications and antibiotics, several setbacks, and a few thousand prayers, and only last month was I able to fly again. I’ve been able to swim and cycle regularly since March, and am only now running. This was my first time putting the swim, bike and run together since then.]

The race started in waves, and I was in the first wave with the pros and all the guys in my age group. This is a good place to start! The swim went OK—as good as I expected for not swimming much in the last few weeks--it's been a busy few weeks and the swim lost out. (I guess the once-a-week aquathlon exclusively isn’t the best swim training...who knew?!) I was out of the water feeling good, but was a ways down in my wave. The water was a bit cold, but the Zoot Zenith wetsuit was great!

My ankle was tight in T1, but once I got on the bike I felt great. There was a longish, steep climb right out of T1 and a good descent at the top. I didn’t understand those who put their shoes in the pedals in T1—I passed 5 of them on the climb out before we got up to speed! I immediately passed more people and held a good pace on the ride and pushed for 280 watts on the flats and descents, and going to 300-310 on the climbs and accels. I love the Slice paired with the Reynolds SDV66 wheels—it’s solid and fast. Average power = 274 watts.

In T2 I again had to deal with the tight ankle, and running barefoot isn’t my favorite thing anymore. As I started on the run I twisted my ankle on a timing mat and thought I was finished. It began to loosen up slowly, and by the time mile 1 rolled around I was feeling good and was able to pick up the pace and run well. I left T2 with the top woman and lost quite a bit in the first mile, but held my position after that. I don’t have time splits on the run, but it felt like a 9 minute first mile and 6-flats after that. Surprisingly I was only passed by one guy—a pro. Pace = 6:25. (Oh, if you don't have Zoot Ultra shoes, get them!)

At the finish line I really felt good. This is a good feeling—to be “back into it.” The excitement of the race I hadn’t felt in a while was refreshing and exhilarating. I finished 2nd in my age group with a mediocre swim, a top-10 overall bike split, and a descent run. To have my first sub-20 minute 5k on a rolling course after a hard bike ride was a victory to me. To see old friends on the race course and spectating was sweet. To have Jill yelling and having a good time was wonderful.

I’m back!

Way of the Master

A few months ago, I was flipping channels on the television and came across a familiar face. It was Kirk Cameron, the young actor from the 1980s, who was on the hit sit-com Growing Pains. Remember him? I was in my teens and totally had a crush on him as did all of my friends. Ha! He was on a Christian Network and was talking about the Lord. It was so awesome, his boldness and sincere concern for the unsaved.

Since then I've been doing a lot of research into evolution, and proof that supports a creator, and Jesus as God's son, who was risen from the dead. There's a ton of evidence, and not only given by Christians, either, but by scientists. It's pretty cool.

I just now visited Kirk Cameron's website, The Way of the Master, and listened to Kirk's testimony, about how he became a follower of God and Jesus. I've listened to it before, and it's pretty funny the way he describes it, but smart. Basically, he said that he owed it to himself to at least investigate.

Brian and I have noticed these days, that most Americans are actually Agnostics. It's easy to be one, Brian and I once were Agnostics. Agnostics are people who simply don't care, don't want to be bothered by Jesus, don't want to put forth any effort into discovering truth or making an educated decision, don't want to take time out their busy schedule to think about and dwell on the idea that maybe what the Bible says is true, simply put, just don't really care one way or the other. If the Bible is true, which Brian and I believe is the case, then this life on earth is extremely short. What happens next? Eternity is a loooong time.

Breakthroughs

Another week of breakthroughs… It seems like it can be a while between improvements with the leg, but then will come a big jump. This week was that jump.

I flew solo again. Usually not a big deal as that’s the way we fly typically, but this was the first time in over a year. Everything came back and I felt very comfortable with the jet, the procedures, and the radios. Then today I had my check ride, and as of today I am again a fully-qualified F-16 pilot!

Cycling has been going well, but last weekend I tried my hand at a 40k TT. It was 100 degrees when we started and around 105 at the finish, but even through that I was able to push a big gear. I averaged over 250 watts and, although not a record, I was very happy with it for being on the bike for only a few months.

(The new Cannondale Carbon Slice was amazing as well. This bike is F-A-S-T fast! There is no flex in the bottom bracket or in the Si SL cranks. I picked up a set of Easton Attack TT bars and Fizik gel pads from Trisports.com; with my PowerTap rear nothing-fancy wheel and my Reynolds DV46 front it weighs in at under 17lbs! Next race I should have my Reynolds SDV66 with PowerTap hub and a Wheelbuilder.com disk cover. I also tried out my new Diadora Infinity Carbon tri shoes and Rudy Project Syton Supercomp helmet and Sportmasks. Ohh, very nice.)

Then last night I went to the local aquathlon. There’s a series here in Tucson that’s very fun and brings out a lot of the local triathletes and my friends. Last time, my 5k time was slower than my best overall time there… This time, three weeks later, I took over 2 minutes off the run…PER MILE!! I ran a 20:20 5k for an average of 6:35 miles. It was a complete surprise, and I felt great!

So, based on this, I have updated my racing plan. Look for me to race in the Snow Valley XTERRA in Snow Valley, CA, in August and to follow that up with the XTERRA Mountain Championships in Ogden, UT. Then, if things continue to go well, I’ll be going to Tahoe for the XTERRA USA championship in October, then the Soma Triathlon in Tempe. Ideally, I’d like to do the 70.3 distance, but I think I’ll settle for the Quarterman.

GREAT JOB!

I just want to say an overall ‘GREAT JOB” to all of the GEC athletes! Racing is going very well for most everyone.

- Brian B is rocking the XTERRA world with top finishes at the Desert Xtreme XTERRA and Deuces Wild (overall win), as well as at the XTERRA Regional races in Temecula, Pelham, AL, and Richmond (age group win)!

- Brad did awesome in Ironman Arizona with a PR by an hour and a half, then smoked it at Wildflower!

- Kathy has been extremely successful in over 16 races so far this year, including road racing, and finally culminating as AZ’s representative for Best of the US!

- Polita just had her first sprint triathlon of the year where she improved her time from last year by 6 minutes and finished first in her age group for the first time! Her husband Owen took 6 minutes off his time as well!

- Scott is rocking the Xterra world as well up in New England!

- Caryn just wiped up an overall win at one of the Tucson aquathlons…including the guys!

- Matt won his age group in the Tempe International Tri and had a phenomenal race at Wildflower! Watch for him at IM Coeur d’Alene

- Rebecca took an age group win the Tempe Int’l Sprint as well as Deuces Wild XTERRA!

This is just mentioning a few athletes. Again, nice work everyone and keep it up! And a special good luck to those GEC athletes and campers racing at either IM CDA or IM France this weekend—Dan, Mike, Matt, Greg, Scott, Jim, Heather, Chris, Brian C, Karen, Bill, and Lisa.

Feel free to write an update to your profile or submit a race report.

--Brian

Airborne Again!

This week I resumed my flying duties with the Guard. It seemed an excessively long and difficult process to get my medical waiver to fly after the leg incident, but again “slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings!” from High Flight, John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

After a couple of weeks of academics to make sure I still knew the F-16 and a few “dial-a-death” emergency simulators to make sure I still knew what I was doing in the case that something went wrong, I flew. I took off, another instructor in “6-foot trail” (in my back seat), and gave a little “woo-hoo!” upon takeoff. Off we went to the working area to experience the handling qualities of the aircraft (wring it out and pull some Gs), then over to the auxiliary airfield for some landings and instrument patterns, and then back to home plate for a trip around the flagpole before landing. Things came back quickly.

In an hour and a half I traveled over 450 miles, pulled 6 Gs, dropped simulated bombs, shot 3 airborne targets (again, simulated), performed 4 instrument approaches simulating flying in bad weather, did 3 simulated emergency landings, did 7 touch-and-gos, and managed not to get violated by ATC! All in a day’s work!

It’s good to be flying again!

Mt. Lemmon--Oh yeah!

Brian and me climbing up Mt. Lemmon

Mt. Lemmon and cookies. Yes, climbing Mt. Lemmon used to be about getting the pie, but the little pie place has been replaced with the Cookie Cabin.

Kathy Rakel, who has been staying with us for the past week, has been in Tucson for the year while attending grad school at the University of Arizona. She's never ridden to the top of Mt. Lemmon. She and I rode up to about mile 16 last year, but turned around because there were ice patches on the road. Not today, the weather was supposed to be beautiful as always in June.

I got a head start on Kathy and Brian, who decided to ride from home. I drove to about a mile from the base and started there because knew since I'm haven't gotten my fitness back totally from being injured, that I'd need a head start. Although I started the climb at 6:15, it was already hot to be climbing. Oh well, in an hour, the temperature would be perfect since I'd be at 5,000 feet elevation.

Brian and Kathy caught up at mile post 7. We then took turns taking pics and being goofy. Once past milepost 16, we went into the trees and it was actually a little chilly! We continued to climb and finally got to the downhill at about mile 20. It was one of the fastest descents I've ever done, and definitely some of the fastest cornering. It was very windy and we had a tailwind going down--fun, but a little scary, and if you know how I ride, I rarely get scared on downhills---mountain or road. We all survived and finally got to the ski hill turn-off. The road got steep for a couple of miles, but the pavement was still great. Once we had climbed to the bottom of the ski hill, we knew we had more work ahead. The glass-like road turned into a pot-hole, patched mess. 1.5 miles of this took us to the very top of Mt. Lemmon---Steward Observatory. We took the usual pics, then headed to Summerhaven where Kathy enjoyed her hard labor with a cookie from the Cookie Cabin.

Ahhh...something about beginning your ride in Saguaros and Prickly Pear at 1500 feet and ending in Pine trees at 9000 feet. What a great ride!!

The above pic is of Brian and Kathy about a mile past Windy Point.

John Woolf, PT

John Woolf, physical therapist and friend, from this point forward be posting articles directly to the home page of www.graskyendurance.com concerning athlete injuries. He has tons of knowledge to offer so check out his articles soon to come!

New Addition to the Blog

I am very excited to have been invited to contribute to this great organization. I have worked with many injured athletes in the past. I can honestly say that I have seldom worked with athletes like Jill and Brian who are as dedicated to understanding the opporutnities that an injury provides. Nobody wants an injury, but anytime you have athletes pushing their bodies and minds to the limits, there will be something that hurts. Its not that you won't have an injury at some point in your career, its what you do with it that will make the difference.


My background is in sports medicine. I was the Director of Sports Medicine for the University of Arizona Athletics Department. I am a certified athletic trainer (ATC) and certified in orthopedic manual therapy (COMT) from the International Academy of Orthopedic Medicine - United States. I have taught in the Sports Medicine Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona and lecture at professional meetings on the topic of diagnosis and management of injuries. I have served as a medical crew chief for a RAAM rider and have worked with hundreds of runners, cyclists and swimmers over the past 20 years. I am the owner of ProActive Physical Therapy in Tucson, AZ.


I am also a cyclist. Although I am a complete hack, I love to race and have learned enough to survive the community events available in Tucson.


Over the coming weeks and months I will be writing about some the of the common injuries that we all encounter. I will provide some insight on how to manage some of these injuries and how to be ProActive about injury prevention. Cheers!

Grasky Flagstaff High Altitude Training Camp May 18, 2008

Day 1:

I had flown in to Phoenix the day previous and today was to meet Bill Daniell at 0530 at my hotel to head over to the Tempe International Triathlon Race. Jill Grasky had made the arrangements for me to contact Bill which was much appreciated on my first visit to Arizona. Things started off without a hitch and we headed out to the race. I participated in the Sprint Tri as I wanted to conserve some energy for the upcoming camp. I placed third in my age group which was a nice surprise.

We headed up to Flagstaff with Bill, Matt and Lisa – I did not see much of the scenery on the way up as I was entertained by Matt and his technical descriptions about rims, tubulars vs. clinchers and how Tri Sports runs its demo wheel program. I had wished I planned ahead and placed an online order – next time!

When we arrived at the cabins in Flagstaff we were greeted by the rest of the group anxiously waiting to join us for a run. Lisa and I were still quite hot from our 104 degree race so we opted for a walk on trails while the others ran. A great filling dinner was had out - $16 – wow much more economical than in Canada, eh?

I felt very comfortable with the group and was pleased to see that varying levels were being accommodated and there was a good mix of male/female. Everyone was super nice, encouraging and the wealth of knowledge amongst the team was tremendous. Most campers were gearing up for Coeur D’Alene Ironman, Angie is doing Germany and I Canada.

The Grand Canyon trip will be my most memorable bike ride for a long time – it was spectacular and thanks to Greg, I learned a new way to repair a flat. I repect Patty for taking the lead on the bike maintenance in her household and for giving up her bike when Greg said, “no more.”

Brian’s style was much appreciated throughout the camp and I can’t say enough about Jill’s meals! Oley has sold me on Trifest next March and Lisa has offered me a place to lay my head while attending – I can’t wait to join up again!

--Joy Hollingdale

Thoughts of racing again

Today my good friend Spring called me up to go mountain biking. Spring and I used to ride and train together a bit last fall in preparation for the AZ Mountain Bike Series. Since my knee has been injured and our schedules not matching, we haven't been able to get together lately. Today she called right when I had no motivation to ride (which is pretty common these days). I was stoked, so I went!

We chatted the whole time about racing and finally the motivation started to return again. It's so difficult after taking time off. You're always feeling yucky and out of shape. I think the first month back is probably the hardest, and for me, it's mentally challenging too because I'm still having knee pain and don't even know how much I should start training.

It makes me think of how much a person's mind has to do with racing. If I go into a race somewhat fit, but am very focused and agressive and competitive, then I can pull off a good race. However, if I go into a race super fit, but have no desire to be there or I have my mind on other things, then I'll always finish poorly. Funny how the mind has so much over the physical.

I'm still not totally motivated, but that really helped, so thanks Spring!

Wildflower

Driving into the 35mph headwind pulling our toybox (truck bed) and foldable base camp (camper), we watched the gas gauge move from F to E. We were on our way to Wildflower to help FCA Endurance, a triathlon ministry we’re involved with. Not only is it the greatest of all causes, but it’s comprised of great people, too.

The plan is to get there and work in the FCA booth inviting others to think about why they race. This was a deep question I had to answer over the past few years, but more so in the last year. It would have been easier to write off my accident as a failure and a waste of time, but I know God had and has a plan—this isn’t a cheesy saying I repeat to make myself feel better in times of trials. I know this is true, and in that I can find comfort knowing that what I go through is for good eventually—maybe not my good, but the good of the Kingdom. I see my world through a straw. I only see a small view of what’s going on (although I think I know more), but I know He who can see all does see all and is in charge of all. God does give us free will, but he doesn’t just spin the world up like a top and then let it go, He has His hand in everything.

While at Wildflower we raced in a relay with Chris Anderson, the head of FCA-E. Since I can’t run more than 15 minutes yet and the non-running and non-swimming Jill was on the team, it was pretty clear who was doing what. Having me as the swimmer sets us up to fail, but we will do our best.

…If we can only get there. Day 1 on the road was 3 hours longer than planned. Wind, missed exits, Jill screaming the wrong words to ‘80’s hair bands on the radio, and the desire not to spend our entire savings on Chevron led to a slower than desired pace. We stayed the night at Edwards AFB, home of the Test Pilot. This is always a cool place to visit. We only had time to get our room, sleep, shower, and hit the road again, but it’s still a cool place to go through.

Day 2 got us to Lake San Antonio, CA, and Wildflower. We set up camp and jumped in for a swim. Oh, the water was great! We held the IronPrayer service in the finish line bleachers on Friday afternoon. IronPrayer is a prayer and encouragement service held before any and all races we can get one set up for. It started with Iron man, but now involves a lot of 70.3s and of course, Wildflower. Kona qualifier Robin Soares heads it up, and it routinely brings in speakers like Heather Gollnick and Barb Linquist.

I rode the long course bike ride on Saturday morning with XTERRA rival and friend and fellow coach Trevor Glavin. Trevor’s a great guy and we had a great ride. I really didn’t know Trevor that well before this ride, but I’m very glad now to know him as a good friend. Trevor is also a great XTERRA athlete, with a few XTERRA titles under his belt.

We spent the afternoon talking with pro XTERRA Champion, and now Cancer sufferer Jamie Whitmore. Jamie went from being the winningest XTERRA athlete in history and the USAT non-ITU Athlete of the Year to lying bedridden unable to move in a few short weeks. She just went through a series of surgeries to remove a tumor in her pelvic region. She has an outstanding attitude, even in the face of never having use of her foot again, re-learning now to walk, and now facing radiation therapy. She’s a rock when it comes to dealing with setback that has sent others to suicide. She’s still focused on getting back to racing! Read more about her plight, send her your well-wishes, and help her financially here.

Our relay went well on Sunday. My swim was actually average for me, and given my last year, I’ll take it! (By the way, Zoot's Zenith wetsuit and TYR's new Nest goggle are the goo!) Jill rocked the bike, especially the first hill, and had the fastest women’s bike split (for teams), and Chris had a phenomenal run! We finished 4th out of 48; We were hoping for better, but we had fun and were excited to just get out there and be among the racers.

And now we’re on our way home again, with toys and house in tow. I’m in the passenger seat catching up on emails and phone calls, and Jill’s screaming the wrong words to more ‘80’s hair bands again as we limp on fumes to get to the cheap gas in AZ.

Ahh, to Run Again

I went to the PT yesterday like I do twice a week. My PT helps me more in the mental aspect of what I went, and am going through than with the physical part, and he finally had to tell me so. “Brian, your range of motion is back, your strength is getting there, what can I do for you next?” This was part rhetorical question, part kick-in-the-butt. And I appreciated it for both.

“Well, John, we need to devise a plan for getting me back to running without the threat of another stress fracture.” In Oct. I suffered a stress fracture as a result of doing too much in rehab. It was like a little game of “connect the dots” between the screw holes in my tibia.

So we did. I ran the furthest I’ve run in a year yesterday—10 minutes. And it was great. I ran nice and easy at 8 min/mile pace, so I guess the cycling I’m doing is working on my aerobic system. After 1.25 miles, I hopped off the treadmill and into John’s office, where I quickly proclaimed “John, I just ran 10 minutes and felt like I could have gone for 40!” His response: “Good, now let me see the program you write so that I can be assured that you don’t!”

Fair enough. Bottom line is I’m running a bit and it’s never felt so good.
Brian

Collegiate Nationals Day 4

Today was a good opportunity to sleep in, as our vans didn’t leave until 1100. The flights home were smooth and on time, and all were a little tired and sore. A good race.

The men’s team finished 23rd of 50 teams for an improvement over last years’ 29th. The women were in 14th of 48. All in all, a successful and fun trip! Can’t wait until next year!

Collegiate Nationals Day 3

Race Day!!

That always means a 0400 wakeup, but last night’s business, lots on my mind, nervousness over the race—oh, and the smoke alarm beeping, random phone rings, and the garbage truck at 0200—led to a restless night for me.

We lost the keys to a car, so it was a tight trip to the race area. Every coin has two sides—having to make 2 trips back to the hotel meant I could pick up a coffee on the 2nd trip! Coffee isn’t so much a treat for me, it’s more a necessity. Especially today. I got 2.

I helped the TriCats get their tires pumped, brakes adjusted, and strategies developed and wished them each good luck and fast feet. Then they were off.

The race was exciting to watch. There were some of the sport’s top athletes in the field—including pros, amateur champions, and then the few first timers all in one race. Very cool. I felt like a proud dad with everyone out there. I have a stack of photos and a hoarse voice to go with my sunburn.
We as a team had a great race. We of course, had some cramping and small hiccups, but we had fun and succeeded in our goals of having fun and enjoying the day. Lots of victories today: Kathy blasted the 2nd best bike of the day for the women to finish in 5th overall. We knew that was an achievable goal, but she had to have a perfect race in order to do that. She did. Alex had an unbelievable swim and a good solid run to finish in the top 50. Renee and Quack PR’d by 40 minutes. Kiley completed her first Olympic distance race. Andy(x2) had very solid evenly paced races and Makko had his best race of his career. Not all victories were apparent, however. Shawn’s race was plagued with cramping, but his attitude was impressive! I’m not mentioning everyone of the 20 athletes, but all finished! Nice work everyone!

After our race we got to stay and watch the pro women and men race for their spot in Beijing. Holy buckets they are fast! We bumped into the family of 3rd place finisher Sarah Groff during her race and rooted her on as family members. Then, in an amazing display of tactics and speed, newly-sworn American citizen Matt Reed broke away from a very fast men’s field to come in off the bike in the lead by 25 seconds…and held off the sport’s top runners! He high-5’d everyone in the front 2 rows bear the finish line and stayed for our cheering for a looong time. He was stoked! Congratulations and best of luck to you both in the Olympics!

We went to the awards ceremony to see Kathy get her hardware for her 5th overall and her 2nd among graduate students, and then went to dinner. We went to BBQ (what else in the south??) where we dined with Ohio athletes and hob-knobbed with Cal-Berkley and Montana. After that, ice cream and post race debrief with a few of the athletes and friends. Good times.

Collegiate Nationals Day 2

Today started early, with a drive-by preview of the bike course and a course layout walk. We talked about the course, transition area, and venue. After a nice dip in the murky-but-beautiful-to-swim-in Black Warrior River, we took a quick run on the race course to familiarize ourselves with the course. We decided to run the last mile of the course—it’s a good thing to do that so you can see the whole course as typically the tunnel vision takes away the beauty of the last mile…

Our bikes hadn’t shown up yet, one TriCat sprained his ankle on the run, we lost a carload of TriCats on the way to lunch… Par for the course so far. Actually, other than a few setbacks we’re having a good time.

It’s a great course—tree-lined smooth roads, rolling hills, beautiful water temperature. Beautiful. It’ll also be tough. The hills on the run will take a bit out of everyone. We spoke a bit about the course and our strategy in racing it.

While taking our team photo, we heard a new voice call out something funny. We looked up, and there stood two-time Olympian and champion triathlete Hunter Kemper! He stayed and chatted for a bit with us. Very cool. He and the rest of the top American pro triathletes were in AL to race the 2nd of three Olympic qualifying races. Whoever wins is going to Beijing!

After lots of bike maintenance and a quick shower we went to the pre-race dinner for a team feast, then off to bed. The TriCats’ assignment is to visualize a great race, where they feel strong and fast. I had emails to get to and plans to get out.

Collegiate Nationals Day 1

Every trip has its hiccups. Ours just started early. On Thursday, the U of Arizona TriCats began our trip to Tuscaloosa AL for the USAT Collegiate National Championships.

After Kyle’s death threats upon anyone who dared show late, we arrived individually at the airport 11:30…give or take. The flight to DFW went well, nice and smooth. In Dallas, we had enough time to find our next gate, eat dinner, chat a bit, take a nap, get some work done, and compose a symphony. It was a long layover. We boarded the late-arrived airplane under chants of “Hurry up! Hurry up!” by the flight crew in order to make it out before a storm. We did. Oh, that’s just the beginning.

When we got to Birmingham, the rental company lost our vans. An hour drive later the hotel lost our rooms, and we were beginning to lose sleep. At about midnight AL time, we were in the hotel, cozy and comfy in our rooms, visions of energy gels dancing in our heads.

Collegiate Nationals

Right now I’m on my way to USAT Collegiate Nationals with my University of Arizona TriCats. This is the first year I’m traveling with them, but not the first year they are going. In the past we’ve had some good finishes, with a best of 19th place. This year, we have some great athletes and can and should do much better.

The team is interesting and fun. Many different personalities. It’s fun to be a part of the team, and more fun to see many different athletes of differing backgrounds begin, further, and develop their sport life.

The cool thing is that everyone gets something different out of this sport. For some, it’s a way to lose weight. For others, it’s a source of adventure; a source of identity, or a possible path to a career. For all it’s a path to having fun, learning about yourself, and making friends that will last a lifetime.

I got into triathlon via friends in college. I was running on the cross-country team but had lost the desire and passion for it. I stopped having fun—it was time for a new game. Some friends had gotten me interested in triathlon at various times in my life, and now I had the opportunity to give it a try. I did my first race, my first national championship race, and my first world championship race as a collegiate athlete and it has developed into a lifelong passion as well as a healthy lifestyle. Now it’s my turn to give that opportunity to others.

Brian

Unequalled Fitness Part II

Ok, the man's crazy. That man is Brian, who hasn't been on his mountain bike very much lately because it hurts his ankle a little still. So, I figured I'd ask him to go ride with me at Fantasy Island...just the bunny loop since it's pretty smooth. I figured we could kind of have an easy ride, chat about our day. Oh nooooo!...back to what I said...the man's crazy. Yeah, we chatted for about the first 10 minutes. Then we both got excited and started really going. Brian hasn't lost any of his technical skills. Ok, true, there's not much technical about the bunny loop, but it is really twisty and Brian's cornering skills were not lacking at all. Amazing! To have not ridden the mountain bike much and still be that fast and smooth. True talent.

Also, his ankle didn't hurt at all. Yippee!

--Jill

Things that make me smile

I was thinking the other day of the things that make me smile.

Jill’s cooking.
Hitting “snooze” at 4:30.
Bedtime at 8:30—and being able to make it.
Nico’s Carne Asada Tacos.
My Slice and SuperSix.
Wetsuits.
Date night with Jill.
Chasing Jill to Windy Point.
The ping of new tires sending pebbles onto carbon.
Quiet Time.
Zone 4.
Wireless internet.
Lefty Carbon Speed SL.
Doing 100s on the 1:30.
Saguaro National Park.
Nonfat peanut butter Latte.
5Gs at 500 knots and 500 feet.

New Cannondale Slice

Check out Brian's new Cannondale Slice. Isn't it beautiful!! Thanks goodness it's built so it isn't living in the living room anymore!

--Jill

Unequalled Fitness

After Brian being off his bike for almost a year now, one would think that we'd be about the same fitness level or at least close. I remember when Brian first got off of crutches and started riding again last fall before getting his stress fracture, our fitness levels were about equal. It was so wonderful for me!! I was finally equal to Brian's fitness! Of course, it only lasted for about two weeks until he started regaining his fitness. Then the stress fracture came, and he was back on crutches.

He's been on his bike about three times this past week. I, now, have been injured for the past month and have hardly ridden at all, but still! Did I really lose that much fitness? Maybe Brian's just super-human.

Brian went out on his new Cannondale Slice. It was his first ride, and yes, he was fast. Hopefully, now that I'm getting back on the bike, although slowly, I can have a chance to keep up with him!

Do as I Say, Not as I Do

As a coach, I know it’s important to take things slow when either getting back to training after a break, or when getting into shape. But sometimes we’re our own worst coach.

A few weeks ago, Jill and I went out to the 24hr of Old Pueblo race to help, cheer, and have fun. I brought my bike. I didn’t actually think I was going to use it, except maybe to get from the camper to the expo area.

I was selling t-shirts at the Crank Brothers booth and Jill came up, needing to ride. I thought “OK, she wants me to tune her bike before she goes—no worries.” Nope. Next thing I know I’m riding my first ride back since my crash. On a mountain bike. At night. On a strange course.

Fast forward to this week. I was helping out at a friend’s triathlon training camp. I was swimming with them and showing them around, and Jill and I were tour guides. They were going to go on an easy ride, so I thought “What the hey, I’ll go too.” It was a beautiful ride with great people and a good route. 70 degrees in Tucson in March. Ahhh. So two days later, I ride as well. This time it was a little longer and had a bit of a climb on it. OK, it was a 70 mile ride up Mount Lemmon to 9000’. I made it. And the 10” cookie at the top was great. (Thanks, Eric, for taking the last Butterscotch cookie.)

So, I guess you can say I’m back!

And I sure hope my surgeon is not reading this.

Here's a picture going up Mt. Lemmon.

Brian

Vanished lives

Yesterday I received news about two cyclists who were hit and killed by a police officer who, officials think, fell asleep at the wheel. The three cyclists were hit head-on—two fatalities; another seriously injured. One of the two killed was pro triathlete and cyclist Kristy Gough. Jill and I met Kristy a few years ago at a training camp, though we didn’t get to know her well. She and her boyfriend, Clas, kind of did their own thing. They were a very nice, quiet couple. And both very good athletes.

This should remind us of how quickly our plans can change in this world. Last May Jill and I were enjoying hanging out and racing at California mountain bike races in our new camper. We knew many of the racers and it was fun just riding and visiting with friends for those two weeks. No stress, minimal plans, no worries. Jill and I were planning out our racing for the next few years and dreaming dreams. Suddenly on May 4, everything changed. I had a severely broken leg…camping trip was over…my plan to turn pro the next month had vanished.

Here’s the big lesson: We can plan our plans, but know that we’re not in control. My plans were changed, but I’m thankful to be alive. Kristy’s plans of going to the Olympics are now gone, but much more tragically, her family and friends have to deal with her being gone. Kristy was a wonderful person and a great athlete. We really must think beyond this life and realize that this life, even if you live to be 100, is still very short compared to eternal life that we all will live. Let’s make sure we do everything in this earthly life to ensure a happy eternal life with our Creator.