Where I have been, where I am, & where I am going

This will come as an epic shock to you all I am sure, but over the past few months I have spent a lot of time thinking about life. After all I had to do a lot of talking, reflecting, and writing about my life, the twists and turns, the ups and downs, the extraordinary people and the....challenging people who's paths have crossed mine.

I have never been one to like the word 'regret'. I have always tried to live my life with the absence of the word, which might be one reason I lived my life so cautiously and why when I picked up my entire life and moved it to Colorado I did not only shock others but I shocked myself. Have there been situation that I at times wish would have gone differently.....you bet! However, the more I have reflected the more I am able to embrace the ups and downs life has so graciously allowed me to experience.

In life we do things, some we wish we had never done, some we wish we could replay a million times in our heads. But they all make us who we are, and in the end they shape every detail about us. If we were to reverse any of them we wouldn't be the person we are. So just live, make mistakes, have wonderful memories, but never ever second guess who you are, where you have been, and most importantly where it is you're going.

Live life my friends!!

I Believe

I believe everything happens for a reason!
People change so you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they're right.
You believe lies so that you will eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes, good things fall apart so better things can fall together.

-Marilyn Monroe

Bucket List

Marry my best friend
Watch the sunset at the beach
Spend a holiday with my family somewhere exotic
Ski the Swiss Alps
Be a great parent
Watch the sunrise at the beach
Visit Virginia in the fall
Spend a few weeks in Greece
Have a child
Run in the Marine Corps Marathon
Go to Hawaii
Become fluent in a another language
Grow old with someone I love

Never Alone

During this most recent journey I found myself on I encountered many extraordinary people, people who have changed my life for the better, people who will remain in my life and my heart always. One of these extraordinary individuals shared this song with all of us as she was leaving and heading back home. Many tears were shed when we began to I listen to these beautiful lyrics and I feel as though the message is so poinent as we all began this new year. A year filled with new beginnings, friends worht having, more smiles than grumbles, and above all for us to always remember we are never alone!!

Never Alone by Lady Antebellum

Enjoy & Happy New Year!!

Start your swim training early!

As I started out on this new triathlon journey I was given a piece of sound advice regarding triathlon training, advice that remains the best so far……….“start your swim training early”. I knew there were a few things I needed to be successful in a tri but first and foremost a swim coach was in order. I knew how to swim if I was put in a situation that required swim & live or don’t swim & deal with the repercussions. However, I didn’t know how to swim laps or swim competitively, so I searched the globe and found Katie at the YMCA who has become my life line to swimming. The first time I got in the pool to swim I looked like a giraffe trying to swim laps. This land dwelling girl found swimming to be very unnatural. I don’t know how many times I told Katie, “when I bike and run I can breathe whenever I want, but this swimming thing makes breathing a real challenge”. As a bit of comic relief on this balmy 115 degree day I have a video to share with you, I hope you get as many laughs as I did.
Video Coming Soon
As you can see and as I quickly discovered I needed to kick up the lessons and practice because there was a real possibility once I got out into the open water of Hayburn Lake for the swimming portion of the triathlon I might drown. I have been in lessons for 12 weeks now and think I have made some progress. I would still be smoked if Michael Phelps and I raced, but as I think about it anyone that races against an athlete so rare seems to come up a few strokes too short.
Video Coming Soon
Over the next few days I will share techniques I have learned, challenges I have faced, failures I have endured and triumphs that keep me going back to the pool week after week & day after day. In the mean time here is a small checklist of items that you may want to add to your training arsenal if you haven’t already.
Swim Coach: For any of you that are thinking about doing a triathlon non-competitively a swim coach may not be a necessity but certainly a great addition if you are not a solid swimmer.
Good Pair of Goggles: There are many, too many in my opinion, goggle choices out there. Different color bands, different color lenses, different brands, different shapes. Amongst all the differences the main thing you are looking for is fit, comfort, tint (this will help you with glare in open water swims) and NOT leaky. There is nothing worse than a leaky pair of goggles, trust me I am currently dealing with a pair right now. I have been told the best way to pick out goggles is by putting them on without the strap. The goggles should suction to your face, if they don’t then that pair does not fit the contouring of your face and you need to try on the next pair. Keep trying goggles on until you find the perfect pair. Remember you pay for what you get, so spend within reason, but spend at the higher end of reason.
Swimsuit: There are many different brands out there, but my best advice is go for comfort and fit over brand and look. I have a long trunk so Nike tends to fit me best, however your nearest sporting goods store should have a huge selection of swimsuit for women and men alike.
Wetsuit: Wetsuits are not required at most races, although Matt can attest that he was not able to compete in a triathlon this year due to not having a wetsuit. This purchase it totally up to you, but a purchase proven to be beneficial in some cases. A wetsuit will help in dealing with colder water and buoyancy, which at times will help with making the swim a bit easier.
Triathlon-Specific shorts: For race day it’s self, and if I can advice, at least a few swim practices leading up to race day you will want to wear triathlon-specific shorts. I advice wearing this to practice a few times for the simple fact you don’t want to be trying something new for the first time on race day. Triathlon-specific shorts are cycling shorts with thin padding to help cushion your toosh while competing in the bike portion of the race, but the padding is thin enough you will not absorb half the water in the lake like if you were to wear regular cycling shorts. Trust me you want that paddling!! Wearing tri shorts for the swim portion will also save you time during the transition (time you are transitioning between the swim and bike) in that you will not have to change into cycling clothes.
My small, uneducated and inexperienced advice on the swimming portion of a triathlon.
Happy Swimming,
JB

Triathlon 101

As many of you, who have been tuning in once a month to read my disorganized thoughts I so freely share here in this small internet space know, I have been training for my first ever triathlon. As I embarked on this new athletic journey, that I had been tossing around in my mind for years, I thought ‘how hard can it really be….I have run ½ marathons, I can ride a bike, all I really need to know is how to swim laps and that can’t be too hard for someone who is already an athlete.’ Fast forward 3 months, I am here to tell you my friends triathlon training is the opposite of easy, maybe that is why the very few of us that do compete in them are considered ‘crazy’. I have been in swim lessons for 12 weeks, lost 15 lbs most of that from sweating while training in 100+ degree tempts., have amazing tan lines from my cycling shorts, have scrapes and bruises from not being able to unclip my cycling shoes in a pinch which results in humpty dumpty falling off her bike, had 911 called on me once this summer at the TU track workout due to heat exhaustion, and I am in bed by 10pm every night due to total exhaustion. So why am I doing this to myself you may be asking, well because at the end of the day I love it.

As you can see I have had many adventures, learning experiences and setbacks while training for this triathlon, I will be sharing my journey with over the next few weeks as I prepare for the August 21st event.

Well, it is 112 degrees this afternoon, I can’t think of anything better to do than hop on my bike and go for a nice sweat induces 20 mile ride. If you do not hear from me soon, send out search and rescue I may be aimlessly wondering towards a mirage of water in this desert Oklahoma has become.

Helloooooo

Jennifer,

I am writing inquiring about your whereabouts and if you are ever going to come visit me again. I know you have been very busy mending a broken heart, battling record high temperatures, training for a triathlon or two, taking the GRE, looking at grad schools and needing a vacation but I would like if you could come visit more often than once a month.

Love,
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