Height: 5' 11
Weight:152
Born: March 1987. Denver, CO
I currently work part time at Gear West Bike and Triathlon, the greatest triathlon shop in the country, and train full time. I've always been a runner, from the time that I was a kid playing in the mountains outside Boulder to playing midfield in soccer through elementary school. Formally I started running in 8th grade when I went out for spring track. The longest distance offered was 1200 meters and I fell in love.
After Junior High, I ran middle distance and distance through high school and then college while at the University of Missouri. I always loved running, but was burnt out on racing by the time I graduated from Mizzou. Moving to the far, far north that is Minneapolis, MN I took a job as a business analyst with Target. But I quickly realized that corporate life is not for me. Over the winter I started swimming laps to get back in shape after my 2 year hiatus because I didn't want to run in the sub-zero windchills of a Minnesota winter. My dad, who had completed a few triathlons for fun encouraged me to try it. So I entered the Buffalo triathlon in 2010, placed 4th, and was immediately hooked.
Since then, I quit corporate America and hung up my suit and tie for the infinitely more appealing shorts and t-shirt of Gear West. When I'm not working to pay the bills, I swim bike and run up to 25 hours a week. I love racing, and it can be demanding, but I wouldn't trade what I do for anything in the world. There's nothing like spending 5 hours on the bike Wednesday morning turning out a 100 miler, or feeling the bounce in your stride when you're running is going well, or nailing a flip a turn during the middle of a hard interval set in the pool, or just stopping after a half iron race, or walking out of the pool after a master's workout to find the sun rising, or racing through the woods on single track even though you should be taking it easy because you just can't help it, and especially there's nothing like the feeling of the start line, the pre-race excitiment that every athlete can't live without.
If you've never tried it, start today. Not tomorrow or next Monday. Just lace up a pair of shoes, any tennis shoes will do for a short run, and head out the door. It will be uncomfortable and you'll get sweaty and it might even hurt. But if you let yourself I guarantee after you finish you'll have a smile on your face.
Train Safe and Have Fun
