The Backstory

It all started with a pretty innocuous statement. 

"If I can do this, so can you"

Despite what you may think at first glance, I'm a pretty competitive person. I don't like finishing things I can't start. And I like to be right. 

Like I really, really like to be right. 

So when that statement was spoken to me a little over three years ago, it was basically a challenge I couldn't refuse.  

Three years later, I can't believe where that statement has taken me. 

It's taken me to countless small towns, shady bathrooms, mom and pop shops and seemingly every FM 12934833773 road around Houston. 

It's taken me to specialty bike shops, to specialty running stores and to incredibly painful sports massages.

 

It's introduced me to one of my best friends who I would've never met but now can't live without and many new lifelong friends and my worst enemy (myself, hot and tired). 

It's taken me to a diet of peanut butter crackers, pickle juice, cookies, chips, bananas, oranges, potatoes, gu, gels, sport beans, chomps, nuun, gatorade, powerade, cytomax and plain old H20, all eaten on the side of a road who know where. 

It's taken me to outbiking chasing dogs, out cycling crazy motorists, and out maneuvering dead squirrels, dead frogs, dead birds, dead dogs and dead tbd animals at inhumane Saturday morning hours.  

It's taken me to many a post ride beer and post run brunches.  And the next morning hangovers of regret         

It's taken a lot of money out of my wallet for shoes, bikes, helmets, pumps, tubes, gloves, cycling shoes, pedals, bike computers, heart rate monitors, clothes and water bottles.  

It's taken me and dolce (my bike!) to the rolling hills of amazingly beautiful Hawaii, the punishing mountains of Las Vegas, the beautiful, wouldn't trade it for the world country side of Houston to Austin Texas and the cool breezes, cool views and steep hills of San Diego. 

Correction, that San Diego foolishness was only me, my best iPod mix and running shoes. My good friend anti-chafing body glide wasn't there and I immediately regretted it's absence.  

That statement has taken me a lot of places but I never forgot the mission of team in training or ms150 along the way. Thanks to friends,family and  colleagues along the way, In those thread managed to raise over $10,000 for cancer research and $2,000 for multiple sclerosis research. 

And I also have never forgotten why I really started this.  One of my first donors from 2011 who is no longer with us but always in my mind when I'm at the end of a particular hard run, and long punishing ride or a pride swallowing swim practice. Someone who had been there to walk me to preK and elementary school, drive me to high school and look on proudly as I walked across that college graduation stage.  I will always aspire to make my grandma proud, and give a big eff you to the cancer she fought against. 

So that's the background. If you just happened upon my blog, thanks for reading.  I hope you will consider a donation to my triple crown Team in training event, the towne lake triathlon this fall.