“Make a joyful shout
to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with
gladness; come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord,
He is God; It is He who has made us,
And not we ourselves;
We are His people and
the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates
with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to him,
and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting,
And his truth endures
to all generations.”
What a whirlwind of a year it has been! I managed to cram
getting engaged, finishing school, accepting my pro card, getting married all
within the space of 3-4 months leading into January of this year and from then
on it’s been head-on-full-tilt-no-holds-barred-life-coming-at-you-with-both-barrels-leveled.
It’s been fun though. A lot of fun and I have so much to be grateful for. With
Halloween out of the way and Thanksgiving looming I thought I’d dedicate this
post to all the people I have to be thankful for.
-First and foremost I am thankful for my Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. He is the one who gives me the gifts and talents I have and all I
can do is humbly do my best to bring glory to Him through my training and
racing. Jessica and I are overwhelmed every day with how much God has blessed
us in life and even when we struggle and are hurt, angry, tired or depressed it
is heartening to take a step back and remember that God is the same yesterday,
today and tomorrow. We serve a good God who always, ALWAYS has our best
interests in mind and when we humble ourselves and pursue Him with all our
heart He sees to it that things always work out for His good.
-My Wife: She’s just plain awesome. There’s not much else I
can say about that. We’re best friends, training partners and only very rarely
adversaries. Even though we’ve been married less than a year it has been very
trying at times. When two people are pouring their heart and soul into
training, racing, working and school there isn’t much time for each other but
I’m so thankful for Jessica and that at the end of the day we can sit down and
eat dinner together and talk about the day. She has been so patient with me
when I’ve been busy and she encourages me when I’m moody and down on myself and
my training. Not only that but she compels me to be a better husband, a better
Christian and a better man. She doesn’t let me get away with crap and inspires
me to strive to love her better every day. She also makes a mean granola bar
and can whip up a pretty tasty batch of cookies too.
-Shelly O’Brien: Shelly had been my coach for 5 years before
I decided to take my own path earlier this summer. Under her guidance I grew
from a slow, weak, adolescent to a professional triathlete. I grew so much under
her direction and had a blast as well. Training in the summers, attending
camps, coaching at camps and helping mentor a younger, faster generation is
what I love about this sport and Shelly gave me the opportunity to experience
all of that. She taught me the meaning of “high performance” and the knowledge
I gained working with her is invaluable.
-Sponsors: I didn’t have any big, title sponsors this year
but the two companies I worked with were great. Fluid nutrition has products of
the absolute highest class. There’s been a lot of talk and research lately
about race day drinks needing more sodium and less sugar/calories. The
nutritionist for many pro cycling teams and author of “The Feedzone Cookbook,”
Alan Lim, says we should “drink our hydration and eat our calories.” Well Fluid
has been doing that for the last few years before such a notion was gaining
attention. Their performance drink is tasty yet subtle with 200mg of sodium per
100 kcal serving. The recovery drink has the well known “4-1” ratio and since
they use whey isolate they’re also dairy free.
Sockguy provided my… well- socks, for the year and they made
sure I was always looking super fly on the bike and run! Sometimes I tend to
take life too seriously but deep down I have a quirky sense of humor and
sockguy fits in with that perfectly. All sorts of things you don’t think belong
on a pair of socks like bacon and eggs, hamburger and french fries, popcorn and
many more were seen adorning my ankles this year. Sockguy socks are a great way
to draw attention to yourself and distract those chasing you as you’re going
off the front.
-Tri-Sition Area-:Tri-Sition area is the local bike and tri
shop in San Antonio that I frequent often, train out of and where my wife works
as well. The owners, Marco and Lorena, are two of the nicest people you will
meet. They are such genuine people who really just love triathlon and love
supporting people that love the sport as well. They are so involved in the
community and just seeking to grow the sport any way they can. The shop is a
great gathering place for all the local tri talent and I’ve had a blast getting
to know the people there this year. Thank you Marco and Lorena for having such
big hearts and for keeping my bike in working order!
-The race directors: I feel a disclaimer is necessary here-
no, these men did not ask me to say any of this and no, they don’t pay me
appearance fees for going to their race. (Though I would be hard pressed to
refuse if they made me an offer). I was very fortunate to have an excellent
lineup of races this fall and each one was special in its own way.
The
Kemah, Bridgeland and Houston triathlon are all run but Aaron Palaian at
OnurMark Events. Aaron does an absolute stand up job of putting on some of the
most high quality races I’ve ever done. He sets the bar for other event
directors out there and he makes sure to put it high. His races are
competitive, safe and each brings its own flair. For some reason this year, an
OnurMark race was synonymous with a poor performance from me but I plan on
changing that next year!
Scott
Rampy at the TriFest for MS. TriFest was an extremely impromptu race for me
this year. I already wrote a brief race report about it but I just want to
publicly thank Scott for his hospitality and the time and effort he put into
the event. Scott’s wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last year and to
see how he has thrown his heart and soul into finding a cure for the disease
that is plaguing his wife is moving at the deepest level. Watching him walk
across the finish line with his wife and seeing just how much he loves her was
inspiring and heart rending at the same time.
Thank you, Scott.
Gary
Metcalf of TriFecta. A first year event the TriFecta triathlon was held at
gorgeous Possum Kingdom Lake right next to where I used to go to boy scout camp
in high school! Gary did a phenomenal job taking care of us pro’s and I was
incredibly impressed with the quality of this event for its first year. I am
sincerely looking forward to going back next year.
Steve
Farris. I’ve known Steve for many years while going to school at UT Tyler. If I
could think of one word to describe Steve it would be, generous. He’s let me
borrow his disc wheel for many races and not just me but anyone. I’m pretty
sure he’s only used the wheels a few times for himself but they get raced
nearly every weekend! I’ve raced The Rose City Triathlon four times now and
Tri-Tyler was my first half Ironman this year. Steve simply loves the sport and
he loves taking care of athletes and seeing them succeed. The quality and
detail he puts into both events is remarkable. From building excellent post
race food and beverages to constructing a giant finish line tower to placing a
rose on each athletes bike after the race, he thinks of everything and really
looks after the safety of the athletes. However, he doesn’t shy away from
designing of the hilliest and most difficult courses in the nation!
-Others: Countless others have played a role in my debut year
as a pro and the craziest year of my existents. I also want to thank my parents
and my grandparents- Gaba and Papa Joe for raising me and always being there. The
Riley family for how you’ve opened your home and family to me over the years.
Jessica Martin and her grandparents, the Labrode’s and the Yoho’s for letting
Jess and I crash at your houses before a race; Robbie Wade and Wes Anderson for
pushing me in training and in race; Melissa Mantak for letting me attend her
camp in Colorado this spring; Susan Ingram for running a great masters program
and helping my swim so much; and Kevin and Shirley Barton for the “borrowing”
of your race wheels for a good 4 months. All of you have contributed to my
success in one way or another and I am extremely grateful.
I’m looking forward to a great 2013 and beyond!
