Beginning of Christ's month...

The month of December and the whole end of the year in general is a great time to reflect on the blessings I have. This past semester in school has been one of the most stressful of my life. Classes that I didn't like and loads of work that I eventually waded through. With just a week and a little left on the academic calendar for the year, I am feeling the end coming. There will be some speed bumps for sure, but I will make it. I am looking forward to next semester because I will be out on an internship and away from the classroom, potentially forever. I have to count that as a blessing.
I am working on my marathon for January. The long runs are really mentally taxing me at this moment. I took this last week off because I just needed a recharge. The constant 10+ mile days is rough. I like going fast and doing 10x1 mile is easier than 10 miles straight. Easy. So, I am looking to revamp my training and hopefully get through my long runs without any more hitches. My swim speed is still hanging around and I have no idea where my cycling is. But, I have a triathlon on Saturday and am really looking forward to a change of pace. I think I have begun to figure out my running off the bike and am confident with this upcoming race. My swim and run will most likely be faster than the last time i did this race. The bike is the dark horse.
Christmas is coming. The blessings in my life are more evident each day and I hope to just continue to appreciate everything that I am given, even the horribly rough long runs that continue to dot my training every week. I just need to hit that special 20 miles before the race.

November...

Not much new to say. The weekend beofre halloween, I was invited to backpack the Grand Canyon with a number of friends. We did the "tonto loop," down Bright Angel, Across West Tonto and up Hermits. 27 miles in three day. It was a blast. My legs were feeling the effort for at least a week afterward. It was a rough hike, but worth every drop of sweat.

I have been consistently in the pool three times per week. I was building up lengths everyday. But, I have since backed off to 1500m per day for a couple reasons. I know 1500m is kind of wimpy for some of you athletes, but I am mostly swimming just to maintain fitness. So, going more than that runs the risk of burnout and unneccessary fatique. Plus, I am usually on a time crunch and 1500m is easily fit into 30min. Finally, I have decided to race the Anthem Holiday Classic sprint which only involves a 400m pool swim. So, staying at 1500m allows me to focus more on speed than long efforts. So there.

I am gradually bumping up my run distances. So, far right around 10 miles is feeling good. I am doing an 11 mile long run today, followed by a much needed massage by Bo Reed. I am going to make sure that his massages are added to my schedule because my hamstrings are giving me some issues. I am hoping he can begin to work them out.

I am also trying to fit in some bike rides. I am little worried about my bike riding for the upcoming triathlon. It is only 12 miles on a flat, low elevation course. But, despite being a "fun" triathlon, I still want to have a good go at it. Bricks here I come!!

Quick Update...

It's been a while since I have updated this thing. I have been super busy and stressed with my school load this semester. I am a procrastinator and when you have a number of things due each week, they tend to add up. I have been able to finish them all and get everything in, but it still stresses me out to no end.

Anyway, I have been getting in the pool three days per week. I have really noticed the aerobic base that I have built over the past few years of swimming. When I started out swimming in 2007, it was always a struggle in the water, my fitness wasn't great, I didn't have the muscle tone and my fluidity in the water was lacking. But now, even after taking a break from swimming throughout the whole summer, I came back and after a rough couple weeks finding my stroke again, I am hitting times in my workouts that I have never touched before. My fitness levels stay more consistent even after breaks in my training. I wish my running could do the same thing. Running has always been the hardest to get back into after long breaks.

Speaking of long running breaks...I will finally get back to training next week. After the Disneyland Half Marathon I took a much needed two weeks off to let myself recover before starting training for the PF Changs Rock and Roll Marathon. When I went out, an old injury resurfaced with vengeance and I had to go down for another week. I tried it out again and still no luck. So, I decided to just not rush and take another few weeks off, leaving me with 12 full weeks of training for PF Changs. Twelve weeks out from the race is next week and that's when I will begin a re-build of training.

Before that though, I will be hiking the Grand Canyon with a group of five others. We are doing 27 miles in 3 days next weekend. Down Bright Angel, across Tonto and up Hermit's. Should be a blast, I have never backpacked in the Grand Canyon, so stay tuned for a recap of that adventure next week.

I guess that's it, hopefully I don't take so much time between now and the next post.

Rest, recover, rebuild...

It has been almost three weeks since the end of the DIsneyland Half Marathon. I have run once. I knew I was going to take at least a full two weeks off after the race to recover and after 15 days I went out for an easy 5 miler. I have had some pain in the Tibial Tuberosity on both my legs since late last year. The pain is similar to Osgodd Schlatter's disease, but as a 21 year old who isn't growing anymore, it is very unlikely that that is the case. The pain seemingly dumbfounded the doctor's that I saw. And while not understanding what was happening, a PT suggested getting patella tendon straps. They work for Osgood Schlatter's pain, so why not here? I bought them and besides being annoying, they worked very well. Kept the pain WAY down and I was able to do all the training neccessary for the half marathon.

Well, after two weeks of not running, I totally spaced putting on my straps. I thought, "whatever, I ran the race without them and had no issue, I should be fine." Well, I wasn't fine. I had some really sharp pain in my high shin, right below the tibial tubercle which made me stop. I decided to run home (cause how else was I going to get there). I ran on tuesday and have had pain in my knees since. Albeit, it is getting better. The pain was as worse as it ever was before I got the straps.

My training for the PF Changs Rock N' Roll Marathon (yes, a full marathon!!) is supposed to begin on Monday. I am contemplating putting it off another week so that I can test my knees with the straps on again and make sure it isn't something new and more serious.

Otherwise, despite not swimming at all this summer, my fitness levels in the pool are similar to where they were last spring, praise God! But, I feel like I am struggling more and don't feel as fluid in the water either. It will take time before I can get back to the same fluidity I enjoyed in the pool last semester.

Anyway, stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks and months of my training for the marathon. Myself and two other friends are making a run at a Boston qualifying time which is set at 3:10. 7:15 mile pace for 26.2 miles. Oh boy.

Disneyland Half Marathon recap...

For the most part Disney did a great job with their half marathon weekend. There were definitely a few things that could be improved, but that all gets looked over when you have such a stellar time in the parks following a, personal, sub par race situation.

My travelling mates and I left Friday afternoon for the California desert. No issues driving and a quick over nighter in Barstow before heading into the LA area gave us a much relaxed start to the weekend. Nothing against Barstow, but I am not sure I would stay another night there anytime soon. If you've been there, you know.

We left mid morning on Saturday to head over the pass and hoped that we would be able to get an early check in at the hotel. Luckily, they had one room left. We dropped our bags and hoofed it the few blocks to the expo to grab our numbers and goody bags. Kudos to Disney and their organization with the race number pick-up. Maybe there were busier times but we went right about noon and it was super smooth and painless. No lines whatsoever. We mosied around the expo for an hour or so and picked up some free hand outs before grabbing a shuttle back to the hotel. Maybe we missed the sign, but it was definitely confusing figuring out which bus was the one we should take to our specific hotel. A quick lunch, grocery store shopping and back to the hotel until dinner. We were definitely wiped and ready for a nap mid afternoon. We found good grub at Buca di beppo and were satisfyingly filled with our share of carbs.

Sunday became an early morning. 3:30am early. I relish early mornings. They become tough as long days wear on, but nothing makes you feel more refreshed than waking up early, seeing the sunrise and knowing that your day is already productive. We joined the diaspora of athletes winding their ways through Downtown Disney to the staging area. Here is another one of those little things that could be fixed. I wear my warm-ups and trainers for a reason before races. When Disney makes you check your clothes bag at 5am for a 6am start, what is the purpose of wearing them at all? I am cold and wearing my racing flats, jersey and shorts for an hour before the race start. Not good Disney, not good. They led us like cattle to the start corrals. I made my way into the A corral, figuring the "elite" members would be in the front of the A corral. In fact, we had our own little section blocked off right behind the wheel chair athletes. Speaking of wheel chair athletes, wow! If my situation ever necessitates needing a wheel chair, I hope to be as burly as some of those athletes. Anyway, I warmed up, hit the port-o-johns one last time and made my way back through the crowd to the elite section. Believe me, I say elite, but the awesomeness isn't lost on me. Never have I run a race that is this big. Never have I run a race that had my name on the bib. And never have I EVER been called an elite. So, that is something to be thankful for. It was a check of humility all weekend when people would see my number (9) and comment on seeing someone with such a low number. Disney placed people by their anticipated finish times and lower numbers were faster. Believe me, it was definitely an experience.

I made it my goal to go out with the leaders and try my best to hold on. I knew that to do well, I needed to set myself up for success from the go and this was my strategy. Well, I didn't expect to have a 1:07 runner in the race. He went out so fast, everyone was pulled along by him and the leaders all got split up from the outset. Not much of a race. In return, I went out a little fast and knew by the first mile that it wasn't going to be my day. In retrospect, more tempo running and more mentally tough runs are needed during training next time. I realized how much of the race course was a blur for me when I spoke to my running mates about the course and they kept saying, "did you see this?" "Did you see that?" And I had not seen, or at least not remembered, any of it. I was flying through, focused on the race and my opponents most of the time. It is the one time I have felt bad about being in the front of the pack. I love being competitive and racing, but I miss out on a lot of the experience of the whole course by going so fast. Next time, I will have to take it more leisurly.

I have read from a lot of people that they didn't enjoy the course outside of Disneyland. I personally loved it. How many times do you get to run down roads 4 or 5or 7 lanes across with no traffic? You get to run the middle of the road and not worry about cars. I think that is great. Lots of people hated the scenery, but from what I said, I didn't remember much and in all likelihood didn't notice most of it anyway. I loved the cheerleaders and the bands and especially the boy scouts! (Eagle Scout!!) They definitely helped me keep my pace honest. I would get a great adrenaline rush when running through all the screaming individuals. And to top it all off the weather could not have been better. We had a deep marine layer fog over the course the whole time and it absolutely kept the temps down to a more enjoyable race. I only once dropped my shades down off my head onto my eyes. And that only lasted a few minutes as the fog rolled in thick once again. Incredible.

All in all, I wasn't pleased with my performance. I didn't care as much about place as I did about my time and I was far from where I wanted to be. To be honest, I have never trained for a race harder than here, but it obviously didn't pay off and I will have to go back and see what needs to be changed for next time. It was a really tough year at the Disneyland Half Marathon. Course records were set in both the men's and women's races and it was overall the fastest race on record for the top runners.

Thanks to all the volunteers. I have done that job many times and it never gets easier. They were awesome.

One more change that Disney should consider is allowing more mobility around the finish line. In other words, making it easier to cross from one side of the finish line to the other (for example, from the fantasia hat to downtown disney)and moving the awards ceremony sooner. It is a long wait for the first finishers to sit around for the awards 3 1/2 hours later.

The rest of the weekend was fabulous. How can you not have a good time in Disneyland? Except for a couple trips to the East coast Disney, I haven't been to this park in quite a number of years and I absolutely love it still!

Who Dat...

I'll admit it. I didn't think about New Orleans unless it was Fat Tuesday. I am 1500 miles away, in a high altitude city, in the desert southwest, where water is so scarce it's like gold. I had no interest or inkling of thought about New Orleans. My background has nothing in common with that city. I had no friends there, no family, I had never traveled there, nor had any intention to travel there anytime soon. Nothing.
Five years later, my life and the lives of every American has been changed. Whether you have been there or not, you have seen the photos, heard the stories, listened to the news, saw the headlines, maybe even met someone who had to escape from that city. You know about New Orleans now. There is no escaping it. Just like the feeling you get from hearing "September 11th" spoken aloud, you know something is important about August 29th. There is no need to explain "Katrina" to anyone. I am sure if you did a study of names given to children, Katrina has dropped far from its previous spot. Katrina has become synonymous with not only the hurricane of all hurricanes, but a general lack of infrastructure and communication in our government. It has become a loaded word for slow response in government. "They don't want to make this Obama's Katrina." It has that kind of power.

But I still see Katrina from an outsiders perspective. I haven't rebuilt homes, no one has moved in next door who had to leave everything behind, I didn't see the devastation first hand. My dad served in San Antonio, in a shelter for displaced individuals after Katrina and the lesser remembered, Rita. He was there for weeks and he has the cliche shirt to show for it.

I was in New Orleans a month ago. The LCMS National Youth Gathering descended on the city for a week of uplifting worship. About 12,000 youth went to help in the ninth ward to make the endless work still left a little easier for someone else. But I wasn't there as I was assigned a different task. What I can say is that I am interested in the people of that city more than ever. While our youth were living the dream at the Convention Center and the Superdome, there are thousands who may never look at those places the same way. Those are the people who had to endure hot, humid temperatures with little water and not a clue as to when the nightmare will end. They left a flooded home behind, narrowly escaping with the shirts on their backs to be dropped off by boat or helicopter or bus and had to wait for what? Because as far as they knew, no one was coming to save them. I walked in the paths that they walked in. I sat in the seats of the Superdome that they slept in. We were excited to go into the home of the Superbowl winning Saints (Who Dat!?), but those individuals, their families, their children and grandmothers and grandfathers, brothers, sisters and friends will never see the Superdome as just the home of the Saints. I can understand that now.

A month ago, I left New Orleans and it was a city with a dark past. I see New Orleans now, after seeing all the photos and hearing the stories this week, as a city with a bright future. I was annoyed with the obnoxious and vain pride that the city had in the football team. It was annoying to see "Who Dat" emblazoned everywhere. It seemed like they were rubbing it in everyone's face. But I understand now that that is the bright spot in so much gloom. After four and a half years, they found something to rally around. When these people enter heaven, God is going to judge them for the heart and character they had through so much adversity. When humans let them down, God never gave up and you can find that in the alleys and walkways of the emerging New Orleans.

40 miles...

Well, where to start? My training is going well. I have bumped my weekly mileage to around 40 miles. My legs are definitely feeling it. I am adding an extra day off at the end of this week. And then going to follow it up with the longest week planned for this training block, 45 miles before a taper into the Disneyland Half Marathon!

Speaking of the Disneyland Half Marathon, I printed off my waiver for the race and they let you know what bib number you were assigned. Mine is #9! I know that I wasn't the 9th person registered, so it must mean I have the 9th fastest registered time. I hope I can live up to it!

Other than that, I am job searching for the fall semester. Pray that something pops its head out. I am picky when it comes to jobs which makes it even more difficult to pinpoint a potential job.

I pray that all of you are doign well! Peace.

Last Post NYG 2010...

So, again, I apologize for not getting this done earlier and because of my tardiness my days have run together and I am not sure I can give you the same detail that I wish I could because it isn't fresh. But, I am going to give you some think that I was thinking about during Tuesday bible study. The turning of pages in the bible by thousands of kids sitting in a silent auditorium sounds like a soft rain falling on the grass. It was incredible. You could honestly close your eyes and imagine the rain falling. It was similar to an activity we did during our training. As all YAVs were sitting together in training room, the young adult ministry coordinator for the LCMS came in to talk to us about ongoing ministries. She had us clap as she panned her hand over the group and as she moved her hand over your section you would begin clapping, snapping or rubbing your hands together. It made a very realistic noise to that of raining.
Secondly during bible study, the reverend mentioned that the old testament and all its history, genealogies and boring descriptions of places was meant to prove that these places, people and events were real, not made up. That Jesus truly did exist and that it is not just a story but to testify for Jesus' name. Which brings me to our Gathering theme verse, John 20:31 "but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." But what is written? It says in the previous verse, John 20:30 "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples..." He did miraculous signs!!! If the rest of the bible is full of truths, why do we take the miracles as falsities? Because they're not!! Good stuff!!
As odd as this may sound, this is the first time that this idea has donned on me. I never thought to question why the boring genealogies or histories were in the bible. They weren't there because they weren't important, because they are!
Lastly, he also mentioned a quote that was originally stated the night before by our mass event speaker. She said that you "don't need to have all the answers to have all of God's grace." God still loves you as he loves his own son and he doesn't mind if you have questions because through questions come deeper study in the word and an overall better understanding of how and why Christ works.
Tuesday night was our worship event. The most striking thing about the whole night was that the service can be seen every Sunday in our very own church. (except for the 25000 others and the huge stage and band, but other than that it was the same. Haha) What I meant to say was the order of worship was similar. We sang te deum, the agnus dei, there was a sermon, benediction, bible lessons and even communion! It was exactly like here at home. That was powerful to me. I don’t have to explain myself and my beliefs or rituals to anyone else because they all do the exact same thing. They all know these things by heart, the hymns, Lord’s prayer, and Nicene creed were all said by, I assume, a majority of participants by heart. Like me, they all grew up with it. I can’t get enough. If you are a youth who feels alone, this is the place you are meant to be. There was such a kinship emanating from that dome. It was also the first night that I saw and heard the dome staff (non-affiliated with the gathering) singing and dancing to the songs and really feeling the love flowing throughout the building.
We decided to stay up all night. After the worship service we didn’t leave the dome til 1130 and we had to be back there for our final mass event at 630am. It was our last night in New Orleans. When were we going to be coming back? We didn’t know. We did know that we won’t get this experience for another 3 years. We decided to make the most of it. We got hyped up and walked over to Café du Monde, the famous beignet place. It was pretty empty at 1am and we decided staying up all night wasn’t worth it. Haha we headed back to the hotel, got two hours of sleep and went to the dome about 5am. But first, we had some unfinished business with the International House of Pancakes. I will never talk down IHOP’s coffee ever again. I was drained going into the mass event and right as the kids started lining up, my energy was revitalized. I blamed the coffee and am right in doing so. But, God knew we needed energy to be the people he wanted us to be, the energetic faces of the gathering staff. He opened the opportunity for this attitude through the coffee served to us at breakfast. Praise God for his love for us, because every time I thought “there is no way I can give the same energy today,” God seemed to find it in me and pull it to the surface so I could be the person these kids needed.
Morning Mass event was great. Once again, the planners did a bang up job. The highlight was the boom whackers. Boom whackers are plastic tubes, different colors and different lengths depending on the color. As ushers, we had to pass out the 25000 boom whackers to all the participants in a timely manner (4 minutes) and make sure no one begins hitting each other. We instilled the help of some of the participants and knocked it out in about 2.5 minutes. A drum troupe led everyone in different beats and patterns with the boom whackers. Feel free to check out the boom whackers, soon to be posted in the youth room at church. It was a great souvenir for everyone and made for an incredible end to the gathering.
I met up with the Peace youth, saw my buddy who lives there for dinner and flew home today. It is a bittersweet ending. I love my town and know that if these gatherings continued every day, month or year, they wouldn’t have the same appeal or energy. I am already counting the days til San Antonio in 2013 and have memories of new friends, new experiences to hold me over until then. I can’t wait to hear other stories, see photos and videos from gathering participants and keep in touch with all the new friends that I met. (oh, and get some good sleep!)

(cont.) NYG Days 3&4...and 5...

I am going to try to get through this all, so I can be caught up, but I am not sure that is possible. My time is limited again this morning, but here goes...
Day 4 (Sunday) mass event was once again, great. For us ushers it became a night of injuries, but for the crowd it left many tear filled. We had a youth (or DCE, my facts aren't totally straight yet) hop a railing on the first floor in order to beat the crowds. The seats in certain sections on the first level are only accessible over catwalks from the hall to the seating. There is open space around the rest of it that drops down 20 to 30 feet to the ground floor. He jumped the railing and was surprised that there was nothing to stand on. He fell that 30 feet. Luckily, he was conscious and coherent. Taken to the hospital and after an update from last night, he only suffered a mild concussion and was released yesterday. Praise God. But, we also had, throw-up, an epileptic boy have a seizure (same boy for the second night in a row)and our very own team captain getting his ear piece of his radio stuck too deep in his ear and having to go to the ER to get it removed. Despite all of that, which, in retrospect, turned out to be hardly serious, the event was great. The Skit Guys came out and had us laughing so hard tears were falling. We had an illusionist recreate the story gails of fishing boats in biblical times. He was totally decked out with a sail, wind and he reappeared, seemingly out of thin air behind the sail that was flailing in the wind. And our speaker for the night brought the emotion. She told the story of her daughter, a promising ballet dancer who was tragically killed in a car accident when on the way home from a photo shoot. Many individuals left the stadium with tears in their eyes. These events bring every emotion to the surface with one common theme, praising God!!
Monday morning started just as the first morning started, with bible study. We are in the same auditorium every morning ushering. The groups that enter our auditorium are different as well as the speakers. But, the theme is the same. The Gathering is broken up into 'Tracks." The track themes are LOOK, LISTEN, and LIVE. Every gathering participant has one day with each theme and the activities, speakers, concerts and events for each relate to the different themes. Since we are in the LIVE auditorium for bible study, we heard the same verses about life from the book of John once again yesterday.
But, once again, I have to get off to our third and final full day of Gathering excellence. Catch up with ya'll later. to be continued...

NYG Days 3&4...

My apologies for not updating yesterday. We had our first bible study yesterday morning, which meant a 7am call time. I, of course, had to get my run in and breakfast and that didn't leave much time for anything else. But I will do my best to remember all the good things that have happened over the past 2 days.
Saturday (Day 3) started getting crazy. The majority of groups finally arrived this day and the New Orleans area started looking a little more lutheran. I met up with my home youth group and made sure they were having fun before all the huge festivities kicked off that night at the Superdome. Otherwise, most of the day was spent hanging around, meeting other groups from around the nation and preparing for our first mass event.
We arrived at the superdome at 3pm because we, as usher captains, had to train the other usher teams before the event started. I say, in retrospect, that nothing could have prepared us for what was going to happen when 26,000 kids begin entering the stadium en masse! It was incredible!
If you missed watching the mass events the last couple of nights online at lcmsgathering.com, do it tonight, because it is truly an incredible experience. The house band played, they had a creation story skit with pyrotechnics (YEAH!! Fireworks IN the Superdome!!!), and a great speaker who is 96% blind because of a degenerative, genetic disease. He related his testimony to that of the blind man in the book of John being healed by Jesus. Powerful stuff!!
Despite the sore feet from all the walking and the standing on concrete floors for ushering, I have zero complaints about the job I do. I could not have been more blessed with my roommates, schedule, job, youth group, etc. Nothing has been able to take the smile from my face since we started our training. And until last night, the lack of sleep had little impact on me. But, even I am human (scary, I know) and I started to feel the effects of less than advisable sleep patterns. Regardless, the kick-off to the NYG was incredible!!
Sunday was the first full day of the Gathering for participants. It started off with an incredible bible study led by Rev. Dien Taylor, who turned out to be a highly charasmatic and intriguing speaker. He spoke on us being alive, but not truly living. He said that Jesus is the LIFE and RESURRECTION and without life and belief in him, we aren't truly alive! Nothing could me more true. I am learning that the stories of John (and the other gospels, but since John is our focus book for the gathering, I am highlighting this one) and the miracles of Jesus weren't just placed in the bible for entertaining reading, but are there so that we may "believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31). Jesus knew that without him we were lifeless. He wasn't arrogant and he invites all of us into his name. He is the Gate, Resurrection, Life, Truth, Way, Living Bread, Good Shepherd, and Light. He is everything we need to sustain this life and the next and without him we would never truly be living, just existing. Its awe inspiring to think someone cares so much for us that he isn't just there for our benefit but for the benefit of all regardless of who you are. He wants us to give ourselves to him as he did for us, because without him we would be lost souls floating until our demise. it's unbelievable!
After bible study we had a number of hours before having to report for usher duty at the dome again for Sunday's mass event. I stopped by some of the Concordia booths, I found a scouting organization that is totally connected to the Lutheran church, and I went by some of the district booths to find some free giveaways! It was a relaxing time and (I say the word again) impressive to see all teh smiling, milling about faces of these Lutheran youth. As one of the speakers said last night, this religion isn't just your parents anymore. It is not your, brothers, sisters, grandparents, or teachers, uncles, or aunts, it is OURS!! We are the future here and it looks bright.
I will fill in Sunday's mass event happenings later, I am off again to report for usher duty for bible study. To be continued....

The Gathering begins today (DAY 2)....

I never realize how yesterday is going to be classified until my morning run. I realized yesterday (while out on my morning run today) that yesterday was full of realizations (How funny, I realized realizations). These realizations are both serious and not-so-serious. But first, a run down of how our day went.
Breakfast at the hotel yesterday was like herding cattle. When our leaders tell us to be at breakfast when it opens at 6:30am to have a "peaceful and quiet" breakfast, everyone decides that's a good idea. Add to that the fact that we all (360 YAV's) had to be at the convention center by 8am and it becomes a mad house. Either way, I got my b-fast and was filled. Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal of the day.
We all met for morning bible study, but we first got our backpacks and bibles. Can you guess what color they are? (Jeopardy theme song) Da da da dada da da da...LIME GREEN!!! It is actually a pretty incredible color. I like it already. Instead of orange (2004 Gathering) or tan (2007 Gathering) we will be a sea of green in New Orleans. We also got our shirts. But as they tell us to be FUN-FRIENDLY-FLEXIBLE, we had to be flexible with the shirts. They ended up not getting all the shirts they wanted which means we only get one shirt instead of the two they promised. And, there were no small size shirts. Everyone had to size up. Thankfully, more shirts are on their way for Monday afternoon and we won't have to wear the same shirt all four days.
After our morning meeting, it was pretty much time for lunch. We met up with the CLBs (Community Life Builders for those who are uninformed. They are pretty much the older generation YAVs. So, if you think you are too old to enjoy the gathering, think again) and had a great sit down lunch. They served some New Orleans favorites, rice and beans, jumbalaya, salad, and of course, brownies. Funny side note, the air conditioning in our lunch room was on WAY too high and it would blow in spurts. It wasn't a constant gust from the vents but it would ebb and flow. Anyway, everytime it would blow I was picturing pterodactyls flying around and the gusts coming from their wings. Lack of sleep? who knows. Kind of pointless.
We finally jumped into our specific job duties after lunch. My group, Team Oscar (all YAV teams are named after military designations for letters, IE: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, etc.), are the usher captains. Why are we captains? Because we are awesome! That's why. But seriously, I have no idea. But I couldn't be happier about it. We traveled the long trek to the other side of the convention center and the auditorium where one of the bible studies is going to take place. They went over our duties and we had some time in between our second training of the day: Mass Event ushering at the Superdome.
After getting lost trying to find our way into the dome, we met up with Linda and her husband Randy who are leading the charge on ushering at the mass events. Can you say incredible! I feel so blessed to experience these huge spaces (convention center and Superdome) when hardly anyone is in there. It is both humbling and exciting knowing that the LCMS needs such large arenas to hold all their incredible youth. I cannot honestly say that any other church organizations do it bigger or better. As captains, we are to train the other ushering teams for mass events. Which means we get radios!! Importance at the gathering is shown through how many radios you have on your hip (or something like that). And we get radios.
We booked it back to the convention center (a mile away) for 7pm worship with all the staff of the gathering. We wanted to grab some dinner first, which we did at a place called Red Eye Grill just behind our hotel. We didn't anticipate how long it would take and walked in a tad late to worship, but the chicken fingers and fries were top notch. Plus Worshipping with all the other workers of the Gathering was AWESOME!!! I love being surrounded by so many other Lutherans. I am very proud to be who I am here.
After worship we walked down to the famous Cafe du Monde for Beignets (pronounced ben-yays, which are small, holeless donut type desserts, buried [and I truly mean buried] by powdered sugar). And since we were already in the area, we took a quick jaunt down bourbon street. I don't know what to say about that, except that I will probably never go back. It is just all about alcohol and debauchery. But, it was something that needed to be experienced while in New Orleans.
Now to the realizations of the day and the importance of this blog. Number one, I don't remember the last time I had this much fun. Honestly, probably not since the last gathering. I had some reservations coming into the week. I didn't know what to expect, didn't know anyone and wasn't sure I was going to like being a worker instead of a participant. But, I don't remember being so happy. And the Gathering hasn't even started yet!! All of that leads me to my second realization. I am seriously thinking about youth ministry again as a possible career course. I would love to work within the LCMS church in a young adult or youth ministry capacity. Next realization, God creates the most beautiful sunrises (I already knew this, but I am reaffirmed every time I see one). Last (serious) realization, this gathering is going to be incredible. My home church youth flew in last night. One of them had never flown before and survived that. She was pretty excited, I have no doubt. I hope I can meet up with them today and get their first experiences and impressions.
Now to teh not-so-serious realizations. One, Flagstaff doesn't even let homeless individuals sleep in our forests and New Orleans lets them sleep practically anywhere there is flat ground. Saw no less than 3 or 4 dudes this morning on anything from door stoops, to benches, to stairs of the Harrah's casino. Saturday morning in New Orleans is a far cry from Friday morning. No one was out yesterday at 530am. Today, tons were still out after a long night of partying. It was hardly the same city. Third, water doesn't get cold here. When I get back from my run, I am hot. I can't even take a cold shower to cool off. The water was luke warm at best. And lastly, I have never sweat more in my life. I always tend to say in my head, "check out that guy, his shirt [or shorts] are soaked! Goober). I was the goober today. You can't even tell how much you are sweating until you enter the air conditioning of the hotel. The air, with humidity is almost the same temp as your sweat and it does nothing to cool you off. I made the mistake of running with a shirt on yesterday, and needless to say, it is still largely damp after a day lying on our hotel room floor. And my shorts this morning are half soaked. Gross.
Anyway, another day down and one closer to the end of the gathering. Gathering kicks off this evening with our first Mass Event. There are going to be huge surprises in store for these youth. Some of which I know about and others of which I am still in the dark. Either way, nothing can compare and I am already planning to come back in 3 years. And as I have already said, the gathering hasn't even officially began yet.
If you have read this far, first off, thanks!! And secondly, the mass events are going to be streamed live at lcmsgathering.com. They begin at 7:30pm CST. That's 5:30pm AZ time or 8:30pm EST. Experience it with us!! Til tomorrow!

NYG YAV Day 1...

Well, yesterday started off as any day starts off...the sun came up. Who would have thought? The difference was that I was up before it...WAY before it. I had to catch a flight to the 2010 LCMS National Youth Gathering in New Orleans and my ticket said the plane would leave with or without me at 6:40am. That meant a 2:15am wake up call (or alarm) and a drive to the low Arizona desert. I am not going to bog this blog down with useless details about my flights because, to be honest, it all went incredibly smooth. I had a lay over in Nashville, TN. Which is a place I had never been before. I was amazed, as always, at how green everything is in the South/Midwest/East...pretty much anywhere but the West.
My connector flight from Nashville to New Orleans was packed with youth groups from all over making their way, albeit a day early, to New Orleans. I can only imagine (no allusion intended to the 2003 Gathering "Beyond Imagination" theme) how overloaded the airlines are going to be today and tomorrow as the rest of the approximately 20,000+ youth travel down here. I sat next to a friendly gentleman named John from Kansas. They were bringing a handful of youth and he and his wife were chaperoning the event for the first time. He sounded incredibly excited and I don't think he will be disappointed.
We lucked out on our room accommodations as we only have 3 in our room (meaning no sharing of beds or sleeping on the floor for anyone). We all have the same job (which was purposely done to avoid schedule conflicts if everyone had different jobs) and are from all over the US.
We finally met "Orange Nation" (named due to the fact that our YAV shirts are orange) last night at our first training. Truthfully, though, it wasn't much training, just some bible study, ice breakers and games. For instance, the leader, Brandon "B-Wayne" Heath split the 350 or so of us into 4 groups within the conference room we were stationed at. He had us put our chairs in a circle and we played a game called "pile-up." Which goes a little something like this...Brandon would call out a characteristic or an event that happened to people and a direction to move, such as "If you flew here today, move 3 chairs to the right" or "If you are wearing flippie-floppies move 4 chairs to the left." If those instructions pertained to you, you would move down some chairs. Simple enough right? Then why do they call it "pile-up?" Well, if the person who is 3 chairs to the right, or 4 chairs to the left doesn't fit the characteristics that were called out, they were in the spot you needed to take. Which meant that you needed to sit on their lap. Didn't know anyone? You do now!!! The other part of the game makes it even harder and more awkward. If you sat on the lap of a person and the next characteristic called out pertains to the and not you, you still had to move with them because you were on their lap. So, for instance, if I was sitting on someone's lap and they had blond hair (I have brown) and Brandon called out "Blond hair, move 2 chairs to the right," I would have to move with them anyway because I was on their lap. We got to a point where there were stacks of 5,6, and 7 people all piled on top of each other's laps. It made for an interesting way of getting to know each other to say the least.
Anyway, awkward games and ice breakers aside, we heard a good opening lesson from Seth "the Rev" Moorman about Service while at the Gathering. We are here to serve and we should always strive to take the extra step, to think outside-of-the-box, to make the day and create memories for everyone we come into contact with while here at the Gathering just as Jesus was an "out-of-the-box" thinker. Taking fisherman, tax collectors and not the trained, educated Pharisees and Sadducees to be his disciples. He has created lasting memories. He has given us great service. We need to strive to be like him and serve in his name and not arrogantly.
This morning, I was up before the sun...again. I needed to get a run in. Never do I feel more blessed to live where I do than when I was running. It is humid, hot, stinky (literally) and paved everywhere. I miss the open spaces, fresh air, dry climate, bird calls, deer, pine trees. I miss my home town. I try never to take it for granted. New Orleans has already been quite an experience. I hope to learn more about, explore it and live it...for a week. And return home more grateful for everything I have and everything I am going to witness.
I will try and write every day about what I have experienced and what I am learning. Stay tuned...

Epic week cont....

I took the last month (June)to focus completely on running. I did zero swimming, save for the first week before the XTERRA Deuces Wild and very little riding except for some commuting to and from work. I feel like my running legs are returning and will continue to progress as my mileage and speed continue to increase. But, with that said, it is now 12 weeks out from the Halfmax National Championships in South Carolina on October 2nd. I haven't registered, I am still in limbo of whether I want to attend or not because of the price. But, I think it will be an incredible experience and I have an almost 100% chance (unless I can't finish) of qualifying for the Long Course World Championships in Las Vegas in 2011. The benefit of that is it is in my backyard. Only a 4 hour drive from homebase. I think consciously beginning to train for a race that I haven't registered for gives me my answer already.
That is all besides the point of this post. I wanted to talk about my week. The above information is all written to say that I have begun my intensive training again. And it has been an epic week. My goal was to climb Humphreys Peak on Sunday. I wasn't feeling so hot all day. Not sick, but not 100%. So, I decided to go for a run instead. But, Monday was a different day. On Monday, Humphreys was conquered once again, and it gained a new conquerer in my friend Lauren Cheema, who dominated the mountain. 9.6 miles roundtrip, 3000+ plus feet of elevation gain to the highest point in Arizona at 12,633ft. My legs were kind of sore the next day but I decided to go for a mountain bike ride. I headed for the other dominant feature of the Flagstaff landscape, Mt. Elden. Many of the trails on the mountain are still closed because of the Schultz Fire that is continuing to put a hamper on recreationists. But, I cruised up Brookbank trail to the upper portion of Sunset and reached the summit of the second highest peak in the region by bike. A couple hours later I was back on level ground and headed home with new views currently burned in my mind. Yesterday topped another climb of sorts. I had told Lauren on our way up to Snowbowl, after seeing so many cyclists climbing the road, that I needed to do that soon. Yesterday proved to be soo enough. I rode from my home, up Snowbowl road and back down. Even without much training, I completed the 7 mile climb with 220ft of elevation gain in a new PR (I think, can't remember ever going faster) of 34:49. Not bad for not riding in practically a month. Can't wait to do it again a few more times this summer. See how low I can go.
The week isn't quite over. I hope to continue this epic week. I have covered close to 10,000ft of elevation in the three treks. Plus swims and other runs and bikes that are not listed here. This new training block is starting excellently.

My beloved forest....

A letter sent to the Center for Biological Diversity.

To whom it may concern,
My name is Matt Boness. I appreciate the work you do to save our environment, and just like you, I agree to the final line of your mission statement, "We want those who come after us to inherit a world where the wild is still alive." As an avid mountain biker, hiker, trail runner and all around outdoor enthusiast, I can appreciate the outdoors for their pure beauty. But, I write this letter to let you know that you screwed up. I am sure you have gotten plenty of emails from other concerned Flagstaff, AZ residents after the local Daily Sun newspaper ran an article on why the Schultz Pass area was not thinned. My father is a 30 year forester and was called in to help battle the 15,000 acre blaze. It closed trails, torched thousands of acres of trees and currently has left the forest uninhabitable for animals. It also says within your misson statement that you use "science, law, and creative media" to protect "the lands, waters, and climate that species need to survive." I don't know what kind of science you were using to halt the projected thinning of this forest in 2007, as the Daily Sun has made their readers aware. Having researched the slow decline of the health of our forests in the West, I can tell you that thinning is only recreating the natural, traditional forest landscape that was abundant 100 years ago. By removing certain trees and reintroducing cool, ground fires to the area, as was the traditional role of fire, the habitat becomes healthier and more nutrient rich, which allows for more diverse growth and a more overall healthy forest.
I was also impacted by the Hardy fire that plagued my great town the day before the Schultz fire started. My household was put on standby for evacuation as smoke billowed over our house. Two weeks have passed since containment of the blaze and I have taken my morning jogs through the burned areas. With no formal training, but with years of experience gained from a father who is one of the great foresters in Arizona, I can tell you that without thinning in the Hardy burn area, houses would have been lost. The fire burned hot through the canopies of the trees and it does not take a trained eye to see that, where there was no thinning, the trees have become blackened matchsticks. But, where the thinning projects had occured, the fire still killed plenty of trees, but the canopies are still intact. When a fire burns that hot, on a windy day much like the one when it started, embers can fly up to a mile ahead of the fire and create new spot fires. I say, with little doubt, that had the forest not been thinned in that area, the fire would have continued trudging through the forest and could have potentially burned the houses of those who had been evacuated. This scenario is all hypothetical of course, but any educated person can see the difference in the fire behavior between a thinned and non-thinned forest.
With proper forest management, the devastation of the Schultz fire could have been largely mitigated. As your mission statement makes clear, you want to "protect the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive." But, I think it is obvious that you did nothing to protect the lands that are now torched and burned. The beauty of the area is lost for decades, perhaps longer. The once abundant shade of our poderosa pines is now gone. The grasses, shrubs and soil grabbing vegetation that stopped devastating erosion from wiping away our mountainside is now gone. Monsoons are lurking and the people of the evacuated neighborhoods are now facing landslides and mud flows instead of flame. This fire was incredibly close to burning through the Flagstaff watershed on the San Francisco Peaks. Which could have largely ruined the water resources that our town desperately needs to survive. All the sediment washed away from the looming rains will now wash into the streams that once flowed clear and filled resevoirs for animals to drink. The sediment, boulders, and downed debris has potential to clog normal flows and flood areas that are not used to the large increase of water. You are batting "oh for two" right now on maintaing your mission statement. Climate. I think it is no surprise that with trees, grass, and vegetation gone, the animals cannot inhabit the forest. The large amounts of CO2 that the smoke released is clearly not helpful in battling climate change. The trees lost cannot produce life saving oxygen anymore. The whole climate is different now. Not to mention, those who responsibly access the forest, the bikers, hikers, bird watchers, campers and sight seers, are banned from the forest they love. Many may not return to face the devastation that took the beauty out of their respite in the woods.
The choice was to cut a small percentage of trees. We lost almost all of them. By stopping the thinning of our forests, we face catastrophe that your center doesn't have to face. We have to look at the scarred and charred forest every day. We have to rehab the forest. And in a worse case scenario, homes could have been lost. Thankfully none were, because you would be facing an even larger backlash. Please, use science, law and creative media to make the right decisions.
Sincerely,
Matt Boness

10k education....

well....not sure what to write, but figured I should update, regardless. Ran the Northland Hospice Run for your Life 10K on saturday. Wanted to PR the course....missed it by 18 seconds. Which isn't bad considering I was about 30 seconds back at the halfway point. Got caught in no man's land after the second mile. Tried to hold on through the third but kept slipping on pace. Heard a crowd behind me (about 4-5 guys) and decided to relax and let them overtake me since it was going to be inevitable. I relaxed, recovered a bit and grabbed their pace. I learned a lot about my running that day. Running alone is not my style. Running with people keeps my mind off how my own body is doing and continuing to play through strategy, and focusing on others breathing and how I can break their spirits. It bumped my own running. I went fro a 6:38 thrid mile, to a 6:23 4th, 6:14 5th and 6:02 final mile. We were able to work off each other and keep the pace honest. I knew I was able to stave off self doubt when my pace is quicker than expected after I ran the Tucson Half Marathon in 2008. My pace was much faster than I had ever run, but running with people helped to keep my mind off how my body felt. I ran into trouble the last few miles when I was in no man's land again. I had too much time to think about my own feelings. I just finally realized how much of an impact it had this last Saturday when the transition happened in the middle of the race. It was like a switch was flipped.

Anyway, nothing planned for a while. I am still training for the Disneyland half marathon. I have quite a ways to go before I get to my goal. But I figure if I keep training toward my goal time and the race happens before my training blocks are up, then I will just run with the fitness I have at the time. Does that make sense?

XTERRA Deuces Wild recap...

Oh wow. So much good stuff this weekend. I had signed up for the Deuces Wildacouple months back and have since (if you read the rest of my blog, you totally know) been injured a couple times. But, the weekend was full of tons of good things (and a few that could have been better).

My mom and I left Flagstaff at 3:30 friday afternoon. I was given the priviledge of sharing my sports testimony at the FCA Endurance Prayer/Worship Service that evening before the races kicked off on Saturday. We had a small turnout but I couldn't have been happier with who did show up. So blessed. We grabbed dinner at Sonic (I know, terrible) before heading back to the hotel. It is unusual that we spend a night in a hotel and it isn't race morning the next AM. But, my dad got a run in in the morning, I got to enjoy a hotel buffet breakfast (easily my favorite meal of the day) and we had a nice day visiting old friends in Pinetop. I was very glad that we were able to miss the large crowds of the Saturday races which consisted of an Olympic, a Half-Iron, an Aquabike and kids Duathlon. However, we did have to fight people at the raffle dinner. My one complaint of the weekend is that trisports.com really needs to organize that better. More seating, better sound system, more fluidity with serving dinner and handing out prizes. Honestly, I could have done better in my sleep. But, overall it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Saturday night rolled around and I got a better night's sleep than usual before a race. A good night sleep on race night is not close to what a normal good night would look like, don't mistake that. 4am was our wake-up call. I hopped in the shower, downed some water and oatmeal for breakfast and we were in the car by 5:10 heading to the race site. I knew it was going to be hot that day and was extra cautious of my fluids intake which accounted for the 6 trips to the toilet between 4 and 7am. The water was nice, I was still confused about the bike and run course but figured I would go along with whatever happened.

I came into this race expecting little. I had been injured, the pool had been closed for three weeks in May, my fitness wasn't at all where I wanted it to be. It took all day Saturday to finally prepare myself for a race that wasn't going to be my best. I just wanted to have fun and, as the saying goes, whatever happens, happens.

I personally thoughtthe swim course looked long, but I haven't done a swim that short (800m) in a couple of years. So, what did I know. Gun goes off. The usual flailing of body parts in front of me and the cliche washing machine routine commences as the Men's wave headed out to sea. The first of three bouys came up fast. I was stoked to know that we were flying through this course and as far as I could see, I was towards the front. Then the lack of training hits me and my arms feel dead with 500meters left to go. I gut it out and pump with the little left that I have for the dock. My wetsuit comes off mucch easier than in Vegas a month prior (check out that race recap for more detail into wetsuit conundrums). I utilized the wetsuit strippers for the first time in any race. I figured with all the issues I had in Vegas I might as well let someone else do the work for me. They were fabulous. My mom said I was the 20th out of the water and sure enough, the results say I had the 20th fastest swim. 15:20 for 800m, slower than I wanted.

My transition felt pretty ok. I wasn't really rushing because I was maxing already, I could feel it in my breathing and stomach. I was still out in 1:50 which I attribute to the long run out and up the incline to the road.The fastest T1 was 1:27 which isn't horribly fast either.

Out on the bike, I felt like I went out with a large crew. At least 3 or 4 other guys that I can remember. I was assuming because of the clumping of individuals that I was back in 20th or 30th place. Not the case. I started trucking and found my rythmn after a good 2-3 miles and locked onto one guy. I t was super rolly and mostly doubletrack trails which made it easy for passing and still interesting with sandy and rocky sections thrown in for good measure. Plus, we had about 5 logs that needed to be climbed over and a wooden fence. About 5 miles or so into the course comes the long, lung-busting climb. I passed 4(?) people on that climb because they were walking and I decided to granny gear (not quite, but almost) the whole way. One guy absolutely flew past me and I knew I would not see him again. I finally reached the top in time for some bombing downhills and more trees to climb over. The rest of the race favored the fast and smooth riders. I had latched on to the guy who I had earlier locked on to and one other guy riding a single speed. Everyone else had been dropped and we paced eachother most of teh rest of the way. We came to a fast fireroad and the single speed guy didn't have the gearing to keep up with myself and the other guy who had gears. I wanted to keep the pressure on because I knew that the guys behind me were trying to catch up and I was riding scared. We rolled into T2 in 9th and 10th place!!! Yeah I didn't know what place until after the big hill and I got a bit of renewed energy for the rest of the race knowing I could get that top-10 spot. I finished the bike with the 13th fastest split overall in 1:08.48

T2 was fast. I have always had some sort of innate ability at transition, especially T2. I hardly ever practice them but they always seem to go fast and this was no different. I rolled in and out in 54 seconds which ended up as the fastest T2 overall by 4 seconds!!!

The run was just survival as it always is. I rolled out of T2 in 9th place, 10th place was right behind me and 11th place was probably a minute down. The run course was less than spectacular but it did the job. It was super rolly and hot. The aid stations were life savers (Thanks volunteers!!) and I could see my competition as it was generally an out and back course with a 180degree turn around. 10th place guy overcame me at the 1st mile marker. He was gone and I wouldn't catch him. I was just focusing on giving everyone I saw some encouragement and hoping for the best. The best I could give was the 20th fastest run split overall in 39:57.

I finished the race in 10th place and second in my age group. I was shooting for 2:10 overall and ended up with 2:06.51. I was so blessed by God's work that day. My fitness levels did not have me finishing that fast. Good competition and favorable conditions gave me a boost and I could not be happier!

Looking up...

Alright, only a quick update. It is finally June and it is finally warm. If you follow this blog, you know that I complain about the weather more than anything. The wind has, generally, died off and the temps have risen. I have gotten a couple good rides in within the last week or so and the pools are finally back open, so my swim has recommenced. I am racing the XTERRA Deuces Wild on Sunday. I am already throwing this race away and hoping that maybe I can squeak a good performance out of it.
I know my training is no where close to where it should be and thats ok, because after this race I am not doing anymore triathlons til maybe august or later.
My knees are still giving me a hard time. I ordered patella tendon straps and boy are they awkward to run in. And I don't think they are doing much to begin with. We will have to wait and see after I get some good time on the roads with them on to decide if they really are making a difference.
Off to Show Low this afternoon. Wish me luck!

Quick update...

May has arrived and the wind hasn't stopped. I have been slowly getting my legs and lungs back into the running game after being gone from the venue for 4 weeks. I am slowly (and I mean slowly) rebuilding my run base, so that I don't run into any more issues and can be healthy for the Disneyland half marathon training that will commence in June.
The pool at NAU is closed for the next three weeks and I am still trying to figure out an alternative.
My IT band (of course, another issue) has been bugging me when I ride my bike. I am waiting on the local running store Run Flagstaff (runflagstaff.com) to get their new shipment of foam rollers before I do anymore biking. It doesn't seem as though I have been able to have a steady workout block with all three sports consecutively. But, what I can be thankful for is the fact that I am a three sport athlete and where one sport falls short I have two others to help me back up. It is continual cross training.

XTERRA West recap....

I want to start off by thanking everyone for their support this weekend. I know you didn't have to comment on my continuous barrage of status updates about my weekend, but I am going to take them all as genuine interest. I figured I would write this note in a "pro" and "con" form. In my mind, the positives and negatives are highlighted in my mind. But, before I start into this, I want to say that the whole weekend overall was a positive. I don't want to sound cynical for listing cons in this post (which I will try and even out with pro points).We'll start off with an obvious one:

Pro and Con:
Location- I think the Lake Las Vegas area is as close to as gorgeous as one can artificially make a desert. The palm lined streets, green space, expansive lake and mediterranean architecture all take away from the dirty, barren hills that encircle the whole area. As beautiful as it is, it all comes at a cost that I can't morally justify. After learning so much about water issues in the west (which is incredibly complex and interesting if you ever have the urge to read up on it), the whole of the area is counter intuitive to the natural desert landscape. It is a huge waste of water in a place where people should have been wiser never to live in in the first place. People were not meant to live on the desert. Our bodies are just not made for it and yet here is this virtual oasis. As far as the location is concerned as a race venue. Can't we pick better sites XTERRA?! I mean, come on! You hold the race in Temecula, CA before moving it to Las Vegas.Temecula, as far as I know, is just another hot, barren landscape. I understand that the West Championship race is early in the season and when you have only a few states to pick from, many of which are still waiting on trails to open from all the winter snow, your choices are limited. But, how about something on the coast of southern california? Not in the desert, not blazing hot, and generally prettier than the desert.

Con:
Weather- As stated above, it is a desert. And for anyone who has lived in or near the desert southwest, it gets pretty toasty early in the year. 85 degrees to many people is not an alarm for hiding inside with the A/C blasting in order to retain your sanity. But, from a person coming from a wildly prolonged winter and not a day peaking above the 67(?) degree mark and dealing with mountain bike races in his own home town being cancelled because of too much snow still, 85 degrees feels like the surface of the sun. That becomes even more apparent when there is no vegetation to shade the athlete, nor any vegetation at all except a few reeds anb bushes along the water's edge.

Pro:
Swim and Bike- I prerode the bike course yesterday and couldn't believe how difficult it was. There were three sections that I had to get off and walk my bike because it was truly, at my experience level, unrideable. Even the pros had to get off on probably two of the places and walk. I got back to the hotel after the preride and subsequently freaked out about that course for the rest of the night. I hadn't taken my watch along to time how long it took and that was another mistake. If I had timed the preride and said, "ok, it took me one hour going easy and stopping, I could easily do a lap in 45 minutes if I was really hammering." But I didn't take the watch. So I freaked out about how fast I really could go on that course. Turns out, I should not have been freaking out. I had an overall goal on the course of finishing in 2:45. Broken down, it would look like this 25 min swim, 1:30 bike, under 50minute run, 2:45 finish time. That was a very"best case scenario" time. I finished in 1:30.44 for the bike. Not a bad estimate!It still ended up only being the 5th fastest bike in my age groups, which is kind of a disappointment. Now to the swim. When I started swimming for triathlon, it was easily my weakest link. My first triathlon swim was comparable to the titanic sinking…yeah, that bad. I have worked tirelessly on my swim since. I have refined my stroke, worked on strength, drills, and speed, and it is finally paying off. Before I go any further I must vindicate myself from the official results that were posted from the race (a link to which will be posted at the end of this recap). The official race results say 26:32 for the swim portion. Those times include a 300m run to transition from the lake and the full Transition (T1). Times are going to look bloated for everyone. Mine look incredibly bloated because I could not, for the life of me, get my wetsuit off. I had some bunching in my elbow and it would not roll down passed it. I literally probably wasted 2 minutes trying to get the dang thing off! My whole transition at SOMA last year, including wetsuit, was 1:37 I think. With the run to the transition, this race, it cost me about 4 minutes. I know this because I thankfully timed myself during the swim. Previous to this race my best time for 1500m was 24:06, timed in the Natatorium on campus. When I ran out of the lake yesterday and took a look at my watch about 15m up the beach, I saw 22:04!!! I had swam 1500m under 22 min!!! It’s just too bad the results aren’t going to show it. And I fully blame my wetsuit for my loss of 3rd place.

Con:
Equipment- Generally everything worked great. My new bike was smooth and fast, my shoes did their job. My sunglasses kept the glare off and goggles kept the water out (except they fogged up which is to be expected, I guess). I had issue with two things that I fully blame for my loss of third place. I already mentioned my wetsuit. I won’t go into any greater detail. After looking at results I still had the 4th fastest swim in my age group and without the wetsuit mishap, easily the second best swim. Thumbs up for actual swim, thumbs down for wetsuit. Second equipment failure came about with my bike pump. I know all the cool people have CO2 cartridges and after yesterday, that is the way I am going. I didn’t really have a great place to put my pump on my bike. I couldn’t carry it on my person and my bike was ill equipped to handle it anywhere. In retrospect I should have taped it to my frame. Instead, I stuck it out of my under-seat tool bag. I figured it would be secure. I was wrong. The bumpy, rocky course kept shaking the tube out of the bag and almost dropping it on the ground. I had no other option and needed that to work. After fiddling with it for a short time and continuing to fiddle with it as it kept trying to escape from the bag, I deciding to take a gamble (this is Las Vegas) and tossed it to the side. I couldn’t risk losing 1st place (which was my overall goal and held a qualifying spot to Hawaii and the World Championships attached to it) over my stupid pump. Luckily I did not get a flat on the course and didn’t need it. Two equipment failures that would have easily made up for the 4 seconds that separated myself and 3rd place.

Pro:
My run. During the race, I would never have said that my run was a positive on the day. I was already slightly dehydrated from my bike effort and the sun was only hotter, the course was drier, and the hills on the course (1400+ ft of elevation gain over 6.2 miles) never gave up. Literally, the whole of the first mile and a half save for a quick short downhill section, was all uphill, and it was steep uphill! I have learned over the years to just keep moving forward. There is no sense in stopping, as long as you keep moving forward. That’s what I did. Albeit in a shuffle. My run was slow! I felt slow, I felt tired, I felt like the course was never going to end. I walked one steep hill on the first lap of the run course that most of the other competitors walked as well. Then you came downhill to a water station and did it all over again. I told myself that I needed to run every section that I ran on the previous lap. I couldn’t walk unless I had walked there on the first lap. In actuality, I ran more on my second lap than I did on my first. That big hill that everyone walk…I jogged it on my second lap. I began to feel good after that last ascent and it was downhill to the finish. I think I could sense the end was near, I had already conceded moving up any positions in my age group and was just going to finish as strong as possible. About 1200m from the finish I can feel a surge in my stride. Do I know why this surge didn’t happen earlier? Absolutely not. But, it was coming. I passed a gentleman who was walking and gave him some words of encouragement. He mentioned that the guy ahead of me in the gray shirt was in my age group. I looked up and saw the guy who had passed me early on the bike. We had traded positions a few times before he passed me for good. I had expected not to see him anymore. But, here is was. I decided to go for it. This last bit was going to be the deciding factor for a podium spot. We were about 800-1000m from the finish, he had about a 75-100m lead on me. I kicked it in, hoping that I would have enough energy to hold this kick until the finish. I was slowly making up ground on him and could feel the gap closing. He walked on the last short uphill sections of the course before glancing backward and seeing me closing in. He kicked it in for the last 200m, we round a corner onto the final street towards the finish line and I run out of real estate. He beat me by 4 seconds and collapsed on the ground. Another 100-200m and I would have caught him. I felt tired on the run, but not as bad as I thought after 4 weeks of no running. I don’t encourage anyone to run a race after coming off injury and with a total lack of training. But, I was pleasantly surprised with my result. Again, after looking at official results, I had the 3rd fastest run in my age group! It wasn’t fast at all! 53:30 for 10K and I was shooting for a 50min 10K, but I can’t believe it.

Despite all the issues and problems, my only weaknesses are things that can be easily fixed. I usually come out of these races disappointed because I set my fitness goals too high, and fail to reach them. I overestimate myself and underestimate my opponents. It leaves me highly disappointed for being undertrained and underprepared. That was not the case in this instance. I was shooting for a 2:45 finishing time, which, according to last year’s results would have won my age group. I finished in 2:50.46. I knew it was a long shot but I don’t race to fail to do my best. I was going to accomplish it by swimming 25 minutes, I swam 22min, and unfortunately my wetsuit negated that effort. I was going to ride 1:30, which I hit dead on and I wanted to run 50 minutes and I ran 53 which I am highly pleased with considering the difficulty of the course and my lack of any run training for 4 weeks. The depth of my age group was much higher this year over last as well and that has to factor into the overall standings. Overall it was a great weekend. My parents have become my biggest supporters and my cousin and her family came out to visit with us after the race as well. It couldn’t have been a better end to the weekend.

Official race results: http://www.jtltiming.com/results/x-veg.html

Pre XTERRA West...Lake Las Vegas...

I am currently sitting in the hotel room at the Loews Lake Las Vegas and have just pre-ridden the mountain bike course. Wow! It is going to be rough. The first 3 miles have an incredible amount of climbing and the downhills are quick, but loose. It is going to be about staying on my wheels and continuing forward movement. I just have to think that its only about 17 miles and climbing is a strength of mine. I only have one shot this year at a title and qualifying for the world championships in Hawaii in October. It has to start with a solid swim. I need to stay within my limits and keep the pressure on the whole time and not become stuck in cruise control. Then the bike is going to be about continuing the pressure, but at a reasonable pace. It is going to be really easy to burn out on the first lap and lose a lot of ground on the second. Everything I have left is going to be wasted on the run. The run is very hilly as well and the key is to hang tough the first lap and give it your all on the second. I am going to try not to push the uphills and hammer the down. We will have to see how my run fitness is because of being out for 4 weeks rehabing my stress fractures. Plus, I have never ran off a mountain bike before. It will be interesting to see how my legs handle the different bike position into a run.
Stay tuned for a race recap early this week...

Ups and Downs....

Lets start with a few ups of the past few weeks. The weather is peaking around the spring corner. Only peaking though. And spring in Flagstaff means wind anyway. So, I have been off my bike for the a few weeks. I got absolutely sick and tired of riding my trainer. I couldn't handle it anymore. Second, the wind and chilly temps most days have kept me off the road. I am kind of a pansy when it comes to weather. I am a self described good weather rider. The wind doesn't bother me if I can get out on the trails, but they are still covered in snow as far as I know. So, with one positive, the weather, comes a few hiccups.

Also, I don't remember if I posted that I was diagnosed with a couple stress fractures in my tibias. Yes, both tibias. So, I have been in the pool at least 3 days, trying for 5 days a week in the pool doing some aqua jogging. I have never done it before and I am not sure I like it, but its all I have right now. We shall see in a few weeks if the jogging has translated into running power.

Positives include increased fitness in the pool. The majority of days that I am in the pool are positive. I am hitting times in my workouts that I have never hit before. It is a hugely positive experience for me. Plus, I have been more consistent in the pool the last month and a half, averaging 8000-10000 meters in the pool each week. I am topping my build up in the pool this week at 10000m. I will taper a little next week before my race. But, I am mostly going to hold this fitness and work on some increased speed through May and into the Deuces Wild XTERRA on June 6th.

In other news, I had my first race of the season last Saturday and it ended in a less than positive way. I raced the Prescott Punisher Mountain Bike race in Prescott. It was a 15 mile, 3 loop course. I decided to ride my single speed because I truly love it and I finally built it into a reasonable racing bike. The most recent change was switching my SID World Cup fork from my old hardtail onto this bike. It makes an incredible difference on the viability of my hands. The course went downhill (no pun intended) when I accidently took the wrong loop. I followed the green arrow loop instead of the blue arrow which cut my loop by probably less than a mile (?). I couldn't really tell you how much was cut short by my shortcut but it was enough to put me into third place at the finish which was above my actual ability by maybe 3 places. I DQed myself. And to add injury to my insult, I crashed on my final lap. Totally not expecting a patch of loose dirt, my wheel was grabbed and thrown to the side and I went down. I hadn't raced in a short mountain bike race in probably 4 or 5 years and hadn't been on the trails since last fall. I was out of shape and out of the race. The next race comes home to Flagstaff in May and I hope to finish respectably and bring some praise on my hometown turf. Stay tuned for that update in a few weeks.

Turn around again...

I have had yet another turn around in my training. No running for 4 weeks. But, until I continue there, lets back it up. beep, beep, beep.

I began having some pain in my tibia last fall. It was pretty localized to my left leg and in a certain area, which I later found out was called the Tibial Tuberosity. I ran through it, no big problem. Took my couple weeks of easy training in December before I began spring training and I was doing fine. I ran on the treadmill for a couple months due to horrible weather here and no issue. And I got back out on the roads occasionally to break the monotony. The roads began to fight back. My first time out on the roads I felt the same pain, albeit less. I would run the roads once, maybe twice per week and the rest was on the treadmill where I had no issue. Then came better weather and a general lack of motivation to straddle the treadmill anymore. The pain got worse and popped up in both legs. I finally ran a quicker paced run (about 6:45 min miles for 6.5 miles) and the pain became an issue. It got to the point where I didn't want to run for a couple days after that particular run because it hurt to walk stairs, bend my knees with weight above them and generally do anything except walk around (Funny thing is, I had no issue hiking 19 miles in the Grand Canyon three days after the aforementioned run). But everytime I ran the pain in my knees would hang around for a couple days and then subside only to rear its head again once I got back out on the roads.

I am a stubborn individual. I don't like to claim an issue even when I have pain. Most pain will come and go with a little self-massage or extra stretching. Not this time. It was a bone issue. So, I googled the heck out of it to find a solution. Nothing. The closest diagnosis I came to was Osgood-Schlatter, but it affects adolescent children and their growth plates. I am 20 years old and haven't grown in 4 years. It couldn't be this. So, I gave in and went to see a doctor.

The doctor mentioned Osgood-Sclatter as a possibility but, as stated above, knew I was too old to be affected by this disease. X-rays were ordered to rule out a stress fracture. Although nothing showed up on the X-ray (many stress fractures are too small to be seen on x-rays. More detailed scans are necessary), the doctor said it is probably a "stress reaction." Which, if not taken care of, can turn into a larger stress fracture and cause major issues.

Back to the first statement. I am shut down with running for 4 weeks. Surprisingly, it isn't that big of an issue mentally for me. Because, one, I want to get back to a state of feeling good when I run and two, I want to be 100% healthy when the summer comes around and my training turns into half-marathon training for the Disneyland Half Marathon. If it means taking a few weeks off here to be healthy there, that is a setback I am willing to accept. I am also trying out aqua jogging for the first time. I have read in many articles that state, if training is done right, aqua jogging can hold and potentially improve fitness (ie: VO2, lactate threshhold, etc.) without the normal pounding of running. I am giving it a try and mentally I am set to come back from this injury stronger than I went in.

Mental Games...

Since graduating high school, I have always claimed to be a mental runner. It is common running knowledge that a strong mental outlook on your training and racing will translate into better results. That couldn't prove more true than with me. And it doesn't just have to do with my running.

As a triathlete, I participate in three different disciplines. Swimming, Biking, Running. My mental confidence carries over throughout the three sports. If I have a good workout in the pool, chances are I will feel much better about my ride or run later in the day. In the same vein, if I have a bad workout, the "Debbie Downer" syndrome may carry over as well.

I am writing this because I am worried about my training. I say "training" because I mean all my training, even though most of my lack of confidence comes from my running. As a high school runner, I was injured three times, mildly. I had shin splits during my first track season, I had a freak foot issue after running in flats for the first time, and a bruised heel after running steeplechase my senior year. In all three cases a little rest, ice and ibuprofen took care of the issue. Training hardly ceased and my seasons continued on. Since I have graduated I have been plagued by injury.

I didn't run much the fall after graduation and began running again the next spring. My injuries began with a stress fracture in my foot after a trail run in tucson over spring break. It knocked me out for 6 weeks to heal. I was healthy over the summer, although I didn't train much. That fall I decided to run a couple half marathons that would lead up to the Arizona Rock N' Roll Marathon. I built my training too fast and after having a breakout half marathon in Tucson in december i ran into runner's knee, and IT band issues throughout the whole spring. I bounced back once again and had an ok summer. My mental was weak now. Two springs in a row and no training.

I have read articles about great runners who were injury prone and they eventually had to revamp there training to continue their careers and stay off the couch due to their injuries.

I am writing this now because as I look forward through this year and this season and into my future in athletics I am worried. Once again, I have some pain creeping up in my legs that (after plenty of googling) is a mystery. I have a couple more months of training for spring/summer triathlons and I have committed to the Disneyland Half Marathon in September. I am just dreading the training because I am afriad, once again, of becoming injured as my training kicks into high gear. I know I can win the race with the right training and I HATE feeling crappy on my runs. I am just mentally shot and its only March. Its going to be a long year.

The Grand Canyon, Take II...

This is the first spring break that I can remember where I have stayed in town for the majority of the week. There has always been family vacations, camping trips with friends or excursions to warmer climates. That's what spring break is about isn't it? The family trip came in January this year, the friends were uncoordianted and the money wasn't around to take a few days somewhere else. So, here I stay.

Monday began with a bang in the big hole in the ground, the Grand Canyon. Last August I decided to hike from the South Rim to Phantom Ranch, 9 miles down the Bright Angel Trail. This time, my brother wanted to do the same thing. The weather was cooler, the first mile had packed snow/ice covering it and the hordes of people were far from the same as was in August. Did the trip become easier? Hardly.

We started out at 5:40am from Flagstaff. Got to the Canyon at 7:00 and were on the trail by 7:30. I don't own yaktrax, and I didn't even think about using them. I have never hiked in the canyon when there was snow on the trail and wasn't thinking about the repercussions of doing so. Needless to say, the first mile or so was pretty sketchy. It was hard packed with ice. It was small steps and hoping we didn't fall down into the mule dookie. We made it and kept truckin. We stopped shortly at Indian Gardens, 4.5 miles from the top and took a break. But, we were in a rhythm and kept huffing down the trail. My brother and I hike pretty fast and we were passing people all the way down. Made it to the river (which was my brother's first time) and over the Silver Bridge and up to Phantom by 11am, in time for lunch.

The weather, compared to Flagstaff was gorgeous down there although my brother and I both agreed 5 degrees more would have been even more enjoyable. But, you can't always have perfection. We relaxed on the benches in front of the cantina and were off, back up the trail at noon. We still had 9 miles and roughly a mile of vertical gain before we were done.

The sun was great. It kept us warmer than when we were coming down and not until mile-and-a-half house did I need to put my sweatshirt back on. Then it was just one foot in front of another until we reached the top. I could tell my brother was hurting a little, but he kept truckin and I am so proud of him for doing it. Altogether we hiked for roughly 8 hours with an hour break at the bottom. Not bad for a day.

It is now the third day since completion and my legs are just feeling better. I never understand why I do things that cripple me for so long.

A break in winter...

Today marks the official start of spring break 2010. And, as a bonus, spring actually starts this week as well. And as an even bigger bonus, it is actually going to feel like spring this week!

After mind blowing snow totals since the beginning of January, Flagstaff is finally going to hit 60 degrees! At least that's what they predict. I cannot wait. I am planning on getting outside (without bundeling up) and doing some of my favorite activities, Mountain biking and trail running. But there is a catch, the trails are still covered in feet of snow and i still have to travel to go ride open trails. But, what better time then spring break. Also, my favorite part of this week, as already anticipated, will be hiking the canyon with my brother down to Phantom Ranch and back up. Can't wait. Stay tuned for an update about that adventure. Till next time.
Oh, I started a website for my photos. check it out at: wix.com/mattyboness/Matty-B

Lenten temptation...

Ash Wednesday was yesterday. The start of the Lenten Season. I don't usually give anything up for lent, but I think I will this year. I am giving up...Drum roll please... Sweets. Yeah, I know, kind of lame. But, I have a serious sweet tooth. And I really mean SERIOUS. Sugar may be my favorite food group. It's that bad.

I figure that giving up sweets, while kind of a personal want, will give me a stronger edge with God. I have always learned that you shouldn't just give something up just because but because it brings you closer to God. The reason for giving something up that means a lot to you is so that everytime you have an urge to use it, eat it, whatever, you ask God for the strength to overcome the temptation.

It says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

I take this to heart. I know that all my temptations, while not all bad, are all beatable with God on my side.

My reason for using this lenten season to give up a true temptation for me is two fold. I can become closer to God by speaking with him for every temptation I have with my sweet tooth and watch my weight to race better, which was a gift God gave me in the first place.

Ups and Downs...

Man this weather is getting me down! I have been on the treadmill or trainer for a month now. I am getting sick of it! I keep telling myself that it will all pay dividends in the end. But, boy oh boy it is rough.

The trails are going to be snow covered til (a conservative guess) March. I have races to do! Doesn't God know that!? Through adversity comes strength, i guess. No, I am just kidding I know it does.

On a brighter note, my swim is starting to feel really good! I did 6600m in the pool last week and felt really good. My form is coming back and I am approaching this season with a lot mreo speed training. My thinking goes like this: If my fastest 100m is 1:25 and I am hoping to swim 1:30-1:35/100m during a triathlon, it is going to be rough. Now, If I can get my 100m time down to 1:15-1:20, holding 1:30 is not as much of a push. So, I am working on some good speed with some longer swims mixed in to keep up my endurance. At least my new found enjoyment of the pool isn't getting me down like the rest of my training.

Oh Boy...

The beginning of the week began with talks of a large storm system charging up and going to swing over Arizona. You really can't get the feel for a large storm just from words. You have to experience it and we sure did. At the end of the storm (or close to it) Flagstaffians are already looking back on what became the second snowiest storm system in history.

Just to put it into perspective. Last year, the Flagstaff area had about 10" or so of measurable precipitation. From this storm alone, we got close to 4" of precipitation. Most of that coming in the form of snow. FEET of Snow!! In fact, over 45" of snow in 5 days. My dad and I tried to keep up on shoveling and here on some photos to prove this.Check out the snow pile compared to the height of the truck!

Cruisin' to the new year...

I guess I am kind of behind the ball. I am going to write about my expectations for 2010, but we are already almost two weeks into 2010 and I am just now getting around to it. Although, I do have a fairly good excuse...I was out of the country and inaccessible for the past 9 days. My family and I all went on a cruise with my aunt and uncle to the eastern Caribbean. We escaped the cold temperatures (until the bahamas) that had plagued the whole of the US it seems. 90 degrees in Antigua and St. Thomas. Pretty great.

Anyway, on to my expectations. Since we only got back into town late last night, I am going to use today to get settled in. Meaning, I am going to go get my new running shoes, swim bag (for all my new swim toys I got for Christmas), swim jammers and get back into the pool tomorrow for the first time since October! My official training begins tomorrow and I am not stopping until I qualify for the XTERRA World Championships (hopefully). I also need to buy a new bike here pretty soon, but seeing as though the trails will be snowpacked for a while, it might have to wait.

It feels good to be into 2010. I feel like this year is going to be a good one as far as training goes and a hard one for school. But, with God's help, I should make it out unscathed and better than ever!