The Biggest Race of My Life

Until Chaps connected with the right hook, I thought I was well-prepared for the interview.

 

Lindsey Schmidt from Ironman’s PR firm reached out a few months ago to say they heard my story. Ironman wanted to get me on a cool, new veteran podcast to talk about why I race. It would be a chance to talk about the Marines on my jersey that keep me moving towards the finish line. I agreed to do the interview.  I wrote an eBook  about the Mind, Body, and Spirit. Finally, a chance to talk to a larger audience about a great way to deal with PTSD!

zeroblogthirty logo

The interview started out great (listen to it here). We talked about how I went into the Marine Corps, ditched the band and joined the infantry, and shipped out to Iraq. He asked me what house-to-house fighting was like in Fallujah. Chaps was there in 2007 and has walked the streets of the former Baath Party hub. And of course, we chatted about how triathlon has helped me deal with the demons of PTSD and turn it into something positive. So Chaps throws the verbal jab and I take the bait.

Continue reading

My new eBook: Mind, Body, and Spirit

Mind, Body, and Spirit


Mind, Body, and Spirit eBook

I am excited to annouce the release of my free eBook: Mind, Body, and Spirit.

 

While a majority of my writing talks about the physical nature of endurance sports, that is only one third of the “three-legged stool.” I believe that balance in life involves attention to the Mind, Body, and Spirit.

 

Why?

 

Coming home from combat, many veterans talk about how they “came home a different person.” What does this mean? We may look and sound the same, but oftentimes the baptism by fire of combat changes us. We may see things that shatter our belief in how the world works. We might question our morals, our beliefs on right and wrong. It took many years to find myself again, but through the guidance of counselors, physical fitness, and a few spiritual teachers I was able to reconnect to my Mind, Body, and Spirit.

This eBook is free. No gimmicks, no catches. No credit card information or any of that stuff. Just download it and see if it resonates with you. Maybe it applies to aspects of your life. Maybe a friend of family member would benefit from it.

 

So go ahead, download the eBook and reconnect to your Mind, Body, and Spirit.

 

TFW- Mind, Body, Spirit (ebook)

SaveSave

SaveSave

The Patriot Racer Log #1

I caught up with Mike Mendoza, The Patriot Racer, last week as he recapped his performance at Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene.

The Patriot Racer Log #1

So first of all, how hot was it? I remember a couple years back the Coeur d’Alene full Ironman topping off at around 106º.

It was  92º, so a little on the hot side. But definitely not that bad, thank God.

How was it overall?

It was a good race overall.The bike was good, swim was good. I kept a 7:49 pace on the run, so not extremely fast. I’m still nursing my calf (from a strain a few weeks earlier).

What helps you when you have to run slower? How do you deal with it? Keeping that big picture in mind.

It’s tough, because running too slow you can injure yourself -but running too fast you can burn out. Im doing about 70%. The calf pain could come out of nowhere, like it did in Raleigh, so I know not to push it too hard even if I feel good in the moment. And I know that I’ve been able to keep pace with the other runners and catch them after a few miles when they’ve burned out. Continue reading