If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to the life he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours. 
-Henry David Thorough

I wanted to take some time to talk about my personal fears in the sport of triathlon and some ways that I have overcome these fears and opened up new horizons by following by dreams.

                I remember crossing the finish line after my first Ironman and feeling an absolute sense of elation. People always talk about it, but quite literally it was the best feeling I had ever experienced in my whole life. From the minute I crossed the line, the question came into head when’s the next one? My love for the sport goes so deep and it truly is a significant part of who I am. The everyday gruel and grind is what attracts me the most about it (insanity…?). Additionally after the Ironman, many people encouraged me to take it a step farther and helped aid me to reach for the stars. I needed an external push to commit to myself. Why was this considering it’s what I love?

                For me, the biggest factor in deciding to become a pro was the concern of making it financially. I would have a head in my voice saying well “yes, try and go pro but when you’re hungry and have no house you will regret it.” I listened to this and it stressed me out to the point where I had told myself that I was just going to do triathlon for fun. Even after the Ironman, when I decided I was going to follow my dreams I still held back a little mentally. I was always thinking about trying to line sponsors up and doubting if I could make a career out of it. This is why I didn’t tell my parents about my new “career decision” for 3 months. Money crept in and become a primary factor of whether I would follow my dreams.

                Over the last month I have had a profound realization. I have decided not to worry to an unnecessary extent about money and how it conflicts my dreams. I am no longer as stressed about sponsors or whether I can make it in the sport. I have surrendered it to the greater good. I know in my head that if I just focus on becoming as good as I can and follow my dreams that truly this is the highest point of living. As Paulo Coelho says in the Alchemist “everything in nature conspires to help one achieve their personal legend.” I believe in myself now and know that when I reach a high enough level the economics of the sport will come. Also, if I fail there’s always a neither option. So what’s the message?

                Money and our dreams are conflicting factors. We often have dreams and don’t follow them because we worry they will set us back financially. While this can be true, it’s a risk that is worth taking. Additionally most of us need support from others around us to get the push to follow our dreams. Surround yourself with people that believe and you can reach your dreams. Money is only a thing of transfer, and there are bigger components of life than monetary wealth.

Hey Everyone, sorry its been awhile I have been swamped down with lots of stuff going on and also the internet deleted my last post for some reason (WTF). Anyways I'm back and I wanted to talk about a critical aspect of what I think creates success in triathlon and for that matter life. I believe this distinction is the ability to focus and hone in on things and then  other times to intentionally focus out.

Focusing is the art they teach in school at work and in most aspects of life. We are taught that we cannot succeed in life without having the ability to focus extremely well on things. Obviously I agree with this but there are times where we shouldn't focus. Dissociation of focus is what meditation or just living without an immediate goal (which is quite hard to do) is. It is an aspect of life that provides such enjoyment and is quite rare. Triathlon provides a link between the two.

Whats the best way to run a "fast" pace for a long amount of time. The answer for me lies more in what I do mentally than what I physically am capable of. What I have tried this last week is first believing and telling myself that I'm actually not running fast and therefore the pace should be easy and I can therefore relax. This is an amazing trick you can use with your mind. if you start anything saying it will be really hard, it is going to be! Sounds crazy but it works. We are all capable of anything and the energy already exists, it's just a matter of harnessing it. The second step is finding a "zone". This zone is an incredible space where time is not a factor and the rational molds away. You lose track of who you are and movement becomes the mode of expression for the soul. 

This zone is the ability to disassociate focus at the proper time. One has to use focus to hone their speed to where it needs to be and then have a secondary focus (this is why we train so much after all!) to maintain that pace without thinking about it. From here one needs to enter a "space" where your not thinking about running or anything in life. Thoughts almost are not their and you become one with the energy of the world. Doing this is how you can accomplish great feats in athletics for yourself. 
This week I managed to truly believe that I can do it and I swam faster than ever before, ran 5 minute miles in a tempo run and also did a 20 mile long run on 6:25 pace!All feats that would have been a race effort and I did it day after day.
 So my Friend go out and try easy!