Gearing up for the New race season

Me out on a routine training ride up Rabbit Moutain

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Coming out of hibernation: Its race season!
Hey all,
In two weeks my season opener will kick off with 70.3 New Orleans. I wanted to take some time to reflect on the winter training, where I am at, and where I want to go.
                Since January first I switched coaches to the incredible Richie Cunningham. The first thing he did was look at the amount of training I was doing compared to my goals and said something along the lines of “shit, you gotta start doing more work if you wanna be where you dream of. He then boosted (smartly and cautiously) my training load.  For a few months, I suffered from fatigue and lack of energy. However, by late February I started to feel like a different caliber athlete in terms of what I could do volume wise but also speed wise. I recover faster, run, swim, and bike faster, train longer, and all around feel better-Thanks, Richie! I now feel and know I am at a whole new level of fitness going into the 2016 race season.
Mentally, I have gotten used to the life of an athlete and things are less exciting than they used to be, 100 mile rides and 18 mile runs are now a routine every weekend. This doesn’t mean they are not good, perhaps they are even better than before. This is a valuable lesson for me in life and something I believe we have a hard time learning; when something is good keep fighting and believing in it. Lack of newness and being on the edge does not mean lack of a good life.  I suppose this is why I have stopped writing as much-I only want to inform people of something when it is new and exciting not just when it is good.    
                That’s why I am writing now, I am looking to make the big leap up to the pro field in approximately one month. It excites me because this is a big goal of mine and a large step in my athletic maturity. Can I compete with the pros? Will I be able to make a living out of triathlon within a few years? I need to know the answers to these questions because otherwise I have to find something else to do with my life. I hope you continue to follow me and continue to give support.
Here is what my plans and goals are:

1. I will continue with the Timex factory team, eventually I hope to move up to their multisport team.
2. I will continue to work with Eney Jones, my favorite swim instructor who as helped me improve my swim hugely.
3. I have started to have some success with sponsors, most notably Alto cycling, Roka, and Rudy Project-hopefully more will come.
4. I plan on racing 70.3 New Orleans and St. George as an age grouper and then getting my pro card.
5. Once I get my pro card I will race almost exclusively 70.3 with the goal of gaining experience and getting closer to where I need to be. It will be a no expectations type of year. My first pro race will likely be 70.3 Boulder
6. I will NOT be racing Ironmans this year. I want to do them but I have made the decision not to from a career viewpoint instead of an emotional one.

Goals:
Be able to consistently break four hours in a half Ironman.
Get a PR for my run split for the half marathon under 1:15, under 24 for the swim, and under 2:08 for the bike.
Be overall amateur at New Orleans, and St, George.
Stay positive, love racing, get more involved with community, keep my head up and overall continue to make progress. 

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