Australia: Home or Holiday?

          As the time has quickly approached for my departure back home with stops in New Zealand, then San Francsico, I have had a lot of time to reflect. When I arrived in Western Australia, I was so excited to meet the people with the funny accents, to see some beautiful beaches and check it off on the list of things to see. After a couple months of gathering an understanding of the culture a bit, I hit the Triathlon season with a furry and my life was consumed to finally put forth the work in order to come out on top at the end of the season at Busso 70.3. Post Busso’s unfortunate happenings after the culmination of hours of sweat, fatigued, pain, and suffering, I have been able to take these last few weeks to reflect on life; life in Australia and the thought of a lifelong stay in Australia.

            Spending much of my time in Australia on a bike, running or swimming, I have met so many unique people, people whom will stick with me until the day I die I am sure.  These unique people sacrifice many of the facets in life that I really appreciate including nightlife, especially hitting the dance floor as many know. One thing we all have in common is the fact that we want to push our individual limits while motivating others along the way. As previously mentioned, I am leaving for New Zealand in less than 1 week time, where I am sure I will meet a few other interesting personalities, but for some reason I am not sure it will top my Australian experience. As Cody began to set up my “Farewell Party” or as Cody calls it “1 Less Bogan” (“1 less redneck” for the Americans reading), it truly hit me that I will undoubtedly miss this place. Thinking about the people I see on a daily basis who approach me with a smile, a handshake, or a hug makes me a bit sad.

            While living abroad and attempting to create opportunities back home in the US, I have realized it is certainly difficult, especially with the time difference for communication. While I have dropped the bomb that I am leaving to many of my aussie friends, they asked me when I was coming back, as in coming back for good.  Hmmm that’s an interesting thought to say the least, live in AUSTRALIA forever? What is holding me back, why shouldn’t I? It sounds like pure bliss sometimes, I can’t lie, but the fact of the matter is that I really miss those people who share my blood line and have the same surname. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to come back to my 2^nd home again in the future but for now I am concentrating on arriving back to the states in the coming months. Wait a second, home?

 

           Home where I will be faced with the daily pressure from our corporate society and looked upon as a failure if I choose to enjoy life as opposed to working an infinite number of hours at an office? Wow, I can’t wait to get back to the rat race and worry more about the type of car that I am driving as opposed to opening my horizons with time spent next to my loved ones.

 

            Recently I had a very interesting chat with a couple other “foreigners” who now call Western Australia home and I could just feel how passionate they were about living here. This place just does something to make you free, free in spirit and in mind, maybe it’s just the change that some of us need to reach our state of NIRVANA? Either way, I can see how this very laid back, coffee sipping, cocktail slurping culture can draw people into its web of natural beauty. The people I have encountered make my Australian experience the most grand in so many ways. My friends truly make training apart of their lifestyle in every way and the great thing is that their families/partners openly accept their dedication to improve upon themselves through sport. I have been in relationships myself where my companion just could not quite grasp the concept of leading a life of ambition to push the boundaries of my mind and body, but it appears as if most people are switched onto that notion here.

Northbridge Piazza

             

              As a reference to how ideal this place is for me, I will simply state “NORTHBRIDGE”. Northbridge is the mecca for the nightlife in Perth, as it has more than enough to offer a person who enjoys getting out and socializing to the pulsating sounds of music. Pubs, eateries, clubs, even an outdoor movie area in the middle of the square, this place is what Charlotte’s “The Epicentre” wants to be. Minus the normal weekend occurrence of some drunken fights and a few glassing incidents, this place is pretty awesome; I just wished I had been here when I was about 19 and it would be absolute heaven! One thing I dread when heading home is the guys that sit in the toilet on a stool, bumping gangsta rap and asking for a tip to hand you a paper towel, it just doesn’t happen here. In fact I have recently experienced the comedy scene that Perth has to offer, then several different stops which many of my friends like to call their home base, each one just great and perfectly suited for the area.

             

                Home? Home is where the heart is? Well is my heart here or there, another wrench tossed in my plans of course. Well my decision is final, this place is GREAT, and it’s certainly almost like a heaven on earth in several ways for me, but my heart is with the people who have been an integral part of my life, well, forever, FAMILY. I have been to some incredibly breathtaking places while being abroad and at times it hit me how much more fascinating it would be to have my mother or my little brothers here to share it with. Taking the biggest leap of faith and moving to Australia, even for the short amount of time I have been here, was the best decision I have ever made. Obstacles in my future have been knocked down just that much more, now knowing that I can succeed to the far corners of the world.

            I can NEVER show enough appreciation to those who have taken me in as family since being in Perth. The Angell family has been the guiding light to get me through the dark, pitch black cave of life and out on to the bleached white sands of optimism.  The gang at the Running Centre have been amazing as well, kudos to Raf Baugh for letting me grab some of his extra confidence, Jason Nuttman for giving me just a bit more swagger, Nathan Doig for finally enlightening me to something called style, and the members of Club Helena Valley for flogging me on those 2hr runs through the hills, then degrading me at the IGA for being a soft yank, I LOVE YOU GUYS!.  I could, and perhaps will, write a book about my experiences here, from the amazing dedication that my coach Paul Mackay revealed, to the inspiring words from 2:13 Marathoner Ray Boyd provided me(poof), or perhaps the in depth conversation with Australian 1500m record holder Ryan Gregson about the state of my home NBA team the Charlotte Bobcats. So many memories, so many people; young, old, insightful, on the piss, flogged, and intense, in every fashion thought possible. In closing I can say without a doubt in my mind, I WILL BE BACK!!! I may not be coming back “for good” but expect a visit in the next 2 years. 

Going to miss running along the river daily

IF YOU ARE READING THIS, THANK YOU FOR PRETENDING THAT I AM COOL ENOUGH TO TALK TO YOU WHILE IN PERTH and if you are ever on the East Coast of the US, message me, mi casa es su casa!

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HBF: Run for my Lung 4k

HBF Run for a Lung 4k



CL, Microwave (marc), and Cody



After two weeks of attempting to stuff myself with ice cream post Half Ironman, I decided it was time to race. Since I coach a group on Monday evenings who was preparing for the HBF Run for a reason 14k, I decided to sign up. At the last minute Cody convinced me to sign up for the 4.5k race, because I could most likely win some $ for a top 3 finish. Well I can go around and call myself a dreamer because that was far from the case!

I attempted a short speed session just 3 days out from the race to see if I could get my legs to turnover at all and it was minimally successful so I had a bit of false confidence heading into the race. Since January I had been training specifically for the Half Ironman and of course the half marathon distance, which did not include sessions of short intervals, so the 4.5k was a bit over my head. The goal was to line up with Thomas Bruins and Marc See, run on their heels as long as possible and to hope for the best to get 3rd place. Marc and Thomas had both recently over 1500m with times of 3:44 and 3:49, so naturally I thought I could hang with these guys(buzzer sounding reeeeeeeeeennnn).

Not the case, as we warmed up together I realized Chris Dale was also doing the 4.5k, as was Ben Green, all of whom are accomplished track runners to say the least, as well as they have an extra 8 years of fresh leg turnover on me.  Just before the start I unveiled my best Raf "Radar" Baugh impersonation, with his 10 year old EMBROIDERED singlet that said "RADAR" on it, everyone had a laugh.



Marc See pushing the pace in front of Risely, Gregson and Roff at Nationals!



Inside the WACA at the finish

The gun goes off and so does the lactic acid throughout my body as my lung began to collapse. Holy crap, we are flying and I am, maybe…in 10th place about 1/2m into this run, “this was a mistake” and then “come man, focus” were thoughts going through my head with thousands of people on my heels. I hit the 1k mark in 3:02, then I caught up to Greeny finally at around the 2k mark, thinking my patience had finally paid off. Just as we approached the last mega hill, he just crushed me! My arms felt like I was carrying a baby on each side while I was running and my upper back was in pain, it almost made me forget that I also was not breathing ha-ha. Before I knew it we were entering the stadium and the finish line was just in front. Thank the lord it was over and done with but, come on, really, that was 4.5k? Greeny came over to me as I crossed and said we did like 12 minutes mate, that HAS TO BE SHORT. So here I was, running a race that was way out of my fitness and it was even worse because it was shorter than advertised, it was 4k!

Lesson learned, if you go into a race with expectations but you know what you have been doing (in my case, NOTHING) then prepare to feel the pain! I was 5th overall in 12:30, I was actually pleased with my time considering but at NO POINT was I relaxed or settled into a pace. What reason did you run for?Video<

After a month or two of consistent running the hope is to be able to run sub 16 comfortably again but at this point, I have decided to take a very non critical view to my training regimen. Next up is a 10k in Auckland, New Zealand, more my style at this point.

Shaving: Time and my face(update at the bottom)

   Leaving America for Australia, I had 2 main goals, one primary and one secondary, both of which were hard to describe at my age. My primary goal in leaving the country was to experience life outside of my little box and to soak up as much culture as possible. The secondary goal in my adventure was to train more effective than I did before with out any distractions that I may have had back home, just to reach my abilities. Over the last 2 weeks of my prep for leaving, many people asked me particular reasons for traveling, "are you going for work?", NO, " are you going to become a professional athlete?", YES! well no not really, that is in the back of all of our dreams whom are competitive by nature, but the simple fact is NO.

To shave or not to?

  Moving away to experience life by job hoping or sleeping on couches, is something that a normal teenager or college kid would do, but here I am nearly 30 years old chasing some kind of a dream. I left some amazing people back home and some good connections with employment to pursue whatever this is. Like anyone who attempts to be rebellious or adventurous, I chose to not shave or cut my hair for the remainder of my stay. As of right now, my semi beard is growing by the day and nagging me even more. I have always had dreams of a full thick beard, to be a manly man, but plain and simple, its really hard to grow a legitimate blond beard! Plus it becomes itchy and tough to sleep with especially now that it has topped 100 degrees (or 38 degrees for the aussies). So at this point in time, its a big decision, whether to trim my facial hair because its nagging me or the realization that I may not be able to get a fairly decent part time job because I look like a bum. What to do what to do?


  As far as shaving time, well that always is the goal isn't it? I mean  do we every feel like we have tapped completely for all of our ability? I know I haven't, I would consider myself lazy in a bit, i have opted for the social scene over the grueling training sessions that have separated the men from the boys so to speak. Maybe its time I buckled down and became one of these men who make that BIG jump? Yesterday and today i was fortunate enough to converse with Ryan Gregson whom is only 20 years old and is already the Australian National Record holder in the 1500m run with a 3:31:06. He was very carefree and easy going, he even knew Nelly was a part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, most people in Charlotte don't even know that! But at his invitational breakfast he spoke about his training and surrounding himself with people to give him confidence and build him up throughout his young career. Now I have found a place where I can train with some very solid runners/triathletes who push each other to the next level. Recently while cycling around town with a couple mates, on different occasions I saw a couple of riders who rode in the Tour De France, back in town just doing some training rides. The talent here is deep and I think can be tapped even more than it already has been.

Random Shot of a training session at sunset

   Surrounding myself with these people will make me better for sure, but to what extent, i have no clue. I have always heard I had a great natural ability but what does that mean, and how far can that take me? So far I have done a couple running, cycling and swimming workouts, and so far I have been virtually blown out almost every time. So when do I start shaving this time? Will it come when i shave my face and my head? When I was a collegiate runner at lil Pfeiffer University, I remember having long locks that i had braided up into corn rows and then shocking everyone by having it all shaved off before the end of the season. Well it seemed to really help as I won my one my 1st college race and then I even pushed deeper at the conference meet the following week with a 7th place performance by 15 seconds from a 3rd! Hmm maybe I should shave my legs as well, it seems to work for the triathletes right?

  So all in all, shaving time and shaving my face, true questions in life that we all must face. Will I shave my face? How much time can i shave off of my 5k, 3k, 10k, marathon, half ironman time? Pun intended, Time will tell. As far as my journey here it has been very interesting, now facing the fact that I NEED to be employed in order to rent out my own place or move in somewhere that has a bedroom so I can give my friends some additional privacy. Life will take me where I need to be, it has thus far and the path hasn't been too bumpy. An exciting update is that next week I will be working three 8 hour days at a local cafe washing tables, dishes and pans! Crazy how back home I would have NEVER considered something like this and now I am happy to just be apart of something to earn some $. Apparently some of the certifications I hold in the states do not directly convert over here and in order to be a personal trainer I may have to pay nearly $3k for some courses, if this is ultimately the case, I will have to find a new temporary profession.

Check out my bottle cage, the only way to recover!

  Calling everyone who may read this post, I urge you to yell as loud as you can at me to motivate me to pushing myself and shaving time, to tap my potential. If you hear about me sleeping in or passing on a run, I give you permission to call me a lil girl or whatever term you would like to choose to light the fire under me.

  In other news, Saturday night I am heading to the Perth Velodrome, to watch some serious racing, this will be my first time watching an indoor cycling race so it will be interesting.

http://www.westernaustralia.com/au/Pages/Event.aspx?n=Perth_International_Track_Cycling_Grand_Prix&pid=9010910

In short, isn't everything about shaving? Shaving just a few more pounds off, shaving just a few years off of my retirement off by saving money, shaving certain people out of your life to move on to the next step, shaving a bit from that entertainment fund to buy that house, and finally shaving your face to look "professional".

Stay Tuned for more updates! PS: I decided to skip my 1st race down under, a triathlon in Bunburry simply because I know I am not in shape to compete at the level I would like to race at. No need in forking out a bunch of $ since I haven't been working and barely any fitness to back me!

So I buckled after looking at the hideous growth of fur on my face, I trimmed my beard! I now resemble Craig David but with slightly lighter skin even with a bit of tan. 

Yes, that just happened!