Blowing Rock: Road trip to Moses Cone

   This past weekend, I gathered up a couple friends to accompany me to the mountains for a couple of reasons. 

1.   to hopefully see how amazing the NC mountains look when fall is here and the leaves are completely changed
2.   get in a solid run up a mountain with perfect weather as a break from the norm in Charlotte. 

 After some confusion, we ended up departing the house around 6:50am in route to Blowing Rock Website, making our 1st pit stop at 6:54 am to get Mr. Chris his coffee and a few snacks for the road, while Kent Morris was still trying to wake up as seen here.

Special thanks to Bmac for providing us with the gas mileage of his Sweet Honda Fit as our chariot to the mountains. Initially I was nervous/excited at the possibility of Ryan Bender joining us as he was planning on 20 miles at a sub 6 pace and I know that none of us were really up for that but I was thinking if I could make it 13 miles I would be pleased, but Ryan had family come to town and had to back out. Billy was pumped to join us, but his decision to stay up till 2am for the Braves playoff game did not end up well and he had to back out the morning of also.

As we approached blowing rock, we all were getting pumped to hit the trails. Kent had never been to Moses Cone and was anxious to check it out and it had been a year since I was last there from what I remember. After we jumped from the car, we realized, wow, we are all a bit tight from the ride up and had to take a few extra minutes to loosen up our muscles and joints. I decided to go with the old school bandanna look with my 2XU Compressioon Race Socks which seem to keep saving the day for me lately. We headed on our journey from Bass Lake up to the Manor for a few minutes before heading up to the fire tower. Upon arriving to the fire tower we encountered an older man who appeared to be just slightly in another world (possibly from some form of plant smoking) and he seemed to keep chatting/checking us out(awkward), so I just jumped on the steps of the fire tower and said nice to meet you buddy we got to roll.

Once to the top it was a great view of the mountain range and we were trying to figure out what certain areas were from far away. Kent said it reminded him of back home in Lynchburg, Va when he used to train in the mountains during high school in the 1970's. Brian made a magnificent effort to at least climb to the top of the tower to have a brief look out. on the way down our pace didn't seem to drop by very much, we just kept it consistent. Kent wanted about 10 miles so he went straight back to Bass Lake while Brian and I took the path to Trout lake and back up to the manor before finishing up at Bass lake as well. After arriving at the lake my Garmin appeared to finally kick in the right pacing as we were going about 6:45's the last mile.

After finishing, I really felt like I had to do more and just asked if they wanted to knock out an extra mile. In my head, I thought, let's push it Chris, but I was also thinking, lets not mess up that calf that has been giving me fits. Kent, brian and I hit the path around the lake for one more loop and I commented that i planned to push it a bit as a heads up. We eased into the mile loop(or so i thought) and I saw the garmin at 5:42 around 1/4m in and I hit the 1/2m at 2:48 as I began to really pick it up. At that point, I basically said, let's see if you any wheels Chris, don't be a pussy, MAN UP and get it done. I took off in search for the possibility of running my 15th mile in sub 5 realizing I needed a freaking 2:11 last 800m! As I finished and my back was getting tight, I passed our starting point for the mile and had to run another 85-90 yards before my garmin hit 5:06. If I had a Timex, it would have been well below 5 but luckily the garmin saved me from false info. All in all I ran a 2:18 back 1/2m which I was VERY satisfied with.

To add to just a great day to be out running, we bumped into a couple other runners hitting the trails for about 13-14 like us and one of them was former D1 NCAA XC champ Josh McDougal running with his dog.

The 3 amigo's hit Woodlands BBQ where we had a very nice young lady as our waitress. The food was plenty and we even went high dollar and got a pitcher of Coors Light. Making our way into town, it was good people watching as about 85% of the people were over 60 years old but friendly of course. It was beautiful day, so we all set on a bench overlooking the town with dozens of other people, sipping apple cider and eating ice cream (Brian). It was a great day away from the norm but by the time we found our way back to Charlotte we were pretty much exhausted. I had a 40th B-day to go to for Scott Helms in 2 hours time and needed to figure out dinner, shower and some sort of a nap. Long blog short, we had a blast and I am fairly certain that Bmac played enough Ska music to last me at least until I get to Australia on the car ride.

Special thanks to the Mizuno Inspire, 2XU race socks and Garmin for making my run fun and successful!

• To end my Blog Entry, I only have one question for anyone who may read this, WHY DO WE NOT ATTEMPT TO MAKE MORE TRIPS TO THE MOUNTAINS? I never hear anyone say, why don't we take a fairly short drive to see some amazing scenery and to also get in some great running? Let's break free of this Concrete city!

Running for Ta-Ta's

About 6 weeks ago i decided that I wanted to set a goal of running a decent 5k once again since I had been mainly trying my hands in the multi-sport arena this spring/summer. Since TrySports was sponsoring the "Run for the "Ta-Ta's" 5k in Wilmington, NC, I figure why not give it a shot?

Perhaps with some training I could be under 16 once again and if things went according to plan, I could get down into the 15:40 range in this 6 week span. Well after some very surprising workouts in basically a 2 week span I was feeling more and more confident. I managed a stellar (for me) 4 x 1 mile track workout in Charleston, SC and then an even more surprising sub 22minute tempo on the Common Market solo run. After all of these events seemingly lining up for a fantastic 5k performance I headed off to West Jefferson for the Blue ridge relay with my new teammates "Bear in Mind". After a spectacular trip with new friends, I was left a bit fatigued but I felt confident that this would be my best post BRR recovery yet. WRONG.


Something flared up in my calf and Achilles on both legs and I was VERY limited with my training regimen. This really left me at a loss as I was finally gearing up to be in great shape before I ship out across the world. Now here I am running very 3rd day at a far from brisk pace for anywhere between 3-5 miles. I was fortunate to attempt using a new product on the market called the "helix calf sleeve" to see if it could help at all. Well long story short, i was walking by 1.75 miles with a big knot in my calf. Luckily after speaking with Dr. Clay Gasparovich at Greenapple Wellness, he worked on my legs the best that he could.


My legs began to feel better after the use of a laser, the graston technique, and kineseo tape. After making progress Dr. Scott Greenapple, said he would like to give acupuncture a shot also. {Acupuncture is the stimulation of specific points on the body by a variety of techniques, including the insertion of thin metal needles though the skin. Acupuncture needles are intended to remove blockages in the flow of chi and restore and maintain health. The needles are solid, and contain no chemicals, as in western medicine. These disposable needles serve only as an antennae to allow transfer of energy through a point in the body.}

Never having acupuncture before, I was a little nervous and when he was sticking these needles inside on my leg I was just a bit freaked out honestly. Directly after the therapy I felt worse, as my leg was in a bit of pain, so I was still skeptical. The next day arrives, t-minus 1 day until the 5k and I manage to squeeze in 3 miles with BMAC at 7pm before meeting Jordan and Sarah at the local pub. Race morning, BMAC and I awake after our comfortable living arrangements at the Hilton, get some coffee, the usual dynamic warm-up, 3 miles to warm-up and some easy strides. i was feeling GOOD, wow what happened? I felt like a new person actually, what to expect now? Does this mean I can go out harder? What's the plan? "Chris you haven't ran much in 2 weeks! don't go crazy".


Once the race started, it was CHAOTIC as we caught up to the back of the pack women and the swerving commenced. In and out, on the curb, whoa i almost ran into someone, stop, side step, surge the gap, hop over a dog, past a little girl and we are about 1/2 mile into the race. My plan quickly became to stick with the front pack as long as I could until the chaos cleared a bit and they took off. At the 3/4m mark, it was on point when they took off, most of whom have run sub 15 for a 5k on the roads before. I settled into a groove and kept going w/no watch to look at only effort. Rounding a corner I noticed that Jordan was on the sidewalk as I passed by, secretly hoping he would hop back in to help me out, and he did! He led me out to catch the next pack which was successful and he just kept it in cruise control from then on.

Approaching the line I thought the clock said 16:30, but it said 18:30, meaning I was at 15:30 in reality since we started 3 minutes back. I knew I had a lot more in the tank so i got on my toes and hammered home passing some local guy with his teammates cheering him in. Afterwards I found out the guy I passed was a now pro triathlete and current Aquathon national champion. This made my day and has led my confidence to really build before I head out. I want to send out many thank yous starting with trySports for providing me with a race to actually mark as a goal; Greenapple sports and wellness for somehow allowing me to run, BMAC for a fun trip (another tower over here!) and Jordan Kinley for helping me catch the pack in front of me! Onward to more training!

BLOWING ROCK LONG RUN IN THE AM!!! Blog Post sure to come from the trip

Family- the hardest part of leaving

This weekend a few things began to hit me as I am approaching my departure date for Perth, Australia on November 2nd. One, I really need to round into better shape before hitting this new continent because some of the locals are waiting to race me already and have sent me several messages about bringing my "A" game. Two, organizing everything that strips most of the stability that I have worked so hard to achieve has been very unnerving & difficult. Three, I will really miss my family and many of my close friends whom I surround my self with on a daily basis.

Out of these 3 things the one that really affects me the most is #3 on the list. My family has always been VERY important to me, thus the reasoning behind sticking around the general Charlotte area my entire life. After 12 years of being an only child my mother decided to bring in a beautiful little girl as an addition to the family, as time passed I would be blessed with 3 much younger brothers also. Being the Big Brother to these amazing kids has been a duty that I have tried to fulfill in every way possible which has limited my opportunities in other regions that I had thought to once pursue. Conquering the hardest part of my new journey was allowing myself to "let go" of some of these obligations that I have set upon myself.

Just thinking about having a Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, my own B-day, Easter, and July 4th without my family sounds wrong just typing it right now. Not only will I miss my incredible family but I miss my family of friends who is my support system and my saving grace at times. Yes I will be gone merely one year BUT who knows what holds in store beyond. If things pan out, I may travel to another country for a stint. Opening my eyes to new horizons and trying to understand my potential in life has been an incredible journey. My hope is that when I travel abroad, I will join up with some amazing people who will open my eyes even more to what my true calling in life is meant to be.


I just want to send a HUGE Thank you to all of my family members who have been a crucial part of my life and have helped mold me into the person I am today. To so many of my incredible friends, thank you for all of the laughs so hard that it hurt my stomach and for the many days I needed you to pick my up from being in a bad mood. I will miss so many people that have touched my life, thank you for supporting me through this crazy, incredible, absurd, stupendous decision that I have made.

Blue Ridge Relay Recap:::::

6 months ago I decided that my total focus would be on the Triathlon National Championships in Alabama on September 26th, thus making it difficult to race the relay the week prior. Unfortunately I backed out of my said team obligations with "Team Awesome", whom ended up doing amazing this year as the #2 mixed team to finish overall. As most of you know, I ended up competing in the relay but with a different yet awesome team from the Compass group who asked me last minute to join in the fun.


My triathlon career was fairly short lived with nationals and etc after life got very chaotic for a couples of months in which my training completely disappeared. Life/God has a funny way of changing things that you have set in stone for the future. I am not sure why things have happened the way they have at this point, but looking back to last weekend its clear. I would have never met some of these amazing people whom where on my relay team. Everyone had their own interesting story and personality but everyone was very open to chatting with me about who I was and where I come from, the usual.

After leaving Charlotte, crammed into a van, then waiting around in mooresville for the other van, we finally reached West Jefferson around 8pm. Our van headed right to the meeting spot for dinner and chowed down! It was awesome that Compass actually covered dinner because we had a great meal and most of us had a couple beers to loosen up the conversation a bit. Waking up in the am, Gene, my roommate and I went straight to the coffee bar and had some muffins. We greeted some other teams downstairs and prepped for the journey. Upon arriving to the start line, every time I turned my head I saw someone I knew, it was magnificent seeing so many local runners joining in for this amazing adventure of which was my 4th time.

"Bear in Mind" started at 9:30am with team members, Judy, Joan, Lee, Gene, myself and Cheryl we set off downhill, literally. We each blazed our 1st legs faster than our time sheets had us predicted and handed off with a nice 25 minute cushion of time. Upon looking back over my garmin, I did exactly what I instructed everyone else not to do and that was to run real hard on the 1st leg. My 1st mile which was basically a gradual downhill I was swinging for the fences lets just say. As the relay winded along, we managed to get a few wash-ups, even a shower, some good grub and had plenty of gatorade and snacks thanks to the Compass group and Food Lion as our sponsors.

All in all the legs were very difficult, at points I wished I had run faster but what can you do, its the mountains! My team did an amazing job, I was so proud of everyone. This was the 1st time in the BRR competition that no one on my van had conflict! Yes I blew up the last time I raced but it was because I literally was lying everything on the line when I ran, to be followed by no rest and to eventually losing our lead. Live and learn people! All in all I think everyone was pleased, we finished 11th overall and 5th in the co-ed division. if it wasn't for 2 co-ed teams based from charlotte whom both broke the co-ed record, we would have been top 3 easy. After our legs were complete we managed to shower it up at the YMCA and even grab a couple cases of beer to sip on while we waited for van #2 to come through.

Thank you to CRC for letting me tag along with my yoga mat and bookbag while at Mellow Mushroom! We had an interesting brief drive back with Billy Shue who somehow missed the exit to I-40 3 times before Anne Falcon basically jumped from the back row to manhandle Billy, well verbally anyways. The ride back was just as fun as the journey in itself despite half of the van passed out. After sleeping forever on sunday, I came to realize that my calf pains were a bit more than I was used to, in fact it was in my Achilles tendon. After having Dr. Clay from Greenapple Sports & Wellness work on my legs he advised me to take 36hrs off with lots of heat, ice, and using the stick. My 1st run back tonight, actually went pretty well, I needed to vent some stress away, so my bounce felt like it was back. The 1st couple of miles felt amazing, but the last couple didn't feel quite as good, but I am coming around.


Thanks so much to the Compass Group for letting me be apart of your squad, Cheryl Todd for inviting me to watch you "girl" several guys on the course, Gene for being an awesome roommate, Kevin for communicating with me about logistics(and retrieving my car), and everyone else I encountered along the way.

Off the top of my head, I saw these people during the relay;

Mike Beigay, Ben Hovis, Danielle Crockford, Billy Shue, Allen strickland, mo campbell, stephen hudzik, colleen angstadt, chris cummins, scott woodbury, kevin lisska, borianna balkcheta?, brian mcmahon, john compton, paul mainwaring, kirk ward, emily hansen, todd patterson, shenna kevorkian, sarah neumann, jocelyn sikora, alice rogers, dusti jensen, caleb boyd, karin helmbrecht, melissa bell and joey church.

I am sure I missed some people but hey, thats a big list!!!

Here I come!

This is a very brief but straight to the point entry which has been in the works for WAY TOOO long. As of 4 days ago I have officially purchased my plane ticket to Perth, Australia!!!

Check out my short trip across the world:

- Charlotte to LA (5.5hr flight then an 11+hr layover!)

- LA to Auckland, NZ (13 hr flight! 8 hr layover)

- Auckland, NZ to Perth, AU (7hr 46 min flight)


I don't even want to think about this trip and being totally alone for almost 3 days traveling around the world. Books will only take me so far, does anyone have any recommendations for this journey??? The running better be AMAZING there!