An Introduction of Sorts

Most of the people reading this probably follow me on Twitter, so it's not really an introduction, but at the same time it is because how much do you really know about the people you follow on Twitter? Anyways, I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts that has more trees than people. I was a competitive gymnast all my life with the opportunity to continue in college had injuries not gotten in the way. Between September  2009 and August 2011. I had 6 surgeries. Two knee arthroscopes (still have knee issues and need to run in a brace), an ankle arthroscope, an ankle reconstruction (that was a doozy) and two jaw reconstructions (upper and lower). Needless to say, that quickly put an end to my gymnastics career at the end of high school. So, I followed academics and chose the University of Southern California. I honestly could not be happier with that decision. I'm one of those cliche people (as much as I hate that) that is completely in love with their college. There, I chose to study astronautical engineering (yep, rocket science). My father is an engineer and I grew up listening to my grandfather talk about all the cool stuff he did on the Apollo program, so it just seemed right. Now I am a huge part of an undergraduate propulsion lab there that is poised to make USC the first university in space later this year!!!! While this blog will mostly follow my triathlon life, this part of me is just as important as that part, so I thought you ought to know. I also am sure from time to time that I will post about rockets so I promise it's not entirely random. After recovering from all the surgeries (for the most part at least), I got into triathlon with the USC tri team. I feel in love with it and haven't been able to stop. While all three sports have their nice qualities, I won't deny biking is my favorite. Running is definitely my weak sport due to my knee issues. However, recently running and I have come to a mutual understanding. I started my triathlon career with mostly olympics and sprints. Recently, I've come to adore racing the half-Ironman distance. My last race was Timberman 70.3 last August. Unfortunately, it was a week after I got hit by a car, so I ended up having to walk most of the half marathon. But alas, I finished! (Even if my time was absolutely disgusting). I also have a young adorable nephew who tagged along to the race (it was local for MA, only an hour north of where I grew up), and I decided to convert him to an Ironman one day (as seen below). Currently, I am living in the good old state of Alabama (never spent an extended period of time here before January). I was offered a long-term internship (I don't graduate until May 2014) in Huntsville working on a NASA rocket. My first race of this year was the Mercedes Half Marathon in Birmingham. While it was a bit chilly (23 F at the start), I maintain that it helped me because I couldn't feel my legs. It went surprisingly well. I had no knee pain and finished in a decent amount of time despite being sick for the three weeks prior. While I'm not going to call myself fast anytime soon or say running isn't my weakest of the three sports, I kind of ridiculously enjoyed the half marathon distance and will continue to sprinkle them in between other races. My next major race of the season is Ironman 70.3 New Orleans! It's a flat and fast course and I'm looking forward to it quite a bit (not just because it's a mini-vacation). Anyways, I'm always open to talk if you want to know more but I'm sure this is enough for all now. I will end this (and probably every post) with a saying that is near and dear to my, and every Trojan's, heart: Fight On!

Proof I finished!

My adorable nephew, Colton