Dynamic Balance

As I crossed the finish line for my first major podium finish after a wet and wild day at IRONMAN 70.3 Memphis last October, I was flooded with multiple emotions. The major one: relief. Then, fleeting happiness. And finally, dissatisfaction with a side of embarrassment. In an event that was broadcast live on IRONMAN NOW for thousands to see - I, a rookie long course pro, was not afraid to stick my nose in the middle of a race with two of the best female triathletes in the world: Ellie Salthouse and Jackie Hering. I exited the swim with Ellie and traded pulls with Jackie during the second half of the bike before finishing third on the day. To the vast majority of those watching the live stream, I was a complete nobody, likely performing above anyone’s expectations for someone who, up to this point, had flown completely under the radar. But the result never tells the full story, and what people couldn’t see on screen is the two years of relentless hard work I put in on the swim and bike ...

Stepping up to the 70.3 distance fresh off my latest injury earlier this year, I faced many unknowns. How would I fare against the best triathletes in the world at a completely new distance? Would I be able to get through the year injury free? And most importantly: Would I accomplish enough to justify continuing to pursue a professional triathlon career after two years of injury and disappointment? My podium finish at IRONMAN 70.3 Memphis in early October, as well as other solid results earlier in the season, answered most of these questions loud and clear. Thus, going into IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells on December 5, I had very little left to prove to myself (or anyone else, for that matter).  Before 2021, my racing resume featured a whopping six ITU starts. This year alone, I started six races before Indian Wells - something I never would have thought possible coming off two years of injury. I had never raced this much or this late in the season, and after a season that had already e...

Now that I have officially announced my intention to pursue a professional triathlon career beginning in 2018 (click here for the announcement if you haven't seen it already), an interesting question remains. This all happened so quickly - how did I even get here? How does one become a professional triathlete? There are many answers to this question, but my road to a professional triathlon career was quite unconventional. I wasn't introduced to the sport by parents or relatives earlier in life, nor was I recruited by USAT by virtue of being an excellent collegiate swimmer or runner. In fact, my collegiate athletic career - particularly on the running side - was quite underwhelming (more on that later). Until August 2016, I hadn't touched a bike since age 13. And for goodness' sake, I didn't even know that most bike tires have tubes in them until I bought my first TT bike. So really, how did I even get here? To begin answering this question, we must travel ba...

In August 2016, I entered CU Boulder as a burned out Applied Math PhD student looking for a change in direction. After seven months spent in limbo between graduate programs, I received my official offer of admission from the Mechanical Engineering PhD program in March 2017. I felt like I had finally found my place in a new program with a new advisor (He Who Must Not Be Named) and I accepted the offer immediately. Although I was a bit nervous to join an engineering department because I've never considered myself an engineer (I'm a mathematician!), I was excited to begin studies in a more focused environment where I could work on problems with direct, tangible, real-world applications. I began research with You Know Who (hereafter YKW) over the summer and everything went well. After a brief adjustment period in which all I did was lit review (which is never much fun for me), I was motivated, enjoying the project, and produced enough work to become first author of a journal arti...

There's always something. After ending my collegiate running career with back-to-back-to-back stress fractures and a temporary allergy to running (yes, this is actually a thing - Google "exercise-induced anaphylaxis"), I thought my string of bad luck was over. I was finally healthy, training and racing on my own terms, in a way that I knew would keep my body happy and injury-free. Then (only a week after deciding to pick up triathlon in August 2016) I fell off my bike and fractured my wrist. Okay, now my string of bad luck must finally  be over. Right? Wrong. So very wrong. Busts knee open on a rock while trail running, requiring several stitches and forcing time off from swimming (ouch) Mysterious hip injury spontaneously appears a few days prior to Age Group Nationals and evades diagnosis, forcing time off from running (whyyyy) Excruciatingly painful ear infection strikes a week before the NCAA Championships (okay, you've got to be kidding me) Etc. (You get t...