So, the past few days my fellow Group 49ers have been closing their service in Ukraine with the Peace Corps. This is bittersweet for me but also a good thing. I have had this feeling that there was something over my head, and this pit in my stomach that I should be somewhere else, doing something else, that I should be in Ukraine with my fellow Volunteers. I haven’t been able to shake it but hopefully that will change soon.

Life gave me this amazing opportunity to take up a challenge very few have ever done but life also took it away when I got injured. Since that moment I have had a part of me that felt like I shouldn’t be doing what I am doing, that what I am doing is wrong in some way.

I say all this because in the last couple days I have decided to do something crazy, insane some would say but I look at it as a way to jump start my life. My Peace Corps service would be done, my physical therapy was done not long ago after almost 18 months rehabbing my injury. My shoulder is as good as it is gonna be, so, it is time for something big, something audacious. After all, big, audacious goals are one of the only ways I will do and complete something. My parents didn’t raise a quitter or a bitch.

My mom threw out this idea and then I researched it and talked it over with my girlfriend and a decision was made. So, with that in mind I have signed up for and started to train for a half Ironman, 70.3 miles. It consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile run (half marathon). I will be competing in October, during Fall Break and right after my 33rd birthday.

I am not where I want to be in life when it comes to my health and this audacious goal is going to help get me there. Also, in my top-2 things on my bucket list is to compete in and finish the full Ironman in Kona one day and this will help my qualifying get ready for it. The other thing in the top-2 is to climbs Kilimanjaro!

Underestimate me. That’ll be fun…