tribeforewetie-blog

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Received this photo from an old friend that is traveling through Europe. Sam keep traveling and maybe one of these days we can run into each other, hopefully at an event like this! Life is so good.

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Signed Up Today.. 

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Well its been a crazy month since my last post. We got engaged!.. and the wedding planning is in full force with a date set for October 6th. We are so excited its disgusting to most. I have to admit my time has shifted to wedding planning and less on Triathlon training. But as of last week I have a real training partner, which will actually hold me accountable. This week we hit a couple 4-5 mile runs and a quick 15 mile bike ride. I realized that I am not in shape. Having some muscle does not equal fit or in shape. I will be signing up for my first real tri this week which is awesome, but it is in a month and this out of shape feeling hasnt created the most confidence in my ability to actually complete one (triwaco.org).

I will try and maintain this blog more now that we have had some weeks to get ready for the wedding planning. Excited for this stage of life and for the future with Whitney Schiller.

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Had the chance to swing by and check out their shop yesterday. I was surprised by the level of service and knowledge of the whole staff. I know tri is an expensive sport and often makes you sacrifice some serious money in order to shave off seconds from your time, but I couldn't find a bike in this place that was under $5000! I was really looking forward to a range of bikes, but found myself staring at price tags that caused me to cringe. I might need to skip the full tri bike for a while a start pricing out some solid road bikes. I will go back to Tri Shop in Plano someday, just not for a bike.

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Should I or shouldn't I drive 4hrs to watch this.. probably just "tri" watching it on the computer http://ironmantexas.com/

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Little Start and Big Finish

Let's start with the finish. We have finished our premarital counseling! 8 weeks of grueling intentional awkwardness goes a long way in understanding the person you want to marry. We were so lucky to get awesome mentors and have some other normal couples in our group. The little start was a spin class. I have never quite felt the need to go to classes offered by gyms but i had an urge to try one recently. It was the greatest thing I've done training wise. It's been 2 days since the class and I can still barely walk.

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At 25 years old I have run 5ks, 10ks, Mud Runs, paddled in standup paddle board races, and at one point attempted to race road bikes. I love the thrill of competing, and whether that is with the guy 10 years younger than me or the guy flying past me who averages 25 years older than me.  After taking a job in the outdoor industry I found myself at the Oceanside Half Ironman 70.3 last year around this time. I was instantly caught up in the crowds of people that had flown in, drove days, and sacrificed their weekend to subjecting their bodies to 70.3 miles of swimming, biking, and running. The thing that blew my mind at first was not the amount of people there but the demographic of people. There were old, young, chubby, skinny, ultra rich, average joes, and every combination in between. 

Fast forward a year and a much different setting.. I am in Dallas Texas with the women of my dreams, far from that ocean in what I would consider a concrete metroplex, and still thinking of that beautiful day in Oceanside; With this in the back of my head, "I could do this. I mean if that guy can swim, bike, run I definitely can." 

So I went online a few weeks back and bought the book You are an Ironman by Jacques Steinberg. It is a story of 6 people, just like me, who thought I can do a triathlon, but soon found themselves competing in one of the worlds hardest races... a true Ironman. That is 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride followed by a 26.2 full marathon.   So this book has ignited a desire to compete and maybe not an Ironman level YET but definitely a series of small event.. with the goal being before we are married (hence the name of the blog).

I recommend this book to everyone whether you want to actually race or if you just want a light fun read about some very motivated humans.

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Meet Us. Whitney and Garrett. Ill explain more throughout the life of this blog. Half this is dedicated to our love and our pursuit of marriage and the other half is my want to compete in a large triathlon before we say the "I do's". This is not a stipulation to getting married but more of a challenge to balance wedding planning, work, church, community, and training for three separate events. Enjoy.