Racing like you train

I am having a hard time controlling the butterflies in my stomach. According to Wikipedia, "butterflies in the stomach" is a phenomenon characterized by the physical sensation of a fluttery feeling in the stomach. This sensation can be a physical sensation related to the body's fight or flight response or it can be an ineffable experience related to the psychology of nervousness and excitement. Some believe that this is caused by the release of adrenaline when one is nervous, which pulls blood away from the stomach and sends it to the muscles. This reduced blood flow, in turn, causes the stomach to temporarily shut down." Adrenaline = good. Reduced blood flow in the stomach = bad. As much as I have complained about this week being extremely busy at work, it has kept the majority of this nervous sensation at bay. Unfortunately, I am leaving the office at noon today, so adrenaline will rapidly course my veins for the next 48 hours.

I had an epiphany yesterday on my morning walk with Winston (seen in his natural habitat below).

As part of our walks each morning, I pray for all of my friends and family, for the work I have to accomplish during the day and for the strength to serve rather than be served. About halfway through the walk it occurred to me that I should be focusing on racing like I train. I knew instantaneously that this message had metaphorical implications along with its obvious literal reference. Have I been training properly? For Ironman, yes. Spiritually, I am not so sure. Everyday for me over the last 6 months has been training and not all of  it was for triathlon. I have been swimming, biking and running over 15 hours per week and increasing the duration and intensity of my quiet times and spirituality. I have physically raced in a couple of races and done well, training approved. In my spiritual life, I have had several "races" and found it difficult to compete. I need to train harder.

As Ironman Texas approaches, I am becoming increasingly aware of the fact that there is no incremental training at this point that can provide any additional value to my race. However, the training to become a better person and serve a higher purpose never ceases. I guess my point is that in life, unlike Ironman, there is no 17 hour time limit. The finish line is much further away and takes much more discipline to reach. It takes training 7 days a week with no rest. I am glad I took part in the journey to race Ironman for many reasons, but the most impactful came to me yesterday when I saw this life parallel.

I spent the better part of yesterday evening organizing all of my "gear" and setting out all of the nutritional supplements that will be needed on the course. It's amazing to me what the event requires in terms of preparation. I have heard horror stories of folks who have gone out and raced with no plan, so maybe I am taking the opposing view and planning too much? In any event, the entire downstairs portion of my home is covered in hammer gels, electrolyte tabs and various articles of clothing and electronics all of which will guide me along the route. Every 10min on the bike requires liquids. Every hour of the race requires food and salt intake. Every discipline requires different clothing items. In the midst of it all, I have had to make sure to stay focused on having fun. Fun. Yes, this was all voluntary and in my opinion, voluntary should equate to fun.

Athletes are required to be in The Woodlands by 3pm today for packet pick-up and stay in the area until 8pm for a mandatory meeting. I'll then shoot down the Hardy toll road to get to my house for a final packing up of all of my stuff. 7am tomorrow I will be back on the road to The Woodlands for my last swim/run in the morning, and various check-ins throughout the day. In the middle of all of this, it will be important to remember to stay hydrated, calm and most importantly, in good spirits. My plan on race morning is to wake up initially at 3am to take in my first does of supplements and breakfast. I'll get up for good at 415am to hydrate and get all of my things together and be at the transition area by 530am. Gun time is 7am.

All I can hope for at this moment is to race like I have trained. It has been a rigorous journey with a few ups and downs, mostly ups. I have achieved many milestones over the last 6 months and I am in the best shape of my life. The flip side is the exhaustion and the aching body...my knees hurt and I am tired. But I can see the finish line and hear the people yelling. I can see the faces of my family members and friends, and that is what keeps me going. I don't want to think about Sunday and beyond, as I am living in the moment. I praise God for reminding me that life continues on after the race and that there is still much training and many races to be run.

Bib# 447
Ironman Texas
May 18, 2013

Facing the Wind

Kemah is the Karankawan word for "facing the wind."

My relationship with Kemah began in last year's sprint race (my first ever open water race) in which I swam about 50m before taking a Big Gulp sized drink of brackish bay water and then proceeded to breast stroke for the remaining 450m. The bike was lackluster and my run pace averaged in the high 8's. Looking back, I am surprised that I continued to take part in this sport after that experience.

Needless to say, I was expecting the worst for this year's race. Jamie and I had signed up to break up the monotony of training for IMTX and to actually put some of our training into practice. If you have ever gone through the journey of Ironman training, you understand how important the little victories are. Kemah was going to be our little victory to keep us pushing toward the goal of finishing IMTX on May 18.

The days leading up to the race certainly had diminishing effects on my positivity for the weekend. We found out on Wednesday that the run from swim exit to transition was .56miles on pavement. We also learned that there was a 40% chance of rain on Sunday morning. Frustration ensuing, I kept telling myself to remain positive and to remember that the race was an extension of training, that I could toss a pair of "throw-away" shoes into the swim exit, that it was Texas and the weather is always changing...Packet pickup was crammed into a 12x12 room in the Holiday Inn, so we rushed through the line, grabbed our packets, bought a couple bonk breaker bars (pb&j is incredible) and got the hell out of there. In the spirit of last year's race, we ventured over to T Bone Tom's to wind down and have an early dinner, complete with a couple beers and fried pickles (for the sodium benefit of course). Then it was back to the hotel to put together all of the gear for race morning. Lights out around 930pm with a quick episode of Mythbusters (couldn't stay up for the usual SNL reruns).

330am I awake to the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning. Not good. 430am awake again, checking emails and receive the bike cancellation update. Aquathon, damn. On the bright side, it is much easier to carry all of your gear to transition without a bike, but for training purposes, we were leaving off an integral piece of work for the day. Didn't eat much for breakfast knowing that the extra calories would provide no added benefit, so a banana with some coffee and oatmeal was enough to fill the tank. We made the mile long trek to transition, sat out my shoes, running bib and a Hammer Gel with some Endurolytes, quick pee break and on the wetsuit went. After about 30mins in transition, we walked over to the boat launch and boarded the "Colonel" paddlewheel along with about 800 other brave souls who decided to stay around for the race. The taxi out of the harbor seemed to last forever and the body heat was rising with everyone standing around in their wetsuits, so I was somewhat concerned that dehydration would begin since there was no water to drink in the area. After an hour of sailing out and setting the anchors to the tide, the national anthem began as the pros filed down the galley. The gun went off and bodies were diving in every direction off of the side of the boat. Mass hysteria. Not five minutes after the gun, age-groupers were being called down and sectioned off to the side of the boat. A lady was screaming "Right, Left, Right, Left" and you basically had a one second window to plunge 3 feet into the water before someone jumped on your back.

I can remember the look on the guy's face in front of me, sheer terror, as he jumped in and immediately sunk into the brown water. Without hesitation, I held onto my goggles and jumped over him, and began swimming for my life. Forget comparing triathlon swims to a washing machine, this was a blender...I saw numerous people grabbing onto kayaks, screaming for help with their hands in the air. It would have been very easy and excusable to quit and I would find no fault in anyone doing so...the waves were 2-3' rollers, elevating you and dropping you seconds later, there was sea spray from the wind hitting my goggles and countless feet and arms to dodge on the way to the first buoy. Not to mention the water was frigid from the rain. But there is a rhythm you find with the water...anyone who is a swimmer knows this. Not to sound like some sort of hippie naturist, but you become one with the water, breathing when it allows you to take a breath, pulling through the crests and kicking through the troughs. You progress forward in a natural motion requiring very little energy and it is exhilarating. Before I knew it, my hand was dragging sand on my pulls and I was able to stand and run to the exit. 29min swim for a 1:57/100m pace. My personal best.

The run from swim exit to transition was .56 miles on paved roads. We made the decision not to leave a pair of shoes at the exit and just hump it to the transition area, which actually turned out to be a great strategy. I heard people had trouble finding their shoes and cost themselves valuable time by searching for them. I was making brilliant time running in my wetsuit, and got the to the transition area in 3:30. I stripped the right leg out of the suit, went for the left and couldn't get it around the damned timing chip. By the time I finally got out of my suit, threw on my shoes and slammed my Hammer gel and electrolytes, I had burned another 3 minutes. So much for making up time...7min T1.

I felt awesome coming out on the run. I had a good swim and was finally over the fact that T1 sucked. I took down water at the first stop and was pacing down to a 6:40 mile by the first mile marker. After mile 2, my right shoe started to loosen and the lace came undone...I had taken off the Yankz laces due to tendinitis in my feet and this was my payback. Quick stop to tie the lace and back to work. I made a point to drink only water through the next 3 miles and poured cold water over my head at each stop. At mile 5, I took in another Hammer gel to leg out the rest of the race. My pace was still in the 6:50-7/mile pace at this point. Around 5.5 miles in, I heard a familiar voice from behind me yelling "Man you're a hard guy to catch!" Jamie got me, again. He had put together a crazy run split to come from behind, averaging 6:30-6:40/mile but agreed to run out the rest of the race alongside me to the finish, both of us sort of understanding that this would not likely happen in the Ironman, so we better take advantage of it.

This was taken at the turn onto the last .25 miles of the race. We finished the run in 43 minutes averaging just at 7:00/mile.

Total race time was 1:20...at the finish line, we ranked 8th and 9th place in age group. To date, we have been dropped to 13th/14th...I'm assuming some folks finished without a timing chip and turned  in their times after the fact?

All-in-all this was a great race on many levels. For one thing, we were not fatigued after the race and had plenty of fuel left in the tanks. Secondly, training has vastly improved our swim and run times and thresholds. Lastly and most importantly, we were able to complete another race without any major issues and were smiling at the finish line.

I feel abundantly blessed at this point in my life. Obstacles, both personally and athletically, are not near the hurdle they used to be. I have learned the art of letting go and rolling with the tides. I have learned to adapt to change and to keep moving forward even when I cannot see the destination. I have learned that frustration, stress, fear and sadness can be turned into a fuel that can be burned into happiness and peace of mind. I am blessed to have both a wife who supports my hobby and a very dear friend who shares the same passion as I do. The encouragement from Emily and the accountability gained from Jamie have pushed me to become who I am today. A completely different person than I was 5 years, 5 months and even 5 weeks ago.

I look forward to racing Ironman with my friend and I look forward to seeing my family at the finish line. Thanks to the little victories, I sit here today excited, not nervous or scared. I am ready and willing to face the wind.

Ironman Texas 70.3 race report

What a ride this has been...

If you would have asked me five, three, even two years ago if I had any desire to compete in this sport I would have sprayed beer out of my nose in laughter. Last Sunday I raced a half-iron distance triathlon that we labeled a "tune-up" race for Ironman Texas. Tune-up. The definition of tune-up is 'to refine or adjust for better functioning.' The more I thought about that definition, the more I am reminded why I do this sport. It's the process of setting a goal, pushing your body to its limits to meet that goal and the feeling of release when you have achieved the goal. My takeaway from this achievement is that we should always be tuning-up...it's applicable to everything in life. There should always be a goal and hard work to get there. Most importantly, you must step back and enjoy crossing the finish line because that's what makes you set the next goal. That being said, I have made a list of things that I am going to accomplish in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and I know going into this exercise that it will be difficult to achieve the majority of these things but I will be a stronger and better person after trying.

Now to the race recap for IMTX 70.3:

We arrived in Galveston around 12:30pm on Saturday, just in time for packet pick-up and the mandatory athlete briefing (which by the way was not at all mandatory). On a side note, the swag that Ironman puts out is pretty incredible...they have become a full-on brand name, manufacturing everything from hats to shot glasses. Mandatory bike check-in was at 2pm, so we stickered and racked our bikes and kissed them goodnight, then headed out of the expo. We were very fortunate to have been able to stay at a dear friend's beach house in Galveston on Saturday night before the race, which happened to be along the seawall where the bike course passed. The wives stayed at the beach house and the athletes stayed in a hotel room which was much closer to the transition area. Late dinner, salt and carb loading, some SNL and then lights out around 10pm.

Alarm went off at 4:45am and I immediately grabbed my water bottle that was full of Perpetuem. Slammed that down, along with a banana and a hammer gel. Then grabbed my oatmeal and forced it down with 20oz of water. At this point the nerves are pretty high so eating is not a natural habit, but more of a chore. We left the hotel and arrived at transition around 5:40. I tried something new for this race: on the Friday before, I packed my nutrition for each stage of the race into sandwich bags and labeled them with magic marker. This proved to be extremely useful throughout the race and I was able to shave off time by not having to search/remember what I needed to ingest. Filled my speedfill with water, filled my aero-bar bottle with Gatorade and Perpetuem, greased up with shampoo and put on my wetsuit. The last thing I did in transition was pack my morning clothes bag (which was crucial in order to change clothes after the race). Time to swim.

We headed to the swim start just as transition was closing and saw the pros take off at 7am. Damn these guys can swim...They were around the first buoy before the next gun at 5min later. They announced our group and we dove off of the dock into the water at 710 and waited until our gun at 715. Bang! No time to think, be scared or quit, just have to move forward and do it quickly. The course was easy to navigate and the sun stayed out of view, which helped to sight the buoys. The water, however, was extremely salty and I was thirsty after about 15 minutes of swimming. I would figure out later that the salt was also a dehydrator and gave me calf cramps. I was able to rhythm fairly well until the half-way point at which time I caught up with the group ahead. The last half of the swim was a washing machine until I exited the ramp. Total swim time was 38min.

T1 was a disappointment. I struggled to get my heart rate monitor to sync to my Garmin and I was so thirsty from the salt that I made myself drink half a gallon of water to avoid late stage cramps. I also ate a hammer gel and took electrolyte tabs. I finally got out of T1 about 6 minutes later. This was 3-4 minutes too slow...For some reason a guy with a camera and a microphone was posted up behind me the whole time which made it worse. He then proceeded to attempt an interview after I unracked my bike and I politely reminded him that this was a race.

The bike course was a flat and fast 56 miles. I had preconceived notions that the wind was going to be atrocious and that my legs were going to be hamburger meat after reading the blogs from last year's participants. It could not have been further from the truth...I was flying. That is, until the half-gallon of water that I drank made a reappearance at mile 16. My first #3 ever in a race, and I felt like I handled it gracefully by holding it until I found a port-o-john. My average speed on the out was 21.7mph and on the back was 19.9mph. Not too shabby for the leg of the race that I struggle with the most. I was able to see Emily along the seawall at mile 13 and again at mile 40, which was a saving grace and helped me to refocus my energy on the race. I love my wife for many reasons, and one of those is her willingness to always support this crazy hobby and watch my events. The end of the bike leg takes you through an airstrip and down a runway and you really do feel like you are flying (I probably should not admit this, but I got a picture in my head from that scene in Top Gun when Tom Cruise rides motorcycle along the runway and jets are flying over his head). Then I remembered two things: I am not Tom Cruise and I now had to go run 13.1 miles. Bike time was 2:52.

T2 was successful for all intents and purposes. I was out in a couple of minutes and had sufficiently ingested all of my nutrition and grabbed my water bottle. Shoes tied and off we go.

The run course was 3 loops throughout Moody Gardens and was empty when I arrived, and by the time I finished, I was surrounded by athletes running for their lives. The support along the run was amazing and I laughed a few times along the way at characters who showed up to cheer. Think speedos, bikinis and some dudes drinking Guinness while listening to Gangham Style on a repeat loop. By mile 6, the heat was sweltering and there was no wind to cool us down. Thank God for the ice cold sponges (I found one after the race inside my shorts) and the ladies with squirt guns who were blasting people in the face. My pace was quick out of the gate, around 7:45/mi but slowed down to 8:50 by the last mile. The winding loops and hairpin turns helped to break up the run, which ended with a chute full of people screaming for you and giving out high fives. I felt like a professional athlete with the support that I received along the run. Run time was 1:54.

Special thanks to Julie and Dan for the beach house, Emily and Nikki for watching us and cheering us on in this journey and Chris and Cathy for making the trip down to watch the finish--I am lucky guy and so very thankful for the people that God has put into my life!

Official race time was 5:47 and change, an improvement of 20 minutes over my time in Oilman's back in November 2012. I loved this race and will be back in 2014! Lessons learned from this race are to work on T1, keep my nutrition plan as is (I never cramped, knocking on wood), NEVER drink that much water at one time, and most importantly, go out and treat everything in life as a tune-up!

2 months and counting

I've just returned to my office from what has become the standard lunch date for me: a trip to the gym for a scheduled training and five quick minutes of eating 1,000+ calories and drinking as much water as possible before getting back to work. This day was particularly special in that I noticed two things almost simultaneously. The first, my race schedule which has been taped to my wall since December:

The second, today's date:

If you take out the full week I will taper for IMTX70.3 and the week-and-a-half I will taper for IMTX140.6, that leaves less than six weeks until target race day. It's hard to describe the feeling of knowing the road that lies ahead. Sheer panic, excitement, regret, fatigue (and more fatigue). My immediate thought is to forget about the emotions because its too late to back out and its much too late to begin training harder. Still, there is an un-brainwashed part of my mind that is terrified and wants to quit, however the process-driven piece of gray matter takes over and quiets it down. The headlines don't help: "cardiac arrhythmia claims triathlete." One more reminder that we have a choice in what we focus our attention and worries on....it's very simple: either positive or negative. I will fight to continue to be positive no matter how much easier it is to be negative.

I have learned so much about myself throughout this journey. The physical improvements are great and play an important role in the training, but the emotional, spiritual and mental improvements are the best thing to come out of this process. You train yourself to never give up. To replace fear with confidence. To set and meet goals. To work harder than you thought ever possible. To set an example for people who feel like you felt before this journey. With prayer and trusting the process, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. It's not just a phrase to make people feel good about themselves, it's real.

To put the money where the mouth is, here are some tangibles from my experience:

• 2011 marathon time: 4:32
• 2013 marathon time: 3:56
• 2011 average bike race speed (20+ miles): 16.47mph
• 2013 average bike race speed (20+ miles): 20.18mph
• 2011 swim (800m time trial): 2:44/100m
• 2013 swim (800m time trial): 1:39/100m

I wish there were a way to calculate a growth rate on confidence, work ethic and positivity...these would be astronomical for me.

I'll end this post with a quote I saw the other day that could not be more fitting for my situation, and I hope it is inspirational for you as well:

"You just can't beat the person who never gives up." - Babe Ruth

catching up after weeks 2-3

The theme for this portion of my training: "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

The last two weeks have been focused on following my TriDot training schedule in an attempt to complete all workouts as written. I am 90% there...one thing no one tells you when you take on this challenge is how much time it takes away from you. It is extremely difficult to find the time to run for 2+ hours on a Wednesday and follow it up with a 6+ hour workout on Saturday morning. Does life get in the way of training, or does training get in the way of life? Both?

I was able to take some time away (4 days) from my bike, running shoes and goggles to make a trip to Lake Tahoe for some skiing with good friends from college. If you ski the way I ski, it is a workout in and of itself. Unfortunately, skiing with friends from college is also an exercise in sleep deprivation and liver function. For example:



"Bert" taking in 4oz of hydration off of a ski.

 

Tahoe was beautiful and a nice break from work and training.

nice red jacket...thanks Thomas

Needless to say, the time away made me miss my wife and my training. I find that I work harder on all aspects of my life after a brief sabbatical--its refreshing.

I am happy to report that I increased all of my tridots by several points during the assessment that I took right before vacation.

• Initial swim tridot: 37
• New swim tridot: 41
• Initial bike tridot: 36
• New bike tridot: 43
• Initial run tridot: 44
• New run tridot: 46

Basically, this marks improvement in each discipline which translates to harder (but still smarter)workouts ahead. Lower pace thresholds for each discipline, etc.

Another bit of news that I am excited about is the recent opportunity to apply for the Ironman Foundation - Newton Ambassador Triathlon Team. http://www.ironman.com/triathlon-news/articles/2013/02/ironman-foundation-newton-running-ambassador-triathlon-team.aspx#axzz2LvIOAvB9 I completed and submitted my application today to join this team for the 2013 race season...this is a huge opportunity, not just to be a part of Ironman and Newton's work with athletes, but to spread the word about triathlon in my community by telling my story. The mission of this race team is "to take on the challenge of transforming the sport of triathlon from a self-centered endeavor to one that benefits others as a member of a team of like-minded people. Team members can expect to touch the lives of others as they participate in the selfless act of serving others." Isn't that what we should always strive to do in our daily lives? What better way to accomplish this than by doing it through something that I am passionate about and truly enjoy doing. Just another part of my journey...

My race season has not changed thus far: IMTX 70.3- April 7, Kemah-April 28, IMTX 140.6- May 18, and I am contemplating doing several others, but have not committed just yet. Houston Oaks and Oilman Texas look interesting. Will reevaluate after IMTX in May.

Whatever you are training for or whatever goals you have set for 2013, keep working hard:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." -Colossians 3:23

Week 1 of 14 complete.

Just finished the first week of a 14 week journey to Ironman Texas and have to say that all of the endorphins you get from setting the goal, signing up for the race and preparing for the first training session quickly ended after that first splash into the water for the Monday swim. It's at this point that the reality of what you have committed yourself to begins to slowly, painfully, set in. Not that week 1 was terribly difficult or pushed any limits, just knowing how big of a monster this race is and the time and physical commitments it is going to take from you.

Weekly Total Training: 10hrs 45min
Swim time: 2:35
Run time: 4:30
Bike time: 3:40

My bike time was limited by a couple of unfortunate events and should have been 2hrs longer. Had dehydration issues in the Houston Oaks race (100% my fault) and was part of a pretty nasty crash in which a rider (praying for John) was hospitalized after hitting my back tire and crashing. Lessons learned: don't have beer and Mexican food before a road race (emphasis on the beer) and don't ride in large drafting groups ever again.

On a more positive note, I benefited greatly from the bike fitting I did at Tad Hughes Custom Studio (http://www.tadhughescustom.com/). Stop reading and go there now. Not only do I feel much more aerodynamic, but there is an efficiency that I have never felt before. Better use of my quads and hips, and less pressure on my saddle and shoulders...I would highly recommend anyone who feels uncomfortable on the bike to make an appointment with Tad. Whether you have the MS150 coming up, you are training for triathlon season or you just generally hurt after riding through the neighborhood, Tad can fix you up properly! Note the difference below:

Also happy to report that I received nutritional sponsorships from Feed the Machine (http://www.feedthemachine.com/) and IgY Nutrition (http://www.igynutrition.com/) last week. Not a huge deal, but I am getting great nutritional products at very deep discounts. One lesson I have learned in this sport, nutrition is the 4th leg of the race and can extend or end your day on the course. I will make sure to post recommended products that I utilize, but I can tell you that FTM sells certain Hammer products, Nuun hydration and many other race day products that I truly believe in and have used extensively. IgY makes recovery proteins that keep you from diminishing muscle mass from extended periods of high physical activity. Check them out!

So many exciting things going on right now and I have never been happier/healthier in my entire life. We are given certain tools to accomplish goals for God on this earth, but sometimes those tools are not being used properly and must be fine-tuned. Spend time in prayer and scripture to make sure you are being the most efficient you can be in your life. What a difference it makes when you get tuned up!

Work hard this week.

Kelly

Heal, Refresh and Renew

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Heal.
There is truly no rest for the weary. Over the last two weeks I have found myself extraordinarily sore, tired and dealing with injuries to my feet and IT band stemming from the end of my first real triathlon "season" and recently completing the horrendous Houston marathon. Training is my out, my therapy and my exercise of self-control, and to be without is to be lost with no direction. Sometimes we put so much emphasis on accomplishing a task that we lose focus on the goal, i.e., too high a volume of one activity detracts from our ultimate purpose. God has a way of bringing us back to him...for me it was a trip to the orthopedic and a tendonitis diagnosis to refocus myself. I was not living in the moment (and enjoying) and it took a quick injury to help me remember how blessed I am to be able to do what I do.

Refresh.
Last week I was selected to try a new training program put together by the folks at TriDot (www.tridot.com) which will help me develop a custom training plan for Ironman Texas. More information to come, but as of now, I am excited to refresh my training with this tracking system. Also, I have decided to work with Tad Hughes Custom Fit (http://www.tadhughescustom.com/) to adjust my bike fit for the 2013 race season. I have a love/hate relationship with my bike right now....I love the bike but hate to ride it. It was abundantly apparent after Oilman's 70.3 that I am not properly fit to my bike, and after doing my homework on fit experts, am confident that Tad will fix me up. Will write a review afterwards.

Renew.
This morning I was able to have a long overdue breakfast with a dear friend and mentor. Dave has always been a proponent of "iron sharpening iron" and our discussions always bring up thought provoking ideas about family, business and most importantly, our spiritual paths as men and heads of our households. I left this morning feeling a renewed sense of purpose for my family and have some ideas on how to sharpen up to live better for them. Big thanks to Dave for taking the time to offer his wisdom.

Where do you find yourself right now in attaining your goals? Are you stuck on a task and missing the goal? Give up your burdens and heal. Refresh with a new idea or concept. Renew your path with someone who has been in your shoes.

Quick book recommendation: check out "The Divine Arsonist." I will not give away any more details, but it is a game changer on living in the moment and finding your true purpose. Give it a shot and see what you need to "burn" in your life.