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Mother Nature is a Witch (Andy’s Race) – 4/10/22


(Photo courtesy of Happy Pace Coaching)

After almost 8 months since my last outdoor Triathlon, I was looking forward to racing in Greenville.  I felt prepared, and thought that I had everything I needed to succeed.  However, Mother Nature pulled a sneak attack, and caused a lot of issues…

As I was looking at the weather while packing, it looked as if it would be mid 50s when we got out on the bike, and a little better when we hit the run.  So I planned for a ‘normal’ bike/run — meaning no base layer.

On the way down to Greenville, Paul had to stop by Charlotte Running Company to help them out.  While he was, I took the opportunity to pick up a new pair of running shoes.  My normal pair had worn out, and my normal running pair were starting to wear.  These will be great going forward in the season, and the staff there did a great job helping me to find what I needed!

When I woke up Sunday morning, Paul delivered the news that a cold front had come through and that it was 32 degrees out.  While I knew the race would now be more of a challenge, there really wasn’t anything that I could do at 5AM with everything close closed.  Thankfully, it was a pool swim instead of an open water (OWS).  I know that if it had been an OWS with air temps at 32, I couldn’t have raced safely. 

The swim was a 8x50m snake swim, with relatively wide lanes.  Things went OK with it for the most part, even though I had challenges getting under the lanes / hitting lanes, and having my gogles fly off during the last lap. 

When we made it to T1, I threw on the only extra layer that would work.  Unfortunately, my running pants would have gotten caught in the pedals, so I just had a windbreaker.  To say the bike was brutal as the winds (10-15mph) hit on top of the cold would be an understatement…

At 5 miles in, we had to stop since I could no longer clench my hands around the bars.  At this point, Paul graciously gave me his heavy gloves and we went on.  At about 9, we had to stop again as my whole body was freezing up again.  At that point, I almost tapped out.  But even as miserable as I was in the cold and wind, I decided to go on.  The final stop was at about 2mi out.  The mental game here was won by saying ‘we can make it back to T2 before they can reach us’.  And even though it was another 5-8 min in high winds, we made it.

In T2, I was able to throw on running pants.  But at that point, I was completely frozen and stiff.  It took roughly 2 miles before I had full feeling back in my body.  While the run was essentially a walk, I did still sprint into the chute as normal.

While this race definitely did not go as planned, I learned a lot from it.  I will have a pair of heavy bike gloves and a base layer in my bag going forward for pretty much every race.  Texas will be the only exception, as a ‘cold’ TX race is say 60 with 0% humidity instead of the normal 90s and humid…

I am extremely grateful to Para Guide and Paul for all of their / his support throughout the weekend.  If you would like to help support Para Guide, please click visit https://www.paraguide.org/how-to-help.

Challenge Accepted! (3/22/22)


I am extremely grateful to Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) for their continued support of my athletic endeavors!  Their support since 2017 has enabled me to get to necessary practices and continue to push forward!

With things coming back to a sense of ‘normalcy’ for the 2022 season, I look forward to getting back into the city and to a multitude of practices that were put on hiatus during 2020 and 2021.

If you’d like to donate to CAF, please visit https://www.challengedathletes.org/give/

Shamrock Shuffle 8K (3/20/22)


Typically, the Shamrock Shuffle 8K has been my first outdoors race of the year.  This year, it was my second, and unfortunately there were just as many struggles on the 2nd race of the season as there were on the 1st.

In the past, the AWD wave has been in front of the Elites.  While that created a little bit of anxiety for me (trying to get through the tunnel before they caught us), it also provided a really good pacing measure.  In that I knew that if I made it to the turn after the tunnel exit as they caught up to us, I was at the right pace.  However, this year we were towards the back of wave 1, which threw me off a little bit.  I remember my guide telling me that I was running something along the lines of 8:30 min miles early on.

While that would be great for a short run, those early miles came back to bite me in the ass later on.  Things were OK through about mile 2, but by 2.5 I was in utter pain.  So much so that it was painful to even walk. 

As I won’t throw in the towel unless it’s something really severe, like a broken bone, I struggled on.  My guide (Kelsey) helped tremendously during those painful miles.  And even as much pain as I was in, I still found a way to sprint in through the chute. 

After the race, I found that my running sock on the more painful foot had had holes in it.  While I don’t know for sure, my suspicion is that the uneven foot (two toes going through the sock, 3 toes in) created a strain that caught up with me.

ET Indoor Tri (2/20/22)


(Photo courtesy of my parents – thanks to them for the guiding help!)

After the struggles in January, I re-started the swim coaching with Coach Joe.  Things had also gotten a little better on the other two aspects during training.  So going into this race of the series, I expected better outcomes.

That did occur with both the swim and the bike, but not the run.  In the swim, it would have gone even better (as I was told I was literally 2 strokes out from another length), but had lost time asking how much was left.  While treadmills have always created issues for me, the run was even harder this time.  I just couldn’t keep the heart rate and breathing down/at constant levels.  So I had to keep going through a loop of running for a few minutes and then walking to get things back to par before starting the cycle again.

While I had hoped for a larger improvement from Jan to Feb, it was still a good step forward.  I hope to build on these successes when the outdoor season starts for me in April.

Super Shuffle 5K (2/13/22)


(Photo courtesy of John – thanks for guiding me!)

As I’ve mentioned in the past, this journey began from a simple premise of ‘that looks like fun’ without really thinking through all the pieces.  While my only regret is not trying it earlier, that thinking can sometimes lead to ‘interesting’ events…

During late 2020 and early 2021, I was constantly searching Running in the USA for anything to do in-person.  While these events were EXTREMELY scarce, I did come across a 5K for the morning of ‘the big game’.  Because conditions kept shifting, it didn’t work to do in 2021, but it was on my list for 2022.

Winter running isn’t the easiest thing for me, as my nostrils freeze at about 20-25 degrees.  That’s not a big deal when you’re just out for a run by yourself, but it is when you’re doing a race.  It had also been snowing a few days prior, so ice spots (and some ‘fun’ hills) were also a factor.

For safety reasons / nostril freezing, there were some spots where we had to walk.  However, it was still a decent run, and a really fun race.  I look forward to doing it again in 2023 — hopefully it’ll be a little warmer! 



ET Indoor Tri (1/23/22)


(Photo courtesy of Lee)

As I had mentioned last year, things did not go as planned.  What was supposed to have been a 1-2 week stint on IR after Cypress ballooned because of work and personal issues.  But I tried looking past all of that and towards the 2022 season.

For me, the season started with the ET Indoor Tri.  These are always fun, great events put on by Coach Joe and his team.

While I had hoped for better, the challenges from 2021 showed up in the first race of 2022.  My swim was shorter than normal by about 40m, my bike was shorter by about 1 mile, and my run was shorter by about a 1/4 mile. 

Even though the results weren’t what I had hoped for, it was still good to get back to some sense of ‘normalcy’.  I’m grateful to Coach Joe for continuing to bring back the series even while there were still some COVID concerns.  I’m also grateful to Lee for all of his guiding help as always. 

And the race will also serve as a ‘baseline’ for 2022.  I know that there are going to be challenges during the 2022 season as I work to get back into a rhythm after losing so much in 2020 and 2021. I’m planning for and looking forward to a successful 2022 season!

18 Years Later (12/17/21)


“However small, first step is hardest of all.” – Dave Matthews Band

It was just a ‘silly’ concert.  At least it was supposed to be…

In December 2003, I was still struggling with having been told about eventually becoming blind.  The prior 5.5 years had essentially been living in classrooms, libraries and in front of computers so that I could finish college before that occurred.  But after having enjoyed a concert in the Chicago area the prior summer, I decided to take a chance and head into NYC after my last final.  I knew it would be a challenge, but decided to take the chance.

I don’t remember all of the details of the evening.  But the important parts are this – it ended up well and its success gave me the confidence to do so much more.  While I don’t remember the exact point (some point between Dancing Nancies and Up on Cripple Creek), I do remember looking up at the ceiling and saying ‘it’s all going to work out’. 

And for the most part, that’s been true over the last 18 years.  That initial success gave me the confidence to do and try so many other things that were ‘scary’ to me at the time.  Those early successes became cumulative and helped me to be ‘okay’ trying the adaptive sports world. 

While 2020 and 2021 were a bit derailed due to the pandemic, I have a lot of exciting stuff planned and penciled in for 2022.  Hopefully it will all fall into place.  To see how it all turns out, please follow the blog or @nocrappyexcuses on social media.

I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to thank Dave in person in 2018 after one of the shows at Northerly Island.  The post photo is from that post-show meeting.


Kiwami Racing Team (2021)


In 2015, when I was getting ready to do the ‘one and done’ Tri, I wanted to ensure that Oswego Cyclery got the proper visibility. Art had allowed us to use the tandem for practice and for the race. So to show my gratitude, I sent a plain Zoot kit to Kiwami to get properly printed. Andre did an amazing job in a quick amount of time. And even though chlorine stetched it to a point where it was no longer wearable, I loved it so much I couldn’t get rid of it.

After that point, I had also tried several times to get one of the custom Team RWB kits from the secondary market. I knew the quality of them and wanted one, I just couldn’t justify the $200+ for a kit that I’d use once a year (for Arnold Indoor).

So when I was offered an opportunity to apply for the Kiwami Racing Team, it was an easy choice to have it be another edge piece of the 2022 Tri puzzle. I am honored and excited to be part of the North American team for 2022!

Mind / Over Matter Alphas (2021)


Prior to the Indy Sprint Tri in June, I had an opprtunity to see the Mind / Matter community from the outside. Our Sherpa happened to spot a few Alphas while we were walking to the port-a-potties. Even though she hadn’t ever met them in person, it was still an immediate connection.

So as I started to look at the Tri puzzle for 2022, M/M Alphas was one of the edge pieces that I wanted as part of it. I am honored and excited to be part of Mind / Matter Alphas for 2022!