21 Years

With everything set for South Shore Triathlon, I went to bed. I tossed and turned. I spent some time thinking about her. Who? She, whose lack of presence changed my life forever many years ago. I tried not to think of her. As the clock hit midnight, I could not help, but think of her. I think of her daily, but now it was the date of when she left so it was tough. I tried clearing my mind. I tried to think of other things. I tried not to think of anything. I was still awake. Finally, I started to fall asleep. Suddenly, I was shaken back to an awakened state. On this night, sleep was not to be. I checked my clock. 3:10a.m. Except for about ten minutes, I had not slept yet and now it was only one hour away from my wake up call. I laid there waiting for the hour to be complete.

I slowly picked myself up and changed into my race outfit. I grabbed some fruit and gatorade for breakfast. Andrew called to say he was on his way. I was so sleepy. Andrew and his friend, Moe arrived and we were of to the south side of Chicago. We made our way to the race and met up with the folks of Dare2Tri. This being Andrew's first time guiding for a race, it was great to have an experienced guide, Jane, next to us giving him instructions as we prepared. I was not going to do this race because I was not confident with the swim, but Keri Schindler of Dare2Tri, arranged it so I would be part of a relay. As it turns out, I would get to bike and run, but avoid the swim. I would wait for someone to complete the swim, get the timing strap, and hop on the bike. Andrew and I were excited. We were set as swimmers made their way to the start.

As Andrew and I chatted in transition, Melissa Stockwell, current two time defending world champion and co founder of Dare2Tri, came flying out of the swim, made the change, and headed out for the bike portion. she was crushing it! Immediately following her, we saw Mike Wong storming by. After a few, we saw our swimmer who quickly handed the timing strap to Andrew. He pulled the tandem out, we walked it out of transition. We made it on to the course, jumped on, and began to pedal. It was on! For the first few minutes, Andrew played with the gears. He tested out a few of them. We tried finding a comfort zone. We moved on through the course. I felt tilted to the right. I adjusted. A few minutes later, I felt tilted once more. We made a 180 degree turn, I felt the handlebars move. I was worried. I tried adjusting it back. No dice. I felt a bit off, but that was the least of my worries because in came the stiff headwind which would stay with us for the next seven miles until the turn-around. We kept pushing. Andrew seem to get the hang of the bike. I kept pressing. The wind was howling. I kept thinking how I needed to dig deep especially on this day. I owed it to myself to push through anything and everything. We reached the turn-around point. We made it. Time to head for home. there was crosswind with which to contend, but it was not that bad. I kept churning. We were moving. We did not speak much. I was estimating in my head the distance we had left. I figured we were about two miles out so I gave myself a mental pep talk to let it all hang out for the next few miles. Just as I finished the talk, Andrew informed me that we had less than half a mile to go. My estimate was way off, but that was quite alright. We pushed hard and completed the cycling.

We walked the bike to where we would leave it and grab the tether for the run. I had no idea of our time, but I felt that it was the best I had ever done on the bike. We grabbed the tether and took in some liquids and headed out on the 5K run. I was going to crush this. We started to jog. It was narrow. I stayed close to Andrew. Immediately I realized I had nothing left. My legs were weak. I was on the ropes. I could not get them to fire. It usually takes me a while to get my legs back under me, but this was different. I was physically spent. I was not going to hit my target of eight minute per mile pace. It was clear, I had given my best maximum effort performance on the bike and now was not feeling it on the run. Compounding the matter was that we had to constantly make turns. Left. Right. Then again. I was weak. I was getting emotionally tired. I was not comfortable. Andrew was encouraging me to keep moving. This was not my game plan. I was suppose to let it all hang out. I could not perform like this. Not on this day! Andrew informed me we had run the first mile in about nine minutes. We had to make up ground. I pressed on. We picked up the pace. One way to know how I am doing is by listening to my feet. If I am stomping and making plenty of noise each time I land, then I am struggling. If my landings are silent then I am okay. I was stomping. andrew said not to worry. It would come to me. By the end of the second mile, we had picked up the pace. We neared the final mile. We made it. From this point forward, no more turns until the finish shoot. No matter how tired I felt, it was time to hammer this. I owed it to myself. Besides, how would my friend jenny feel if I fade down the stretch? This would be the time when Jenny would be yelling at me. It was time to drive. All those repeats Jenna has me do. this is where they matter. I pushed hard. Andrew noticed we were moving faster. I suddenly realized my steps were silent. I felt like I was gliding. Finally, I feel strong. I raced home. I felt that now I was galloping. We made the final turn, the crowd grew louder. We moved across the timing mat. then another mat. We had crossed the finish. andrew informed me that we had run that final mile one minute faster than mile 1. I knew it was not as fast as I would have wanted, but I was happy with the performance. It did not matter what my time results were because I knew in my heart, I had given it my all on the bike and finished strong on the run. Had my legs allowed I would have been flying much sooner. As it turns out, our bike split was 40:46. Missed my best bike split by three minutes, but again, it was my best effort. It turns out, the run was the best run time I have ever done as part of a triathlon or duathlon so I can claim that I have a PR in that category.

Thank you to Andrew Murray for volunteering to be my guide. thank you to the Dare2Tri group for all their help in getting to the start and finish. Thank you to my friends who encourage me whose words stay with me even when they are not around. thank you to Jenna for her continued work to help me improve. Thank you to Moe for the ride to the race and to Mike and Lauren for the ride home. It was an emotional day. It always is on July 28 because it was on that day in 1991 that I woke up having lost my sight over night. When I say she left me and I miss her, I am speaking of my sight. That is why I kept pushing during the race. I wanted to give it my all in tribute to that little boy who woke up in 1991 only to realize his life was over. What he knew, was, and believed the day before was no longer the case. Unless his sight was restored, he would never be the same. He would never be the man he wanted to be or thought he could be. On this day in this race, I felt I owed it to that little boy to fight and even if for a brief moment, attempt to be the man he wanted to be the man he thought he was destined to be. Each day I wonder who would I be? Where would I be? If I had remained sighted all these years what would I be doing? What I love it? I always felt I would probably gone to law school then politics. I probably would have run for office. Maybe I would have been a priest. I always felt I was going to do something to help the poor, underserved, or underprivileged. On the flip side, I would have never met the amazing friends I have in my life. I most likely would have never run marathons or triathlons. I probably would have never taken as much interest in sports as I did immediately after losing my sight. Sports talk radio and game broadcasts were my escape. I could live out my dreams through the athletes I loved. In fact, I kept that up throughout college. I looked to the athletes whom I befriend as the ones through whom I could live out those athletic fantasies. In many respects, I look back at the boy I was and know I am quite an amazing man. I became a much greater person than I could have ever imagined in those days. I believe who I wanted to be was in fact who I thought would make my teachers, parents, and family happy. Nowadays, I live to be and do what makes me happy. I do not know if I would have ever discovered my own love and passion in life. I believe I would have spent my entire life living for others.

There is no way I will ever know if I am better off as I am or if I would have been better off sighted. I know I would take being sighted in a heartbeat. I have heard some people who are blind say they would never change if given the opportunity because being blind is who they are. I say I have a medical condition which caused me not to have my sight, but blind or blindness is not who I am. It is not my life. Marathons, triathlons, plays, screenplays, brother, friend, lover are all things which I am. I just happened to have misplaced my sight many moons ago. I still hope that one day my sight is restore. For now, I guess I will see by experiencing. This weekend I saw what I could do on a bike and run. I know have many more miles to go to grow and get better. I also saw that I am improving. That little boy who lost his sight twenty-one years back had one tremendous experience on Saturday and will have many more in races to come.

Pre South Shore

Having had dinner, my attention turns to preparing for tomorrow's South Shore Triathlon. After deciding to focus on road races only, I was offered a chance to participate in the event on a relay team. I will do the road portions of the race so I will not have to concern myself with the swim. In the future, when my skills are stronger, I will take on the water again, but for now, the focus is the road. I am looking forward to crushing my portions tomorrow. My friend, Andrew Murray, has volunteered to guide me. He has previously done this race and was the one who insisted I give it a shot. This will be his first time guiding in a race. I am sure he is nervous. I know for a fact, he is also excited. He has been the one who has been telling me how we are going to crush it. I tend to be more conservative in my goal setting and in my confidence prior to a race. I do not like to be overly confident and do not want to be arrogant either. I am excited about tomorrow because the distances are short. the bike will be 20K and the run will be 5K. I can truly get out and just push. I am thrilled that I can let it all hang out on the course. My goals heading into the race are to maintain over 20MPH on the bike and stay around eight minutes per mile on the run. Of course, if the opportunity presents itself to push even harder in either discipline, I want to reach down and do just that. Andrew believes we can do better and so he has been encouraging me to trust how I feel on race day. If I am stronger than I thought, then push until I have nothing let. I think the distances are short enough that I can do that. If I do not feel at full strength then the plan will have to be revised, but I would rather not worry about that instead, I choose to trust that I will be ready to ride and run fast and faster if need be.

Thank you to Keri Schindler and Melissa Stockwell of Dare2Tri Chicago Paratriathlon Club for the chance to race on the team for this event. Thank you to Andrew is very ecstatic about guiding for the first time in a race. I am also looking forward to sporting a couple pins from my friend, Wanda's Cobar Collections. She is a talented beautiful designer who has entrusted me to represent her work. I hope I do so in fine fashion. Helmet, clothes, and tether are set. Now time to rest. Saturday will be a big day. A fun race plus it is the anniversary of the day I lost my sight. Plenty of emotions will be on display at the race.

Jen Knox Batman

A woman whose work I love and respect tremendously is the talented, Jen Knox. A couple days ago, I ran across her latest post which dealt with her take on the media coverage surrounding the shooting inside the movie theater in Aurora, Co which was showing The Dark Knight Rises. Having spent years in the media industry, I understand to some extent what goes on with the decisions which take place inside news rooms. I happened to have a job in radio when the shootings took place at Columbine High School. My news gathering instincts kicked in the morning of the attacks on the World Trade Center Towers. I fully understand a desire to research as much information about those causing the harm as well as those being victimized. I also understand we live in a different technological era than during those events. Yet, one constant is a desire to figure out the mindset of a person who plans then goes through with such an attack. I know there is a desire to explain away the actions of a person to attempt to locate the signs or similarities with previous acts as well as to find predicting aspects for future attacks. Jen Knox raises a wonderful point about all of this. I found her piece to be very moving, thought provoking, and of course, well written. I wish to share it with you.

http://jenknox.blogspot.com/2012/07/batman.html

My Birthday Gratitude 2012

It is my birthday once again!! While it is still July 21 in my time zone, I wanted to quickly take the time to say thank you to all of you who have taken the time to call and wish me a very happy birthday. Many have reached out through Twitter and Facebook. The outpouring of love I have especially received on Facebook is one which overwhelms each of the last few years I have had a profile on the site. Your generosity knows no end. For that, I say thank you. People from various states and countries with whom I am friends have taken time to express their best wishes for me on this day. I feel the love. I hope you know that each day I do my best to express that same love right back. That is a major part of what I do with this blog. I try to tell my readers what my amazing pals are doing whether racing at an elite level or shining in plays and films. All of these individuals make me who I am today and will continue to have an impact on my life for as long as they wish to remain in it.

Speaking about my pals, good luck to many of them who are racing the RNR Chicago Half Marathon in the morning. May the conditions be in your favor and you run like the wind. Besides reading my birthday wishes from all of you, I took the time to read a moving piece from the lovely and talented, Jen Knox. The piece appears on her blog. In the coming days, I will make sure to put up the URL to her well written piece so you may read what moved me today.

Again, I appreciate all who have been sending me their love today. I have done my best to respond to each individual post with a personalized reply. I owe it to you who think so highly of me as to leave me a post. I owe it to you who have influenced the person I am and the person I will become in the future.

Megan's ACSDT Cause

How determined are you? How tough are you? For those with cancer, those are questions they answer daily. For their friends, family members, and loved ones it is also posed to them. I have often said that I am not sure if I am tough enough to overcome different kinds of struggles in my life. I have overcome some, but the pain one feels on race day is not one that I have beaten in the fashion I wish. My goal this season has been to embrace the pain and run through it. Each time I am on the starting line I hope to live up to that. One person who I know has the fight in her to do just that is the lovely and talented Megan! I first learned about her last October when she posted a comment on the Fleet Feet Cheer Team blog congratulating me for another Chicago Marathon completion. Shortly afterwards, she and I connected on both Twitter and Facebook. Having Megan in my life has brought two additional special friends, Jennifer and Sarah. Megan is the kind of person who welcomes the challenge of going the distance. She did so in her first half marathon earlier this year. She is following that up by taking on the challenge of 13.1 miles once more at the RNR Chicago Half Marathon this weekend. Megan is spectacular. Megan is selfless which is best shown by the fact that she has been raising money for the American Cancer Society Determination Team. Megan is a tremendous woman and friend whom I have the great privilege to call a friend. Go Megan go!

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=27875156&fr_id=35350&pg=personal

Kate's 2 Comedy Appearance

Kate Bergeron is beautiful, talented, and lovely. She can sing, act, and rumble. Yes, she can. She is tough so do not mess with her unless you wish to be schooled in the art of her toughness. More recently, people in the LA area have had the great privilege to see Kate on a different kind of stage from an acting one. Kate has been showcasing her ability to make people laugh. Kate is frequently seen at such places as the famed Comedy Store in LA. In fact, as Kate continues to shine with her stand up routine, she is finding more gigs. If you wish to say you witnessed the amazing Kate before she became a force in the comedy world, you have two chances to see Kate work her magic this week. Kate is tremendous and you will not be disappointed if you attend one of her shows. If you can, attend both and bring some friends or loved ones. For more information on location as well as tickets, please visit Kate's site at:

http://katebergeron.com/post/64

Coral Springs 2013

In February 2008, I ran my first ever half marathon at the AIA Half/Full Marathon event in Fort Lauderdale. Prior to that race, the longest run I had ever done in training or a race was 4.7 miles. It was a tough one. My goals were to go the distance and have enough for a final sprint to the finish. I achieved both goals. I was also able to run the entire 13.1 without ever resorting to walking at any point. One of my favorite experiences that weekend was meeting and spending time with the lovely, talented, and amazing, Kelle. After only a few minutes around her, I knew I was going to enjoy being around her whenever possible. Over the years, that has continued to be the case. I do not always get the great pleasure of spending as much time with Kelle as I would love, but having her as a friend who is always encouraging me, pushing me, and believing in me is such a joyous experience. When I heard about the Coral Springs half Marathon and Women's Wellness 5K, I was intrigued. when I heard Kelle was associated with the event, I knew I had to register to race it. Any event which Kelle is involved with is one I want to be as well. If you wish to learn more about how and why I value Kelle so much, please take a look at the event's site and considering adding either the half marathon or the 5K to your 2013 schedule. There is an early bird discounted price if you sign up prior to the end of July 15.

http://www.active.com/half-marathon/coral-springs-fl/coral-springs-half-marathon-and-race-for-womens-wellness-5k-run-walk-2013

An Awakening

Last weekend and the first few days of this week witnessed me struggling with a decision to whether go ahead and participate in a triathlon at month's end or step aside to focus on what I love which is running. My swim has never quite improved to the level I wish. Even when I celebrate the major improvement of my swim time in 2010 at the New York city Triathlon compared to my time at the 2008 NYC event, I still wish I could have done better. I wish I was a dynamite confident swimmer. Knowing this, I wrestled with whether to register because I love racing triathlons. I love being out there giving it my all. I also know I do not enjoy the misery and anxiety every single time when it comes to the swim portion. I find that I do not enjoy the days leading up to races. I do not fully take in race weekend because I am always bothered by what awaits me in the open water. That truly is a miserable feeling. I want to smile, have fun, and enjoy the company of others, but I can never do so with the swim leg looming. I get nervous prior to duathlons and marathons too, but for different reasons. I always question whether I am ready, what I could have done better in terms of my speed work, or if I could have done an extra mile each long run. Yet, as much as the late miles may hurt, I love being out there, hearing the crowd, and being with my sighted guided whomever may be the one taking me through the course.

I know how much I dislike the swim portion of a triathlon. I know how much I do not want to disappoint people. Whether I am participating for the C Different Foundation, Imerman Angels, or Dare2Tri Chicago, I do not want to let anyone associated with those groups down. Anyone who volunteers to guide me in any race of any kind receives my respect and admiration. I do not want to disappoint. Whether it was Brendan in my second time in the Hudson River, Clark in my first Denver triathlon, Rich and Peter during my first marathon, Todd in my first duathlon, Ross in my first 30K, Brian in my first half marathon, or anyone else who has ever lined up next to me to go the distance. I find myself burdened by the pressure to not disappoint and frustrate them. My friend, Andrew, to whom I was introduced by Jemma, offered to be my eyes for the triathlon. I was excited. I was also scared because it would be the first event where he would guide. There is no way he deserves to be put through my panic attack and stress filled swim. I can not do that to someone for whom I have so much respect. As I spoke to various people including Andrew, I started to wonder why was I racing. What drew me to athletics several years ago? I had played sports all my life mainly enjoying baseball, basketball, and football. I was never the best, but often, the fastest. When I lost my sight, I was introduced to sports for the blind. I hated all of them! They were not the sports up with which I grew. In high school, I tried track for one year and loved it. I needed guides for the training and practice, but otherwise, it was all me. When I got into the best shape of my life at the time of my junior year of college, it was once again, all me. When I decided to get a Bruce Lee physique, the responsibility was on me to get it achieved. From the moment Gina Lombardi's Fit Nation on Fit TV inspired me which was soon followed by Lokelani McMichael's story doing the same, I was moved because I wanted to achieve something special. I wanted to be great. One of the notions against which I have always pushed back is the idea that I am an inspiration. At least, I never was motivated by Bruce, Gina, or Loke to be the best blind athlete so I could inspire other blind athletes. As readers know, I see myself merely as a person and not a disability. I want the world to embrace me as such. I want to be the marathoner, duathlete, screenwriter, actor, and one day, triathlete who happens not to have sight. If one day people call me an inspiration I wish for it to be because I have achieved at a high level and not merely because I can not see. I do not feel being blind is the inspiration. Achieving that which is great is the inspiration.

As I debated on whether to participate at month's end, I began to realize what was making this decision difficult is the chains I have placed on myself to answer to others. The idea that I tell people frequently is that I am racing for the coaches, guides, and friends who invest in me. I find myself racing to make Brendan, Kimberly, Jenny, Matt, Jenna, and others proud. It was a desire to make the wonderful people of D2T proud which caused me to struggle with whether to race. Suddenly, the reminder of what motivated me returned. Gina Lombardi and Lokelani McMichael. When I started out, I wanted to be the best I could be. I wanted to achieve beyond anything I could ever dream. Yet somewhere along the way I started racing for others. I started to race out of fear not to disappoint anyone who has ever believed in me or offered to guide me. Many of my friends have insisted that I should not and must not race for them. I should do it for me. My loyalty to friends has always stood in the way. This afternoon, as I crafted an e-mail about my continued swim struggles and my decision to not tackle the triathlon, I found myself writing what I always have known to be true, but had long forgotten as my purpose for what I do has become blurry. I realized that my desire all along has been to push my body to its maximum limits then beyond. The truth is, if a race has a disabled or blind division, I want to win it. If it does not, I want to compete for my age group title. Recently, a friend ask if my performance at Pleasant Prairie was good enough to qualify for Nationals. I was not sure and it was not important to me. Now, it is. If I have a chance to compete on a national stage, then I want to do so. What I discovered over these last few days of searching is that my friends have been correct all along. I can not and should not race for my guides, my coaches, or the organizations I feel indebted to because it is not my place to do so. I need to only race for me!! My best will some days be good enough for a podium finish. My best will not be good enough on other days, it will be my best. When I deliver my best after putting in all the tough work in training leading up to the race, then my coaches, sighted guides, and non profits for whom I race will be proud of me. I should not let that dictate how I race. My only concern is to put in the work daily in preparation then go out and crush every single race. Some days that will mean pushing 35MPH on a bike. Other days will see me break seven minute miles on the run. Other days, I will not be able to perform to that level, but so long as I am doing my best to be ready then everyone will be proud. I only need to answer to myself. My love and joy is best displayed when I am pounding the bike and galloping on the run. If marathons and duathlons are my stages to shine then go shine! If I am not ready to tackle the swim then continue to work on it, but do not even consider another triathlon until I am a confident strong swimmer who can overcome any anxiety which comes with racing. Right now, I know I have the ability to compete in road races, so I will focus my race attention on that. I believe I have had some wonderful realizations these last few days. Do what makes me comfortable and happy. Make sure I am racing for me. Friends will love and respect me because I am pushing my limits and achieving not because I am always trying to make them happy. Romping and stomping to victories will make them happier and prouder of me, so time to go be the best!

Guides Light NYC Triathlon Way

Just ahead of the New York City Triathlon which takes place in the morning, I wish to share this article which appeared in Saturday's newspaper. In case you have not heard of the New York City Triathlon or are aware of the distances participants must race, it is as follows. One mile swim in the Hudson River, 24.8 mile bike ride along Henry Hudson Highway, and 6.2 mile run around Central Park. Several people I know will be racing. The fabulous, Jenna Parker is one to look out for as she always has the ability to win first place overall. Melissa Stockwell, who is the current two time defending national and world champion for the Physically Challenged division. Caroline Gaynor has completed over fifty triathlons in her career and a couple Ironman races will once again compete in the NYC event for the ninth consecutive year. Caroline is also a rock star sighted guide which means she will frequently act as the eyes for blind triathletes wishing to compete in this and other races around the world. It is tough for blind athletes to consistently find sighted guides. It is even more difficult for female athletes who are blind. Caroline became the first woman in history to lead a woman through the Ironman. Other female blind triathletes have completed the event with the use of a couple different guides sharing the guiding responsibilities, but I believe Caroline remains the only woman in history to go the entire distance with a blind triathlete. As I prepare to cheer on Jenna, Melissa, and Caroline, please take a moment to read this article which discusses six blind triathletes who will compete in Sunday's race all thanks to male and female triathletes who have stepped up as volunteers to be the blind triathletes' eyes. One of them is Caroline. Enjoy!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/sports/guides-show-the-way-for-blind-triathletes.html?_r=1&smid=fb-share

Two Orphans

One of my favorite people in the world is the fabulous, amazing, beautiful, Amanda Grace! She is a talented actress, singer, and dancer. She is one of those individuals whom I have been lucky to know for nearly a decade from whom I learned so much about being an artist. Amanda is truly one of the good people in the world who has all the talent in the world as well as one of the biggest hearts. There are some individuals we all know who we cheer for to succeed because they are so deserving of all the good fortune which comes their way. Amanda Grace can currently be seen starring in Two Orphans at the Henry Strater Theater in Durango, Co. The Hank, as it is called, has been home to some wonderful productions. Two Orphans adds to the impressive lineup. Amanda adds to the rich beauty previously seen on the stage. If you live in the area, please stop by and check out Amanda and the cast. If you are planning a trip for a vacation or to visit loved ones, make sure to drop in on a performance. I am bias, but Amanda is the top reason to buy your tickets.

For more information, please click on the link:

http://www.henrystratertheatre.com/

Independence Day 2012

I want to wish all my readers and followers a very Happy Independence Day! I hope you have had a splendid day with family, friends, and loved ones. I merely wished to express my gratitude to you who read my entries. I hope you find enjoyment, pleasure, and excitement in what I share with you. I do my best to tell you about theater pieces, films, and races. I do my best to tell you what my friends are up to as they write, perform, or race. Without those individuals taking a chance on me and believing in me, I would never be able to write, race, or compete in life. I have been lucky enough to hear from a few of you over the years. I have been lucky enough to become friends with some of you too. From the bottom of my heart, thank you! I was reflecting earlier today that it was a year ago today that I reached out to a talented person to inform her that I had written a screenplay in which I hope she will consider being one of the stars. The truth is, I had written the theater piece years before and as I started in on the heavy lifting to adapt it to film, I looked various places for inspiration. What may have worked on a stage may translate to the screen in some ways, but in other ways, I could not expect that it would so I needed to find other methods by which I could share those aspects of the story to my audience. Around the time I was attempting to figure this out, I began to be filled with a desire to have this talented young woman in one of my films. One day as I listened to a song, images filled my mind. These pictures appeared and became clearer. Soon I realized the strongest image was a scene I had not written, but needed to write. As I sat down to do just that, I started thinking of whether I would want a man or woman in said scene. It was obviously immediately that I should write it as a cameo for that talented actress. The more I listened to the song, the stronger those feelings grew. Eventually, I decided, instead of a cameo, look at the screenplay and how could I make it so she would be a major role. I realized there was an obvious role which I could alter and rewrite to make it perfect for the actress. I started the process of rewriting while staying true to the character and story. Within days, I had it to the place I wanted to be so I reached out to her. As luck would have it, she was open and seemingly flattered. Since then, we have remained in contact and she has become a guiding light for both my writing and racing. Thank you to her for that. The funny thing is she may not even know to what extent she has shaped my life. I guess that is the beauty of having a blog or the beauty of the internet. I look forward to others whom I will meet, befriend, or work with as a result of this blog, my Twitter account @sexyisra, and Facebook. Because of social network, I have met some wonderful individuals. I am grateful for that. Because of this blog and the freedom I am afforded, I can connect with you. Thank you to all. I look forward to many more opportunities in the future to connect with you.

Special thanks to those who serve this country enabling people like me to have a voice without fear of the police, governing body, or top officials in this country becoming angry or preventing me from speaking.

Pleasant Prairie 2012 Race Photos

Thank you to one of my sisters and a dear friend on Facebook, I have the link to the race photos from Pleasant Prairie on Sunday, June 24. I noticed that there seem to only be nine pictures which I am able to check out on the page, but others seem to have successfully found action shots from during the race. Those pictures apparently are a fine example of me in stride during the duathlon. Most of the ones I find are apparently from my guide and I nearing the finish or just after completing the race, but plenty of others have insisted they can spot other photos from various moments within the race. Either way, I am posting a link for those of you who may have an interest in seeing me during a race. This is especially good if you read my posts here or follow me on Twitter, but have never seen what I look like. Of course, there are plenty of pictures of me on Facebook. Now that I think of it, you might see these pictures and think to yourself, he is not all that sexy. Hopefully, you will see these pictures and think, boy, he is pretty sexy, but I can not begin to guess what your opinion will be. I can only hope. Please feel free to leave a comment on whether I do indeed have a wonderful physique or if you believe I have a way to go in achieving it. Thank you. Enjoy the pictures!

http://www2.brightroom.com/99636/4