An update on the year thus far

Ahhhhh, deep breath as this has been a great first half of the year so far. Both in terms of personal growth, business growth, and success for Finish Strong Endurance athletes! First off I would like to apologize, with great growth means that I have not had enough time to dedicate to keeping this blog up to date. I am making it a point now to add to the blog more and will be spending a day or two each week to write something up. That being said let's jump into all of the fun times that 2019 has thrown my way!

So let's start with personal growth, because who doesn't like to toot their own horn? This year enviolo, my full-time job, has given all the employees five weeks PTO vacation. This is to mimic the time off experienced by our European counterparts here in the U.S.. With this extra vacation Catherine and myself have traveled quiet a bit. We were able to go to Colorado with a group of friends. We were supposed to fly, though things occurred and flights got canceled last minute. So we said screw it, let's drive so we did. Austin to Denver is no easy task especially with five adults in a medium sized SUV. Though we did stop on the way up in Lubbock, TX as one of the guys is from there. It was a nice break in the drive which looking back was nice to do. The five of us were able to experience St. Patrick's day in Denver which was amazing! Denver is home to one of the largest St. Patty's day parades in the country and a must do event. After this we went visit a friend in Estes Park, this was one of the biggest highlights of the trip. We were able to go into Rocky Mountain National Park and spent the better part of a day hiking. The hike was full of amazing views of mountains, frozen over lakes and snow at least six feet deep. This was awesome as it was Catherine and one of our friends first time experiencing the snow and mountains. We then went back to Denver to catch up with a few friends one more night before driving back to Austin. This time we drove straight through, only stopping for gas and restroom breaks. Again this was a daunting task, but we made it through the experience and we are all still friends so a win in our books!

After this trip Catherine finished up her semester of school and we decided to drive to Pensacola, FL to visit her father for Father's Day. We split the drive up into two days, one from Austin, TX to Lafayette, LA our home town. Then the second would be from Lafayette, LA to Patterson, LA to visit my newest cousin, Parker Aucoin, then off to Pensacola, FL. As it seems to be a new pattern these drives were not as easy as they were supposed to be. Normally Austin to Lafayette is about seven hours with stops, this time it ended up being nine and a half hours. . .joy. We drove in and visited with my parents for a few hours, grabbed food and headed to Catherine's sister's house as we were driving with her to Florida. The next day we drove to Patterson to visit my cousin and her new baby which was very smooth driving with no complications. Then came the drive from Patterson to Pensacola, which should have been four hours. It ended up being about seven, traffic was terrible and we still don't know why. We made it safely though which was great! We got to visit with Catherine's dad and step mom and check out their amazing home. The beach was picture perfect and Bands on the Beach is an amazing experience if you get to visit in the summer. On the drive back we decided to spend the evening in New Orleans, since we have not been back since moving to Austin. We stayed at an AirBNB that was hosted by these guys:

Needless to say they were interesting and they have an amazing home near the French Quarter. We were able to visit with friends that now live in New Orleans and we were able to explore the city like we have done hundreds of times before. Then we set off to go back to Lafayette for a few days to spend time with our families and friends. Our drive back to Austin was picture perfect with little to no delays and now we have been back for about two weeks and things could not be better.

In between all of this traveling, it has been hard for me to get time in to train. Though even with the lack of training I have been able to ride with a few groups, and even started swimming and running again. More on these fun adventures in a later posting, but do not fear everyone I am still training it has just slowed down a lot.

Now that the personal stuff is out of the way let's dive into growth of the business. This year has been a great one for Finish Strong Endurance. I have added a few athletes under my wing, I have also added Ironman Certified Coach to my certifications list. Lifetime Fitness has also taken over a gym not too far away from our location, so I have been added as a Cycle Lead and a Cycle Coach there. Which will hopefully help athlete's in the Austin area with a fun Sunday ride as well as another avenue for athletes to find me as a coach. For those that do not know Lifetime has made amazing strides in the U.S. cycling world. They have purchased a handful of races including but not limited to: Dirty Kanza, Leadville, and The Driveway Series here in Austin. So they are an amazing company to join and I am looking forward to what this opportunity has to hold.

Enough about me, let's talk about the people who really matter here, the athletes! So far this year many athletes have reached their personal goals and some have even set PRs! Without getting too specific, here are some highlights of FSE athletes: First Crit Race, Finishing Crits with the lead group, first 70.3, first 70.3 sub 5:40, Sub-6 minute mile (one mile race), Sub 45 minute 10k. I think these are all of the high level accomplishments and if I missed any big mile stone please let me know and I will come back and update this entry. These athletes all worked their asses off and have made amazing gains this year, and they still have a ton of time left before their "A" races so great job everyone! This is no small task and we still have work to do, though everyone is right where they should be at this point so keep up the great work everyone.

Okay, I know that is a lot and I promise that I will try to update this blog more as the year progresses. I just wanted to let everyone know things are amazing and I appreciate everyone that trust me to be their coach! I know you are all working hard, just as you know I am working hard to make you a better athlete. As always I am here to answer any questions, so please send any that you may have to my email which can be found in the contact me section of the website. Until next time remember to Finish Strong!