As I pack up my things for the 2018 trip to kick off training for the year, I don’t know where to start this post because I spent most of last year writing for the Warrior Pak blog ( I will still proudly be using there gear for OCR!). I am gonna skip a whole bunch, because all of 2017 was insane. I got divorced, I won a third Spartan Race Ultra Beast world title. I felt great going into the ironman in Israel but had bike problems (my fault because I built my bike and didn’t do the headset right and had death wobble) and wasted a great swim and good run. I did well at some other OCR races too. But as the year ended I knew I wanted to return to tri in 2018 so here I am back on the bike and will be in the pool again. With the re-boot of tri, I figured it was time for a re-boot of the blog!

Training this year got off to a slow start as I had to heal a broken ankle (and heart) and torn ligament that I raced through most of 2017. But the break was mentally good for me too, I was tired from the Israman winters and OCR summers so starting 2018 off with rest was good.

What wasn’t good was the amount of break n bake cookies I ate! And dollar pizza. So in the 10 weeks I was off, I put on 10 lbs plus I had 5 pounds of muscle from OCR that I need to drop for tri. I got about 1/2 that weight off now before heading to SLB because I knew the mountains of Spain aren’t getting any smaller.

I picked up some new sponsors: check out Energy Bust Gels, MYN Choice Cycling stuff and Boston Common Coffee!

Spartan World Title

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“Would you prefer the easy way? Ok then don’t cry.” – Ani Difranco

Spain comes as a bench mark of my life. The travel, training and being an owner/operator of the came cause stress on all fronts but something about that always seems to show me my cracks in my amor. Maybe that’s a good thing. It’s easy to ignore ones weaknesses when you feel invincible and when you are unstoppable. So Spain is a form of inner fun house mirror. It shows me the worst of me to myself. Distorted and ugly. Brutal and unforgiving. An imagine of me; but only after being stretched to the point of snapping.

Like every freaking time.

But is that so bad? To be humbled? To be reminded I am mortal? Each time I pick myself off the mat, wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth and fight another round. Each time I learn something. Each time I come back strong, better, wiser. I love Spain and SLB, not because it’s a sweet vacation for me; but because it’s the opposite: a trial by fire where I judge myself against myself. Where I see what progress I have made as an athlete, and as a person. This is my 12th year here and each year I have struggled. Each year I have been tested. Each year I find a way to move forward and grow. Yeah I wouldn’t prefer the easy way, and I am not crying about it.

Chilling on the Roof of Spain.

Coffee Snob: All Me!
It’s here!!!! My own blend! When Boston Commons gave me a chance to make my own blend I got so giddy. Finally after drinking all the worlds coffees all over the world I had a chance to make my own! Here is what I came up with “THE EVIL RACING CULT TRAINING AND RACING BLEND.”
I wanted it to be bold and flavorful so it’s got a strong Ethiopian base. But I also wanted it to have some extra kick so it’s got some arabica (what they drink in Europe) espresso. And lastly it’s got a bit of Kona so it has magic.
Now here is the other thing: Ethiopian is the home of the great runners. Arabica espresso is the drink of euro roadies and the pro peloton. Kona is the home of triathlons most iconic event. That wasn’t by accident.
This bold but not acidic coffee mixes taste, fuel and a touch of the mental aspects of sport.
Thanks again: https://www.bostoncommoncoffee.com

Tel Aviv:

Live like it can all end in 8 minutes,
Because it can.
Love like your life depends on it,
Because it does.
Amazing vegan food and vegans.
We caught your infectious laugh sitting outside at a sidewalk cafe.
In the protection of an iron doom.
We came to do an ironman triathlon.
Nothing is sillier than spandex and going in circles.
Nothing more grave than children in camo with machine guns hanging off their shoulders as they balance cell phones and Saphoria bags and navigate the mall like a modern day Vishnu.

Do you laugh louder?
Sing deeper?
Hug longer?
Love bolder?
Tel Aviv. I see you clawing your way into the future. Rough hands from real work.
Rising out of desert trying to make every choice based on your hopes not fears.
Living like it can all end in 8 minutes,
Because it can.
Loving like your life depends on it.
Because it does.

Jerusalem:

We toasted ‘next time in Jerusalem”
In Jerusalem.
For the third time.
So now we get ice cream.
I will have mine on Jafa Street.
Watching break dancing to electric violin, after seeing earnest young men in their first bands.
everywhere a stranger.
Everywhere else strange.

No one knows home like a wander.
And finally again home. Here.
Fiercely home.
This cross roads of east and west.
Of old and ancient.
Stepping through Dung Gate.
Stepping back 2000 years.
Walls and domes and walls and tombs and walls.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone and try to not hit a nerve.
I only pray in all of Jerusalem. I only pray for all of Jerusalem.

The Negev:

Standing here watching the sunrise over Jordan
And Moonset over Egypt
And I can feel myself sinking in this Great Rift

The Dead Sea can’t get more lifeless
And it’s vanishing in the process
The sunrise over Jordan use to be magic
But standing here alone it just feels tragic
I made a wish in Jafa but black hawks were in the way
So the Sea said no and said come back another day.
And I can feel the direction of the plates shift
And I can feel us drift
And I know this Valley is getting deeper
And I sink deeper into this rift.
Endless anxiety and insecurity
And rules and walls don’t bring security
An endless horizon that never fills no matter how much I love you, Negev.
I am standing on the edge of crater.
That collapsed under the wait of water.
When things are fluid they are the most destructive.
Water scares and marks this desert.
Wearing the scares doesn’t tell you where you are. Just where you have been.
But your not alone here.
The sun is rising over Jordan.
The moon is over Egypt.

Will you be your greatest in 2017? I still have a spot or two left for 2017 if you want personalized, individual coaching to help you reach your goals. With limitless contact, a 100% custom plan, and the motivation and support that can only come from someone who has spend a dozen years as a pro all for 1/2 of what other charge you might want to team up with me! Check out the details on my coaching page or email me: evilracingcult@gmail.com