A year ago, as 2022 was coming to an end, I was sitting in this very chair reflecting on the year that was and envisioning the year that could be in 2023. Even in that moment, I had absolutely no clue how great of a year it was going to be.
The year started out slowly, but by April, I was really getting after it as the miles and races began to pile up. Here is where I am finishing up the year...
- 15 races completed (most in a year)
- 1,049.42 miles running (most in a year)
- 2,165.57 miles biked (2nd most in a year)
- Over 40 hours of strength training (2nd most in a year)
- 26.04 miles swimming
- Run streak extended to 693 days
While those numbers make me feel very accomplished this year, for me, it is much more about the memories made. Below are my top 10 memories from 2023.
10. Tri for a Cause
January 29th was an extremely cold morning. I woke up early and made my way to the Walnut Creek YMCA for the Tri for a Cause indoor triathlon with a swim wave start of 6:00am. It had been 2,295 days since my last triathlon and I was ready to go. 400 yard pool swim, 7 mile spin bike, and 2 mile run on a treadmill and I did great. I certainly wasn't in the best shape but everything felt good on race day and I was reminded again why I love this sport. This was the race that kick started everything for the year.
9. Des Moines Corporate Games Cross Country Race - Finishing Last
I was very excited when John Deere signed up for the Corporate Games this year. Free races and a chance to connect with coworkers who share a similar passion. There were a few things in play with this race. For whatever reason, the Cross Country race was held on the same weekend as the triathlon. Even though both races were relatively short, this was still a point in the year while I was building back fitness and a bit unsure of how much I could handle. Also, there are 2 race distances offered, a 7.5k and 4.4k held back to back on the ISU cross country course. I knew that most of the slower runners would opt for the shorter distance and figured there was a chance I could finish last. That is exactly what happened.
In spite of my last place finish, I received a silver medal in my age group (obviously only 2 racers in the group) to score points for John Deere and I actually raced pretty well. To my knowledge, this is the only time in my life that I finished last in a race.
8. Ames Triathlon
The Ames Triathlon was memorable in several ways, both good and bad. For starters, I got a chance to race along side my friend and training buddy, Adam. This was his first ever multi-sport event as he competed in the duathlon. I also was blessed to have my wife and daughters drive up to support me on race day.
The conditions for the race were horrible. 20+ mph winds which resulted in slow times on the 750 meter swim and the 15.5 mile bike. However, once I got off the bike and onto the run course, I absolutely flew. I had only logged 2 sub-12:00 miles prior to race day, but at Ames I was able to log 3 consecutive sub-12:00 miles finishing with a 5k time of 36:32 surprising myself and everyone there who was watching.
Things turned sour quickly after the race when we realized that someone had broken into Erin's car and stolen her purse. Here we are over 6 months later and still dealing with the fallout from that.
7. IMT Des Moines Half Marathon
I think I agreed to do this race all the way back in March when trying to convince Adam to do a half marathon. At that point, it was so far away that I may not have fully considered the consequences. Either way, I began training for the race in late summer and for the first time ever, actually continued to drop my average mile time while increasing distance each week.
As race week approached, I got sick. This has only happened to me a couple of times over the years but for some reason this time really got me down. I had been running so well all summer and fall but knew that I wasn't going to be at my best. I made sure to spend as much time as possible recovering and taking care of myself throughout the week and altered my race plan and expectations for race day.
I ran really well until the start of mile 13 when the wheels came off a bit. I managed to keep my legs moving and got across the finish line faster than when I ran the race back in 2015. This race was both a reminder at what I'm capable of as well as a reminder that 13.1 miles is a lot longer than it sounds.
6. Making connections at work
The running and triathlon communities are generally great to be a part of. Training for and completing a race takes a lot of time, effort, and determination no matter what the distance. When I meet someone else who has completed a race it tells me a lot about them and can often be a shortcut to building trust. It just so happens that 2023 not only rekindled my racing career, but it involved a shake up in my professional career at John Deere as well. I took on a new role in May and early on discovered that one of my new coworkers, let's call him Brad (only because that is his real name) is a triathlete as well. We have had many a conversation over lunch or on Teams about training, past races, gear we like, etc. and it has actually helped me get through some very tough days at work. Brad has also become a big cheerleader for me and is always interested in hearing about my most recent race and the next one I have planned. I also made a connection with another coworker, let's call her Kati (again, only because that is her actual name) because Brad happened to share my blog with her. Kati has completed several triathlons and other races in the past that we have chatted about as well.
Other connections have come through racing directly. One of the engineers on my team took up road racing this year and completed his first half marathon and triathlon. He has enjoyed it so much that he is planning bigger things for next year. We talk about it a lot in our 1x1 meetings. Another engineer on my team has been running for years and we discovered that both of us ran the Bix and Capital Pursuit this year without even knowing it beforehand. The Des Moines Corporate Games and John Deere Employee 5k led to other similar connections as well.
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| Corporate Games Triathlon Crew |
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| John Deere Employee 5k |
5. Capital Pursuit
A warm up race for the half marathon a few weeks later. A smaller race held in the heart of Des Moines and one that I've thought about doing for several years. Looking at the race results from the past few years I quickly realized there was a good chance I could finish in last place for the 2nd time in a year. I signed up with Adam anyways and was coming off a great 10 mile training run the previous weekend. I set a goal pace of 12:30/mi and as the miles ticked by, I kept track of how far ahead of my goal pace I was. The hills were brutal but I handled them all very well. After Adam finished he tracked back and joined me for my last mile. I ended up crushing my goal and managed to average sub-12:00/mi coming in under 2 hours and avoiding a last place finish. Erin and the girls were at the finish line to cheer me on as I crossed.
4. Bix 7
A challenging 7 mile course in the heat of the summer. One of the biggest races in Iowa each year and one with which I have a lot of history. I was racing the 7 mile course while my mother-in-law, Mary, Erin, and the girls were set to complete the 2 mile Quick Bix. Erin ended up having a medical procedure the day before and was unable to race but both Abs and The Bridge still did the Quick Bix with Grandma Weiler.
This race made the list for 2 reasons. The first was the joy of getting to line up and celebrate after the race with my daughters. After the race they both said they want to come back next year and make this race a yearly tradition. The second was how consistent I was throughout the entire course. Even late in the race I was still attacking the hills while those around me walked up them. The race was a huge confidence builder for the rest of my season.
3. Turkey Trot - Surpassing a stretch goal
It wasn't just the race itself, but all the hard work that went into it during the month of November that made this such a great memory. I stayed consistent with my training while down at the cabin deer hunting in early November and got my running in extra early once basketball practices started in the middle of the month.
Mary and her sister, Lisa, were walking the 5 mile route, Erin and the girls were walking the 5k, and one of my employees was running the 5 mile route with me. It was a cold morning but the sun was shining and I was ready to go. My goal was simple, I wanted to average sub-11:00/mi for the 5 mile race. I knew that everything had to go perfectly to make that happen but I had been running so well throughout the month of November so confidence was high.
As the miles started to tick by, it became apparent that I was going to easily reach my goal. The final mile, which included a large downhill, I was able to log my fastest mile of the year at 9:49. I finished with a time of 53:11 which was just over 10:30/mi.
2. Racing and training with friends
The one probably could have been 1b instead of 2 on the list. My favorite part of this year was all of the time spent with friends. Not just training and racing together, but sharing our goals and celebrating each others successes. I have some of the best friends a guy could ask for and there is no way that this year would have been possible without them. There are probably too many details or examples to go into with a single post so I'll just leave you with some pictures.
1. Quad Cities Triathlon - The moment I knew
On the surface, this race really doesn't stand out from any of the others this year. It isn't the race itself that made this my number 1 memory for the year but instead the feeling that it gave me. Erin and Mary came out to watch me race and cheer me on. I absolutely love having a cheering section at races and I always race better when I do. The race was hard, and I was not in great shape, but I just kept on going. I felt so much joy throughout the race as I faced each struggle. During the run I made a new observation of myself. Although my physical fitness is nowhere near where I want it to be, I have never been more mentally tough than I was during this race. As I crossed the finish line, for the first time, I knew that I was officially back. This race made me remember who I am and why I do all of this. To this point, I had lived each day in fear that I would stop and it would all go away again but in this moment, I finally felt the confidence that it wasn't going away.
What an amazing year it was! It wasn't perfect, nothing ever is, but it was the year that I needed. I'm eager and excited for what 2024 has in store and can't wait to get started when I wake up tomorrow.
