Milestones

• Jun 1997...played intramural slow-pitch softball at Purdue University through Jul 2002.
• Jul 1998...fell out of a tree and broke my back. I also broke my nose and injured my sternum and right leg. I was under doctor's care and physical therapy for about a year.
• Jul 1999...broke my nose again while playing softball after running into a player. Had surgery later in the year to fix it. I also think this was the year I broke my thumb playing softball, trying to catch a ball bare-handed.
• Jul 2008....watched the Olympics on TV and felt inspired by Michael Phelps to start swimming. However, I tried swimming for 20 min at a pool and that was all for the rest of the year.
• Jun 2009...played fast-pitch softball with First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg through Jul 2010.
• Jul 2009....first >35 mile bike ride.
• Sep 2009...started weekly swim lessons with Josh Gurekovich, Head Coach of the Men's and Women's Swim Teams at Saint Vincent College. I continue to train under Josh's direction.
• Jun 2009...first >3 mile run. I also learned the flip-turn in swimming.
• Aug 2010...bought my first pair of running shorts, showing my first comittment to the sport. I also set the goal of competing in my first triathlon within the next year. This month I also completed my first open water swim, a distance of approximately 0.25 mile, and I competed in my first 5K run. I learned the butterfly stroke in swimming for the first time, and I started thinking about joining a Master's competitive swim team.
• Sep 2010...first >50 mile bike ride.
• Dec 2010...started competing with the Allegheny Mountains YMCA Masters Swim Association Greensburg Team. I continue to compete.
• May 2011...first >4 mile run.
• June 2011...first sprint-length triathlon. I came in 13th out of 13in my age group.
• June 2012...first >75 mile bike ride, done on the first day of my first MS150 charity ride.
• July 2012...first >6 mile run, done as part of the Pittsburgh Triathlon.
• Mar 2013...first >7 mile run.
• Apr 2013...first >10 mile run.
• May 2013...first >13 mile run. This was my during my first half-marathon (Pittsburgh).
• June 2014...first "mud run" (FoamFest 5K Pittsburgh), which is a running course interrupted by various obstacles.
• June 2014...first >85 mile bike ride, done on the first day of my third MS150 charity ride.