A Perfect Saturday...

What defines a perfect day for Ryan Carter? It's a difficult question because I love so many different things. However, if I were to narrow it down, here are a few of it's characteristics: It would definitely include being outside in beautiful weather, involves an athletic event, eating good food, being around great company and some unexpected excitement. Coincidentally, this past Saturday included all these events. While 30,000 people drove downtown to run in the Country Music City Marathon, I drove the complete opposite direction to ride by bike. There was a nice cool breeze, not a cloud in the sky, and I rode for 30 miles on back country roads. I only saw a hand full of cars and even though my quads were on fire from the steep climbs, it was peaceful. After my bike ride I played softball in the park for 2 hours. Needless to say I don't listen to my mother very well because I proceeded to go for over 4 hours that morning with out any sun screen! My back was blistered! After that me and a new friend went to the Franklin Main Street Festival. We had a blast looking at all the booths and random people floating around. When I'm around a lot of kids, I tend to turn into one myself. There was this one instance where these kids could run through these huge blow up animals and come out on the other end. The exit was a tall giraffe and the kids would come out from below him through what looked like a part of the female anatomy where babies come out. These poor little kids were struggling to get through the tight crack at the end and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who saw the perversion in this! After the park we went and got dinner and some drinks at the Tin Roof. Then we had the brilliant idea to get our favorite ice cream and go to a park and watch a movie. This was great until the wind changed directions and this awful sewage smell came towards us! Then the bugs started coming out and it got pretty miserable! So we headed back to her house to finish up the movie. Things were going fine till I heard a knock at the door. I go to see who it was and before I could turn around, my friend grabbed me by the arm and said, "I think that's Justin." I replied, "who is Justin!" She says, "It's my boyfriend from Mississippi!" It was so awkward as I stood there in the door way trying to explain myself and I was the only one buying the story! Long story long, I hit the door running with all my stuff, called a friend to get a ride as I walked briskly down the street, then got home to realize I had left my keys on her night stand! And I wasn't going back to get them! Long story long and all things considering, this was a perfect Saturday!

TriDeltaThon

This past weekend I drove up to Knoxville, TN for a triathlon that the lovely girls of Delta Delta Delta put on every year. The drive to Knoxville is really pretty once you get past Cookeville. Especially once you get near the Smokey Mountains. After I checked in for the race and got my race packet, the friend I was staying with showed me around Knoxville. UT is definitely one of my favorite schools I've visited recently. Over the past month, I've been on an SEC tour of universities and UT has been by favorite so far. I didn't get to bed till almost midnight that night and I didn't sleep very well either. Sunday morning at 6am came really fast. I think a combination of sleeping in a different place and nerves about racing kept me up most of the night. When I got out of bed I could already hear the rain coming down outside. I knew it was supposed to rain but I thought it would hold off till the race was over with. This did NOT happen! By the time I got to the transition area to rack my bike and organize my stuff, the weather showed no signs up clearing up. I made my way over to get my timing chip and to get "marked up." Marked up is a term for getting your race number written on both legs and arms and your age on the back of your calf in permanent marker. They do this to keep track of who is completing each leg of the race and to see what age group the person is in when they finish the race. While I was getting marked up, the lady asked me how old I was. I began to say 23 but changed my mind and said 24! Even then, I still wasn't sure of how old I was. She had already started writing the 3 before I changed my mind! I completely forgot how old I was. I walked away from the line extremely confused and started counting from 1985 to 2009 on my fingers. This is supposed to happen when you're old... like 30's, 40's and up from there, not when you're 24! After making a complete idiot out of myself, I did a short warm up consisting of biking a mile, running a half mile, and swimming 50 yards. By this time my confidence was getting a little better because the last two weeks I didn't train because of an illness I was trying to get over. The swim was pretty intense. Over 400 people waited in line to jump in the pool every 5 seconds. We would swim down one lane of the Olympic sized pool, duck under the lane and swim back down till you completed all 8 lanes or 400 yards. People were literally swimming on top of each other because you would get jammed at the end of the lanes. I've never been kicked and hit so much in my life. I never thought swimming could be a full contact sport! Pulling myself out of the pool was a little tricky because I couldn't feel my arms and once I ran out into the transition area, the cold wind and rain was a complete shock. I've never biked in the rain before so I got a rude awakening when I tried to brake for my first hard turn. There was so much water on my breaks that I didn't break at the speed I'm used to. Not to mention the rodes were pretty slick and I didn't know exactly how fast I could take a turn. Today wasn't the day I wanted to test that out either. I averaged a decent pace on the bike all things considering. The strongest part of my race was the run. The run was 3 miles of uphill climbs and down hill sprints winding down tiny alleys and streets. I was hard to get into a rhythm with so many turns. My time for the run was exactly 20 minutes. That time placed me number 7 out of 400 people for the run portion of the race. Again, my transition times slowed me down some but overall, I was pleased with the result. The drive back to Nashville was extremely tough and I almost fell asleep at the wheel several times. Once I got home, I didn't even bother taking anything out of the car. I went straight to bed and slept from 5:45 pm to 7am the next morning! I guess I was pretty tired! Two triathlons down, several more to go. Next one is an Olympic distance triathlon in Memphis in May. Back to training hard again!

24 Hour Adventure Race

On July 25-26 I will be in Roanoke, VA competing in a 24 hour adventure race called the Odyssey One Day AR. It will consist of Hiking, Mt. Biking, Paddling, Navigation/Orienteering and Off trail Bushwhacking covering between 70 and 90 miles! This will be a huge mental and physical test for me but I'm definitely up for the challenge. Luckily I'm already training for a Half Iron Man in September so a lot of the training can be crossed over fairly easily. I've never had to navigate an unmarked trail before so I'll need to practice that a few times before the event. Maybe this will spark some more extreme races that involve week long treks! The sky's the limit! The more important question is, how far can I push myself??

Here is the link to the website for the race: http://www.oarevents.com/events/2009/OneDayAR.shtml

I've got a sprint triathlon this weekend in Knoxville, TN. It's a short course so hopefully I'll benefit from it considering I've lost over 10 pounds from being sick over the past week. blah!

Feels so good, feelin' good again

I don't know where this quote is taken from but I really like it- "I'm thankful for the rainy days, they only make the sunshine sweeter..." The pastweek or so i've been really sick. So sick that earlier this week I thought I was literally going to die! The sinus pressure had gotten so bad that my teeth felt like someone was drilling holes in them! Honestly though, I have no one to blame but myslef for the state I have recently found myself in. A few weeks ago I did a triathlon which incorporated an open water swim in 50 degree water! I didn't take any medicine and I was consistently playing outisde in weather varying daily from 75 degrees to 30 degrees. In fact, the day I finally said, enough is enough- i'm going to the Doctor, I woke up at 4:45am and ran 2 miles to the Y at a 6:30 mile pace, lifted weights for an hour, then ran 8.5 miles back home. Needless to say, I had it coming to me. Today is the first day i've really felt good and been productive at work. The feeling is tremendous! I'm able to train really hard again for my next triathlon and enjoy being outside. For the most part, i'm usually very grateful for the days that shine but I think it was the contrast in days that really made the biggest difference in how I felt.

Cleaning House

The past few weeks have really seemed out of balance. I've been sick, out of town a lot, and not very motivated. These three things are the perfect recipe for a disastrous house. My room looks like a national disaster area. My dishes have piled up so high I can't even get to the faucet for water. And my laundry... nothing is on my hangers any more and everything is on the floor. I don't know what is clean or dirty anymore! Luckily I was sick today and decided to stay home from work. I was determined to get my house and my life back in order. After about 2 1/2 hours of cleaning, scrubbing, and washing, my house is spotless and the feeling is incredible. I feel like I've got a ton of weight off my shoulders! I'm back to being motivated again! Moral to the story: A house in order equals a life in order.

"Unanswered Prayers"

I woke up at 5am this morning to go swim at the Y. While I was on the drive back home, "Unanswered Prayers" by Garth Brooks came on the radio. This is the first time I've listened to country music on the radio since August or September of 2008. They play too many songs about relationships gone bad and losing loved ones. Who really wants to listen to that? Despite 2008 being quite possibly the worst year I've ever had, I feel like things are finally turning in the right direction. When I graduated college and accepted a full time job at Eco-Energy in December of 2007, I had a lot of big decisions to make and I buckled under the pressure. There were a lot of things that "I" still wanted to do and at the time I felt that growing up would mean I couldn't do those things anymore. So I decided to throw away relationships, a job (which i got back after all) and advice that I should've listened to, all for the sake of satisfying what I thought I needed. I remember a decorative quote on the wall of someone's house that said, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans." In 2008 there were a lot of things that I thought I needed and trust me, I worked exceptionally hard at making those things happen. But at the end of the day, all my selfish desires came right back to slap me in my face. Unfortunately, there are some moments and decisions I'd like to do over but I know I'd still be in the same miserable mess if I didn't try what I did. It's funny to look back on situations where you really wanted something so badly and didn't get your way. I thought my life would be over if my plans didn't work out accordingly. But hey, I'm still alive and breathing and feeling the best I've felt in years. Some of my unanswered prayers have definitely been a blessing in disguise this year.

"Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers. Remember when you're talkin to the man upstairs. That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care. Some of Gods greatest gifts, are unanswered prayers." Garth Brooks

Super Powers

Have you ever had a friend that is constantly complaining about some ailment that seems to be life crippling? I've got one friend in particular that always has something wrong with him. At first I would give my sympathy for his pain and suffering, but after a while I began to develop this resentment toward his whining. I would subconsciously compare my injuries to his and how mine were far worse but I never complained about them. If I had one super power, it would be the ability to transfer my pain to someone else. It literally brings new meaning to the cliché phrase, "put yourself in my shoes." The next time my friend complains about his vicious paper cut, i'd transfer the pain in my foot from a fracture related to the half iron man I just completed straight to his foot! It would give me a great deal of satisfaction to see him buckle over and tap out on the floor. I think people would be more courteous towards other people’s feelings if everyone had this power. It may not bring world peace but at least it would keep my boss from asking me about my poor attitude at work this week.

Prescription Meds, Candles, and Homo's....

Finally up to date on my life.... Here is what happened yesterday: I'm sure you're wondering how I might ever tie together the 3 things in my title? So i've got a problem with forgetting to drop off my prescriptions and forgetting to pick them up once i've dropped them off. Usually I just drop them off but won't pick them up for over a week! This time I decided to call a friend of mine while i waited in CVS that has the same issue I have with not picking up a prescription meds on time. While I was pacing around CVS (which is what I do when i talk on the phone in a public place) I exclaimed rather loudly (I have a naturally loud voice) that my favorite scented candles were on sale! Out of no were this guy pops up behind me and says in a very stereotypical voice, "ohhh boy! what's your favorite scent? Mine's Honeydew Midnight Dreams!" You should've seen the look on my face! I was completely speechless! I don't know what I said but i'm sure it was mumbled and I walked off to the corner of the store as fast as I could. I really hate to judge people so quickly but this dude... or I hope it was a dude at least... was definitely a little confused on his sexual orientation!

VH1- The best week ever!

I ended last week at the Univeristy of Alabama watching my brother run in a track meet. I went out on Friday night and experienced college life at Bama! It was a blast! Then I went to see a World Cup Qualifying Soccer game. After that I saw my two favorite Texas Country music artists, Corrow Morrow and Roger Creager in concert. They played in front of about 50 Texans on a stormy night and it was incredible. Usually they play in front of sold out venues in Texas but this was a real intimate show. Very Nice (Borat Voice)! Then I took off Thursday and Friday and drove to Auburn University for their Rodeo. It was completely nuts! I have to say... I like Auburn better than Bama. Evidently there's some rivalry between them! haha! Finished it up with a long drive back home and had an amazing conversation with a friend of mine.

Here we go....

I told myself i'd never do one of these blogs but this year is turning out to be pretty crazy and what better way to keep track of all the madness than to post so the whole world can see it! I'll try to catch you up since January....

In January I went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado on a week long snowboarding trip for my birthday. However, the icing on the cake was Music Fest that was currently going on the same week at Steamboat. Music Fest is the largest Texas Country music festival outside of Texas. Between the snow, mountains, my favorite music, and a few Shiners, it was quite possible the most blissful moment of my life. My days consisted of snowboarding all day till the park closed, walking straight into a Roger Creager concert then capping off the day at a natural hot springs in between two canyon walls with the snow falling down... God blessed Colorado!

Shortly after that I got amazing tickets for the AC/DC concert! It was quite possibly the loudest concert i've ever been to!

I did my first half marathon in the first part of march. It was high 30's, raining, and windy! It was miserable! I finished really well for not training a day for it! I ran a 1:34:54- about 7:15/mile pace for 13.1 miles! Not too bad for having water logged shoes!

I decided that 2009 would be the year i'd try some new and exciting things. I choose Triathlons! It's been the most expensive and time consuming sport i've ever done. I completed my first triathlon a few weeks ago. It was a 550 open water swim, 15 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run. The water temperature was a steamy 51 degrees! I expended so much energy in the water trying to stay warm that I was almost too dizzy to ride my bike for the 2nd leg of the race! The bike portion of the race was almost all up these quad crushing hills! Then race officials failed to mention that half of the 3 mile run would be on a muddy trail followed by a 3/4 mile 9% grade hill. I thought I was literally going to die! I actually finished 3rd in my age group and got a cup saucer as my award to prove it! My swim was slow but I made up for it on my bike by averaging 17.9 mph and running a 7:45 mile pace for a grand total of 1:27:22! My transition times sucked and I definitely need to work on it next time!

I've joined a boxing league.... it keeps me humble to say the least. Or maybe it's because I like getting my ass kicked!

With a hand full of concerts, soccer games during the week, Nashville Inner City Ministries on Mondays, boxing on Tuesdays, softball on Wednesdays and trips lasting the entire weekend... it's going to be a year for some great stories