Part 2-Revised

   So yesterday I was writing part 2 to my "Rough Start" blog. It was a follow up after a difficult race at Texas 70.3. Half way through writing the post my computer crashed for some reason. I decided to just walk away and finish today.
   So this morning, thinking about completing the blog and just getting it out of the way, I received a phone call. One of my closest friends, Keith,  the person that introduced me into sport and my partner in marathons, had just had his first child. While it should have been a moment of excitement and joy, there was other news that came with it. His brother ,Nick, was killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan 12 hours after the birth of his child. My heart just dropped.....  Why oh why do these things happen to such good people?
    Going back to writing a sob story on how my race went bad just didn't seem appropriate. Nick was only one of a few people that I knew that always had a smile on his face. He was a loving husband, father, and an overall genuinely happy guy. The life of the party. Mr. Comedian. Having something like this hit home so hard made me realize that writing a blog about my "bad race" was a waste of time. There are much more important things in life than a "bad race".  Your family and friends weigh much more heavily than a race that I won't even remember in 20 years. I know parts of what went wrong and will deal accordingly and make changes with my coach. We are really the only people that need to know, and will build strength and learn lessons from the mistakes.
   Mostly, what I can't stop thinking of, is how precious our lives are. Most of us take for granted our daily ins and out. I'm as much at fault in getting wrapped up in the inconsequential things. It only takes one thing in our lives to bring us down to earth and realize how lucky we are, and how we must be grateful for every moment, every breathe, ever encounter with the ones we love.
   As I conclude to be close with my family tonight, I want to end with this.... I am so blessed to be living my dream every day.  I'm blessed to have the support of family and friends. I recognize it and have a renewed love for the process of evolving in sport, my personal life and what it represents for me. I have no way of knowing what tomorrow brings for me, for you, for anyone.  All we can do "is be happy for the moment. For this moment is your life."

 We will miss you, Nick.