Life Away from Oklahoma

Yes! I’m finally getting into the blog game. I was inspired by my zaptakeover bros to start one, and I know a lot of people back home are always wanting updates on what is going on! This will be very informal and I will not use it as a training log. I just want to share my experiences with you all!

Where to start, the last 6 months have been so exciting! As most of you know I am now with Zap Fitness/Reebok in Blowing Rock, North Carolina continuing to pursue my Olympic dream. It was a big move for this Oklahoma boy. I went to college 30 minutes from home, so it was a bit frightening at first. The adjustment was easy, thanks to how quick everyone at Zap made me feel part of the family. I got engaged to Lauren Watson in August! I proposed on her birthday and I’m pretty sure she was 100% surprised! We are extremely excited and looking forward to setting a date.

I have to be honest, I thought everything was just going to fall in place on its own with training. Fresh start, it will be easy to stay healthy and positive right? There have been some bumps in the road but I’m extremely fortunate to have coaches who refuse to give up on me. We are also very fortunate to have Reebok as our sponsor! It is very special to be able to put the Reebok jersey on to race. If you haven’t seen any Reebok products recently, I encourage you to check it out! The most recent is the Z Quick shoe. They are sweet!

http://shop.reebok.com/us/N?searchTerm=Z+quick

For the first part of our winter training we went down to Tallahassee, Florida on January 4th. The weather and running are unbelievable down there!! We stayed in an extended stay hotel for our time there. It was nice to be escaping the brutal weather in Blowing Rock. From Tallahassee we go to Greenville, South Carolina where we currently are until March 26th, then we’re back at Zap! Greenville is a great set up, we are living right outside of Furman University, which is a beautiful campus. The best part is the dining hall!!!! Let’s just say it would be extremely easy to put some lbs on with the variety they offer.

Currently training is going well, I’m on the healthiest streak in a long time. I had one heck of an experience racing in Ireland 2 weeks ago. I finished 6th in a very tactical 5k on the roads. Brought me back to when I was a kid racing the roads!! I’m getting really excited for outdoors, I think I’m going to take a shot at a mile at Blue Shoes here in Greenville!

So there is a little recap of what has happened lately. Lauren moves to Zap April 1st! I’m soo excited. I miss her a lot, along with my sweet dog Zoey!!! I’m excited for what’s to come, and loving the opportunity to be living the dream! Also, good luck to everyone trying to fill out that perfect march madness bracket!

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