Why EarthdayKid? I was born on Earthday in 1983 in a place that is fairly eco-conscious.
About Me
I keep this website as a public journal of all of my thoughts and interests. Most are sports and triathlon related, but there are quite a few things about being a dad too.
I was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado. I went to Niwot High School and graduated in 2001. In 2005, I met my wife Beth (Merkle) at a sprint triathlon in Fort Collins CO. We met up once that year then didn't see each other until 2007 when we racked bikes next to each other in Longmont at the Longmont Triathlon. We were engaged shortly after in Jan. 2008, then married in Maui in Jan. 2009. We found out we were going to be expecting on St. Patricks day 2010, and my son Aiden was born (9 days after my first Ironman) on November 15th 2010.
My favorite place in the world is Maui, Hawaii (along with my hometown of Boulder) and am very thankful that my parents (Ron and Mary Beth) live out in Maui a good part of every year. It's a great place to visit and to spend some good family time.
My sister and brother in law (Erin and Kyle) live Ft. Collins CO. They recently moved there from MN. They have three awesome kids and that means that cousin time is close to home for my son.
My parents in law, Tom and Lynn also live very close and it's a pleasure to get to see them often and spend consistent time with them.
Triathlon Background:
I grew up a swimmer. I swam summer league only until age 12 in a local Boulder league, then moved to a (then USS) club team to swim year round. I had a very successful age group swimming experience until I reached age 15. I seemed to peak in swim ability then and was left with a stagnant swim career through High School. I swam two years of DIII NCAA swimming at Hamilton College, then at St. Olaf before quitting the sport in 2003.
I came home for summer break in 2003 and did an event with a friend. The Thursday night "Boulder Stroke and Stride" got me into triathlon. I bought a road bike and started training and racing. I did local races from 2003 through 2005, then quit. I struggled with addiction to prescription medications for a few years and did not keep in shape. I gained a good twenty pounds and lost my desire to be competitive.
After meeting my future wife at a local triathlon (signed up as an attempt to be in shape) in 2007, I found the joy in doing triathlon again. I raced locally for a few years as a hobby during the summer, then kept in shape running over the winter on treadmills.
Over winter break in 2009, I drank a few too many Rum & Cokes on a beach somewhere and thought it would be a good idea to sign up for an Ironman race. I had never raced outside of Boulder County, and had no idea what racing the distance would take. I trained for Ironman Florida and did the race nine days before the birth of our son. I had a goal to go under 10 hours, did that, and said that I was never going to do one again.
Two years later, my wife wanted to do one, so naturally, I had to do it too. We signed up for Ironman Florida 2012. During the summer of 2012, I saw that IM Louisville was still open, so I entered it last minute. I went there, qualified for Kona, raced Kona, then raced Florida, then got my spot for Kona 2013 there. I was therefore "required" to keep racing long distance tri.
Actually, I wasn't. I just found out that I like doing it.
A few other little things:
I worked full time in a behavior/alternative classroom at a Longmont Middle School up until Jan, 2017. I left my job to pursue a full time career as an athlete and coach.
I train mostly indoors. Especially on the bike.
I turned "pro" in May 2015.
I love racing and training for long course triathlon.
I enjoy technology.
My favorite sport to watch is American Football. It's what motivates me on the bike trainer most days of the week.
I love astronomy (have yet to get back into it).
I like beer and wine. I consume a glass of wine and a heavy beer before every Ironman. Tradition.
We have three dogs - I like dogs. Cats are cool too, but one of the dogs we have chases them too much.
I grew up a swimmer and swam 2 years of DIII college swimming (at two different schools - Quit for year in between).
I started running in HS. Quit, then took it up again in 2003 for triathlon. Mediocre runner at best then. Working on it now.
I was born on Earthday, 1983.
I can yo-yo.
Spring is my favorite season.
My favorite day of the year is BolderBoulder day - Memorial Day in Boulder.
I keep this website as a public journal of all of my thoughts and interests. Most are sports and triathlon related, but there are quite a few things about being a dad too.
I was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado. I went to Niwot High School and graduated in 2001. In 2005, I met my wife Beth (Merkle) at a sprint triathlon in Fort Collins CO. We met up once that year then didn't see each other until 2007 when we racked bikes next to each other in Longmont at the Longmont Triathlon. We were engaged shortly after in Jan. 2008, then married in Maui in Jan. 2009. We found out we were going to be expecting on St. Patricks day 2010, and my son Aiden was born (9 days after my first Ironman) on November 15th 2010.
My favorite place in the world is Maui, Hawaii (along with my hometown of Boulder) and am very thankful that my parents (Ron and Mary Beth) live out in Maui a good part of every year. It's a great place to visit and to spend some good family time.
My sister and brother in law (Erin and Kyle) live Ft. Collins CO. They recently moved there from MN. They have three awesome kids and that means that cousin time is close to home for my son.
My parents in law, Tom and Lynn also live very close and it's a pleasure to get to see them often and spend consistent time with them.
Triathlon Background:
I grew up a swimmer. I swam summer league only until age 12 in a local Boulder league, then moved to a (then USS) club team to swim year round. I had a very successful age group swimming experience until I reached age 15. I seemed to peak in swim ability then and was left with a stagnant swim career through High School. I swam two years of DIII NCAA swimming at Hamilton College, then at St. Olaf before quitting the sport in 2003.
I came home for summer break in 2003 and did an event with a friend. The Thursday night "Boulder Stroke and Stride" got me into triathlon. I bought a road bike and started training and racing. I did local races from 2003 through 2005, then quit. I struggled with addiction to prescription medications for a few years and did not keep in shape. I gained a good twenty pounds and lost my desire to be competitive.
After meeting my future wife at a local triathlon (signed up as an attempt to be in shape) in 2007, I found the joy in doing triathlon again. I raced locally for a few years as a hobby during the summer, then kept in shape running over the winter on treadmills.
Over winter break in 2009, I drank a few too many Rum & Cokes on a beach somewhere and thought it would be a good idea to sign up for an Ironman race. I had never raced outside of Boulder County, and had no idea what racing the distance would take. I trained for Ironman Florida and did the race nine days before the birth of our son. I had a goal to go under 10 hours, did that, and said that I was never going to do one again.
Two years later, my wife wanted to do one, so naturally, I had to do it too. We signed up for Ironman Florida 2012. During the summer of 2012, I saw that IM Louisville was still open, so I entered it last minute. I went there, qualified for Kona, raced Kona, then raced Florida, then got my spot for Kona 2013 there. I was therefore "required" to keep racing long distance tri.
Actually, I wasn't. I just found out that I like doing it.
A few other little things:
I worked full time in a behavior/alternative classroom at a Longmont Middle School up until Jan, 2017. I left my job to pursue a full time career as an athlete and coach.
I train mostly indoors. Especially on the bike.
I turned "pro" in May 2015.
I love racing and training for long course triathlon.
I enjoy technology.
My favorite sport to watch is American Football. It's what motivates me on the bike trainer most days of the week.
I love astronomy (have yet to get back into it).
I like beer and wine. I consume a glass of wine and a heavy beer before every Ironman. Tradition.
We have three dogs - I like dogs. Cats are cool too, but one of the dogs we have chases them too much.
I grew up a swimmer and swam 2 years of DIII college swimming (at two different schools - Quit for year in between).
I started running in HS. Quit, then took it up again in 2003 for triathlon. Mediocre runner at best then. Working on it now.
I was born on Earthday, 1983.
I can yo-yo.
Spring is my favorite season.
My favorite day of the year is BolderBoulder day - Memorial Day in Boulder.
