The lake, Notre Dame and Family are just three words of many that come to mind when I think of my Grandpa. On January 16, 2014 my family lost someone who was so special to us. He was loved my so many people and lived such an amazing life. I truly believe he was one of the reasons he helped keep the large callahan family so close. From Notre Dame Games, endless weekends at the lake, boat rides and seeing his smiling face during games and at finish lines- he really was one of the best. We know he was the best but one vivid thing I remembered was he would always tell everyone, “Hey, ya know- your the best.” whenever we would see him. He truly exemplified the meaning of family and had one of the the biggest hearts around town. He will be missed by so many but I’m so lucky I was able to have a grandpa like him in my life for 18 years. I know my brother jack was waiting with a big smile to give his grandpa hug up in heaven.

During break, I spent many hours in the basement on my indoor trainer. It wasn’t the most exciting hours but they were all worth it. I would keep myself busy on the trainer by with watching elf (two times), watching many episodes of NCIS, and blasting music throughout the house (sorry mom). I was able to get outside a few times for runs so I treasured those, running through chicago with some snow on the ground is so beautiful! When I wasn’t outside running, I was back in the basement on the rollers! Many days I spent at the pool while the aerobic class was going on- the little old ladies were always so friendly so early in the morning. Throughout all of that, I was able to have a blast with my friends. OH AND I PICKED UP MY NEW BIKE!! BIKES! BIKES! BIKES! My dad did a little research and after 5 years we were able to find a place to make a travel bag for the hand cycle to hopefully keep it safe and sound when traveling this season! I’m excited to have some time to get comfortable on the bike before I start my race season in February.

 

It’s been nice to be back in Tucson getting back into my usual routine. I’ll be in Arizona  for a few weeks before I start to kick-off my traveling for the 2014 season. My first race will be Tritonman Triathlon in San Diego, mid- February. After that I’ll be traveling most weekends for the next two months and I’m so lucky my dad will be able to travel with me for most of them.  I’ll be heading back to The Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for a High Performance Camp. The last time I was there was right before World Championships, so I’m excited to be heading back. I love the atmosphere of the OTC – everyone just seems to motivate each other whether your training in the same sport or not.

I’m going to try to recap the races as they come and go but until then-

“Be Positive, Patient & Persistent.”

MK