I remember the first time someone called out my name in a race who wasn't part of my family or a friend who knew me. I had heard that during a race a spectator might see you coming and quickly look up your number in the race program and instead of calling your number, which they noticed on your race bib they would use your name instead. Unfortunately that did not happen, well not until they started printing our names on the race bibs. Then it happened a lot. However, instead of being encouraged by what the person said, oddly I found myself questioning and thinking about the meaning of their words.

"Way to go Daniel... You're almost there!" 

The one thing that has been a consistent theme throughout the week are people telling me

When I moved to San Jose, CA back in 2007 I was an avid blogger. Focusing mostly on topics of art, innovation, faith and occasionally the sport of triathlon. Over several years we created a tight community of readers/followers and I really enjoyed the avenue for self expression and valued deeply those who cared enough to engage. However, in time, as life began to press from many different angles and with a shifting center of purpose, I decided those writing days were over and I would eventually walk away from DoxA, my blog of seven years (it still lives but only as a content placeholder and can be found HERE).

One consistent topic on my old blog was my love for triathlon, a sport I've been doing since 2001. Occasionally I would

In the new year, I trained for and raced my first marathon in Los Angeles with hip bursitis which flared up a week prior at the end of February. Then a half ironman race in May and finally my first Ironman on June 8th: Ironman Utah. If you are a geek about Ironman and know the sport’s history you’ll recall Ironman Utah was not an Ironman in the 2.4/112/26.2 mile sense. A freak storm came up that morning as the race began and athletes (me included)

When I found out there was going to be an Ironman race in Lake Tahoe, becoming the first Ironman branded race in California since Ironman California back in 2001 (the year I started in the sport), it had already sold out and there was a lot of speculation about how difficult it would be to race an Ironman triathlon at elevation. With the race sold out and my 2013 season pretty much a bust due to continual injuries and months of physical therapy, I thought little about competing in the race that was “in our back yard” until an opportunity presented itself; more on that in a bit.

At the beginning of 2012, I began to notice little pains in both my right knee and ankle. As the year progressed the pains would

It’s been nearly two weeks since I found myself having a brutal conversation with myself. It was one of those rambling, self-loathing, silent types you can have while smiling at others as they walk by. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon, it was 95 degrees and I had already swam 2.4 miles, ridden my bike 112 miles and ran 18 miles with another 8.2 to go.

On May 7th I was competing in Ironman St. George, arguably the most difficult Ironman course in the world. I’ve been a competitive Ironman triathlete for years and I was having one of the worst races of my career. At mile 18 of the marathon my legs began to have some very severe pain that I’ve not experienced before. Unable to continue my

What keeps people from talking rather than doing? I believe many people who talk the talk actually talk it quite well. In fact, they are some of the best talkers on the topic they're talking about. Some are intent to be just talkers... college professors for example. Some are just hobbyists... baseball fans who know an entire team's batting averages is another

The off-season allows dedicated endurance athletes a chance to get a break from the weekly grind of training. It provides time for the body to recover from nagging injuries caused by over use and provides the mind a chance to erase the grooves etched in the soul from daily routines washing away fatigue and