A Few Updates

    Wow.  Have I ever been so absent from something in my life as this blog?  Yeah, probably lots of things. 
    As far as the near future is planned, my inaugural triathlon season has come to a close.  Two sprints, an olympic, and a half ironman.  Two nights ago three of my race results were posted to USA Triathlon, the national governing body for triathlons.  What this meant was that I could finally compare myself to racers within my age group who have completed three or more races in 2012.  After scrolling through all the competitors who were ranked above me, I finally arrived to my report.  With an overall score of 76.9, I am ranked 611th in my age group nationally.  Despite the fact that I haven't swam in years nor have I rode a bike longer than half an hour, I was a little disappointed.  (The competitor in me never seems to rest.)  Then I thought I myself, "This is a great start!  There is so much improvement that can be built on this base."  Now all things that I've been putting off because of training issues can take precedent.  Such as climbing to the top of Granite Peak, running the Bridger Ridge, taking part in the local Tuesday night bike races and going all out when I feel like it.  The weather here in Bozeman is just so conducive to all those things.  So I don't think I'll be losing much fitness in the next month.
     I said the next month because this is another transitional period in my life.  Since financial aid won't be providing me with enough dinero to attend classes this year at Montana State U, I've decided that the only logical option is to move back to Washington and attend school there.  It is a better decision to pay in-state tuition than to stick around here for the next year working on gaining my residency.  As much as I've really fallen in love with this area, the motivation and direction I've found during my time year is pushing me to pursue school ever more voraciously.  At almost 30, a year just feels like too much time to wait around.  I want to continue learning so that I can share the knowledge with others, for a fee of course.  Ha!