The Life of Pizza John

Each year I create goals and sometimes I accomplish them and sometimes I don't.  This was one of those years when I did not accomplish most of my goals, yet it was also the best year I have ever had in terms of happiness.  The one goal that I did accomplish this year was to get my PMP certification and I am super happy about this since it has been weighing on me for a while.  A few of the goals I didn't accomplish were: -Break 1:30 in Half Ironman run (I got really close on this one and ran a 1:30:13) -Break 55 minutes in Olympic bike (I also got really close on this one with a 55:09) -Podium finish in AG at IM event (At Florida 70.3 I finished 7th in AG and 14th overall) -Qualify for 70.3 Worlds (I never stuck around for rolldowns so I'm not really sure about this one) -Qualify for Kona (this has been a goal for a long time, but I'm either not cut out for long distance racing or I would need a few more years to work towards it.  Training for Ironman distance ...

I decided it was finally time to do a 5k and what a better time than Thanksgiving morning.  Shut up and Run is a small, fun race put on by a friend Sally and it goes all around the road and trails in Treaty Park.  I was pretty impressed they could get 3.1 miles out of the park, but with a little creativity, they did it well!  Plus, it was mostly run on trails which is at lot more entertaining than the road. At the start of the race, I took off with the lead pack and hung on to them until the last mile 3/4 of a mile.  I finished 5th overall with an 18:50 which isn't super fast, but based on lots of turns on a trail I was semi-satisfied.  One fun part about this race is there is a Pie Guy and if you beat him, you get to take home a pie. Needless to say, I got a pie.  Lots of my favorite OFC people also volunteer at this race so it was great to hang out with all of them on Thanksgiving morning. Now....off to Hawaii for a couple months!!! Don't mind the...

Another successful year for the St Augustine Triathlon Team (SATT) so we had to celebrate!  We got together, ate The Taco Shop (best snacks on the beach) and drank until we enjoyed ourselves way too much! What a great group of people we have. I enjoyed mingling and making sure everyone had a full drink as I tried to 'play' and 'play host' at the same time.  I think there was even a booty grabbing contest and Mark Mondello won! This on is for AJ Everyone has high hopes for next year! Let's make it happen!

Another picture post with no real purpose other than to remember all the good times! A rule to live by! Alia took first place at the Jailbreak 5k! The picture was no good, but a great thing to remember. Helping rebuild the Paces walkover after Hurricane Matthew Daria's first Ballroom recital Celebration dinner at Caps!  I have been studying for the PMP certification for a while now and I finally decided to take the test and I passed!!! Yay!  This dinner was a celebration of this and Alia completing her first Ironman. Daria was a Pink Lady for Halloween. We love games! We also love to win! First cold ride of the year. 50ish miles in 50ish degrees! Cooking calzones at the Paces! Great times.

I've been to a handful of weddings and while I may be a little biased about this one it was definitely one of the better weddings I have been to for a number of reasons.  And in no particular order the reasons were: --I was the Best Man (I was honored to have this role and stand by AJ's side...even though I told him getting married wasn't a good idea.  Hey, what are friends for?) --Shortest Ceremony Ever!  (not that it was not completely beautiful and meaningful, but they got straight to the point and got it over with so we could get on with the party!) --Great People (a lot of the people were new to me and I really enjoyed the company of them all) --Unique Venue (an old barnhouse with a beautiful surrounding area) --Tasty Food and Drinks (no more info needed here!)

I got to experience my first Florida Hurricane! They had a mandatory evacuation which I wasn't sure if people followed or not at first.  I planned on staying and everyone I knew told me I was stupid. I figured living in a newer built house that was not right on the ocean would be ok.  I spent time sandbagging certain areas and putting up the hurricane window coverings so I assumed everything would be ok.  In the end I did end up leaving. It was a weird feeling to leave my home and cute little town thinking when I get back it may not be the same. Everything ended up being fine (for me), but not everyone else had the same outcome.  Many people had their whole houses flooded.  And it wasn't just water, but with sewage as well.  As everyone is cleaning up and salvaging what is still left it is sad to drive around certain areas where everyone has piled up their lives and parts of their houses in their front lawn for the garbage men to pick up. I already liv...