Mexico and Konor

Hello everyone hope all is well.

Just returned from Half Ironman Baja in Mexico (my 16th half). I went with 2 great triathletes from NY who both qualified for the Half Ironman Championships this November. Both Dave and Ted were awesome to hang with and I appreciate them letting me tag along with them.

On the ride with about 20 miles to go my handlebars broke in half and basically I had to ride one handed for the remainer of the bike. I thought about the tattoo on my arm that says persevere on it and how this situation relates to the struggles we all have in life and in sobriety. You simply do not give up you keep on going until the task is complete whether it is a triathlon, finishing school or maintaining sobriety.

I also had a nice experience of influencing someone in a positive manner. A few years ago I was in Los Angeles and was having lunch at the famous Rainbow Bar and Grill (80's hair metal hangout) and I talked with our waiter (Ty) about triathlon and Racing for Recovery. He was a nice dude and I enjoyed meeting him. Well low and behold I see him at the race as he approached me to comment on the Runner's World article. He introduced himself to me and right away I was like "I know you". He then stated he was inspired by our conversation to pick up triathlon and this was his first half ironman. That was awesome and it was great to see him out there.

Did a speaking engagement at Oak Harbor Middle School in Ohio a couple weeks ago and I took my son Konor with me. There were about 500 kids there and they gave Konor a standing ovation for being quite during my presentation. It was awesome to have my son with me and believe me he gets the message of what Racing for Recovery is all about. You can never start to early with speaking to kids about the dangers of drugs.

On another speaking engagement note, I want to thank Jan Carr for having me speaking at Door Elementary School recently. I normally do not do this age group and was very nervous about this gig but it went smoothly and gave me the confidence to do more with this age group.

Our second annual half Ironman is June 11. We have people coming from several states across the US and I look forward to another amazing R4R event. We need volunteers so please come out and support us.

Ok just got off the bike and I am hungry. I am putting everything I have into preparing for Hawaii Ironman.

Enjoy the day and all we have. After seeing the poverty in Mexico there is nothing in life we have to complain about.

TC

Long trip and home finally

Hello everyone.

Holy cow has it been a long time since I posted. First of all I want to say Happy B Day to my wife Melissa and son Konor for May 1.

I am finally home and getting unburied from the great "tour" I have been on for the past 1.5 months. I really do not know where to begin except to say Ironman AZ, Boston Marathon, ESPN and book signing along with speaking in New York, AZ, OH, MI and IN were awesome. The book has sold just under 2,000 in the first 2 weeks of being released. Thank you to everyone who is and has supported not only the book but Racing for Recovery as well.

I also want to thank the folks who are actively involved locally with our program for holding down the fort while I was away. Mike Timmerman, thank you very much for keeping the support group meetings going.

I also want to thank everyone who has written me or has approached me at a race or signing lately and commented on how this program has helped them.

Special thanks to my friend and pastor Darrell Cousino for having me speak at Olivet Lutheran Church recently. This is right next door to where I received my final drunk driving charge. It was very humbling to be back in my hometown with so many people who have known me for years in the audience including my dad and grandma who heard me share my story for the first time. I have done hundreds of presentations but this one was the hardest because of the emotions I was dealing with. All good I might add. Lastly, thank you to all of the sponsors from this event who made it all happen.

Training is picking up for Ironman Hawaii and I am so thankful to be doing this amazing event. Doing it is going to be a lot better than watching it drunk so many years ago Can you say "With Sobriety Anything is Possible"

The half ironman is just around the corner and we need volunteers. Please send us an email and we will be in contact you with details regarding the June 11 race.

Ok enough for now have to take Konor to school then it is back in the pool before I attend to more Racing for Recovery business.

Todd