Anyone that knows me at all knows I practically live and breath stress, it is simply the way I am programmed.  I think I have gotten better with age but I still have an innate propensity to over-analyze, worry, come up with worst case scenarios and basically get a little wiggy when things get out of sync.  This week has been no different with a lot of deadlines at work, kid activities to juggle and some very unfortunate events at my son’s school.  My first reaction was to drop my workouts and just try to make it through the week without missing a drop-off, pick-up or presentation but instead I simply modified my workout schedule to fit it in where ever I could squeeze it in.  Granted my overall time is decreased and no I have not made it to the pool but when I did workout I worked out hard.  I made sure I used my stress to lift a little more weight, ride a little faster and kick a little harder – nothing better than a really good kick boxing session when you get to pretend you are smashing someones head into your knee after a hard day at work – if you have not tried it I highly recommend it.  So next time you are feeling stressed and running short on time use that feeling to push yourself harder than normal you might be surprised how good it feels once you are done.

     Next, with my latest birthday I will now get to compete in a different age group for the first time! This may not sound too exciting to most of you, but being the youngest guy in a new age group means I have 4-5 years to practice and meet all of my goals! With every race comes experience and with experience comes better chances to really compete. Whether it’s trying to beat the cutoff or place, I never leave a race less prepared for the next one. I’m coming after you 25-29′ers!

     Finally, 2012 will be full of new training techniques, tips and opportunities. The more time I spend in Michigan, the more I’m learning to appreciate what it has to offer. I will continue to train and fall more in love with this lifestyle that I have adopted which will hopefully lead to bigger and better things. As I sign off for the first time as a Champion, I must say I’m just as excited about this opportunity as I am for 2012. I look forward to sharing training stories, races, opportunities and goals as we search for a better way to get to where we want to be. With that said, I look forward to what being a Champion has to offer!

Hello Team Priority Health! My name is Ryan Wrench, and I am now  a part of the Champions. I am 18 years old and a student at Michigan State University. MSU it quite the place, and with 45,000 students you can quickly get lost in the crowd.

This year has been quite the growing year for me. It had its ups and downs, but in the end, it was a success. First of all, I fell in love. I fell in love with this sport. This lifestyle. Everyday I wake up excited to feel the pavement beneath my feet or feel the wind on my face. I have found a life-long love.

When I was younger and I would complain, my mom would always say, “Welcome to the real world.” or “That’s life.” Oh how I despised those words! Now it is just a constant reminder of how right my mom is. (She’s so smart …)

First semester of college was a breeze. I told my parents I was getting acclimated to  this new chapter of life. Then, BAM! Second semester came around and with it came harder classes, more rigorous work outs, and 2 jobs. Life didn’t slow down, so how could I??

Life continues at this fast pace. In less than 10 days, life will have brought me to Kansas City. <—More on that later!

I hope to meet many of you along this wonderful journey. THANK YOU PRIORITY HEALTH!!

In March, I ran the Corktown 5k (St. Patrick’s run in Detroit); April was the Apple Blossom Run 9k (in Shelby Twp.); and on memorial Day I will be running my first ever 10k! I am so excited to be achieving these goals–and especially now with a team!

If you are someone out there questioning whether you too can run races and eat helathy–you CAN! It isn’t that hard to do–the hardest part is convincing yourself to change…so grab a partner and hit the road!

“Run Like a Mother: How to get moving and not loose your family, job, or sanity” and “Train Like a Mother: how to get across the finish line and not loose your family, job, or sanity” which are both written by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea.

And

“Sole Sisters: Stories of woman and running” by Susan Warner & Jennifer Lin

What do you like to read? Anyone else out there get motivated & excited by reading a good book?

Guts involved our young Elite Rider Dan Yankus setting pace for the warm-up across the 7 Hills route of Walloon’s shore drive…Dan shattered the group and required restraint  and us begging for a more controlled warm-up under 24mph.  Once we re-assembled the group and hit the main portion of the beautiful shore drive, it was all Dan again – setting a wicked pace 200 feet off the front of the group…it took us 5 miles to reel him back in…a show of guts seeing that we had 70 miles to go and a lot of late climbing.  Suffice to say, he rode strong all day and is ready to tear-up the circuit this season.

Now the Blood.  I will only charge a small fee to each attendee (and reader)for the lesson I sacrificially taught everyone….it took great discipline to stick my fingers into the whirling bladed-spoke wheel so you all could learn a valuable lesson from the wise old master.  To summarize for the dense or unobservant, adjusting your speed sensor on a  bumpy road is a bad idea that can result in the loss of fingers, skin, pride, blood, respect and clean shoes.  Many thanks to 45+ team-mate and Deputy Mike Jones for the TP, band-aid, moral support, and calm.  All of my fingers have regrown and I am almost back to normal…slightly smarter.  We are all aware of a worse outcome for a Team rider last year, so please take my advice (and everyone else’s)….NEVER adjust anything near the front wheel / fork while underway!  The combination of bladed spokes, and the anvil of the fork make a wicked combination…I was lucky to get away with some very sore fingers. 

We’ll do the ride again next year, as it has become a tradition now and a way to welcome new team members, rejoin with old teammates, and do some good structured teaching of younger new riders mixed in with many wise old riders (perhaps myself excluded now).  All are welcome….we’ll get the word out next year…ciao.

I am a champion to inspire those around, but most importantly the three most important people in my life… my girls!  I want them to grow up thinking being active is a normal part of life.  I want them to grow up to be strong, confident young women.  And I want them to know they are loved and supported every step of the way.

That is why I am a champion..to stay active and be a wonderful role model for my girls.  They see me get up early to workout and put in long training runs.  They see me donn my wetsuit and jump in the chilly lake for open swim tri training.  And they’ve seen my road rash from falling off my tri bike as I get used to my clip-in pedals.  And you know what?  They love it and they want to particiapte too!  At 6 and 3 years of age, they each already have their own growing  collection of race shirts that they proudly wear to bed.  And they are very excited to come cheer me on at my races…  and that makes me one proud momma!