FAQs

Tiocfaidh ár lá

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Frequently Asked Questions
(aka-what I assume people are wondering about me and this site)

What the hell is Tiocfaidh ár lá?

It's Irish for "our day will come". A phrase used by the IRA and Irish Republicans in general, particularly Bobby Sands, in reference to the Republican cause and the re-unification of the Irish nation.

What's with the Irish theme?

Simply, my heritage is Irish. Thus I'm Irish. Granted my mom's father was German, so I have a bit of that, particularly in my temper. However, I've always identified with my Irish heritage.
My Great Grandfather and his brothers were members of the Cork Flying Column and the IRA during the Irish war of independence. My Great Uncle Maurice Moore was captured, and eventually executed, during the Massacre of Clonmult and received the "Black and Tan" Medal for service.
Plus, I've always been very Euro. I was the kid that ran, cycled, and Nordic skied in high school. I don't particularly like the American stick and ball sports. I follow Formula 1, Moto-GP, Rally racing, pro cycling, football (aka soccer), running, skiing, tennis, and of course triathlon.
Add to that the fact I grew up in New Mexico, which is pretty much it's own country sociologically, and I've never really been much of your average American. I still feel very connected to my Irish heritage. My mom actually carries dual citizenship. And my brother is in his last year at University College Cork in Cork Ireland.

You're focusing on the 2012 Olympics? Are you on crack? You're too slow in the water, too old, and too dumb to know better.

Yes I am.
No, I'm not.
I realize what it takes to make the Olympics and to race on the ITU World Championship Series. I have not been able to give athletics 100% for a few years for various reasons. However, in short, I've got my shit together now. It takes a while to get everything in order to be able to focus completely on athletics and that is just what I've spent the last 2-3 years doing. I'm very excited to see what I can do when I am fully focused on a single goal.

You're going to race the triathlon-Bundesliga series? How, you're too slow?

Yes I am, for the ALZ-Sigmaringen team.
One of the most frustrating aspects of being a pro triathlete is that everyone has an opinion of what you are doing, why you're stupid to be doing it, and why you're guaranteed to fail. The fact is, I love triathlon. I have more ability and potential then most know, but I've never had the the opportunity to put all my focus toward racing. I have that opportunity now and I'm very excited to take advantage. I want to go to the Olympics, that has always been my driving force athletically (ever since watching the '84 Olympic 100m fly and heading straight to the pool to become the next Michael Gross). I am a bit different then most triathletes in that I feel the Olympics is a more desirable goal then the Ironman. Maybe I'll race the Ironman one day, but for now London 2012 is my complete and total focus.
The triathlon-Bundesliga is a series of 4-6 races of varied distances held in Germany between May and September. After much discussion it was strongly suggested that if I truly wanted to become a top ITU format triathlete I should do all I could to get into either the Bundesliga series or the French Grand Prix series. I'm smart enough to know good advice when I hear it and was able to take advantage of some good connections and find the ALZ-Sigmaringen team.