Winds of Change

This is the last week of playing and training on my own for a while. I'm happy to report that I survived last week's "cold" weather spell and my shoulder and elbow are now barely bothering me. I worked a 5.2K race last Saturday with 5 layers on, a new clothing record for me, I think. And just for showing up to swim when it was like 30-40 degs outside, the YMCA manager gave me a new t-shirt:



It's actually from a contest they had last year during the Olympics but it's the thought that counts, right? Little did she know that the 66-67 deg pool was considerably warmer than inside than my house (which got down to 52 degs!) so I was working out to warm up some. Also to train myself mentally for similar race day temps to be expected in North Carolina later this year.

Next week I begin a 10-month blogging-for-coaching gig with Team Hendryx and my journey to complete two iron distance tris two weeks apart, the Great Floridian (10/24) and Beach to Battleship (11/7). Though they are both 140.6 miles long (for anyone unfamiliar with iron distance tris: 2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, 26.2 mi run), they are two completely different races. GF is usually pretty hot and humid with a freshwater lake swim, a relatively hilly bike course but a flat run while B2B will probably be fairly cold with a saltwater intercoastal waterway swim and a flat bike/run course.

As you might guess, this coaching thing is a HUGE opportunity for me. I mean, who would have thought that a middle-aged, former non-athlete and non-swimmer, now a front-of-the-back-of-the-pack swimmer, a decent cyclist and a crazy marathon runner, would be triathlon sponsorship material?

OK, perhaps some of you, but let's face facts. I'm not be going to be winning any races (unless they're really small and all the fast woman don't show up, which has happened twice but let's not let that go to my head, shall we?). I won't be setting any speed records. And it's doubtful I will be appearing on any covers or back covers of magazines, except perhaps Triathlete Magazine for People Named Shirley. Some local headlines are a possibility, though ........ if a gator nibbles on me during the swim, I get hit by a car while riding a bike, or collapse and die during the run. But no ordinary or even outstanding race performance is likely to make a blip on the local media radar, unfortunately. Heck, even the largest endurance event in town, the Disney Marathon, barely gets any attention.

But I do have a big dream and a blog as my bullhorn :-)

I've been somewhat reluctant to spell it out beyond what's in my blog header because it's so long term and is still a few years away (Ha, and you thought it took a long time to get my fresh squeezed lemonade?), but it's a dream that perhaps many others may have too, at least in part, so I'll share it with you now to set the stage for the significance of the training starting next week and perhaps inspire some of you to do things to get the ball rolling on your long term dreams, if you haven't already.

My dream is to retire at age 50, move and live full-time in Kona (vs. part-time), and do the Kona Ironman someday. Note the order. Namely, I've wanted to do the first two things for much longer than the last one (15 vs. 3 yrs so far) and that is my priority.

Now, I know some of you know that qualifying for the Kona IM as a Big Island resident may be easier than qualifying otherwise (depending who shows up at the local Hawaii 70.3 qualifier), but it's really not so easy considering the high cost of living in Hawaii and the stinky economy right now. In fact, due to the 3-year Big Island residency requirement, it's become apparent to me that buying one of the Kona slots that are auctioned on Ebay each year to raise funds for the local community would probably be a much less costly route. A couple years ago, I read about a guy who bought his girlfriend a slot for $60K, a nice tax deductible contribution as well, no doubt.

But, to me, buying a Kona slot would be pointless (plus, I'm extremely frugal and would never spend that kind of money on a race!). Similarly, winning a lottery slot or even qualifying the usual way would not satisfy me (although the latter would certainly be something to be very proud of, for sure!). Bottom line, I don't want to do the race and then go home elsewhere. I want to do it because I fell in love with the area during my first visit back in the early 90's, then running and swimming there, and also biking too more recently, since then and that's where I want to enjoy doing these hobbies, among others, for the rest of my life. The fact that the Kona IM happens to be the IM World Championship just gives me more incentive to get/stay in better shape as I get older. I would want to do the local race, or at least train on the course and be a part of the event, even if it were not.

So what does this all have to do with the coaching deal?

Well, besides helping me save more money for retirement, it should put me in a much better position to be able to compete for one of those Big Island resident slots when the time comes. Last year, a 7-hour finish at Hawaii 70.3 would have been good enough for a female 50-54-year-old Big Island resident to qualify. Five to six years from now, who knows? My guess is that the qualifying times will go down and the tough course is not going to get any easier.

Things I expect I'll need to work on this year:

Becoming a faster/stronger swimmer (shooting for a 1:30 or better iron swim)

No more marathon running on a whim (only one other standalone marathon this year *sniff*)

Better nutrition (not a big fan of meat and dairy products -- moo!)

Learning to love hills, heat & humidity (don't hate them but we're far from being friends)

Tolerating the cold better while swimming & biking (no more whining, just get out there!)

Getting out of that long and slow comfort zone (gulp)

Using some training gadgets (not a fan of them either)

Following a formal training schedule and reporting back to a coach (yikes!)

Learning what it takes to compete vs. just finish races (we're not in Kansas any more, Toto)

And so it begins ... What do you hope to be doing 10-20 years from now?

TGIFe

I'm not fat enough.

I stared at B for a sec as if he'd called me the F-word then realized he meant he didn't have enough body fat to float.

Poor guy, that was his excuse for not swimming. Two years ago, I was explaining to a friend/co-worker that I'd signed up for Ironman Florida 2006 in order to motivate myself to learn to swim. Seriously, nothing less would have gotten me to do it and had that year not seen some of the roughest water conditions ever at an Ironman race, I might have checked that box and moved on to something else. Instead, one person died and I finished the 2.4 mile swim leg ~6 minutes too late.


You know the IM motto: Anything can happen.

Still, I accomplished 90% of what I set out to do in training and had the most memorable swim of (for) my life. And, I came back with more than a medal. The DNF gave me the desire to be a real triathlete. Up to then, I was content to survive swim segments and ride centuries just so I could run more marathons. Silly, I know!

But what B said got me thinking ... Many of the swimmers I saw at my pool did seem to have a lot of, let's say, built-in buoyancy. They made freestyle look so easy, gliding effortlessly down the lane while I splashed and struggled to go half as fast. How could it be that I could run for hours yet find swimming so difficult? What the heck am I missing? Maybe going on a bon-bon diet would help?

Then last year I began working with Karlyn Pipes-Nielsen. Karlyn was the first elite swimmer I'd ever met. What impressed me immediately, though, was her physique. She could have passed for an elite marathoner. And, she had small feet too, like me.

Hell, if she could float, most definitely, so could I. All body image issues I had went out the door.

Now I could work on the real issue: good technique or rather, lack thereof. No more envying or being intimidated by barrel chests, big butts and size 10+ double E wide feet. No more excuses. Just focus on what it takes to get my body through the water and this year, finally, I became a swimmer.

So now, after 3 years and 10 tris (6 half irons, 2 olys and 2 sprints), I feel poised to become the triathlete I've wanted to be. And to make things even sweeter, a wonderful blogging-for-coaching opportunity has come my way. Next year, I will tackle one of the most challenging iron races in the southeast, The Great Floridian. Then two weeks later, I'll head north to do Beach to Battleship, a cooler and much flatter course, just for grins.


I may not be bright but Thank God I'm Fat enough :-)

Revenge at the Gulf

GRRRRR! By now most of you have probably heard about the recent shark attack in the San Diego area. And as some of you may recall, there were also a couple attacks back in 2005 in the Panama City Beach, FL, area too, where I'm headed next weekend for the Gulf Coast Tri (GCT), a half iron distance tri (1.2 mi swim, 56 mi bike, 13.1 mi run).

But sharks, beware: Stay Out Of My Way. Because I'm out for REVENGE. Revenge on a swim course that marked my first-ever DNF. GRRRRR!

That was back in Nov 2006 when I'd been seriously swimming for only a year. I'd never used a pull buoy before and had no idea how to use the added buoyancy of a wetsuit to my advantage. I'd also never swam in 4-5 foot swells or heavy chop. I know I was lucky to have made it back to shore safely being the novice swimmer I was, but 6 minutes faster and I would have been able to go on. 6 lousy minutes!!

Now a year and half later I'm ready to face that damn Gulf again. The swim course is basically the same as IMFL's but just one lap instead of two. I'll bring the ginger pills, motion sickness medicine and earplugs again in case it's as rough as it was before. One thing I did do right last time was take precautions against getting seasick, which I'm very prone to. I'd heard many folks got seasick out there but fortunately not me!

So, what are my goals for GCT?

Well, of course, make the swim cut-off but since I actually have 2 hours to do so because of my early wave start, let's just say finish it in less than an hour. In addition, I want to finish the race in around 6 hours. I'll be very happy to finish sub-6 but know my training has not been very consistent since my bike crash back in February. I haven't swam as much as I wanted. I've done only one ride over 50 miles and only one real bike-run workout this year. What a slacker!

But, I have recovered well from my injuries, both physical and mental, and I have a lot of running endurance from my two recent marathons. So a sub-1 hr swim, sub-3 hr bike and a 2-hour-ish half marathon should do the trick. We'll see ...

I look forward to meeting up with TriCajun, who's also doing GCT. Anyone else going to be there?

Oh, I also just saw that Team Evotri has announced the third contest in the June issue of Inside Triathlon. The article can be found here. Hope many of you will consider applying too. Looks like just a straight essay thing, no public voting!

Opening Soon!

Update: Just saw that TriSaraTops is the winner of the second Team Evotri slot -- CONGRATULATIONS SARA!

Thank you again to everyone who voted for me. The winner of the second Evotri contest has not yet been announced but it was not me, unfortunately. I got an email from them today saying someone else's vision for bringing together the endurance sports community was found to be the best fit for the team this year. I'm sure it must be great!!

In the meantime, I am going to launch my plan regardless. What is it, you ask?

I'm opening a cool new hangout spot:

EnduranceSportsBar.com

This will be a website that will bring together in one spot photos, videos, podcasts, blogs, people profiles, ANYTHING online that has to do with everyday endurance sports athletes like us. And with help from you, the community, to fill the bar's vault, I will be serving up some of the best to provide inspiration and motivation every day:

Movie Mondays (must-see videos)
Talk About Tuesdays (gotta-listen podcasts)
Who's Who Wednesdays (people, clubs, groups that rock)
Thoughtful Thursdays (tips, questions to think about)
Foto Fridays (great photos)
Saturday Stories (cool reads)
Sunday Specials (announcements, polls, comics, whatever!)

It'll help fill the big gap between all the individual blogs, podcasts, videos, photos, etc., that are out there and the bigger-name websites that focus most of their attention on top athletes, product reviews, coaching tips, etc. In a fraction of the time it'll take you to find them online, the bar will connect you with some great athletes and stories that may never make the cover of a magazine but may be just what you need to get you moving. No memberships will be required and you won't have to be a blogger to contribute or participate!

In addition, I'll be organizing 2 friendly challenges:

1) Improve yourself through endurance sports (lose weight, quit some bad habit, overcome limitations/fears, meet some big goal, etc)

2) Help or inspire others through endurance sports (raise funds for a cause, start a training group, organize some event, etc)

Stay tuned for more details!

Gratitude

Wow, just got into NJ not long ago and saw the official news that I got enough votes to be one of the top-3 who will be interviewed Monday night (3/31) for a slot on Team Evotri. The other two fine triathletes who also made it are TriSaraTops (from OH) and TriBoomer (from TX).

But what I'm mostly thinking about right now is not the interview but rather the incredible support I've received from so many people the past couple weeks. As some of you may recall, I was not sure I should even enter. I mean, who am I to think thousands of people will vote for me? All I thought I had at the time was an exciting idea for giving back to the endurance sports community, one that I thought I needed the visibility of being on Team Evotri to be able to launch.

But I was wrong. I have some amazing family members, friends and acquaintances, many of whom I've never met in person, who know how to pull strings and get people to vote. And they did, especially the past few days. I now also think I have enough visibility to launch the project regardless, which in many ways would be the least I could do having had so many people back me.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who voted for me and even those who didn't who put up with my spam without so much as a peep. I'm truly honored to have made it this far and grateful to have connected and reconnected with people from the present and my past, and gotten to know many others through this contest. Whatever happens, there's now a fire inside of me that cannot be put out!!

Vote for Me to Be on Team Evotri

To vote for me, please send an email vote@evotri.com with http://HumbleTriathlete.blogspot.com on the subject line. You can click on the Evote button below to do it or do it manually. Only one vote per person, but you may certainly tell others to vote too (and please do!). Voting ends Friday, 3/28/08 11:59PM PST


Click here to see my application. This post will stay on top until voting is over. Below are newer posts.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me and a special shout-out to the following bloggers and organizations who have actively supported my quest to get on Team Evotri by linking to my blog and/or telling others to vote for me:

50&DC Marathon Group
Akshaye
Bike Friday YAK Group and Hawaii Chapter
BOBbies, Central FL Women's Cycling Group
Calyx
Central Florida Tri Club
CewTwo
Ellie
Hal Downing's Newsletter, Weekly Central FL Cycling E-News
Jade Lady
K&K (a private family blog, but a very big family she has!)
Maddy
Marathon Chris
Orlando Sentinel Chain Gang, Orlando Newspaper Cycling Blog
Petra
Road Warrior
RunningGeezer26.2
SmithPosts
Team Armada, Orlando Area Road Bike Club
Track Shack, Central FL's Premier Running Store

Your kindness is GREATLY appreciated!

Note: If you or your group should be on the above list and are not, please email me!

Pulling Out All the Stops

Black belt tests, marathons, Ironman races, my 21 Run Salute campaign, and now this Evotri contest. What do they all have in common?

They've all taken me WAY outside my comfort zone. I mean, WAY out.

And not just for a few short minutes as when skydiving. We're talking hours, days, weeks and sometimes months of pushing myself to do things that are not only uncomfortable but downright painful, mostly mentally. Second guessing myself as to whether I can do it, asking myself why the hell I'm doing it and wondering whether it's worth it. Shoot, why can't I just have a big blister or something instead? That I know how to deal with.

In fact, fundraising and this contest have been the hardest to me. Really. Training and racing I can do without much prodding, in general. But it's completely against my nature to talk to strangers and ask them for money or votes. Actually, it's completely against my nature to do that even to friends. Family, not as hard, but still not easy. Man, I so wish I was an extrovert!

But it's just the way I am. I'd much rather spar against a 200# gorilla or push myself physically until I puke.

Yes. I. Would.

But there's a reason for me having to do it, I think, besides wanting to meet goals I'd set out to achieve and, in this case, to be on the team. It's because I know suck at asking people, even family members, and especially strangers, for help. Therefore, I've knowingly (perhaps subconsciously) put myself in a position that will force me improve myself. Sound familiar?

No? Well, then obviously you haven't studied my first Evotri video in my side bar :-) (There's line in it that goes something like this: If I don't work on my weaknesses, I'll never get better.)

Damn ... I said it on a YouTube video so now I have to do it ...

And I have. While I want to someday live on an island, I don't want to be one.

But what I did in round #1 of the last contest was obviously not enough. No, I read what TriToBeFunny did in contest #1 and realized I need to pull out all the stops and go way beyond. Like at mile 20 of the Olathe Marathon when my whole body was shutting down from severe dehydration and I was on the verge of dropping out every 10 feet. Like during the last hour of my second black belt test when I thought my ribs were cracked and was sure the next good blow to them would send me to the hospital and make me fail my test. Or the second lap of my Ironman swim when the conditions were so rough that my only focus was on making it back to land safely (and NOT via a boat or jet ski), screw the time cut-off.

That's the type of going beyond I'm talking about. That mental fortitude to keep going or do things that you thought you could never do or perhaps never wanted to do. That thing that allows you to overcome yourself and become the person you want to be.

And now on this last day of voting, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who voted for me, passed on the word to others, and give special shout-outs to those who posted links to me on their blogs and organizations I belong to who've helped with my campaign:

50&DC Marathon Group
Akshaye (NEW!)
Bike Friday YAK Group and Hawaii Chapter
Central Florida Tri Club
CewTwo
Ellie
Jade Lady
K&K (a private family blog, but a very big family she has!)
Maddy
Marathon Chris
Petra (NEW!)
Road Warrior
RunningGeezer26.2
SmithPosts (NEW!)
Track Shack

If I've somehow missed you, please let me know.

And just before I was going to hit the publish button for this post, I got a news flash from Team Evotri:

The voting has been extended to next Friday, March 28th, 11:59PM Pacific Time.



It appears their Evote link code was not working for all the contestants and so they're giving us another week.

Hope you all have a nice holiday weekend. If you happen to think of anyone else you can ask to vote for me, please direct them here. Thanks!!!

Making the Team: 2008

All right, folks, get ready for this ... a mash-up of 14 different Evotri videos!!!

For those who don't know, Evotri videos were created for a triathlon sponsorship contest that involved winning a cool bike, top notch accessories, personal coaching, wetsuits, and more. Some of the videos made it to public voting while others did not and were destined to be forgotten. A couple are actually blooper reels that were made just for fun. The mash-up is a mix of all of them showing some of the wonderful people involved in triathlons and why we do it (2:55).



Now if you've never created a video for a contest, take my word for it, there's a LOT of work involved. Then posting it on YouTube for the world to see and having someone download it and spin it their own way, well, that just adds on a whole new pucker factor. So I want to thank everyone who allowed me to use their video(s) by displaying the credits again, this time with links to people's blogs and original YouTube videos added (I wish I could have done this in the video!)

TRIATHLETES
In Order of Appearance

TRIBOOMER   Blog   Video
PSYCHOSYD   Blog   Video
MEREDITH   Blog   Video
SARAH   Blog    Video
MICHELLE   Blog   Video
COMMODORE   Blog   Video
SHIRLEYPERLY   Blog   Video   Blooper reel
CARRIE   Blog   Video
TERRY   Blog   Video
JOSHUA   Blog   Video
LAURA   Blog   Video
STEVE   Blog   Video Blooper reel

And since there's a second Evotri contest to win the same fantastic sponsorship package mentioned above, this blog post is doubling as my application for that. Say what???

Yes, rather than writing a 500-word (or less) post just about me, I've decided to showcase my personality and commitment to the endurance sports community by doing what I think I do best: using computer technology to support and encourage others. Although I enjoy doing so in many conventional ways face to face as shown in my first Evotri video (see side bar under my profile), I can't be everywhere I want to be in person. Through email, this blog, comments on others' blogs, online forums and now videos, I stay in contact with friends wherever I go and reach who knows how many others (we know there are always lurkers and folks watching YouTube videos!). In fact, the mash-up video was conceived of and created entirely while I've been on a small island in the Pacific. I searched YouTube for Evotri videos, emailed the people who'd posted them, most of whom I'd NEVER contacted before, and now 12 of us are all starring in a video together promoting our sport. Isn't that amazingly cool?!

And I receive so much from others, too, which keeps me wanting to give back.

In this second contest, the three people with the most votes will be interviewed to discuss their ideas for an original project that will bring together the endurance sports community. I'd love the opportunity to use my passion for running and triathlons along with my knack for computers to send the world a message:

Endurance Sports are for Everyone!

Thanks for reading! If you think I should be the next
fully-sponsored member of Team Evotri,
please write down the URL of this web site and have it ready for
voting when you click the EVOTE button below. Thank you!

Voting begins Saturday, 3/15/08, and goes through Friday, 3/21/08, 11:59PM Pacific Time. In case there is any doubt, my URL is http://HumbleTriathlete.blogspot.com

Please tell others!

NOTE: If the Evote button link is bringing up a mail program you don't want to use, use your regular mail program to send an email to vote@evotri.com with http://HumbleTriathlete.blogspot.com in the subject line. Only one vote per person, please.

Hmm ...

Well, the second Evotri contest has been announced. Basically, it involves writing a blog post illustrating your personality and your commitment to the endurance sport community. Special code will then inserted into your blog post so that people who visit your blog can vote for you. The 3 people with the most votes will then be interviewed by Team Evotri members and sponsors regarding their vision of giving back to the community, which involves having in mind "an original project, gathering, or event, etc. that has yet to be launched, and that would bring the endurance community together either physically or virtually in the spirit of our sport."

I have an exciting original project in mind but don't think I'll get enough votes to be selected as one of the top-3 who will get to present it. I need some help making a decision.

Poll results as of 3/10/08:


Thanks everyone for your input!

Note that without the visibility of being on Team Evotri, the idea will be much harder to implement. If I gave it to someone who made the team, I'd help them implement it.

Congratulations Charlie!

Does anyone know the blogsite for the first Evotri contest winner, Charlie Parsioloa? Though I actually voted for someone else, I had a feeling he'd be the winner, seeing that his video got many more views than the other 3 finalists. And what a great addition to the team he'd make, being a doctor from Louisiana, one of the fattest states, and especially with the New Orleans 70.3 race scheduled to debut in 2009!

CONGRATULATIONS CHARLIE!!!

On another note, I received a really cool petition that is seeking to ask Google/Google Maps to add the ability to find bike routes along with their current "Drive There" and "Take Public Transit There" options. I think this would be a great idea for cyclists as I, too, have spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out the best way to get to from point A to B on bike, which is NOT necessary the way I'd go by car. Maybe it'd get more people out on their bikes getting some exercise and saving on gas. And wouldn't it be great if Yahoo Maps and maybe Mapquest did the same too?

If you'd like to see this feature added to Google Maps, please click here to view the petition and sign it electronically. There are over 6,000 signatures so far (a thousand more than yesterday). Let's use the power of the web to make it grow exponentially!!!

Round Two Results

Firstly, thank you very much to all of you who voted for me and sent me encouraging comments. Unfortunately, I did not make it to round two of the Evotri contest. There are, however, two other team slots and two new contests that I will mostly likely shoot for, depending on what's involved and how much extra time I have available. Truly, just putting oneself out there and giving it your best shot, no matter the odds, is what it's all about. And now I've even got a cool video that I can post alongside my Profile which describes me much better than words can ever do!

In the meantime, I've already got some exciting ideas bubbling in my head for my next short fun videos. Who knows, maybe some other group will OFFER a sponsorship to me? Yeah, right, keep dreaming ...

Anyway, congrats to the 7 Evotri contestants who made it to round two. If you voted for me, please vote for one of them to keep the community input coming. Details on how to do so can be found here.

PS: The second Evotri contest (total of 3) is supposed to be announced when they announce the winner of the first contest on 3/1/08, I believe. Hope some of you will consider applying too!

PSS: Check out Ellie's incredible Austin Marathon story. If you've ever been afraid to do something, ever considered quitting, you've got to read it!

I made it to Round One!

Friends, the list of top 10 videos for Team Evotri has been posted and mine is one of them!

To vote for me, you must send an email to vote@evotri.com and simply put my name in the subject line. The body of the message will NOT be read. Clicking vote@evotri.com will launch your mail program (if you have one designated in your web browser preferences) with the subject line pre-filled out with my name. Only one vote per person, multiple votes from the same email address will not be counted. All 10 videos in round one, along with voting criteria, may be found here. I encourage you to take a look and decide for yourself whether you think I deserve your vote.

Note that there are actually 3 rounds of voting for the Team Evotri contest. Round one voting will run from today, Monday, 2/18/08 to Wednesday, 2/20/08 (11:59PM PST), and will determine the top 7 videos. Round two voting begins Thursday, 2/21/08 and runs through Saturday, 2/23/08, to determine the final 4. Next week, the final 4 will go head to head in the final round of voting from Monday, 2/25/08 to Friday, 2/29/08.

Could they have made it any more complex?

Well, I guess it's fitting. We wouldn't want this to be a quicky popularity contest, would we? No, we want someone who can not only create cool videos but can get people motivated to vote up to 3 times. Either that or someone who knows how to spam well ;-)

Thank you for your support and stay tuned for Thursday!

Team Evotri Video

My video has now been posted!

Please click here to view it directly on the YouTube website. If you have a YouTube account, comments and ratings may be left there. If you don't, feel free to comment here. Of course, comments are welcome in both places :-)

The top-10 entries will be announced on Monday, February 18th, on the Team Evotri website along with instructions on how to vote for your favorite contestant. If I'm one of the 10 lucky folks, I'll be sure to let you know.

So for now, thanks for watching and good luck to everyone else who applied. Happy Valentine's Day!!

A Mixed Bag

Just completed my second week of training in 2008. So far, the D3MultiSports 12-week Advanced Winter Maintenance Program has merged well with Pfitz's 12-week Marathon Training Program but the result has involved a fair amount of cycling & running volume. In adjusting to it, I've only managed to get to the pool a couple times each week. I hope to add in the 3rd optional weekly swim workouts starting next week. Tomorrow evening I've got my first bike time trial!

No word yet on the bike issue for the Team EVOTRI sponsorship. I'm going ahead and thinking up some ideas for my video application, just in case. If I go ahead with it, I'll probably fly out to Austin, where my sister lives, because she has a Mac computer with much better video making and music creation capabilities than I do. I'd probably spend double the time if I did it myself.

And friends, stay tuned for more details about the third annual Simply Stu Triathlon. This is a free do-it-yourself triathlon event (optional t-shirt extra), similar to the Phedippidations Worldwide Half Marathon, for those of you who are familiar with that. You swim-bike-run/walk over a weekend (Fri-Sat-Sun) wherever and whatever distances you want. It's a great opportunity for beginners to give tris a try and for seasoned triathletes to do a tune up before the race season begins. It's previously been held late March. Anyone up for it?

On the family front, my (step) daughter, KW, has been very busy and making headlines. I've been told there's a less than 1% chance I'll become a grandma this year. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to put my knitting needles aside and find something else to do with my spare time (yeah, right!).

And congrats to Susan on her new family addition, a brand new Cannondale bike. She's currently injured and unable to run for a while but not letting that dampen her spirits. You go, girl!

On Getting Sponsored

I recently heard about a triathlete who is selling his bike. Of course, this happens all the time for various reasons but this particular athlete received his bike with top notch accessories (he's selling it for $5500) just a year ago as one of 3 amateur athletes selected for a coveted Team RaceAthlete sponsorship, which is very similar to the newly announced Team EVOTRI sponsorship.

In exchange for all the goodies (bike, personal coaching, wetsuits and other stuff), each athlete was asked to share their journey to Ironman Wisconsin to inspire and motivate others in the community. Travel costs to various events and meet-ups, personal time and the cost of other necessities for training/racing were NOT compensated for but can be assumed to have been substantial, more than the net worth of the goodies they got, although some would perhaps say they would have spent nearly as much on their own anyway. But in exchange, they were able to fulfill a lifelong dream and give back to the community by sharing their passion. Priceless.

Why am I writing about this?

Because I passed on the word about Team EVOTRI's sponsorship on my blog below and in some emails touting it as a great opportunity, which I think it is. But in some email communications with the athlete who's selling his bike (I didn't understand why he was doing so and had seen some online discussions about giving equipment to next year's team if sponsors did not stay on), I found out he didn't fully realize what he was getting into. He was willing and able to give the time and effort but was shocked at the out-of-pocket costs in addition. To quote part of what he said to me:

Would I take back the experience!? NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS.
Would I do it again knowing what I know now? NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS.

And come to find out, he's been very upfront about all of this on the TriScoop forum. I just didn't know because I don't visit there often.

I want to make sure that anyone who heard about the new sponsorship via me knows what *may* be involved. Similar to the ones I received for my 21 Run Salute campaign, substantial family and financial commitments could be required, far beyond simply training/racing hard and sharing your journey and inspiring others. Like sweepstakes prizes, free goods you receive and can keep via sponsorships are generally considered income and hence taxable (ref. IRS Other Income Rules). Some sponsors provide extra cash to cover that and some don't (I'm not sure about the Team EVOTRI sponsors). The athlete who's selling his bike says he's allowed to do what he wants with the equipment he received after fulfilling his sponsorship obligations, but that's not always the case. My husband bought a bike from All3Sports that was used before by Team All3Sports so it appears they were not allowed to keep their bikes.

Knowing fully well what I was getting into, here are my answers regarding my previous sponsorships:

Would I take back the experience!? NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS.
Would I do it again? YES, If I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, RESOURCES AND DESIRE AS I DID BEFORE.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone from applying for Team EVOTRI to cut down my competition or anything :-) Just want everyone to ask questions and find out all you can before applying for or accepting ANY sponsorships. In fact, I have a question in right now about whether the BMC bike for the EVOTRI team would even come in a small enough size to fit me and if not, whether I could still be eligible to participate either riding another BMC bike model that fit or riding my old bike. We'll see ...

2008's Gonna Be Great

All righty, I think I've got most of the pieces in place for my 2008 race year. Here are my goals:

1. Get back to running more (30+ MPW).
2. Work on strength, flexibility, speed and the mind-body connection.
3. Run 5 more marathons in my 50-states marathon quest.
4. Shoot for a sub-5:45 1/2 iron tri (maybe a 5:30-something?)

This year, I'll not be able to get away with running only 20-30 MPW, not with 2 marathons scheduled a week apart in the fall (9/28 & 10/5). So goals #1 and #3 will go hand in hand. I'll use Pfitz's 12-week program to rebuild my mileage for my first marathon of the year (3/30) and then just maintain it. I've done this 2-marathons-one-week-apart nonsense 3 times in the past and it works well for me. Namely, I find there's much less time involved training and recovering when running marathons a week apart than when running marathons further apart. So, for me, it'll be more like running 4 marathons rather than 5 this year, which is good because I've got other things I want to do!

Like Goal #2, which is something I've let go by the wayside since getting into tris mainly because I felt like I just had too much on my plate learning how to swim, ride a road bike, figuring out nutrition and transitions, etc. Strength training, flexibility, speed work, plyometrics, balance, breathing, visualization and focus drills were all an integral part of my martial arts training a few years back and what made me feel really strong, inside and outside. I want to incorporate them into my tri training this year and bring back that feeling. I also think they'll be my keys to achieving goal #4.

And if you haven't yet heard about about the cool sponsorship opportunity with Team EVOTRI, go to their website now. ***ANYONE*** is welcome to apply, even if you have never done a triathlon before. The deadline is 2/15/08. I'm thinking about it!