Matt Morrisson's Sub 3 Hour Marathon Report...

2009 Capital City Marathon

Well, this story starts more than two years ago in 2006. Kathy and I decided it would be fun to run the Disney World Marathon in Jan 2007, and I set a goal to run under 3 hours. My PR was 3:05:00, so it seemed achievable. I trained well and around race time, I felt like I could do it. The Disney World Marathon starts at 6am, and race morning we walked out to 100% humidity and around 65 degrees (forecast was for it to be in the mid 80s by the finish). I tried to stay positive and stay on plan to run my goal pace. I was going OK in the early miles, but I could tell the heat and humidity was getting to me. By half way, I remember thinking 3 hours was going to be awfully hard. After mile 17, I was still doing OK. As I ran along, I thought "I should have seen mile 18 by now, maybe I missed the mile marker." A little further along, I thought "Maybe I missed a couple mile markers, if I'm really at 20 miles, I think I can still make 3 hours." Needless to say, I didn't miss any mile markers. When I saw 18, I was mentally toast. Looking at my watch, I was sure I couldn't go under 3, and I probably couldn't even get a PR. I really got down on myself, and once I hit mile 19, I started walking, and walked all the way to 20. I cursed the marathon many times, and swore I would never run another one again. I alternated between running and walking for a few miles and ran in the last couple. I finished in 3:34:12, which isn't a bad time, but quite a ways from my goal.

Lessons learned from that race:
- I don't run well in the heat, which I already knew.
- If I had modified goals to match the conditions, I likely would have had a much better finishing time.
- Stay positive. If I had hit 18 with a better attitude, I would have had a more enjoyable race.


Fast foward to January 2009. I finally felt like I could attempt to run a marathon again and I picked Capital City since I had run it before and did reasonably well. My original plan was to just run it with no time goals at all. Just a low pressure run to get my marathon legs back. My early training went well, and my fast runs went really well. I was able to do some long pace and tempo runs at a pace that would put me under 3 hours. The turning point came at the Fort Steilacoom 20 Mile race. The race was on Saturday, but my training schedule had a 9 mile pace run on Friday. I decided to stick to my original training plan with the pace run, and just use the 20 miler as a little faster long run. I ran the pace run at 6:44 pace, so I figured the race the next day would be maybe 7:30-7:45 pace. I ran the first 5 miles at what seemed a comfortable pace, and I was surprised when I looked at my watch at realized I was running under 7 minute pace. Since I was feeling good, I decided to just keep running at that pace. I felt great until about mile 17, and even then I was able to finish fairly strong. My average pace was 6:44 (a 3 hour marathon is 6:51 pace). My marathon goal went from "just finishing" to maybe a PR, and maybe even under 3 hours. The rest of my training continued to go well. I had one week with more miles than I usually run and started to get some minor injuries; a sore hamstring and sore foot. Luckily the next week was the start of my taper, and all the little aches and pains subsided.

The day before Capital City race day, I was nervous, with my stomach fluttering away. The weather forecast was for highs in the low to mid 70s, which would not be good for me, but I stayed positive. Race day finally arrives. It is still cool at the 7am start, which helps alleviate my fears of heat. The gun goes off and we head downhill toward the water. As I get close to the first mile marker, I think how that felt nice and easy. I glance at my watch and see 6:05. Oh crap! Way too fast. I calm myself by thinking "its OK, it was downhill". After that, I quickly settle into a better pace. I see Kathy on her bike around mile three. The miles click off easily for a while, running in the 6:40s. Around halfway, a guy catches up to me from behind and we run together for 5 or 6 miles. We chat as we run along, and he mentions that he thinks we might run 2:55:00. I tell him "all I am aiming for is 2:59, and I'm staying on plan". We start to make headway on a runner in front of us, and this guys says "I think we can catch him". My reply again is "I'm not running for place but rather for time, and I want a 2:59". A little after that he picked up the pace slightly and I just stayed on plan. The marathon course rejoins the half marathon course at mile 18. A little after that, I started seeing half marathon runners. Spectators were cheering everyone on, and when they would see a marathon bib number, they would cheer and say "great job marathon runner". At about mile 21, I could hear cheering behind me for a marathoner, so I figured someone was catching up to me. Farther down the road, I could tell the cheering behind me was definitely more enthusiastic than it was for me. Then I heard someone say "first marathon woman". Ah...now it was clear why the cheering was louder. At mile 22, there is nice downhill section. I checked my watch and saw 2 hours 27 minutes. I only had to run the last 4.2 miles in about 30 minutes, and I felt I could do it. This was followed by an uphill at 22.5. The hill is not particularly steep, but it goes on and on and on. It is more than a mile long. I could feel my pace slow, but I was still running past half marathoners, so I knew I couldn't be going too slow. A little past the top, the cheering behind me was getting closer, and it wasn't long until a pace car was driving along side me, then past me, then Annie (the eventual 1st place woman) passed me. There was still about 1.5 miles to go. At this point, I am running about as fast as I can, but it sure doesn't feel fast. Everything is a blur, and I don't hear anything in particular. I am focused, I just keep repeating to myself "...2...59...2...59...". My legs feel like mush and my breathing is labored. I pass the 25 mile marker, watch says 2:50 and change. "If I can run 1.2 miles in less than 10 minutes, I will have it!" The last mile is downhill, which is a blessing. I keep waiting to see the top of the finishing banner, but it seems to never come. Less than half a mile to go, I can see the finish, but it seems so far away. I was to stop running, but I keeping pushing. I can feel my head starting to tip backward as I run, and it takes a mental effort to force myself to bring my chin back down. The time clock comes into view. I see 2:59:30 and think "OH NO! I'm so close, and I'm not going to make it!" As I get a little closer, I realize it says 2:58 not 2:59. My head starts to tip back again enough that I feel like I will fall backward. I cross the finish line and fall into the arms of volunteers. Kathy is there to help me too. It is clear that I'm not totally coherent and I need some help to get to the medical tent. My head is swimming, and I feel faint. Blood pressure is strong though, which is good. I lay there and drink, not easy to do, but they get me a bendy straw :) My nose and lips are tingling, which I find strange. Once I recover enough to get up, I feel a lot better quickly. My legs are tired, but not totally shot. I walk over and get some food, and even have a slice of pizza.

In the end I finished 8th overall, and 1st in my age group. And I finally got my sub 3 hour marathon! 2:58:43!

Lessons learned from this race:
- Stay on plan. Even when feeling good.
- In the last few miles when you get tired, keep running hard. It might be unpleasant, but you can do it.
- Respect the race day conditions, but don't get psyched out by them.

“Safety” Cones: Don’t believe the hype!

Humbly submitted by Brian Guillen following the Issaquah Triathlon: 5/30/2009

As I sit here reading a Triathlete Magazine article entitled, “Overcoming Mental Obstacles in Training” I cannot help but feel cheated. So I turn the page with my bandaged hands, wincing in pain as I toss the magazine to the floor. Over the years, I have read many articles about overcoming nearly every obstacle, both physical and mental, facing the triathlete. But never have I come across an ounce of helpful advice about dodging the dreaded Safety Cone on the race course.

Yesterday morning, I pulled on my wetsuit and waded knee deep into the lake and waited for the horn to sound announcing the start of the Issaquah triathlon. I entered the race with the sole goal of beating John Curley for the chance to win a donation to the charity of my choice. Believe me! I had no other aspirations other than surviving the race in full health so I could resume my training for later-season races.

But the gun sounded and suddenly I felt I had to do everything within my power to be the first one to the finish line. The short quarter-mile swim seemed to be over before it began and I found myself starting the bike leg in fifth position. After a few miles into the 15-mile bike course I passed two people and it appeared that I was beginning to pull back leaders. The legs felt good and I was settling into a nice, comfortable groove. At a hill at mile 6, I opened it up a little and quickly ascended at which point I noticed I was still gaining on the leaders. I crested the hill and put my head down to get the full benefit of aerodynamics as I descended the hill at 30 mph. I was in a full aero tuck, looking at the white line upon which I followed closely. I looked up to see further up the road and suddenly noticed a row of orange safety cones lined up on the white line immediately in front of me! Having no time to react, I waited for the inevitable to unfold.

There are a few occasions that occur in a man’s life which enable him to defy the very laws of time itself. This peculiar phenomenon of which I speak manifests itself in the apparent near-stopping of time so as to allow for full and complete absorption of all the sensory information that is so rapidly being presented to his brain. This can make a 5-second event from another’s perspective seem like hours to his. For a man, this phenomenon is typically experienced either during sexual intercourse or in those instances where he has nearly kissed death. I was unfortunately experiencing the latter.

I hit the first cone. The bike bounced to the left but kept me on track for the rest. I hit the second and third cones. The bike came out from under me and I was suddenly airborne. I landed hands-first and began the last leg of “ The Brian Guillen: Swim-Bike-Skid-On-My-Arse Triathlon.” And, oh, did I skid! At one point during the skid I thought I was nearly done, but I just got tossed over to the other side of my body and kept going still surprised by my ground speed. I came to a stop roughly 15-20 yards later and remained on my back doing mental diagnostics of the damage. I crawled over to the ditch to get off the course while the race volunteer called for an ambulance.

Luckily, I was out of the hospital in two hours with only bandages around the appendages. So I walked back over to the triathlon and came across John Curley. I showed him my wounds and joked with him that this mess was all his fault. Very kindly, he expressed his condolences and handed me a “I beat John Curley” shirt. Very nice gentleman, that man is. But one thing is for certain: it’s harder than you think beating John Curley!

Saving the best and most important news for last: the bike is perfectly fine! In fact, in looking at the bike you wouldn’t believe I crashed. It appears to have slid entirely on the non-drive train side, preserving the derailleurs. Unfathomable!

Alicia Gunderson's Trainer Mishap

So this is one of those funny stories of the unaware, naive, still a new-be triathalete. My "friend"....who am I kidding, I suck at lying it was ME, purchased a Kinetic trainer last November when I decided I wasn't a "postal rider"...snow, sleet, wind & hail just don't work for me. My goal this last 6 months was to ride at least 3 times a week for at least an hour each time, I wanted to improve my over all time and figured since you spend most your time on your bike...well, I'd try and get faster. I also remember you saying last year at one of those Lake Meridian Wed. training nights that you should pay attention to your cadence, and keep it at 90. So I stepped it up and got myself a Catseye meter that did all this fancy crap.

Anyway, I met my goal, rode my little butt off (don’t I wish) and so when I went out on my first "real" ride outdoors I was so shocked to see how fast I'd gotten. I'd look down and see 25, 28, 32 on my meter. And I even rode with Missy who's meter is broken so she kept asking me "how fast" I'd spit out these high numbers and she'd argue (the nerve) with me by saying, "really this feels like 16 or 18 mph". I started ignoring her. When I got home, I "reset" my meter, just to be sure I was RIGHT....guess what, in Canada...I was kicking butt all winter, but here in the USA where we DON'T use the metric system and go by MPH not KPH I was right were I left off last year......SUCKSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

But it's all good, I'm not going to let this bum me out, my attitude is "at least I'm where I left off last year" and not having to start over.
UGH, I'm such a retard and I’m hoping I'm not the only person you know that has done this...but if I am, well, the longer you know me, the more of these wonderful stories you'll hear about!

RTH Gals at the Yakima River Canyon Ride!!

Some of our Raise the Hope gals conquered the searing temps in Yakima today at the 34 mile Yakima River Canyon ride. WAY TO GO!!

Phil Kriss's Duathon Race Report (and training details)

This race marked the second race trying my new strategy. For the last few months Chris Blair and I have been sucking our thumbs about how slow we run. We figure we are slow runners because we are bigger than most other triathletes.That proved to be mostly true until this weekend.In January I decided my runs needed to be tougher. Studying my splits and analyzing the data mile by mile, I came to the conclusion I suck in the “dead zone”. For me that is between 16-18 and 20 miles. In order to be better at that, I need to train more in that zone and add 15% more running in 2009. To do that and still have time to increase time swimming and riding, I decided to run 2 days a week (except for the bricks). One tempo run on Wednesdays with the Maple Valley mafia, and Sundays with David “Marathon Diet” Spooner.

I had heard rumors Dave was running the Orting Loop (21 miles) every Sunday he was not racing. So, decided regardless of if he was a jerk or he didn’t like me I would run it with him anyway.

Meanwhile, he heard war stories about the triathlon from me and others that showed up to run. Next thing he owns a bike and a wet suit and shows up to play.

Oh Yeah, the duathlon. That is what this is about…I got some last minute advise on heart rate management from my hero Kent Sizer. I decided to target 160 BPM from start to finish.

8.1 run time: 35:24 or a 6:56 pace! For me Smoking Hot! Heart rate 160+

28.8 mile Ride time: 1:25 or 20.2 MPH. Fair. Heart rate 160+ until I cramped in the middle of the first lap.

I had some difficulty on the ride. I am not sure if it was from my heart rate being too high, or being too cold, or poor nutrition or a combination. Anyway, I cramped on the way up Mud Mountain road and had to slow for about 10 miles to minimize cramping. If my heart rate was below 150 I was fine. I think that slowed me by 3-4 minutes. But, a 20.4 MPH average doing 2 laps up that hill is not bad for a 50 year old old guy.

Second 3.8 mile run time: 28:57 or 7:37. Needs improvement. I got my heart rate back up to 160, and hit 170BPM at the finish.

2:33 was my time. 22nd overall. 2^nd in age, but only to the reigning national duathlon champ in my age group. 5^th master.

Other Notes: When Chris Blair rides his junky bike, we are pretty much neck and neck except on hills given the same heart rate profiles. His Cervelo P3C is an unfair advantage compared to my POS bike. His 24+ MPH average proved that in my mind J

David Spooner defeated the “big guys can’t run” theory. He ran 6:30s on his first run and 6:40s on his second. Considering he ran the Boston Marathon 6 days earlier, and had completed 4 rides on his new bike as a new biker, and had never done a transition before, his 2:37 time is very impressive. I better learn to run or he will soon be showing me who is boss.

I think my new run in the dead zone strategy is working. 7:37 pace is not that fast but it is improving. Next week is the Tacoma City Marathon. Time to test it again.

Ricky Bobby is right. “I wanna go fast!”

Life is like a Load of Laundry

Forrest had a box of chocolates - on Mondays the Swedbergs have laundry..And Life at the Swedbergs must be pretty good by the looks of it! I just hung up a load and as I stepped back to admire my domestic handiwork (with banana bread in the over, BTW) I was a little less depressed that our dryer broke last night...

I'm hoping we win the neighborhood award for "Coolest Laundry" thanks to the RTB sponsors, Rad Racing, and the Hagens Berman Cycling Team.

I'm not posting a photo of the next load...

Phil Spencer's Grizzly Triathlon Report

The first race of the season is in the books. I’ll file this one in the “mixed results category.” For those that don’t want to suffer through more details than anyone should have to read for a sprint race, the short version is as follows: I finished first masters and first in my age group. Also managed 7th overall taking a minute off my time from last year. Had you told me that going in, I’d have been thrilled but the way the race played out I actually think I could have done better.

So Montana’s Grizzly Triathlon is quickly becoming my favorite early season race. By April I’m starting to get a little race fitness and a lot of training staleness. I’m dying to mix it up again and this race provides the perfect opportunity to test my form against some crazy fast guys. Normally I wouldn’t drive all the way to Montana for a race that is over in an hour but this one is different. The Missoula Stampede triathlon team jokingly calls this the “Montana State Championships” as everyone shows up making it the areas biggest triathlon. To give you an idea how popular this race is, this year’s edition sold out in just 8 days! This team seems to have an endless stream of speedsters, many of whom go off to have successful pro careers and they all seem to come back for this race.

So the day before the race the heat sheet comes out and this year I was included in the Male Elite category. As if that’s not intimidating enough, I’m splitting a lane with none other than Ben Hoffman. Now the nerves really started kicking in but I was equally excited to be racing with these guys. The format is a 1000 yrd pool swim where everyone is seeded by projected swim times. The first heats go off at 8:00am and go all morning finishing with the elite women and finally the elite men in the last heat at 1:45 in the afternoon. Being in the last heat is nice as I got to sleep in on a race morning! Somehow, for the second year in a row, we got great weather as race day was dry, sunny and by the time our wave was set to go, about 62 degrees.

Waiting for the last of the elite female wave to finish I’m looking
around to see the rest of my wave looking ridiculously lean and fit.
Matt Seeley was apparently trying to fly under the radar as he was entered under the pseudonym “Calamity Seeley,” and showed up with a massive Goatee. I’m talking about an entire winters growth that you
could sit and stroke while contemplating the mysteries of the world.
If it were grey he could have passed himself off as a Jedi Master.
Surprisingly, Ben was one of the least intimidating looking. He looked so young, like he just came off the set of Mayberry. He was also really nice which helped calm my nerves a bit. One of the benefits of being in the elite wave was that, unlike the rest of the athletes having to fight with 5 per lane, we raced two per lane. By that time everyone else was done so the entire pool was full of people cheering us on. Once the gun went off, as always, the nerves are gone and you just do what you’re trained to do. Ben and I hit the first wall together only to find out that he comes off the wall on his left and I come off on my right side leaving us staring directly into each others face. We went through the 100 in 1:03 then settled into about a 1:10 pace and this is how it would go for the first 500. I considered making faces to try and throw him off but thought better of it. Meanwhile the swimmer in the lane directly to my right (17 year old age grouper Sean Niccolucci) is blasting off like he’s swimming an all out 100 and his lane mate (52 year old John
Weston), Montana’s version of Brad Williams, was not far behind.
Wonder boy hopped out with a time of 10:16 and John just behind in 10:40 for the first two out. By the 500 mark Ben had clearly tired of looking into my ugly mug and started easing away coming out in 11:34. I followed him 13 seconds later in 11:47.

Out on the road, Ben just slowly eased away as I knew he would. I caught the youngster just a few miles in and expected the evergreen Mr. Weston to come back so I could have my moment in second place before the masses caught me. Well, John was still well up the road but I made it to just before the turn around before Calamity Seeley went by, luxurious beard flowing in his slipstream. We hit the turn together and, much to my dismay, there were 4 guys together just behind us. I expected Matt to disappear up the road and the others to come flying by but Matt just sat out there about 100 yards up front the rest of the way back to transition. Adam Jensen and Matt Shryock finally caught me a couple miles before T2 and the three of us and John Weston all came into transition together with a couple more right behind. Finishing with those guys was a real thrill for me as I’ve never been in sight of most of those names after the bike.

So Ben was long gone, Matt had left T2 just a few seconds before we all pulled in and then there were about 5 of us all heading out at the same time. Adam looked comfortable as he slowly pulled away as did Matt who was flying. Brendon Halpin also went past me like I was running in cement. The run is along the Clarks Fork river on a loose gravel trail that makes it impossible to get into any rhythm as your feet slip around. Just before the turn, there is a detour that takes you straight up a single track hill that spikes your heart-rate to the max before an equally difficult descent that twists back down to the trail. To this point I hadn’t looked back but at the turn I got the chance to see three guys right behind me and they all looked like they were flying. I had about 1.5 miles to go and I went into complete vacuum cleaner breathing mode trying to hold them off and hang onto 6th place. As I lumbered along with about 400 meters to go, 22 yr. old Graham Meng came easing soundlessly past me…or quite possibly making all kinds of noise but with the God-awful racket I was producing at that point, I couldn’t have heard a train approaching. Everyone was screaming as we went by but sadly, I was already as deep into the red as I could go and had absolutely no response finishing 6 seconds in arrears at 1:04.12.

So for those of you keeping track...inspired by his awesome lane- mate, Ben went on to win handily coming in at 57:39 followed by the chia faced Calamity Seeley at 1:00.53. Local studs Mat Shryock and Brendan Halpin duked it out finishing in 1:01:03, and 08 respectively. Coming back from injury, Adam Jensen still killed it for 5th at 1:02:12. Finally that little bastard Graham pipping me at the line for 6th…Arnie, you need to teach me some of those blocking techniques!

As always, these early races give us a great barometer to gage what is going well and where we need to work. I was really happy to have taken over a minute off my time from last year and finishing 7th in that field was great for me…my run , however, was an absolute abomination.

Oh, Oh, one other thing...Lindsey Corbin was supposed to race but was still recovering from last weekends half-Iron so she was all over the course cheering us (really cheering ME) on. She was so impressed with my race she demanded she get a photo with me (it was really almost embarrassing for the poor girl the way she was following me around)! Cute as a button that one. And thus ends my Montana adventure. Special thanks to Leo for his great company!

Mary Hanna's Yakima River Canyon Marathon Report

Mary Hanna and Cliff Richards did the Yakima Marathon this weekend with some other RTB members. Great race report from Mary below. Congratulations to all of you!!

First the men's race: This was a very close race. Joe Darda (recent UW runner) won in 2:35:12, and second place was two-time Yakima winner, Manuh Santos in 2:35:32, a four or five minute PR for him. I for get who got third, but my friend and fellow SRC runner, Glen Weissman, was fourth in 2:46ish. My other friend and fellow SRC runner, Cliff Richards, finished fifth in 2:54. He was also the first master, because Glen won't be a master for two more weeks. :) There were three women highlighted in the paper as potential winners: Selina Danko (3rd last year, just minutes behind me), Amber Green (CWU runner, 2nd marathon, but shooting for 3:10-3:15), and me. I looked around when I started the race and found myself in the lead, but after a couple of miles, Selina joined me. I didn't know her, but guessed that was who this was. We ran together for about 13 miles. After a few miles, we started to hear a woman's voice behind us. It was Amber, and she slowly caught up to us. I really enjoyed having the three of us running together. I felt like the veteran, and I was counting on my marathon experience and YRCM experience to get me through. I knew that we were all three running under our goal time. I hung back a little, but stayed with them. Then Selina dropped back and told me to hang with Amber. I said OK. I ran along with Amber a couple of miles and noticed our splits were slipping. At mile 18, I decided to make my move. Not knowing what would happen, I picked the pace up just a notch and never looked back. I found out in the newspaper Sunday that Amber had hung within 30 yards of me for the next three miles! At mile 23, my calves started cramping, so I slowed down and took shorter steps. That kept the cramping at bay, and I was able to get to the finish before Selina (2nd) and Amber (3rd).
It was my slowest Yakima and the closest women's finish since 2001. The weather has never been better, though, and I had a lot of fun. :)

Lavaman Race Report - Iceberg & Swedberg

Cheryl and I did the Lavaman Triathlon on Sunday on the Big Island in Hawaii. This was Cheryl's 2nd crack at the race and my first race ever on the islands. Good golly....I can't imagine a more beautiful place to race.

We rolled into transition with plenty of time to spare. There were quite a few pros wandering around - including Chris McCormack who would be be eventual men's winner and Lisa Mensink, an Olympian from Canada who won the women's race.

The swim is shaped like a very narrow "M". 900 athletes, 5 waves, 3 minutes apart. Cheryl and I were in the last wave of women 40 and older. It didn't take long to start catching swimmers from earlier waves and we both realized there really isn't any way to get around to the outside - so we swam through little gaps and kept our heads up looking for errant swimmers who were off-course on another segment of the "M" heading right for us. One of my favorite moments of the race was swimming under a kayak that was in the path of some very clear water. I'm positive it was faster than going around and felt very adventurous for a 44 year old mom. I was happy with my swim - Cheryl took a minute off her swim time from last year so she was happy too....

It's been windy here for the few days leading up to the race - lawn-chairs-blowing-into-the-ocean kind of windy! That morning, though, thankfully - the wind eased up and it was present but not daunting most of the ride - it didn't start to blow chairs until the last few miles for us.The bike course is on the Queen K highway, which is the course of the World Championships. It's BARREN. I'm not sure how Brian and Nancy got through it for 112 miles. Never have I seen more monotonous and dark, hot terrain. (and the heat is much worse in October, I'm told) I saw Cheryl shortly after the turnaround as she was passing some poor unsuspecting young men....ha

I'm not sure what happened to me on the bike - but somewhere along the way my hamstrings or sitbones or something got very tight. I noticed that something was up when i stood to stretch at the turnaround, but didn't want to think about it again until I got off my bike and then couldn't walk or run for a few moments. I ended up bent over at the waist and bent at the knees shuffling to my rack. Quite dignified. I appreciated the few moans of pity I heard...maybe that was me moaning in self-pity now that i think about it. There was no way i could reach the ground to pick up my running shoes, so I stuck my toes in them and found a nice older couple who were volunteering in transition that put them on my feet and tied them for me. Again...dignified. :) I started running shortly after I exited transition and ended up having a fine run after i've fought an injury all winter. Hawaii sunshine doing wonders, I suppose.

Cheryl bested her time from last year with conditions that were much windier, so kudos to her!! I envy her ability to train in Maui through the fall and winter. It pays off - every time i meet up with her to train she is stronger and faster (and tanner and cuter). She'll be coming back home in a couple of weeks and will have to slog it out with the rest of us for awhile.

A FUN meeting happened at the end of the day for us - we had a great conversation with the 5th place male finisher, Luis de la Torre. Some mainlanders may not know of him, but he's pretty much the finest triathlete on the Big Island as far as I can tell. He's consistently been the fastest Hawaiian finisher at the Kona Ironman (9:28 in 2008) and can race well at every distance. At 40, he's a mighty impressive athlete and a very nice guy. Cheryl had given me an earful of Luis information and we googlestalked him before the race. I had no doubt who he was when I saw him exit the bathroom and about tackled him to get this picture. I told him it would make Cheryl extremely jealous - which it did..... serves her right.

We went back later to check on the results and managed to tackle him again and got a picture with her. It's shameless, really....but was too polite to send us packing. We're concocting a terrific plan to have him coach for Raise the Bar this summer. How fun would THAT be??!!! If you're into that idea, go ahead and shoot him an email!

Luis@luisdelatorre.com His email is clearly posted on his webpage - so i'm sure he won't mind the correspondence!

That's it from Lavaman.....

You never know who you're gonna meet

I don't think I can recall hearing of Grant Wistrom - he's a former Seattle Seahawk and 3-time Super Bowl participant(is that what you call people who have been to the Super Bowl 3 times?). Cheryl Iseberg and I ended up on barstools next to he and his wife, Melissa, in Maui on Tuesday. It was evident when they walked in the restaurant that there was something unique about them. Melissa in a t-shirt, shorts, and sandy blonde hair tucked behind her ears was the picture of a nice healthy mom. If she'd told us she was a professional triathlete, we wouldn't have doubted it. She had the limbs of a serious endurance athlete. She laughed, though, when we suggested she take up the sport.

Grant was a gentleman and FUN - smiled easily and told us about their life in Missouri (and sometimes Maui) with their son Wyatt and daughter Charlie (Charlie is also the name of the bartender's dog which has apparently caused confusion on more than one occasion when he and Wistroms end up on the same beach).

Grant is about as far from triathlete as you can get. His biceps are bigger than my head....he's 6'5"...probably 280. What kind of bike do you put a body like that on? I can imagine the sink factor when his body hits the water - and putting a off-the-rack wetsuit on that guy is going to be near impossible.

But sport is sport and I'm always hungry to learn what any athlete (especially a very accomplished former professional athlete) can teach me about my own sport. His humility wouldn't allow him to divulge his 3 trips to the Super Bowl, or how he could energize a locker room during halftime - but Melissa's obvious delight in her husband allowed her to do just that.

I am not going to apply some of the things I learned. In fact, as a decent God-fearing woman, I'm trying hard to forget some of them - like the naked hand stands in the Seahawks Locker Room to loosen up the team. But when I asked Grant what he would pass along to our 17-year old son who's trying excel at cycling, Grant never hesitated.

"I talk at schools all the time", he said, "tell your boy to be the hardest working cyclist on his team. Tell him to train longer and harder than anyone else. Tell him not to get discouraged."

Those are solid and simple lessons for all of us.

First Lady Finally in Sleeves

Michelle Obama's first month as the First Lady have been filled with enormous and unexpected criticism of her sleevelessness. The constant barage of pressure from the White House Long-Sleeve Proticol Committee and the National Center for Bicep and Armpit Coverage has left the fashion-conscious First Lady looking for the perfect accessory to quell the critics.

The RTB Fashion and Uniform Committee received an emergency alert from Washington and were able to FedEx the perfect solution over to Mrs. Obama - a RTB Long-Sleeve Thermal Jacket manufactured by Voler Custom Apparel.

"I just love my RTB Thermal Jacket made by Voler!", reported the First lady to her staff. "It's designed for cold weather diplomatting and is also a great all-around piece for White House luncheons on the lawn. The tailored cut is aerodynamic and reduces wind flap when we are boarding AirForce 1! Made from IsoWind, a wind-proof, breathable, tri-laminate fabric with a light fleece inner surface, it's just super for those cool evenings at home when the husband is out working late....as opposed to me....who is often late working out! I didn't get these arms by accident!!"

You can see RTB Thermal Jackets and other armpit covering items on the good-looking and snappily-dressing RTB athletes in the Pacific Northwest.

Aloha Tips for Training – The 20 minute rule and……

Some words of wisdom from Cheryl Isberg, reporting from Maui:

There are a few things that have come to mind the last week. This last week was my biggest training week since last summer. 17 hours and counting which has also included many calories and a few naps.

There is always that first big week that hits you after the new year that you know is out there but you have no idea what it will bring. Will it bring some break through training or just a miserable slog through the items on the training log. I had a few nice bike rides with RTB’er Brad Williams and that helped make the week “easier”. It is always nice to ride with someone else and it was nice of him to block the wind for me and take the long pulls. Come to think of it, I think I forgot and never took a pull in front J but he has an Ironman to train for so all the training in the wind will do him some good. J

By Thursday it hits me I am tired. I start consuming more calories but thin gs are getting slower. I am dreading my long run on Friday and what to do. I then thing back to some great advice we got at the 2005 Ironman CDA RTB training camp. Former pro Mike Pigg was on hand for the festivities and he said even when your tired, go out for the first 20 minutes of your scheduled workout, if it doesn’t feel better after 20 minutes then go ahead and stop and rest your body.

The great thing about the 20 minute rule is that it works. A lot of time our perception of being tired can stop us from even walking out the door to do the next swim, bike, or ride. The reality is that once you get the first 20 minutes you can usually mentally go “ok, I have the first 20 minutes done, let’s just finish this work out”. So, there my friends are your first rule for training this year. Give it 20 minutes, if you don’t feel better then stop and skip the rest of the workout and rest up for your next key workout.

That being said, I had to use the 20 minute rule twice this week. Saturday I headed down to my favorite open water swim place for what I was hoping to be a mile swim. As I looked down the beach toward Black Rock, I could see the swell hitting the shore break. I mumbled something to myself like “huh, I guess I will deal with that once I get there”. It was a murky swim and I broke 2 of the 3 open water swimming rules. The 3 rules being:

1) Never swim alone (ok I always break this one)

2) Never swim when it is murky*

3) Never swim after it rains*

*Cause the sharks like it when it is murky and they come in after the rains to feed on little fish – like you.

So, as I am swimming in the murky water, I keep thinking “this is stupid – get out of the water” followed by “sharks, love murky water”. I kept telling myself ok just 20 minutes, just 20 minutes trying not to test the fate of the shark gods.

I get in my 20 minutes then of course start to see the break now is breaking at the shore and it is coming from 2 directions. There are a lot of people who drown at Black Rock and I start to think that I now know why. After a few minutes of treading water, counting sets, and thinking ok I have faced 5 Ironman swims, how hard can it be to get myself out of this water? I count the sets and guess they are coming in 2 minute breaks and then I make my run, err, kick to the shore. The first one I miss and I get caught up in the rip tide and I duck under a huge wave to get back out beyond the break. Ok, that wasn’t very fun. Once more time to try and if I can’t do it I need to turn back and swim up the beach to try to find another easier route out – of course that would be more then 20 minutes though….. More counting, more waiting, then kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick!

Ahh, finally through the break, run like hell (make sure my swimming bottoms are on) and whew I am through. Gosh that was a workout in itself and note to self – let’s try to avoid that break in the future.

Of course on the return walk back up the beach, Brad and his lovely family is enjoying some beach time. Brad offers the “not going to swim back?” and I think well that would have been easier then trying to get out of that break but I only wanted 20 minutes of swimming. J

So, Day 2 of the 20 minute rule comes in the form of my long Sunday ride. Coach Simon wants this to be a tempo ride. About 5 minutes into my ride, my legs are saying no tempo ride today – it’s a recovery ride. Then I start doing the “just 20 minutes” thing and then I start to wonder when was my easy day this week and of course I hear Simon saying “the easy day was yesterday”. So, I then realize I only loaded one bottle, no heart rate monitor and I am already tired. I am coming down the hill and I think I see someone waving and then I realize it was Brad. Wow, I just blew right by him. Where is my head today? I need to focus because I have 3 more hours of riding and apology to make to Brad.

About 30 minutes into my ride I find my groove and realize the worst is over. I am already riding, some tempo and recovery. Some how I get my 3 hours in and it feels to good to be able to cross that off the list.

Who knew you could get 3 hours in by just telling yourself “20 minutes”?

Raise the Bar Triathlon Dating Help

Ever on the lookout for pertinent information for the tri-public, RTB’s Dating experts have recently come across this dating aid for triathletes. Happy Hunting! (Note: may also apply to already married triathletes)

"I am an outdoors type of person." Really means: I train in any type of weather. If it's raining, snowing, 90 degrees w/100% humidity, or winds gusting at 30 mph. I don't want to hear any complaints because I will still train in it and you're just a big wuss for complaining about it.

"I enjoy riding my bike." Really means: with or w/o aero bars, alone or in a peleton, I don't care. If you can't do a spur of the moment 30 miler then you're not my type. I will let you draft, but if you can't hang and I drop you - I will see you later. I am a capable mechanic, but don't expect me to change your flats or tune your bike. You need to learn that on your own.

"I enjoy jogging." Really means: Let's run hills until we puke. I have just as many shoes as you only mine are better because they are functional and all look the same.

"I enjoy dining out." Really means: I enjoy eating out, in or anywhere else I can find food. Don't be shy because with the amount of food I eat, you can have that main entree instead of a salad and you will still look as though you eat like a rabbit in comparison. Don't get your limbs too close though as I may take a bite out of you. Most importantly don't expect any taste off my plate unless you can bring something to the party like more food. Eventually though if your not burning 4,000+ calories a day you are going to plump up and have a terrible complex due to watching me eat deserts and not gain any weight. Friends and family will eventually decide not to dine with us anymore due to my horrid table manners. Oh, and don't ask me any questions during breakfast, Mid Morning Lunch, Lunch, Afternoon lunch, Dinner or Recovery Dinner as it does not lend to efficient food intake.

"I enjoy quiet walks on the beach." Really means: Walks on the beach warming up into an 8 mile run and then plunging myself in the ocean for a 2 miler. If you get in my way you're going to find out what mass start is and let me assure you that you don't want to find out.

"I find fulfillment in charitable work." Really means: If I am not racing, I am volunteering and I expect you to be there along side me as I stand out in 90 degree weather for 8 hours handing out sports drink to cyclists going 20 mph. Just stick the ol' arm out there and hope it doesn't get taken off.

"I enjoy sharing quiet moments together." Really means: It's taper time. Just back off because I am strategizing and in a pissy mood because I am worried about my "A" race and can't workout.

"I am an active person." Really means: Aside from my 40 hour job, and the 8 mandatory hours of sleep a night. 10 hours a week are devoted to me during the off-season and 20 during race season leaving us 4 hours. 2 of which are spent inhaling food and you not talking to me, so let's make the best of the 2 hours we will spend together on average each day. If you are a licensed message therapist or doctor this would make the most optimal use of our time together. Nutritionist is also acceptable, but I probably already know just as much as you.

"I enjoy road trips and leisurely drives." Really means: You have your choice of Wisconsin, Idaho, Florida, California, Arizona, and New York, but don't expect to do much site seeing. If I get enough support from you we might be able to include Hawaii in there.

"I enjoy site seeing." Really means: Lets grab a mountain bike and get our HR's up to 90%. There's plenty of time to look around on the descent as trees and bushes whiz by you at 40 mph.

"I like stimulating conversation." Really means: while we are running, we can talk about food. Then we can talk about how we decided what to wear on this run based on the temperature at start time versus the temperature at the time we expect to finish, how horribly out of shape we are, how many miles we did last week, and how many we will do this week and next week. Then we can talk about food.

"I enjoy relaxing soaks in the tub." Really Means: I'm going to stop on the way home and buy two bags of ice, throw them in the tub with some water, and sit in this torture chamber for 30 minutes.

"I'm interested in photography" Really Means: My camera is permanently perched a tripod in front of my trainer. I obsess over taking photos of my bike position and analyzing them to get the perfect setup.

"I'm into in technology" Really Means: My HRM and bike computer are my best friends. Until you can give me some hard data that can improve my training, don't bother trying to buddy up to me. You could one day break into the top three if I find you as entertaining on long runs and rides as my ipod nano.

RTB Sighting on Maui

I have received one phone call and one email about this RTB sighting on Maui. Here is the story from the point of view of those two involved. Kristine Kloepfer and Cheryl Isberg. And do not worry it has a happy running ending.

Cheryl:

The start of the season always seems to be the hardest. My Sunday ride today was the longest I have done since Ironman Canada and my body is really not playing along much. About 90 minutes into the ride my body seemed to remember back to that 112 mile ride and a promise that was made. I think I made one of those "if I can just get through this race, I promise we will take some time off". The problem is I never told my body that what that meant was a few months of low intensity training but at some point that would change. So, let's say the suffer was on. Then the strangest sight ever - could it be someone standing by the side of the road and a young man yelling "go RTB!". I first thought to myself "my god, I am in a race and I didn’t even know it" then I thought "who is that?".

Of course after I passed the young man I was wondering how he knew about RTB because I was not in my official uniform this day. I opted for RTB shorts and a new Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop jersey that was presented to me for my 44th birthday. Then to my right a while van pulls along and there is Kristine Ott yelling "we are RTB too" and a small conversation occurred on the highway. Who knew that RTB reached 2700 miles outside of Washington? The good thing was it was the kick that needed to get my F5 butt home. Kristine mentioned she spotted that F5 across my rear

Kristine:

So my family and I are on vacation in Maui. We come here often, it's really a beautiful place. We were driving back to our condo after a day of shopping and I am in awe of all the bikes on the road and I mention to Mike how cool it would be to bike here. Then up ahead I notice someone riding in aero and point it out to Mike, "Hey look, there is a tri-bike!!!" Feeling very excited!! As we pass this rider what do we see??? A big F5 on her butt! She is wearing RTB tri shorts. What the heck? We pull along beside her and it's none other than Cheryl Isberg. How cool is that. The next day we enjoyed a 5 mile run together along the north shore of Maui.

And rumor has it that Brad Williams will soon (256 hours and counting down) be seen in Maui in full RTB gear. Could you be next?

There's Good Press....then there's the Wine Press

Today, Raise the Bar has an article in the local Covington/Maple Valley Reporter Newspaper. It's a nice article - with a picture of RTB's most prolifically printed pretty face, Rick Osborn.... whom his friends refer to as "Front Page".

Find the article here: http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/cmv/business/38586834.html

While enjoying that little bit of RTB fame today, I got 2 phone calls. One from Kevin at the Seattle Thunderbirds.....wondering if I wanted tickets to the T-bird game on 3/6 for some of my customers. Well, sure!! Kathy's already got the word out on that one. You get a ticket and a free beer for $18. (email Kathy if you want in on that).

Just a few minutes ago, I got another phone call from a gal wondering if I was hiring bartenders. Huh. We have a theme going today with the drinking of the spirits. I don't HAVE any bartenders on my staff right now, I told her. She seemed nice, I was sorry i didn't have any openings. Kathy could probably do it anyway - even though she doesn't drink. She can do everything else.

I asked the unemployed gal where she got my number. Turns out Raise the Bar is now in the yellow page listings under Bars and Pubs. As a Catholic girl, I consider this to be good juju. And any press is good press.

At 5AM this morning before I met 21 committed athletes at the swim workout I coach, I was buying Chardonnay at Safeway for the Raise the Hope meeting at our house tonight. And as that meeting gets rolling, we could have probably used that nice gal. Thank goodness Kathy will be here.

Lindy Haffner's Goofy Challenge

First of all, if you didn't read Joe's sweet post, and don't know what Goofy's Challenge is, it is a Half Marathon on Saturday and a Full Marathon on Sunday, they also have a 5K on Friday for the ambitious (crazy) which we did as well. I somehow convinced my friends Regan and Diana to sign up for this crazy weekend in January 2008. My friend Kim came too but she is an old pro, having done the Goofy’s Challenge for 3 of the 4 years it has been offered!!We have been planning this race for a year and a half. It is a big commitment financially and physically. Just to register for the Half and Full Marathons came to $250!! I trained with my friends Regan and Diana. We logged some seriously twisted runs, including a back to back 8 mile/16 miler, a 5K race one Saturday morning followed by 15 miles in really cold weather then 12 miles on the treadmill on Sunday because of the snow and then hosting a taco dinner for a family Christmas celebration right after my treadmill run!! We ran in 6 inches of slush for 8 miles and it took us almost 3 hours (picture running in really cold sand for 8 miles!!) When there was a lot of snow, we would run a portion on the treadmill and then meet to run for the rest of the mileage. There was some whining as we were literally freezing our butts off and comparing this training to what we would experience in Florida! But how much whining can you really do when you are going to Florida in January!! My friend Kim has done the Goofy's Challenge for 3 of the 4 years it has been offered. We relied on her wisdom and insight in planning our trip. We didn't seek her advice on training, however. She ran a 5K and a couple of 5 mile runs in between last year's goofy and this year. That is crazy. We saw shirts on the course that said "Running Stupid! I didn't train for this!" We thought Kim needed one too. But she finished all 3 races and didn't seem any worse off than we were.

The 5K starts at 7AM so we were up at 5AM. Which feels like 2AM Seattle time. We had taken a red eye on Wed night though so we had no trouble going to bed by about 10PM Florida time on Thursday night. We did the 5K and then went to Hollywood Studios for the day. We rode the Aerosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster (twice), Tower of Terror, and several other rides. We posed with some power rangers and had a lovely dinner at Mama Melrose's. We came back to the hotel, got our clothes ready for the Half Marathon and went to bed. We were up at 3:00AM (yes Florida time, so feels like midnight!) and we caught the bus to the start at 3:45. The race started at 6AM and Regan and Diana and I all started the race together. Kim ran with her friend Tony who she runs with at all the Disney races (he carries a US flag the whole way!). We got our pictures taken with several characters including Pooh, Cinderella and family, Goofy, Mickey, Donald, Pluto and Chip and Dale among others. We spend a lot of the race trying to get around walkers (and stopping for photos didn't help our cause). We crossed the finish line together, holding hands at 2:48:41. We ran through the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. It was nice weather with a decent breeze and we had a great run. We finshed, I found an instructor at the massage booth who wailed on my IT band for about 20 minutes (I paid for 11 minutes) and we headed off to shower and sit by the pool. We all felt pretty good except the bottoms of my feet were sore. I wore old shoes because I accidentally washed (and DRIED) the shoes I was scheduled to wear and they were a size too small. So I chose less cushioning old shoes over losing toenails. We got up Sunday Morning (same time) to do it all again (but twice as far!) I wanted to take it pretty easy on Sunday and we stuck together for the first half of the race. I had Regan's camera and I asked her if she wanted to take it and go ahead with Diana or if she wanted me to hold it. She said I could hold it. Well Diana and Regan just had more left at the halfway point than I did and they kept up the pace. I just did what i could. It was hot and muggy and my feet hurt. So once they were off I just enjoyed the race and got as many pictures with characters as I could. I think I counted 25 pictures with characters over the whole trip and 2/3 must have been during the races. I figured if I was taking my time, I might as well take pictures. I even had to wait a long time in Epcot to get my picture taken with Aladdin while a mom complained about how you have to walk all over the park to get pictures with characters and she wasn't even taking a picture of her daughter, then when her daughter was done and it was the runner ahead's turn she had her daughter go back for a picture because "we never see Aladdin!" So that added some time!! So when we get all the pictures from Regan's camera I will actually post a photo more recent than 1979 on my page.
Diana and Regan finished in 5:44 and I finished in 6:44 just 10 minutes ahead of Kim who didn't train!! Kim's mom and aunt were down there and we happened to get on the same bus to the hotel as they did. They bought us each a drink at the pool side bar and we enjoyed our cold beverages before we even showered!! That was the best drink I have ever had. Nevermind that it was only about 1:30 in the afternoon (we won't count it as 10:30 Seattle time!!).
So we had a wonderful dinner at Wolfgang Puck's that night and my very sweet husband jumped through hoops (more than you would have thought necessary) to have the restaurant give me a congratulations card and buy a round of drinks for us Goofy Girls! We slept well that night. On Monday it was my birthday and Kim had balloons in our room when I woke up and a big Happy Birthday sign. I got to wear a Happy Birthday pin and got into Epcot for free (free admission to a disney park on your birthday in 2009!) Everyone at Epcot wished me a Happy Birthday and it was a truly magical day. We wore our Garmins (GPS tracking) while at Epcot on Monday and we logged almost 13 miles (and that didn't count our indoor miles) on our rest day! We all had so much fun.
So what I have taken away from this weekend is that anyone can do this. I don't care if you can't walk or run, you can do this. I saw a guy out there on crutches (he probably injured himself training but wasn't willing to quit). I saw people who were concerned that they were going to get picked up by the sag wagon (if you don't hit certain mile markers by a given time, they pick you up and you can't finish the race). I don't think everyone has to do this but I think everyone should challenge themselves to do something out of reach. Maybe it is a longer distance race, maybe it is consecutive races, I don't know. But I do know it feels great to have completed the challenge that seemed so big. Now I better get my shoes out and start thinking about the Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon (my 3rd marathon in 8 months) in June!! Run on friends!

Freaky Things are Happening

Sometimes life throws little weird occurances your way....

1. Lindy Hafner, not only a member of the RTB team, but also a member of our women's group Raise the Hope, completed the Goofy Challenge last weekend in Orlando - finishing a 5K on Friday, a Half Marathon on Saturday, and a Full Marathon on Sunday. Today, she is frolicking at Disney World.

I don't even know how to address that.... I thought Raise the Bar encouraged balanced, reasonable athletic endeavors. Apparently some cog has slipped in the system.

2. Between January 1st and January 15th (the day registration opens for our 2009 team), there are officially NO members of Raise the Bar. The team simply doesn't exist. In light of this, we had 25 runners show up for a team run on January 3rd and 42 (WHAT?) folks show up for a team swim and aquajog at Covington Aquatic on January 10th.

Here we were all worried that with the crappy economy no one would come and play in triathlon land this year. We lowered registration fees, we upped the benefits..... I'm fairly certain 2009 is going to kick 2008's _______. And I'm even slightly fairly more certain that RTB in 2009 is going to kick......oh never mind.

3 Days till registration. Don't miss the boat!!

Dear Economy,

You are stealing jobs away from our friends and making our houses less valuable. You are lengthening the time between now and our retirements, and causing otherwise positive people to whine. And we are sick of it - but you can't discourage us that easily.

Perhaps you haven't come up against us triathletes before. We aren't afraid of much. We embrace the challenge that you are throwing at us!! Our jobless friends with a little extra time on their hands are TRAINING!!! They are learning to fill out online job applications from their stationary bikes. AND..while on those bikes, they've turned down their thermostats thereby saving money. HA!!!

Think you can scare us with a little rise in the gas prices, eh..... Pfffsssttt - we learned our lesson from you a few months ago. We are carpooling and combining trips and commuting on buses and bikes (weather permitting) and are empowered by the memory of your almost $5 per gallon attempt to dampen our spirits.

Triathletes aren't this easy to beat down, you know. We're used to working hard for tiny, incremental gains. Shoot, we're even used to obsessive, ridiculously hard work and losing ground! So don't think for one minute you've won. Because you haven't.

Raise the Bar is ready to face you on January 15th with a whole new game plan - by focusing on the things that really matter - building community and forming alliances and using a great army of athletes to make your threat of misery and despair a mockery.

And we will. Game on.

2009 Team Workout #1.......and more coming!

25 of us showed up for the first team workout of 2009 at the Soos Creek trail today. WHAT???????? 25????????? That could be one of the biggest non-swimming team workouts EVER. If this is any indication of the commitment the RTB triathlon team is ready to lay down this year, the other teams better WATCH OUT!

Mary Hanna is continuing with her Wednesday morning track workout starting up again on the 7th. You can do your first one for free to try it out. I know this is a tough workout for some folks to make - it's at 6AM and it's usually cold this time of year....but the many athletes that have gone to this workout over the last few years wil tell you that because of Mary's magical powers (or just plain old good coaching) they get faster. So if you're complaining about running slowly (like I do) you should come.

Next FREE team workout is a run/walk this Thursday evening at 6:30 at Lake Morton in Covington - we like to call it the Frostbite Series. Jerry Sommerman is our handsome host. Bring a headlamp or a flashlight or do what I do and run NEXT to someone that has a headlamp or a flashlight. It's lame, but it works. Lake Morton is a PERFECT 2-mile rolling loop and you can do as many loops as you like. If you're late, just wait around for 20 minutes or so and catch the next lap.

And if you're looking for EPIC pool fun, sign up RIGHT NOW HERE for next Saturday's Team Swim at the Covington Aquatic Center from 8-9AM. We will take 36 swimmers MAX. (It's $5..gotta pay for the coach and the pool time). If 36 people are in the pool this week, we'll drop the price to $5 for the next team swim on January 24....and $3 for February 7th. Let's work together here, people.

IF YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE TEAM WORKOUTS BEING IN KENT/COVINGTON, then add a comment here or email Patty and make a slick suggestion of what you'd like to see on the calendar. People from the eastside and north of here are emailing me and wanting to see RTB make landfall in other areas. And so do we..... it will take some willing souls to make some suggestions and be willing to host some workouts, though. Some of us southenders will travel around and help populate those for awhile. Again..let's work together!!

Details for everything on the calendar....

See y'all out there!

Checked off the Bucket List.....

I was wimping out on the Polar Bear Plunge until I talked with a 70-year old lady at New Year's Eve Mass last night. I asked her what she was doing to celebrate the new year and she informed me she would be crossing the LAST of her bucket list items when she did the Polar Bear Plunge at Coulon Park this morning.

Huh. 70 years old. Taking the plunge..

This gave me a renewed spirit on the whole plunge undertaking. Never mind that the ONLY officially RSVP'd RTB athlete (Kelvin) opted out this morning with some recommendation from friends that he stay home due to a cold or something. Kristin was certainly behind this.... Doris Klein was there with her family sporting the RTB colors in support....she'll go in next year, I'm sure!

But there WERE RTBers there - with big huge hearts...and goosebumps. Tina Coleman, who was at the Steilacoom 5K this morning agreed to take the plunge after the race....NICE!! Tina has a heart just about as big as they come and she needed it today to get out of that cold water without having an actual heart ATTACK.

Paul Mueller was there too. This, in retrospect, does not surprise me.
Paul lives on Lake Morton and has a hot tub and HOT shower at his beach so that when he does open water swimming in MARCH, he can warm right up.(I'll give you his address but it will cost you...) Future RTBer (I hope) Sherrie was there too... although I don't think the pictures captured her - SORRY Sherrie!!

Best thing about this event was the time involved. Bill and I left our house at 11:45 and were home by 12:20. Done. The shortest event in history. A big shirtless guy in the fuzzy hat gave the rules, and a bit of a countdown, then the 60 or so athletes did a mass beach start. The rules state you have to go under ALL THE WAY. I complied....so did Tina...I'm sure Paul did. But I think every person - including the winner who stayed in the longest - was out in under 40 seconds.

So, Bucket List, TAKE THAT!!! I think I'll write this one back in so I can do it again next year.... Tina, Paul, Sherrie, Doris and family members - SO glad you were there too.

Some photos for your viewing pleasure - Happy New Year everybody. Off to drink some hot coffee!!