Ironman Arizona 2008 Photos

We arrived in Arizona Friday evening, and its been non stop ever since. We hosted two Ironman participants (Merilee and Neil) and had a blast cheering for everyone on Sunday. Kerry and I took a ton of photos, and although many of you have seen Kerry's FB albums, I wanted to post a few of my favorites here.

While temped to stand in line to register for IMAZ 2009 Monday morning, my arm was twisted (thanks JH), and I'm excited and finally COMMITTED to my A race for 2009-Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3. Most of you know why we'd pick that one...Yup, we will give it our best shot to earn the opportunity to head back to KONA next October. Thanks for getting that ball rolling Merilee, and congrats on your Golden Ticket! You made us ALL so darn proud on Sunday!

TriMama in T1 before heading to the water.
It was still pretty dark for the Pro start at 6:50am.

Notice the athlete sitting on the right side...The race had started, but I think he was having second thoughts...Was it the 62 degree water, or the 140.6 miles ahead???

Gear West teammate, and first year Pro Neil Miller heading out of T1.
First Year pro Haley Cooper. After Kona, I knew she was ready for a big day... She ended up finishing 6th and taking home $$. Awesome.
Casey heading out on the bike. Total Mayhem at the start... It looks like a bike race?!?

Tanya Knoll heading out on the bike
Heidi Grimm-I first met Heidi when she went flying by me on the run of the 2006 BOUS Championship. She went on to capture the title before turning pro later that year.
Lars holding true to running the entire marathon. According to FB, he's now in hibernation.
Tri Super Hero Joe Boness...Amazing doesn't even begin to describe him.
Rappstar in the lead after a smoking 4:26 bike split.
Lieto
I'm pretty sure Haley was a little scared...I cheered like crazy for her all day, but she has no idea who I am.
After a flat tire on the bike, Anthony rallies back for a great finish.
Go Tanya GO!
Here I am cheering for MN Tri Ambassador Steve Gunther.
Doe...or no socks guy. Let's not forget that the IMAZ course is mostly concrete...OUCH!

Best buddies Nate and Carl. It was so neat to see them running togther.
Pam Neilson sporting her Corporate Target attire.




Casey running her way to a PR 11 hour Ironman. Congrats!
Merilee, 48 years young, running her way to a PR 10:54 and KONA slot. We love you Merilee, thanks for making it such a fun weekend.
Pam in her first Ironman finishing in 10:35. WOW!
I was able to do the finish chute catch for Merilee!




HAPPY Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Tri Night Photo Recap

As expected, it was wonderful to see so many friendly faces come together to celebrate our wonderful Tri community. I was buzzing around most of the night taking care of loose ends and managing the silent auction so I didn't get too much time to chat, but I did manage to sneak into a few photos throughout the evening.
The wonderful MCs for the evening. Julie and Steve dazzling the crowd with their matching ensemble and classy charm. You guys were great!

The amazing Jeremy Sartain accepting the Thorpe Running Inspiration award. Jeremy is such a deserving recipient after he demonstrated what it really means to overcome adversity and use God given spirit and strength to defy the odds.
Julie and I with 3 time Olympian Hunter Kemper. It was such a special treat to have Hunter in attendance. He told great stories and most importantly used the platform to spread awareness and raise fund for his favorite charity. The AT Children's Project. We raised over $1600 in the silent auction and generated close to $3000 in T-shirt sales with all $$ going straight to the charity.
BFFs Jen, Julie and Julie. There's no way I would love triathlon without this crew. This girls make it all worthwhile

Kate Monster and Marky Mark...A spirited Duo indeed!!!

The Brains behind Tri Juice and Tri Mapper. Nick Moralis.
Lenarz...thanks for the photos girl (pulled them off your FB album).

Sarah, Merilee and Jmac. I get to Sherpa for Merilee this weekend at IMAZ. I can't wait to watch her put on a show around Tempe town Lake.

IronMom Jenny (middle) always makes me smile! She's one of the most unique, free spirited, fun loving people in the world (not an exaggeration). She looked smashing modeling the new clothes coming to Jeremy's new bike store. Trimama on the right...I'm just getting to know Kerri, but I'll be cheering loudly for her this weekend at IMAZ.
The Banquet Planning Committee posing with Hunter Kemper


To cap a great evening, I captured my second consecutive Triathlete of the Year award and also picked up my 2nd Performance of the Year award for my AG win/2nd OA at AG Nationals. It was a real honor considering all the amazing nominees this year. None of this is taken for granted, and I'll be working very hard to stay in this company next year. We have a lot of great developing talent among the local tri scene, so there's plenty of excitement ahead.

I think we pulled into the driveway at 2am Sunday morning... Enough said!

TRI Night 2008- This Saturday!!

If you're looking for a good time, and a little inspiration, join us for the 10th Annual Tri Night Banquet Saturday night. Currently we have Approximately 250 people registered, and 300 is our capacity. I believe its shaping up to be the greatest yet!

Although this event was Jerry and Trudy's (midwestevents) creation, in 2006 the community stepped in to assist with the production. Many of you know, J&T as the creators of the Best Of The US RACE, and with that gigantic endeavor in its infancy, we knew they wanted a little help keeping the banquet alive. A committee of Die hard Tri geeks was formed (jerry included), and we've been running the show ever since.

Here are a few highlight on tap for the evening:

HUNTER KEMPER : First of ALL, we have an amazing guest speaker; Hunter had an amazing 7th place finish in Beijing in August, which was his third Olympic games. In addition to being a three-time Olympian, Kemper is a six-time US Elite National Champion, 2005 United States Olympic Committee's Sportsman of the Year, 2005 World Ranked #1, and 2003 Pan American Games Gold Medalist. And he's coming right here to Minnesota to talk to you, bringing some really cool one of a kind items to auction off for his favorite charity. Bring your Kleenex and your checkbook, you may never get another chance like this.

The MENU: Most ingredients are organic and/or sustainable. Think about how much you would pay for this food, and with a $30 ticket price. It's like we're paying you to show up! Appetizers include: Lox, Small chicken Skewers, Cheese Tray,Fruit Tray, and The Dinner Buffet includes: Gumbo w/dirty rice, Roasted Butternut squash soup w/ candied pecans, Thai Carrot Ginger Soup (Vegan) , Roasted Pork roulade Chef Carved w/ jus, Seared Sole Roulades w/ vin blanc, Braised Pearl Barley, Tabbouleh w/Quinoa, Paella of chicken, shellfish and linguica, Grill roasted vegetables with pine nut pesto, Jerk chicken and tofu , Caribbean fried rice, Spinach salad with smoked tomato vinaigrette, blue cheese and bacon, Endive Salad with roasted shallot vinaigrette and toasted walnuts, Assorted Dinner Rolls and herbed butter , Assorted dessert trays. ANYONE HUNGRY YET?


The RAFFLE: You must attend to win the stuff. Our awesome sponsors have donated over $3000 of prizes for you to win. Things like Louis Garneau custom molded carbon tri shoes, custom foot beds, fit kits, aero helmets, Speedplay pedals, thermic footbeds (nice toasty feet warmers with rechargeable battery), wetsuits. and all other kinds of stuff like free entries to races, etc.


The ATTENDEES: You will get a chance to mingle with many of your friends and competitors in a super setting where no one is wearing spandex (at least not the tri suit kind). Make some new friends for off season and next season training and socializing. Triathlon is a lifestyle and it's the people that make it fun. Come experience it even if this is your first year in triathlon, over half the attendees at any given event will be newbie's and Tri Night 2008 is no exception. Who' knows what's in store for you: I know at least one couple who met on Tri Night (LARS & EMILY/married in KONA in 2006)!


The AWARDS: Although this may sound a little crazy, I credit this banquet (specifically the work of Jerry and Trudy), for the majority of my triathlon specific development. I remember receiving a call from the famous Jerry McNeil 6 years ago inviting me to the Banquet. Awards are presented Academy awards style, and I had received a nomination for Rookie of the year. Although I did not win the award, and despite knowing very few people in the tri community, I had a wonderful time. As the awards were presented for Triathlete of the Year, Duathlete of the Year, Master of the year etc. and I watched the amazing athletes (Jan Guenther, Emily Deppe, Kim Fordham-Lien) graciously accept their awards, I found myself thinking about how I could get myself back on the nomination list the following year. Then I heard it...The Most improved award...That was it:: It had become MY motivation to figure out this crazy sport... and for that I am so grateful!!

This year, we've added a few meaningful Peoples Choice Awards. These awards are voted on my the community and include: Volunteer of the Year, Spirit of Triathlon, Most Enthusiastic Rookie, and Best Race Swag.

I've also received word that the Thorpe Running Inspiration award will BE A REAL Tear jerker this year...I guarantee you, you DON"T want to miss this!!!!

The PARTY: ...just trust me on this one! See you there. a few photos from Tri Night 2007.



Tri night 2007-based on Julie's baseball cap, i'm pretty sure this was at the end of the evening.



Our hotel room Pre banquet.


SWAT team member JL. LOVE you girl.

Severe Endorphin Confusion

It’s hard to believe I’ve been enjoying my off season for over a month now. We had the most amazing post Ironman vacation in Hawaii; however as you can imagine, re-entry to the real world was a challenge. While being focused on planning, training, and performing all season (I raced 15 times), the off season initially proved to be a shock to the system… Severe Endorphin Confusion (SEC) to say the least!

I’m happy to report that I’m currently well adjusted to my off season, maybe just a little too much. This time has proven extremely valuable for me as I’ve had time to think, reconnect, and start planning for what lies ahead. Some specific activities include: Participating in Happy Hour at work, visiting the in-laws, taking off beat web development classes, learning new tricks on FAT tires, crashing on roller skis, helping plan the EOY Tri banquet, joining FCA huddles, and experimenting with some unusual RAW recipes. Oh yes, and more significantly I interviewed and was offered a new job.

This internal job opportunity was brought to my attention at the end of September. It sounded like a great position, but I only had one day to get a resume together and submit my application. It was a rushed operation, but figured it would be a good learning experience regardless of outcome. I was invited to a first round interview the Monday after the US OPEN/ also the day before I left for KONA. I felt extremely scattered, and wasn’t expecting to hear from them afterwards. Off to Hawaii I went, and didn’t think much about it!! To my delight, I was invited back for Round 2, and the next day I was offered the job. To be honest, I was hopeful, however realistically, not expecting to get the job. When the offer arrived, reality kicked in and the decision has been much harder than I thought.

The offer came last Wednesday, yet I find myself waiting until the last day to sign the letter. The new job comes with the daunting uncertainly of a new team, manager, and responsibilities. In addition, it’s an entirely new field for me, and with that comes a drop in pay. This is justified with the new learning, development and exposure, but it certainly heightens my indecisiveness. It’s tough to leave the comfort of a manager I love, who has given me the felixibilty to frequently work in AZ during the winter and is a huge supporter of my racing. Deep down however, I know my current work environment is not for me. I’m currently part of the Data Warehouse team, and my current career development path pushes me down an unappealing road. I’ve never been a big Relational Database/ Unix/ Datastage fan, and that’s where they NEED me to be. As I look around my current office and see people stressed with the constant problems and issues (that’s Technology), I realize that it’s not MY place to grow.

This new job is with my existing company; however the position is structured as a Rotational Development program with Audit. I expect to be initially placed with the Technology Audit team, but I won’t know until the program starts in January. I believe it will be a great field for me based on my experience and interests....I also spotted a poster inviting people to join their Tri/Run group- Impressive indeed!


SO....No plans for the pro card for now. I’ll save that story and my 2009 race plans for another day (hint: Ironman Wisconsin and Leadville 100 Mtn bike are on my mind in addition to a whole bunch of fun training camps).

Cheers!