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September 5, 2008

Good Morning TTL!  I wanted to let you know that Cindy just posted her Ironman Race Report on the forum on www.teamtrilife.com.  John and Caroline have also posted thus far, and I believe Kent is working on it!  Below is my very brief summary of a truly amazing day.  The thing I've heard the most since race day is that our team was so joyful as they raced.  I can't tell you how proud I am to all of you... regardless of the twists and turns the day through at you... to be so happy and willing to accept the challenges an Ironman day brings.  I'm pretty lucky to have had a part of your day.  I'm going to finish my race report soon and get it up.  It's not near as exciting as yours but I'll contribute!  Read on for more IMC stuff!

 Jenn, John, Tracy, Pamela, Sarah, Caroline, Nola, Trish, Cindy and Kent; you did it! 

• Pamela… you surpassed your goal and had an outstanding day.  You were so calm and relaxed on race morning…. So excited to get it done. Your day started with a smile and ended with a smile. 
• Sarah… with a flat and a smile you rocked. The bride to be was an athlete on a mission!  The flat may have slowed down your bike time but it didn’t break your spirit. Wow!
• John… problem solving was the name of your day. A problem came up, you thought out a plan to fix it, and got it done. The goal was to finish before dark! Check!
• Kent… what can I say. The finish clock gave no indication of the day you had.  A broken chain on Richter would have sent many a triathlete to the sag wagon for a ride home. You didn’t give up and even with the lost hour you kept trucking. 
• Cindy… I know at camp you were worried about your hips.  Not many women can say they had a baby and did an Ironman in a 10 month period, but you can.  Your smile was infectious.  Thanks for sharing it! and you had an outstanding day and race!
• Nola:  When I saw you in the morning and you told me you hadn’t ate anything but a gel for breakfast I was worried.  I knew it was too late to back track at that point though, and you had to move forward and start the swim.  So, nerves somewhat in check, you headed for the swim start and raced your own race.  You reached your Ironman finish line on your terms.  Way to go!
• Jenn:  I love your story about your special needs bag.  Pringles, chocolate… all your favorite things and not one piece went into your mouth!  I know your gut didn’t cooperate through the day, and I suspect you might not want a jelly bean for a few days, but you kept moving forward.  Ironman can now be checked off your list of things to do. It’ll still be here if you decide to do it again one day. It’s hard to keep moving when you can’t eat. Somehow you got it done, and I’m thrilled you got your time on the blue carpet!
• Caroline:  The days leading up to the race were tough especially Saturday. You were in so much pain with your shoulder that I honestly didn’t know if you’d be able to race on Sunday.  Everything about you… your face, body language, voice... indicated nothing but pain.  When I saw you on the out and back smiling and waving I was shocked! You were having the race of your life! I’m still not sure where it came from, but I’m thrilled you found the magic on race day. 
• Tracy:  What can I say. You were a student of Ironman.  You absorbed every new piece of info and applied your learning in training.  It paid off on race day. The big goal was to run strong home from OK falls. You set yourself up to do that, and with a conservative day finished strong. Congratulations. 
• Trish… I haven’t had a conversation with you yet, so my little “Trish” ditty is based on what others saw.  “Trish was smiling and moving forward”. “Trish looked good.”  “Trish was amazing when she crossed the finish line. She couldn’t stop smiling!”.  Based on that Trish I’d say you had an outstanding day.  I knew you’d do it. I didn’t doubt it for one second and I was right. I wish I had been there to see you finish. Congratulations.

September 2, 2008

We've had some pretty amazing results in the last few weeks with Team Tri Life athletes going to the start line with outstanding results!  I'm working on my race report which talks about the Ironman Athletes, all of whom were successful although we did have a few mechanical challenges thrown at 2 of our athletes.  Sarah and Kent forged on in spite of the lost time to bike issues.

 Other athletes who have had amazing race days...

• Leslie Ann broke the one hour barrier in the Taber Cornfest 10k finishing in a time of 57 minutes!  To top it off she got a bronze medal and 3rd in her AG!  Way to go LA!
• Christine ROCKED a sprint tri in Lacombe yesterday... she "raced" the 5k for the first time in her life and was thrilled with her efforts, as was I!  Christine also raced at the Strathmore Ladies Only Tri, and thats the day she decided she really does want to be an athlete!  It took her to the start line in Lacombe and it all turned out great!
• Richelle had an outstanding day at the Kelowna Apple to finish 6th in her AG and have a 6 min Olympic Distance PR!  Richelle was also second overall at the Strathmore Women's tri with the fastest bike split of the day!
• Michelle and Karen met in Manitoba... an odd statement, but who knew 2 TTL jerseys would show up at the same race in Manitoba!  They both raced extremely well on a course that they described as spectacular!  Karen ended up 2nd in her AG and Michelle pushed herself to a new level of racing and like Christine, was thrilled with the outcome!
• Karen also had an outstanding day at the Strathmore women's tri!  She was 2nd in her age group and 8th overall!  WOW!
• Maureen:  Mo has had a rough year with bumps and bruises. She really didn't think she should do Strathmore, but a little birdie named Richelle got on her case to do it! Mo ended up on the podium in her Age Group, and despite the bumps and bruises did a handstand on the stage as she recieved her medal!  WOW!
• Joanne Zawada also raced the Apple Tri.  She had a course pr of 11 minutes on a day that saw very few athletes have best times over last year!  Joanne is on her way to Ironman Canada next year as is Richelle.
• Laura Green did the ING Half Marathon walk in Edmonton a few weeks back and had a big course PR at that event too.  Laura is working on building her run volume and I expect to see some run results for her soon! CONGRATS on the pr at this one Laura!
• Susan Edmunds had a tough day at Strathmore on the bike and run as injuries have kept her from training at her usual level.  What she has been working on however is her swim, and she shattered any previous bests in the pool with a huge pr! Once she gets the injuries under control she'll take her new prowess in the pool and watch her times fall in tri's!
• Toni Jaques is joining TTL this fall but is my number one running parnter! Toni was also on the podium in Strathmore and just missed the podium with a HUGE pr at the Heart of the Rockies OD tri in August!  I very much look forward to coaching Toni to her first half Ironman race in 09!

I hope I haven't missed anyone.  I'll get the Ironman update out soon.