January Challenge Announcement (Page 21)

Welcome, welcome

I'm Beth, the official greeter for the challenge

Dee will get you hooked up with a team - I think she's still online

I think that's backwards... she has to get him used to running with her . Although I see that she didn't make it out for the freezeroo series.....gotta buy her a coat underarmour!

Holy cow thats some mileage....makes me feel like a baby with just 20 for the month. 

January Challenge – week 1
The January Challenge has gotten off to a rockin’ start with over 100 participants – WOW.  There are lots of familiar faces and lots of new folks too, so it’s a great mix.

Thanks to everyone who is participating – Dee and I are having a great time with the challenge – I loved being the official greeter and well – Dee loves spreadsheets, so it’s a perfect match – LOL
You’ll see one or the other of us, sometimes both of us popping in and out of your threads to see if there are any questions and just cuz we like seeing what’s going on – don’t mind us if we throw in a post here and there.  And fair warning – it may or may not contain glitter

We have nine teams and I’d have to say they’ve been quite creative in coming up with team names!  Way better than what Dee and I would have come up with that’s for sure!!!

There have been some obstacles this first week for many of the teams, lots of illness, colds coughs, and the like.  Some monster storms affecting our friends in Cali – Looks like everyone is making the best of it and still getting the workouts in!  WTG!

Team Recaps (in no particular order – and the order could change from week to week)

Funky-Chrono-Monkeys of the Frozen Cinder Tundra – Captain Bluejack
(that’s Cinder, not Cider – LOL – uhh, Beth had a little typo in the team name announcement post) I seriously laugh every time I see that name! Not a lot of Monkey business going on in this team, these folks get right down to business!  They were the first with both a captain and a team name, 13 posts to be exact, and if you take out Dee’s and my posts (official business I assure you) - they accomplished the tasks in 7 posts!  They do have a team theme song click on this link and you will see what it is – although those of us that are above a certain age, will most likely guess!

Team T.I.T.S – Captain Max (aka keeper of the T.I.T.S)
One thing you can say for sure is there sure are a lot of nice T.I.T.S in this group!  And they are definitely getting their time in the saddle – I browsed through their thread looking for clever tidbits to include in the update - interestingly; most of the posts are about T.I.T.S – go figure!?  LOL.  Most quotable quote from our dear Sharon, (who is sporting a lovely new avatar)  “Be gentle with yourself, one must always be very gentle when building up to multiple T.I.T.S. activity.”  - LOL, this one had Dee speechless!

Wet and Wild – Captain Jeni
This team is hard core – one of their members Out4atime even did a Polar Bear Plunge – it didn’t count toward a lot of yardage, but sure did earn a lot of respect!  There’s a great pic in their thread if you want to check it out.  Eric, quickly caught on that Dee posts a lot (Dee do you seriously think he wants glitter in his inspires? – LOL)

Side note – has anyone else noticed the high view to post count ratio for Teams T.I.T.S and Wet and Wild?  What do you suppose people are looking for?  LOL!

Team Ride Lots – Captain Scott
Choices, choices, should the team roster be green, pink or red – YIKES that red was hard on the eyes.  Not a chatty team, but lots of support and they are ready to go the Distance! (more chatting would be good, otherwise I’ll have to start making things up – JK!)

Scrambled Legs – Captain1for1
There has been some great running advice coming from these team members!  Not to mention, sharing of play lists, talk of post padding – and a pic of Scrambled eggs – now that didn’t take long at all!  LOL – the Scrambled Eggs were the first to receive a little ‘trash talk’ in their thread – you can be sure a witty response was quickly posted – Let the games begin!

Loving Every Mile – L.E.M. - Captain Lisa
These folks really do Love to Run!  They are chalking up the mileage and doing a great job of encouraging each other.  Hazmaster confessed his true feelings for the group over the weekend – LOL, don’t worry, it’s all good – How did this team end up with so many “L”s?  verrry interesting – Lisa are you requiring those whose names don’t start with “L” to come up with an alias for the rest of the challenge? Haha!

Flying Fish – Captain Kendra
Maybe they should have called themselves the Talking Tilapia instead of the Flying Fish! Captain Kendra threw out a posting challenge – and her team has risen to the occasion – even sucking in a few unsuspecting Twisted Blisters -  LOL – man oh man can this group talk AND post pics, everything from the history of swimming to pages of pics, talk about basketball, swimsuit malfunctions – wow!  Lots of illness going on in that thread – so my advice is STAY away – it might be contagious!

Twisted Blisters – Captain Beth
Ok, so the major event early in the challenge, was Beth’s attempt at writing html code and creating one of the cool team tables – hahaha!  Well, it turned into quite the comedy of errors which was evidently pretty entertaining to watch!  Well, we got it under control and are in a fierce posting challenge with the Talking Tilapia’s.  We learned that Hector sometimes gets a headache after he drinks bear – so we think  if he switches to beer, he will be much better off.  Julie sometimes talks to herself, but we love her for that!

Who’s your Marmadaddy? – Captain Sal
High expectations of this team (“with a name like that……..”– some illness on the Marmadaddy team, but they are keeping their spirits up and there is lots of teasing and banter going on – One of their newer members is Sam the dog, who has a blog? (LOL- sorry, couldn’t resist)

It's Challenge update time! There are 121 people participating in the challenge this month. And now.... Here are the team standings through January 6th: (Cue the drum roll, please!.... You'll have to scroll down because for some reason, the table is wayyyy down the page!)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SCRAMBLED LEGS!

BUT remember that this is only the FIRST week of the challenge! January is only 22.6% completed. There's still time to help your team achieve that #1 ranking! So get out there and Swim/Bike/Run!... And then Swim/Bike/Run some more! Dee and Beth

 Updated - due to changes in the Team Ride Lots spreadsheet.

CONGRATULATIONS TO WHO'S YOUR MARMADADDY?!

BUT remember that this is only the SECOND week of the challenge! January is only 41.9% completed. There's still time to help your team achieve that #1 ranking!

So get out there and Swim/Bike/Run!... And then Swim/Bike/Run some more!

Dee and Beth

The 'World according to Beth' will be published tomorrow, there were some delays in getting up to the minute information since the lead reporter was entertaining weekend guests among a variety of other life changin activities

Something to look forward to ( the stats are the more important part anyway - so thanks to Dee!)

January Challenge Week 2 (aka, The World According to Beth)

Swim, bike, run, post, post, post!  The cornerstones of the January Challenge! 

Ok, so posting really isn’t one of the triathlon sports, and really has nothing to do with the January challenge, although early in week 2 you wouldn’t have known that based on the posting activity of the Talking Tilapia Flying Fish and the Twisted Blisters!  Members of both teams took the posting challenge to heart and members of each team valiantly tried to out post each other.  They even started to resort to replying to each other’s posts within their own thread (ummmm, certainly nothing yours truly would have done) – LOL!!  Captains Kendra and Beth called a truce and started new threads and the focus is back on the challenge (although, the blisters are ahead in the post count hehehe!)

Funky-Chrono-Monkeys of the Frozen Cinder Tundra – Captain Bluejack
Be very careful when heading over to the Monkey thread to talk smack, we recently learned that they are not afraid to fling poo.  Apparently over the weekend Captain Bluejack started to resemble his avatar – ummm, you’ll have to ask him for the details.  For those running teams in the top 3 spots – (interesting how the running teams are at the top hmmmmm!) anyway – don’t write those Monkey’s off for the challenge – between injuries, colds, and vacations, they are doing quite well – I’m thinking there may be a sneak attack race to the end!

Flying Fish – Captain Kendra
No surprise that all of the Flying Fish were able to find the new thread.  If you have a burning need to learn new Fish names be sure to visit pages 44 and 45 of the first flying fish thread.  Flying Fish I, is also full of songs, pics, and posts where people are talking to themselves.  Flying Fish II has much more conversation about swimming – a few pics and some talk about football and floaters – not in the same post and NOT what you’re thinking! Happy Birthday dear Nancy, Happy Birthday to you!

Team Ride Lots – Captain Scott
A new bike for MissKelly!  Woo Hoo – that is always a fun thing – pics please???  (I missed that for last week’s update.  Apparently it’s so quiet in this thread because everyone is out riding and not posting – Rumor has it that WaterDogg66 is going to mentor the rest of the team in the art of using a computer and riding at the same time – no, no, no……not on the open road.  This activity is reserved purely for when one is on the drainer. –

Loving Every Mile – L.E.M. - Captain Lisa
Some smack talk going on between teams, and that seems to be working as this team moved up a spot in the over all rankings.  There seems to be a bit of a contest within the team around who can get up the earliest or is it who can get the least amount of sleep.  These folks always have lots of good conversation and advice around the actual topic of running – if you need any tips – this is a great thread to visit!

Who’s your Marmadaddy? – Captain Sal
The challenge within a challenge emerged this past week. Powder Puff Girls vs the Manly Men – this seems to have spurred on quite a bit of activity not just in running, but in all disciplines.  Captain Sal is now being referred to as He who shall not be named – and secret font usage is on the increase in this thread.  Oh and in case anyone is wondering as of the week 2 results posting – the men are ahead {ducking and running for cover after posting that}

Wet and Wild – Captain Jeni
Talk about some dedicated team members! Etknowles got a swim in on a day that there was ice on his windshield – ok, those folks that live in a wintery area are saying – sooo, what’s the big deal?  Well!  He swam in an outdoor pool! It was around 40 when he started and in the 50’s when he finished – brrrr – that is cold anyway you cut it, if you ask me.  Nice job on raising the team in the rankings this past week – your dedication is paying off! 

Twisted Blisters – Captain Beth
The Twisted Blisters turned in another solid week of posting and running - LOL.  Some key highlights, Hector is finally back among the living.  We’re pretty certain that it was Julie’s cure for coughing that finally brought him back (I’ll just leave it at this, I wouldn’t recommend consulting a certain pharmacist for a substitute for cough syrup.)  Some motivational pics from multiple disciplines have been posted on the thread, providing entertainment, motivation and in some cases some serious laughter.  We have team members hooking up for races, and planning to meet as folks move around the country.

Scrambled Legs – Captain 1for1
The Scrambled Legs are running along, although there has been some movement in the top three spots – it’s way to early to call it done though.  It seems that at least one member Scrambled Legs team member has the neighbors talking – I never thought about wearing a balaclava when running outside in the cold and the dark, maybe that’s because I never thought about running outside in the cold and dark, period.  They have also been exploring choices in avatars – I wonder if Dee will adopt any of the future choices?

Team T.I.T.S – Captain Max (aka keeper of the T.I.T.S)
Captain Max has special ordered BRA’s (Bicycling Resource Advisor) to help any team member who has sagging T.I.T.S.  Team T.I.T.S. seems to have adopted tupuppy and ow_lgirl as honorary team members, hmmmmm, I wonder if either of them is just in it for the T.I.T.S. – It seems that some of the team like BOOBS (Bicycling On Our Bare Streets) as an– whatever works, right!  The team has posted some pics, including some well covered T.I.T.S. and some Pom Poms – much talk about – well – I think you get the picture, and ummm, yeah – they mentioned the weather once or twice

Ok, so Dee, what shall we do for Feb??? Let's do a running challenge only...

"Hard , core, run long, build those legs, got those legs, move those legs, hoorraahh"

Military cadence still in me even after 20 years! LOL

I think by location would be good -

hmmmm, do I need to have special welcoming lingo for each of the geographic areas?

D001 - 2008-01-20 7:10 PM

lastcall2003 - 2008-01-20 8:05 PM

I think by location would be good -

hmmmm, do I need to have special welcoming lingo for each of the geographic areas?

Probably. You can be the official translator for the Feb Challenge. LOL Location, it is.

alrighty then!

lastcall2003 - 2008-01-20 8:12 PM

D001 - 2008-01-20 7:10 PM

lastcall2003 - 2008-01-20 8:05 PM

I think by location would be good -

hmmmm, do I need to have special welcoming lingo for each of the geographic areas?

Probably. You can be the official translator for the Feb Challenge. LOL Location, it is.

alrighty then!

That has my vote Dee! East Cost vs. West Cost... Central Vs. ROW... So how do we break out where we THINK they belong.. Arizona.. Hhmm... West or Central...

You know... The Men vs. Women (or is that Women vs. Men) wouldn't be bad either...

Either way, I accept to join you and Beth on the wild adventure of co-running the running party... (Did that sound right?)

CONGRATULATIONS to Who's Your Marmadaddy? This is the second week in a row that they've had the top ranking!

BUT remember that this is only the THIRD week of the challenge! January is only 64.5% completed.

And some of the teams are REALLY close to one another! There's still time to help your team achieve that #1 ranking!

So get out there and Swim/Bike/Run!... And then Swim/Bike/Run some more!

Dee and Beth

Important Challenge Announcement:

This is a team challenge, so Beth and I have decided to offer you extra incentive to help your team.

Some participants are dealing with illness, injury, or just "life in general." And we know you want your team to do well, so:

You may now achieve 120% of your goal!

Up to 120% of each person's progress will be counted in your team's percentages.

(Yes, we know that some of you have raised your goals. It's your choice whether to try to achieve 120% based upon your original goal, or your new one.)

The team with the highest percentage will WIN the Challenge.

Any team that achieves 100% (or more), will also be declared a winner, and get to display the "Winner" signature line.

We hope this provides a little incentive for you to get out there and SWIM, BIKE or RUN!

Dee and Beth

January Challenge Week 3 (aka, The World According to Beth)

There was talk about football in most of the threads, ‘tis the season isn’t it!  So, we’re down to the Giants and the Patriots for the Superbowl.  Oddly enough Little Debbie showed up in multiple threads as well, hmmmmm – ok, Dee and I confess to and apologize for hijacking some of the threads (having said that, I don’t think we can promise it won’t happen again, just feel free to kick us out )  Hey, Little Debbie and football – sounds like the makings of a party!
Great job to all of the teams!  It sounds like everyone is having fun and really challenging themselves – here we go into the final stretch!!

Funky-Chrono-Monkeys of the Frozen Cinder Tundra – Captain Bluejack
Shermbelle is Dee’s new best friend in the whole wide world – he has a distributorship for Little Debbie!  Check out the thread if you want to know more about who Little Debbie really is – Some really cold weather running going on – does that make one dedicated or nuts???

Flying Fish – Captain Kendra
A few highlights from the Talking Tilapia (LOL) – this team is hard to keep up with, they sure are chatty!  Did you know that Dee doesn’t cook, in fact that is the reason that microwaves were invented – my question is, why does she need to use a microwave when she has a magic wand? Poor Lynne was sick all week, but a little birdie told me she is feeling better today.  I think Cat is really the one with super powers – did you know she has the ability to arrive somewhere before she leaves?

Team Ride Lots – Captain Scott
Eating Loblolly while riding the trainer, takes multi-tasking to a new level, WaterDog66 continues to amaze the team with his skills in this arena.  Kenj, has taken the cue and is going to give the laptop trainer session a try (how did that go?)  In case anyone else is wondering Loblolly is Loblolly is anything thick and goopy like porridge. (Grits, Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat etc.) – little did I know that I’ve been eating Loblolly all these years when I have oatmeal  - LOL  Thank you for the pics of the new bike MissKelly! w00t w00t!

Loving Every Mile – L.E.M. - Captain Lisa
I continue to be amazed at just how much this team truly does Love Every Mile!  From Daremo’s 170+ miles for the month to ell-in-or’s PB, this team is turning in some great #’s.  Unfortunately team member rgattis has had to withdraw due to an injury – he is now the Official L.E.M. Cheerleader. (let me know if you need to borrow my pom poms )  Great job on moving up a spot in the rankings this past week! 

Who’s your Marmadaddy? – Captain Sal
Congratulations to Who’s your Marmadaddy for 2 weeks in a row in the #1 spot.  Update on the Power Puff girls vs the Manly Men; ladies are at 85.59% and the men are at 80.76%.  In case you are wondering which Power Puff girl you might be – well, you can find out by taking this handy dandy quiz – Thanks Jen! Here's a link to the quiz: http://www.valvigirl.net/quizzes/ppgquiz.html  
 

Wet and Wild – Captain Jeni
If anyone needs some inspiration you must watch this- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgoNB2164bE&feature=related . Thanks nevergivin for sharing this with your team,  all I can say is WOW!  While they didn’t quite achieve their team goal of being in the top three teams this week, they still turned in some awesome performances.  Just remember all of you other challenge teams – remember what they say about the quiet ones being the ones to watch out for……

Twisted Blisters – Captain Beth
If you want a chuckle visit the Twisted Blisters!  Julie (GirlPassingonLeft) has a knack for finding the funniest cartoons that always seem to fit the situation!  Frank (ny15298) has a new avatar (his fourth since the challenge began???)  I’m beginning to wonder if he’s trying to give Dee and Scott a run for their money – lol.  Despite some very busy schedules, the Blisters are holding steady in 2^nd place.

Scrambled Legs – Captain 1for1
Double Dog Dare’s have been issued by Captain 1for1 for certain team members to step up their goals – did they take the dare?  Although they dropped a bit in the rankings this week I would not write this team off as it is clear that losing is not a desirable option – there are some fierce competitors in this group!

Team T.I.T.S – Captain Max (aka keeper of the T.I.T.S)
The team started the week with sesh’s T.I.T.S in the Hump and apparently sagging because of beer and college football.  (ok, for the record the Hump is the nickname of MS State’s gym).  There are new T.I.T.S. in town as tupuppy became and official member of the team.  Lots of warm welcomes to Ty as he promised not to let his T.I.Ti.S  sag.  Apparently the BRA (Bicycling Resource Advisor) is working as the team has moved up a spot in the rankings.