left.right.repeat group -closed - Full of a bunch of winners...YEAH! (Page 45)

It was cold...I ran....there were great bands....after I finished I went back to run the end with my brother....it was cool....no, it was cold....but by the finish it had really warmed up nicely.....I had never run with 32000 people...that was wild....I didn't have a great day, but did okay.

Finish lines at 49...

sTRIve

Way to go oh fearless leader!!

yeah yeah....I know....a race report will be forthcoming but in the mean time I am looking at maybe doing a 5k this weekend....so mav....I guess I will get the 50th finish line prize....smile. 

Waiting for the race report I encourage all of you to take a look at a Rock n Roll event put on by Elite Racing...those folks know how to do this....they moved a LOT of people through the event very smoothly for the first year.....and the race bling is very cool...especially if you do multiple events.....if you do 6 of the 8 you get a super 6 medal which looks like the Superman S......very cool.

sTRIve

Hey gang,

Just checking in - I'm at a labour negotiations training session. Unbelievable location in the Laurentian Hills north of Montreal. It's cold here and snow is starting to accumulate so won't be long till ski season. Wish I could stay until then!

Notwithstanding the jam packed days, I've managed to get out for a run each day. Much needed because the food here is unbelievable - classic french cuisine - 3 courses at lunch and 5 courses at last night's dinner.

Peter (or should I say, Pierre)

We hit 50 at a 5k finish line on Saturday.....I was in Arizona and ran a charity run.

Big announcement later tonight or tomorrow.......BIG!!!   VERY BIG!!!!!

sTRIve

sTRIve.....

what a word...what a concept...what a group....

Here goes for 2009.....there was a hint in the prior post....some of you may have caught on....be honest......did you get it????

The charity 5k was the Chances for Kids 5k run in conjunction with Ironman Arizona which was held yesterday.  I was onsite at 5:15am and did the whole spectator/volunteer thing....what an amAZing day.....smile at my own bad joke....I will be putting some pics up on the blog and will let you know when they are up....I took hundreds of pics.....I was onsite all day and through the night....was at the finish line as a catcher from 8-12pm...what an experience....by the way, I caught a guy who did 7 Ironmans this year to bring his total to 106 in his life.  Also, we had a lady miss the cut off by 1 minute and 33 seconds....I thought I was going to cry.

By the way, I was back there at 6:30 this morning....does anyone know what happens the morning after an Ironman?  Maybe I should just say, if you ever want to volunteer at an Ironman event....why not pick Ironman Arizona in 2009....it's on November 22.....maybe you can catch me when I finish.....yep, that's it folks, I am in.....OMG what have I done?

I didn't want to say anything until it was official but it has been killing me not to spill the beans....you all are the first to know.  By the way, Tempe is very nice this time of year.....and I cannot even begin to tell you how unbelievable being on site is and watching the day unfold with drama, comedy, cameraderie, injury, heartbreak, sickness, delirium, exhilaration, I have never seen a wider array of human emotion. 

So the journey begins....364 days....

sTRIve

B-man is dee-man!!

Wow, if there was some way I could scam a trip to Tempe AZ next year to watch and/or volunteer I would.  That is HUGE news and I'll be so keen to see how your training goes over the next year.

Sadly I had no time to hop online yesterday to wish y'all a Happy Thanksgiving. My day was incredibly hectic due to back-to-back-to-back meetings. Then it was off to run class and at 7 pm I finally headed home only to find out that the two bridges that cross the Saint John river from downtown to where I live were closed due to accidents. What are the odds that there would be concurrent accidents? So, I ended up staying where I was since I had to pick up Mrs FBP after her night class at 9. When she didn't call my cell by 9:30 I tried our home number and she was there. A class mate had given her a ride home. Sheeesh!

Weather this week has been quite mild so all the snow that fell last weekend whilst I was away has now disappeared. Won't be long though mav till we're up to our ___ in it!

One more week until my run class "graduation" event, the Santa Shuffle 5k. My group ran 2 x 10:1 plus 6 (in other words 26 minutes of running and 2 minutes of walking) last night and covered 3.75km so I told them that there's no doubt that they can do the extra 1.25 km come race day!!

Several of my staff took the day off today to head to Maine for "Black Friday" shopping. Remember it's our sacred duty to support the economy these days and keep that currency circulating !!

Have a great weekend everyone.

sticka

I think you should all try to vacation in Tempe in November 2009.....smile.  It was a great great trip and event and adventure....

I promise if you ever volunteer as a finish line catcher on the last shift, you WILL do an Ironman....it was amazing.  I am putting together the slide show for my blog.

I have also decided to do the IMAZ for charity.  I am going to be raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  I have an employee who is currently battling cancer, my mom is a survivor, it killed my dad and both of Debbie's parents.  I think every single one of us has been touched by the disease or undoubtedly will be.  I have done quite a bit of research on the Lance Armstrong Foundation and really like that they work with survivors as well as just channel money into research.  In case you don't know, they offer a survivors guide to anyone going through it for free.

By the way, I am 357 days away from my Ironman....

sTRIve

B

FBP - do we have another finish line?  Wasn't your running group deal this week?  Did you run?

All - I have an idea and I would like your feedback.  I want to keep us fresh and vibrant and I also want you all to participate in a mentor role which you have all seemed to dodge a bit when I have brought it up so here is the idea.  The idea is that we just grow our group...basically to create a group mentoring situation.  You all have so much to give to others and I wantt to keep us together so what I was thinking was that we open this up for a few more folks to join us - the re-close it and basically create a command structure with the five of us (or six if we can find Flipper) providing advice and we can grow a little.  The other options are to change nothing and just be great alone, or to have each of you sign up to mentor your own group. 

Let me know what you think....or just tell me to shut up.

sTRIve

I don't feel ready yet to serve as a mentor on my own but I am all for your notion Bryan of expanding the group and being a "mentor collective". Hopefully that's not too left-wing, socialist, commie-like for you   .

Race day for my group is tomorrow (Saturday). I had 9 at the last group practise run last night and we did 2 x 10:1 and everyone did great. I think there will be a couple more from the group at the race. All told about 60 registrants and all funds raised support the Salvation Army christmas fund.

I've signed up for a swim class starting in January. Same concept as last winter - one night a week for an hour. Goal is to get in 2 or 3 other swims per week.

Had a conference call last evening for the "Blind Guys Tri Team" that I will be part of as a guide next summer. I am a little daunted by the  fundraising expectation but I'll "get er dun" I'm sure. 

Work has been crazy busy these last few weeks hence m absence from this forum. Hopefully it'll be a little calmer after next week is over.

No snow here in Freddy Beach as of yet. e've been watching reports of snow in many places south of here though so in time we will be getting our dose of reality. For the moment I am enjoying it though.

TTFN

sticka

You guys all crack me up....you are certainly qualified to mentor on your own but I thought this would be a great way to keep us all motivated.

FBP - what is your fundraising goal?

I am going to do the Janus Charity Challenge for IM Arizona....so guard your wallets folks...my website is being built and you can guess who's going to get the first emails...smile....I certainly expect to be solicited for a donation for your efforts FBP as well.

I like the collective idea....sorta like a commune....wow...are most of us old or what?

sTRIve

Speak for yourself Bryan....old...not me

 Add another finish line. I did a 5K Jolly Jaunt through Boston to benifit Special Olympics. My son Brian ran with me as well as my friend Lisa. Brian is planning on doing his first tri in the Spring. I'm excited!!!I finished in 28:52...not a PR but still a decent time for me.

 I joined the "Get you a$$ on the trainer challenge" on BT and I have been riding my trainer daily. I can hardly think of anything more boring but its my goal to improve my bike strength for the HIM I have scheduled in the Spring. I'm also taking swimming lessons and working on improving my stroke. I'm considering trying to find a 10K open water swim this coming season...I know it sounds crazy but it would be a huge challenge. We'll see.

 Hope you are all enjoying your holiday season. HO HO HO!!!!

Add another finish line to the count - the 5K Santa Shuffle happened yesterday.

I could not be more proud of my Learn To Run class members. All who were scheduled to run (9 out of our original 14) did and every one of them did great. One finished in 27 minutes - smokin' fast for a first timer wouldn't you say? Mrs FBP ran with one of my class members who I was a little worried about and she got him to the finish line "upright and smiling" which was important because his wife and 2 young boys were there to cheer him on. I was like a proud papa. Didn't actually run the race because I wanted to be able to take pictures of them all so I sprinted ahead, stopped, sprinted ahead, etc.  Worked out great as I got some good pics for their memory books. Best of all, I heard many of them saying how hooked they are now !! So, Mission Accomplished. 

Salvation Army received $6500 from the event - they do such important work in the community so that was a great result.

Byran - my fund raising goal for the Blind Guys Tri Team is $5000. About half of that is for the purchase of tandems that will be used not only for this event but also for future Tri's and other events such as the Ride To Conquer Cancer  so that more visually impaired athletes will be able to participate. I am hoping that the biggest chunk of my fundraising will come from service clubs, especially the Lions (who are known as the "Knights of the Blind" due to a pledge they made to Helen Keller) and Rotary Clubs.

Yesterday weather was FANTASTIC for running - clear and a bit cold - but we've received a bunch of snow overnight so glad it's not today.

Pete

Finish lines updated to 53....wow....not bad for a small group

Mav - you are nuts! a 10k swim.....NUTS I say, NUTS!  By the way, did you upgrade?  You have a gold medal by your name.....I am impressed....

sTRIve

 Bryan re the gold membership...It was a sale...you know I love to shop. I actually did it because  of the training plan and online coaching. I figured I would be needing a little help with the training/completion of the HIM. I am NOT nuts for wanting to swim long...OK maybe a little. I just think it would be a huge challenge and unbelieveable accomplishment.

 We checked on the results of yesterdays race. It was a clock race...no timing chips. We started in the back of the pack and it was a minute before we actually got over the start line. My son ran with me for the first 1/4 mile...then took off . He finished in 23:24...something like 7:23's and this doesnt reflect the lousy start. The boy is fast!!! Done bragging

 Pete...congrats! What a wonderful job you did coaching and mentoring. It really is an accomplishment to get people to actually change their lifestyles and become fit. Post pics...I want to see!

I did 200 minutes on my trainer today. My legs are fine but, butt is not!!!!NO COMMENTS

 We need to open this group up...I dont want to be the lone female...Juanita if you are lurking...I'm lonely!!!!!

We will open it up as soon as Ron gets things set up and we will try to add men and women.....although MAV really, you hold your own just fine.....at least until you set up the butt jokes!!!!

That said, it is amazing to me how fast you lose the callous.

sTRIve

no posts in 3 days....wow....I know you must all be training your b*tts off!!!  LOL!!!

Where are ya'll?   Maybe I will have to search out other sites....

sTRIve

... oh ya ...training too much to be able to write ... NOT

This week, I will TRI to get my training mojo back !!