Chicago Tribune: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on his performance in the Chicago Triathlon where he finished ninth out of 80 in his age group:
“You may say I’m unfit to be mayor, but you can never say I’m an unfit mayor."
OK, that's one of the better finishing quotes I've heard. Probably written by some speechwriter.
Two deaths in this weekend's New York Triathlon and the NY Times' headline is "Death During Swim Renews Questions About Event’s Safety."
...what? Stays together? We're about to find out! Good luck to the five Timex employees competing in Ironman Lake Placid on July 24.
Middlebury, CT – July 20, 2011 – Timex, a leader in outdoor and sports performance timepieces, today announced that five employees from its sales and marketing teams will toe the line together on July 24 in Lake Placid, NY, and attempt to conquer the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run.
Cumulatively, the group has completed eight Ironman triathlons, however Ironman Lake Placid will mark the first time they will all compete head-to-head in the same venue.
Lake Placid will mark the fourth Ironman race in the careers of Keith Meyer, Manager of Event Marketing and Sponsorships, and Brett Jacobson, Account Executive, Sports, as well as the sophomore appearances of Dave Schultz, Vice President of Sales, and Jason Tillinghast, Product Manager for Advanced Products. Heberto Calves, Vice President of Marketing, will seek to add “Ironman” to his title after several Ironman 70.3 finishes.
Training for and competing in Ironman events has allowed each member of the team to shape a unique approach to their respective roles, grounded in personal sacrifice, a passion for the sport and first-hand understanding of athletes’ needs.
“I've been kicked at the swim start, longed to get off the bike to start running at mile 95, and had my hamstrings tighten uncontrollably at mile 15 of the run,” said Schultz. “So when I talk to athletes about our product, I know exactly where they are coming from and what their needs are.”
Ironman Lake Placid is the second oldest Ironman in North America and serves as a qualifying event for the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI. More than 2,500 athletes will enter the calm waters of Mirror Lake for the mass start swim before riding and running through the Adirondacks and passing by the historic landmarks from the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Pictures to follow. Rock on Team Timex!
From Fitsugar.com, here's a year-ending list of 2010's fitness trends;
Top-10 Triathlon Towns, from Triathlete Magazine. At least three are on my list of "places I'd like to call home someday."
"World Triathlon Corp., whose signature long-distance event, the Ford Ironman World Championship, is taking place in Hawaii this Saturday, plans to add 13 U.S. triathlons to its 2011 lineup that will cover only 31.9 miles, which is the distance used for triathlons in the Summer Olympic Games. World Triathlon will dub its new series 5150, a reference to the 51.5-kilometer length of the Olympic race, but the affiliation with Ironman will be highly visible."Predictably, some Ironman veterans are questioning whether an Olympic-distance Ironman is really an Ironman or just a gimmick from World Triathlon's new owners - Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm bent on squeezing every dollar of incremental revenue out of a fast-growing sport.
"Triathlon participation is booming. The number of racers grew to 1.2 million U.S. triathletes in 2009, an 11% jump from 2008 and a 50% jump from 2007, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.
"Dues-paying members of USA Triathlon—typically triathletes who compete in four or more races a year—stand at 135,000, up from 100,674 in 2007.
"USA Triathlon surveys show that the average income of the triathlete exceeds $125,000 a year. Many triathletes spend thousands a year on bicycles, swim gear, running shoes and travel, making the sport popular among corporate sponsors. At independent bike dealers, unit sales of triathlon bikes jumped 24% this year through August, while unit sales of wet suits jumped 40%, according to Leisure Trends Group, a research firm based in Boulder, Colo.
"But participation in triathlon diminishes with length. A 2009 USA Triathlon survey found that only 17% of triathletes had finished an Ironman race in the past year. But 58% had finished an Olympic-distance race. The popularity of the shorter distance in part reflects the inclusion since 2000 of the 31.9-mile triathlon as an Olympic event."
Hardest vs. easiest Half-Ironman 70.3 triathlon courses, based on average finishing time.
Armstrong says he'll start at the half-Ironman distance
From The Wall Street Journal's Health & Wellness column, here's how a busy CEO works Ironman training into her hectic schedule, and all that gear into her budget. (Note: registration may be required to read the article.)
From the book "Triathlon Training" by Eric Harr, via Men's Health Magazine, here are "20 Great Reasons To Do A Triathlon."
CNN's Campbell Brown gets "Up Close and Personal" with Lance Armstrong.
A triathlon news mash-up from my vantage point in the Great Suburban Outback. I tri, I see, I search, I read, I blog. All you gotta do is read...
The words in question? "Thank you!"
"Months of planning and effort go into enlisting the small army of volunteers required to make possible a streamlined Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon. So overwhelming was the task last year, volunteer coordinator Mary Toffolon swore she'd never do it again.“'I was exhausted,' said Toffolon, who also runs the triathlon club at the Wilmington YMCA. “I thought to myself, ‘I can't do this again.' It was fun, but … it just consumed my life for months.”
But after recuperating, Toffolon read triathlon forums on the Internet. “After reading them, I thought, ‘I can't not be involved',” said Toffolon. “It was so clear how involved the volunteers were. It can be a make-or-break situation if the volunteers are good or not.”'Volunteers aren't out there for the challenge of racing or a finisher's medal. Civic pride and some free coffee seem to be enough. But adding your heartfelt 'thanks' for their assistance increases the likelihood they'll come back next year and bring along some friends.
A very idiosyncratic triathlon news summary:
Another IM Florida death...another lawsuit.
Great data on triathletes and the sport of triathlon, from USA Triathlon. Among other things,
"Triathlon participation in the United States is at an all-time high, following unprecedented growth over the past 10 years. USA Triathlon can easily track the surge through its membership numbers, which surpassed 115,000 annual members in early 2009. To put that into perspective, annual membership hovered between 15,000 and 21,000 from 1993 to 2000."
"On average, triathletes are from high socio-economic backgrounds with median incomes of $126,000, however, their motivators and mindset are different, creating a significant opportunity for the triathlon community to serve them better and in more targeted ways. Unlike many consumers, they are spending cautiously but on average intend to spend as much in 2009 as they did in 2008. In fact, 45 percent would rather spend discretionary income on triathlon with three of seven segments exceeding 65 percent and one nearly 80 percent."
"In general,
- Older athletes do more races.
- 95% participate for the personal challenge.
- 87% participate to stay in shape.
- On average, they participated in 4.2 triathlons during the previous 12 months.
- 86% plan to do longer races in the future.
- Sprint triathlon remains the most popular, with those events attracting participation of more than three quarters of respondents."
Here's a link to Betsy Delcour's Xtri interview with triathlon coach Luis Vargas. Interestingly, "...training too hard" is the most common mistake he sees among the age grouper set.
Several young Chicago-area triathletes express disappointment over the IOC's choice of Rio de Janeiro as host city for the 2016 Olympics. They aren't the only ones.
Ironman champion Craig 'Crowie' Alexander uses his iPhone to give fans unusual "spur of the moment" access to a professional triathlete's life. Described as "Twitter meets reality TV", Crowie's Backstage app (available free from iTunes) delivers training secrets, race preparation, travels and even family time.
