Dec Newsletter

Checkout our December newsletter!
DECEMBER TRI NEWSLETTER (<--click here)
2011 is going to be a phenomenal year with athletes racing all over the US and even internationally! We currently have athletes from Afghanistan to the UK to the Pacific Northwest to SoCal, and to the snowy Mid-west and Texas and Florida, to name a few!  Invite your friends and tell your family that you've joined this unique community!
Highlight previews for 2011-

• Weekly blog posts with interviews from Team RWB Pro-Triathletes, Age Groupers, and more!
• Race Reports
• Training tips
• Team uniforms
• Team racing events, tailgates, and tournaments
• LOTS OF AWARENESS AND FUNDS RAISED IN HONOR OF OUR WOUNDED VETS! 

 Want to know about what Team RWB has been up to in 2010?
Here is an example:
Team RWB Army/Navy Tailgate

and check out Team RWB on Facebook

and Team RWB Triathlon on Facebook:

And follow Team RWB on Twitter at @TeamRWB and Team RWB Tri at @TeamRWBTri

Happy Holidays! Get ready to train and race for heroes in 2011!

Team RWB Woodlands 10K

Happy Veteran's Day to those whose served and continue to serve! This is the time of year that we celebrate the service and sacrifices of so many, and it's fitting for athletes to do so by helping to raise money for Team RWB. Chris did that for us in Houston this year by organizing a 10k run in the Woodlands. Tiffany and I were able to participate in the race along with 186 other runners, and it was great to see so many people walking around sporting Team RWB shirts and gear. We had all ages and types of athletes, including a 16 year old race winner and one age group winner who wasn't at the awards ceremony because he was still out running additional mileage for training. The race was really well done for it's size, kudos to those who set it up and volunteered. The only part that didn't cooperate was the weather. It was windy and raining on and off with temperatures in the high 50s. But most folks were prepared and we really only had one cold shower while in line for the packet pickup. The course wound it's way through several neighborhoods, and had one waterway crossing with some stairs and a couple of wet grass inclines, I love the unexpected diversions. Our finishes were good as we prepare for the 1/2 marathon in Memphis in a couple of weeks. I already did my long run this week, so I was able to push and finish in 46:01. I had a nice battle with a 22 year old soldier over the last mile that ended with him beating me by one step. If I have to lose, at least I pushed a soldier just a little harder for a bit. Tiff had a long run on Sunday, so she had to take it easy and finished in 58:02. But she found a fellow Auburn fan to run with and had a great time. But the run was really less than half the enjoyment. Seeing folks come out and support our organization and veterans in general makes us proud of our city and hopeful for great things to come for Team RWB.

Why Should We CHOOSE to Suffer?

Triathlon and endurance sports in general often require us to push our limits, or more realistically, challenge us to find our limits. I’m convinced, more and more, that most of us have no idea what our actual physical limits are.  That is one of the things I love most about triathlon. I love surprising myself.  However, that surprise doesn’t come easily, and typically requires just as much mental fortitude as it does physical fortitude.  I have learned more and more that I must be willing to suffer in my training.  What is suffering? The dictionary describes “to suffer” as to submit to or be forced to endure or to feel keenly or labor under.  What a perfect description of what it takes to be a successful triathlete: we must submit to and endure and labor under the rigors of hours upon hours of physically stressing our bodies in order to achieve our goals.  What is unique is that we CHOOSE to suffer, and that we must FORCE ourselves to endure. Regardless of how fast or slow we might be in comparison to the rest of the field, each person must finish the race on their own. Each person has their own motivations. Each person must CHOOSE to endure and suffer until the end.

On 18 Sept ’10  I raced the San Diego Tri Classic Olympic triathlon.  My swim was just average, or less than, for me.   But I was excited to hit the bike and ride hard on my new tri-bike.  But, just 4-miles into the bike I found myself in a situation I’d never encountered: I wiped out. Pavement was slick, I was in aero, attempted to not run over a GU packet dropped by someone in front of me, but hit that packet just right.  Next thing I knew my right side was sliding across the asphalt and I was donating skin to San Diego.  Once I stopped and could get up, I checked the bike and found it’s okay. Nothing seemed broken on me, and I then had to choose. I knew I was bleeding, I knew I had road rash, my right hip hurt but otherwise I was okay, just shaken.  The competitive part of me knew the race had just become a “just finish” one for me. I don’t like that. I had a perfectly good reason to DNF right then and there. But I was wearing my Team RWB Tri Top (old version—don’t worry, new ones to come!) and I knew I was going to finish.  I had some scratches and bruises. Big deal. The wounded vets that Team RWB supports have to deal with so much more.  As a Team RWB Triathlete, I decided quitting wasn’t an option for me.  I would finish.  And I did.  The bike finished okay, but I was sore, and come the run, I just kept moving. I hadn’t really looked at all my wounds and knew that my right side was pretty banged up. I got some funny comments on the run about it being “hard core” to finish. My response—“it’s only a flesh wound” and really, that’s all it was.   

Here, 3 weeks later, it’s almost all but healed up.  Our wounded vets deal with so much more than that.  Did I suffer for a couple of hours out there that day? Sure, I “suffered” a little bit, but I did it by choice. And I will continue to train and race at efforts that find me “suffering” and when I reach those suffering points, I’ll remember that it’s only momentary suffering that comes to a victorious result when I cross that finish line. I know my suffering will end.  I choose my suffer. Our wounded vets, while clearly volunteering to serve their country, and in so doing wrote a blank check to the USA, didn’t intentionally seek out being wounded. The results of their wounds don’t magically end at a finish line where beer and pizza awaits them.  So, remember that when you are out there in your training and racing.  When you reach your suffer points EMBRACE them because they will make you stronger, faster, and mentally tough.  You will represent yourself and Team RWB well. The suffer moments will make you a better Triathlete, and they are a way for you to embrace the Team RWB motto “It’s Our Turn.” Go on out and suffer Team RWB Tri—“It’s Our Turn!”  

~Brittany

Race Report - Houston Cypress Olympic 2010

Hello all,
My name is Aaron. My wife Tiffany and I are new members of Team RWB, and we are proud to be a part of it. Having served in the Army and completed a few deployments, I know what it is like to come back to a strange world called 'home,' and Tiffany knows what it is like to have to help her husband readjust to a life that should be so familiar even as she readjusts to having him back. As any who have deployed know, stepping off the plane does not mean you are home. That is the source of our commitment.
So apart from a brief introduction, the purpose of this post is to report on the race we just ran, our last for 2010. It was the Memorial Hermann Houston Triathlon in Cypress. The name is a bit confusing, but this is not the longer-running spring 1/2-Iron race in Galveston. This was a really fun race, but the course is not really conducive to personal bests! The swim is in a freshwater retention/drainage pond (sounds worse than it is) and is a two-lap course. The buoys are huge and easy to spot, so it was a good race for beginners (like us). It was strange swimming two laps for a shorter distance swim, but I think it was good training for longer races. Two notes for any other beginners: 1) It is not going to be easy to walk at first, so prepare yourself and 2) Really? A water stop halfway through the swim? Thirst and dry mouth are not issues at that point for me, how about a towel and oxygen? Ok, back to the point.
The swim is about 1/3 mile from the transition area, so everyone's T1 times are ridiculous! However, us slow swimmers who are good runners appreciate the chance to make up a few seconds here. They laid cushy carpet over the street to save our feet, and it wasn't bad at all. Since my wave was second and Tiffany was almost last, I was about to exit the swim when she started her race, which was about the only way I was going to beat her out of the water. Small victory #1.
We had the bittersweet experience of having a cold front pass over during the race, so there was a wicked headwind (18-20mph) for a lot of the bike, but it kept the sky overcast and temperature down for the run. The bike is a modified two lapper that is out and back. You turn around for the second lap well before you get back to transition, so you really have no idea how it is going race-wise, there are just people everywhere going all different speeds, particularly with that wind. Tiff saw me turn around on my second lap as she was on her first, but I missed her. She was not able to catch me (small victory #2). We both appreciated our new aerobars and drink bottles into that headwind, it really helped to get small.
T2 was uneventful, we had some of the best spots in the area because there was a water station near the rows, so we didn't have any congestion and we were very central and easy to find from all the entries and exits. There was a bit of a run from the mount/dismount line into the transition area for this size race, but that was forced by the layout in a parking lot. They did a great job of carpeting it to save our feet (and overall, this race was very well equipped and run).
The run was really nice because it winds through trails on a college campus and around a neighborhood lake and then actually loops through a football stadium (and up and down it's ramps to the upper level) after mile 4, pretty neat. It was not the boring, hot out and back on a street that many races are. The neighborhood part had all sorts of people out in their backyards cheering and there was a good crowd near the start and finish, that always helps. Again, maybe not the best for all out speed, but it was much more distracting and pleasant than most runs.
We certainly didn't threaten to win at just under 3 hours, but I managed to go a couple of minutes faster than my first Olympic distance race even with the long swim exit run and the headwind, so we're going the right way. Tiffany finished about 3 minutes slower than me, which is awesome for her first Olympic distance(but I still count it as small victory #3). She actually threatened for a top-10 finish in her age group, but just barely got beat in the sprint at the end. It is going to be an interesting competition between us, she is very talented and I hate to lose. We were both sore in our glutes, which we attribute to the fact that we haven't had aerobars for very long and we were pushing against that headwind in a lower position.
The race is well organized and has a small expo area at the finish line, so that might be a good one to set up a tent and have some supporters around to spread the word about Team RWB in future races. I think we'll be back for this one in the future.
As I said, our season is over for this year. We are taking a week or so 'off' and then preparing for two 1/2 marathons over the winter, St. Jude in Memphis and the Houston in February (?). Our plan is to race the 1/2 Iron in Galveston next spring and we are discussing whether one of us can make the Arizona Ironman with the rest of y'all. There is also talk of a new 1/2 Iron in Kerrville next summer. If you've never been, that is a beautiful area in the Texas Hill Country. Oh, and I'm off to register for the 10k in the Woodlands now, so hopefully we'll see some of you there!

FAQs and Athlete Application

Team RWB athletes and prospective athletes,
  We have A LOT of behind the scenes work in motion right now and we're looking forward to an awesome 2011.  We will be announcing our full slate of races soon, to include which ones we have coordinated specific slots for (vs. you signing up on your own).  Some of the ones you can anticipate are: Ironman Arizona, SuperFrog Half-Iron, Boulder Peek Olympic, and hopefully more!
 There are some enclosures to this blog post that we'll be saving to the side for future reference, but please take some time to read our Mission, our FAQs, and when you're ready to jump on and join the team, fill out the Athlete Application and send it to brittany@teamrwb.com or steve@teamrwb.com.  Looking forward to a great 2011!!
Brittany and Steve

Click Below to Access Word Docs:
Team RWB Tri Mission
Team RWB Tri FAQ
Team RWB Tri Athlete Application

RWB Triathlon Update

I hope this finds everyone well. It's been a little while since we've put anything up here so I thought I'd post an update...

Brittany and I have both been very busy (her with moving to California and me with work) but we've also been working on hard at standing up the RWB Triathlon team. We've sent out application packets to several prospective triathletes and have had some positive feedback by those that are interested. However, we've learned that we've been doing it a bit backwards. Whereas we thought we needed to get as many athletes on board right away, what we're going to be doing from here on out is working on lining up sponsors and putting together a solid packet we can offer our athletes (race slots, uniforms, etc). We've been in touch with a company right now with whom we may partner for uniforms but are looking at a few others. We'll also be in touch with WTC (owner of the Ironman brand) to try and get guaranteed slots at several of their races for next year and growing over the coming years.

I had the opportunity to meet up with and actually go for a ride with pro triathlete Tim O'Donnell last week in Boulder. Tim is an Annapolis grad and very interested in supporting Team RWB. He gave Brittany and I some phenomenal feedback on where he thinks we need to focus our efforts and also will put us in touch with some of his sponsors.

I'm very excited about where we're headed with the Team and the organization as a whole. Look for the main teamrwb.com to roll out here in the near term!

As always, if you have any questions please direct them to myself or Brittany.... steve@teamrwb.com or brittany@teamrwb.com


Steve

So what is Team RWB Ironman?

Team RWB Ironman is a branch of Team Red, White, and Blue--a non-profit group of athletes seeking to raise awareness and funds in support of American heroes, specifically our wounded warriors. Team RWB athletes will race triathlons, marathons, and ultramarathons as the mode of raising awareness and funds.  We are currently at the grassroots level, but have high aspirations for the future.  The Ironman Team is composed of athletes who will commit to racing Half-Iron and Iron distance triathlons.  Athletes can pick any race(s) to do, but for 2011 we will have a "marquis" Ironman race that we would like to get as many Team RWB athletes to race so we can have a heavy presence and team support.  For 2011, that race will be Ironman Arizona in late November 2011.  We will be putting out more information on how to register, but be aware you have to register a year in advance for these races.  We are hoping to have several athletes racing, as well as a large support team.  You can read more of the specifics here: Prospective Athlete Letter.

If you are interested in being a member of the team, regardless of race, please email teamrwbironman@hotmail.com or post on the Facebook group site. Either Steve or I (your team captains for this next year) will get back to you promptly!! Please consider joining us in our inaugural season and help us grow Team RWB!

Please check out www.teamrwb.com for the mission statement and purpose of Team RWB!

Ironman Coeur d'Alene race report

I apologize that this has taken a little while to get out...

Not including training, my race started when I dropped my bike off at Austin Tri Cyclist for a tune-up and for Tri Bike Transport to bring my bike to Idaho. Though I have a hard shell case for my bike, I think going with TBT was the absolute right call for this weekend. It was great not having to worry about taking it apart and putting it together twice and then after the race, just walking it right over to TBT. Such a convenience though next time I'll take my bike with me.

So, I flew out to Spokane via Dallas and Seattle on Thursday afternoon. I picked up my rental and stayed at a Motel 6 in Spokane (only $39 per night!). Friday morning I grabbed breakfast and headed in to CdA. There were swimmers in the water and cyclists on the roads but as tempting as it was to jump in, Friday was my day of absolute rest. I got into town pretty early so the expo and TBT weren't open. I grabbed coffee at a shop in town and just enjoyed being by the water. I picked up my bike, put it in the car and picked up my race packet. It was still early in the day so I drove the bike course. First impressions were that it was a beautiful course with lots of rolling hills, though none of them worse than the worst hills I had trained on the Fort Hood range roads. After that I grabbed lunch and went to the hotel to check in (Red Lion in nearby Post Falls). I had a great room with an amazing view of the river and mountains! I used the afternoon to get a lot of my gear ready and then went down to the water to lay out for a bit.
Friday night I went back into CdA for the athlete dinner and mandatory meeting. I sat next to a few squids including the coach of the Annapolis tri team. Good folks! Brittany and my parents flew in late Friday night but I needed to be in bed so I didn't see them until the next morning.

Britt and I got up early Saturday and went down to City Park. I got a quick swim in Lake CdA (not terribly cold but quite choppy). I then did a short ride along Lakeshore Dr where Britt got some pretty cool video footage!
We headed back to the hotel and met my parents for breakfast. I got my Swim-Bike and Bike-Run gear bags packed and Britt and I headed back to the expo to drop off my bike in transition. We came back to the hotel to grab my parents and went back into town. We walked around the expo for a bit and I had a good session with the ART (Active Release Therapy) guys. They tried unsuccessfully to fix my tight butt and hamstrings. More to follow on this. We grabbed some lunch and ate right along the lake. Beautiful! We then went to the grocery store to grab some Cliff Bars, Peanut Butter and Jelly, and a few other essentials. We had an early dinner (pizza delivered to the room) and got to bed early.

RACE DAY
Woke up at 0400 ready to go. There was a beautiful full moon over the mountains and reflected in the water outside the hotel room. I had breakfast that consisted of some bananas, leftover pizza and I think a powerbar. We left for City Park around 0440. We got a great parking space, Britt left to go do her volunteer piece and my parents and I walked to transition. I got body marked and headed in to get my bike ready. When I was pumping up my tires, the valve stem on my rear tire broke right as I finished getting my tire to the right pressure. The threads were screwed up and luckily it wasn't an issue during the race. Getting there early was absolutely the right call. Transition quickly filled up but by then all I had to do was use the bathroom and get my wetsuit on. I could relax and I didn't feel rushed at all. My dad went off to see the swim start from the east and get some pics while my mom stayed with me on the sidewalk behind the beach. When I got there and looked at the water out to the first turn around, I realized that it was a very manageable distance. I hadn't been sure about the 2.4 miles but seeing it broken down like that really helped. When the time came, I got my wetsuit on, gave mom a hug and headed down to the beach.



SWIM
I really wasn't too nervous about the swim start. I positioned myself to the right and toward the back. When the gun went off I made my way to the water and jumped in. At first I was having some issues with leaky goggles but adjusted my swim cap and I was good after that. The crowd honestly wasn't too bad. I was able to get behind a good group and swim pretty well. I just kept telling myself to relax and not use too much energy. Just get myself into a sustainable rhythm. The first turn around was chaos. It was insanely backed up! Once we got around that turn and the next we headed back in after our first lap. I was pumped to be heading back to shore and feeling great. I came out of the water, through the arch and over the timing mat and checked my watch...38 minutes! I was pumped and pushing people out of my way to get back into the water. The first lap was much better than I thought. I got going on the second lap and the crowd had thinned significantly. When I made the last turn to come back to the beach I ended up drifting a little off to the left. I got back on the right path and headed toward shore. I came out of the water in 1:22. This was a good overall time but my second lap was a little disappointing after my doing so well on my first! I think not having the crowd to draft off of and taking my little detour hurt. Oh well, I felt amazing coming out of the water and was ready to get going on the bike.

I was so excited coming into transition that I literally ran and did a baseball slide right in front of the wetsuit strippers (to which one gave a resounding safe sign and call!) They got my wetsuit right off and I ran to grab my swim-bike bag. I grabbed my helmet and shoes, sprayed on some sunscreen, put my race number on and my wetsuit in my bag and headed over to my bike. I saw my mom by transition and then got on my bike.

BIKE
I was pumped when I got on the bike but knew that I really had to keep my emotions under control, get into a steady groove and get ready to start eating. The bike route took us out on Lakeshore Drive to a turnaround before heading back through town then out toward Hayden Lake. I started drinking water and took a gel. Then I pulled out my PBJ and ate my first half. Bad news, when I pulled out that sandwich my little baggie of 500mg Tylenol went flying. Oh well. I ate the first half of my PBJ and turned north toward Hayden Lake. Though slowly gaining altitude, we had a good tailwind so we were able to take some pretty significant speed with us. Having driven the course, I knew there were hills coming so I kept my effort in check. We started the series of rolling hills by the lake and I'd make sure to downshift and stay in the saddle. I really only got out of the saddle just a few times and not for more than a few seconds each on the first lap. I was still passing a lot of people on the hills. The downhills were pretty treacherous for me. The 100mm wheel I have up front caught quite a bit of the crosswinds and I also think my gluing job with the front tire was suspect. Needless to say, I rarely went downhill in the aero bars. I was hanging on for dear life and almost ate it a few times. The only time I struggled at all on the first lap was on the long, straight stretch heading back to downtown CdA. Because of the tightness in my back and hammies, being stretched out in the aero position hurt. One thing about the hills is that I would come out of the aero bars a lot to open up my hip angle and develop more power. I saw some guys out there in the bars going uphill at about 8 mph. Makes no sense at all. Anyway, I hit the halfway mark at about 2:59, faster than I probably should have been but I really wasn't overexerting myself! We proceeded through downtown CdA and back along Lakeshore Dr. Our special needs bags were waiting out at the turnaround at Higgins Point. It was great, as I was coming up they yelled out 234 and when I made the turn a couple girls were waiting there with my bag. I reached in, grabbed my other PBJ and some Cliff Bars. They said I was looking a little pink, put some more sunscreen on me and I headed off. I'll speak more about the volunteers later but they were absolutely amazing! No surprises on the second lap as I knew exactly what to expect. I'll admit that the hills started to hurt toward the end of the second lap but I was still having so much fun out there. By the time we came back into town to transition, I was flying and feeling amazing despite 110 miles of riding! I knew that I had met my time goal for the bike and finished in 6:11. I saw my family and Britt as I came into T2. I came out of my shoes before I got in there, handed off my bike (did I mention the volunteers were amazing??) and ran to get my run bag. Not wasting any time, I headed out on the run course.

RUN
I was so pumped about my bike ride but I knew that I had to be very smart about my run. Due to nagging IT Band issues, my longest run in training was only 12 miles. I knew I wasn't prepared to run a marathon but would have to draw on my endurance base and experience with 3 prior marathons. It was very difficult to keep my pace controlled around a 8:45-9:00 mi during the first half marathon but I kept telling myself I could pick it up on the second lap if I felt strong. It was a very good thing I didn't pick it up early. Around the half marathon mark, I started to get tired. I also started to feel some pain in my left knee, caused by the pulling of my tight quad. I stopped to stretch every now and then and was ok. I really had to push on the second lap and at about the 18 mile mark my knee started to really hurt. The hill at the turn around did not help!! I really had to push through the pain on my last trip along Lakeshore Dr and I was starting to stretch more frequently. Around mile 23 I pulled over in pain and frustration and let out a few obscenities (oops). This guy heading out for his second lap came over and handed me a few packets of Biofreeze...talk about a guardian angel!! I had never heard of it before but it helped tremendously! I had to bust open the other pack with about a mile to go but after that I just put my head down and drove to the finish. I never walked once, it hurt like hell but I made it to the finish in 11:50:25 after a 4:09 marathon.
I had a modest time goal of finishing under 12 hours and I was happy to hit that. I know if I'm properly trained I can definitely get in under 11.


After the race I linked up with Brittany and my parents. I went straight down to the lake where I put on a dry shirt and waded into the cold water for about 15 minutes. I learned a long time ago the value of an ice bath and I think those 15 minutes helped me tremendously! After that I went over to the finisher area and grabbed a few pieces of pizza. We grabbed my bike out of transition and walked over to TBT then headed back to the hotel.
After a few phone calls and a quick shower, we went out for a steak dinner at Outback.

Monday morning we debated about heading in really early to get in line for Finisher gear. I really didn't want to get up early so we all decided to take our time, have a good breakfast and head in around 9. Brittany went over and signed up for next year's race while Mom and I went to the merch tent to get some t-shirts, mugs, etc. I dropped off my gear bag with TBT and picked up the remaining gear from my special needs bags. We grabbed lunch and then we drove the bike course so that Britt could see what she's in for next year and my parents could see what I had done the day prior. We went back to the hotel, got our bags packed and relaxed before heading to a great dinner at Tony's by the Lake! We had calamari and I had a bison steak and about 3 big Blue Moons...delicious! Took some pics by the lake and then headed back.

Got up real early to drop my parents at the airport in Spokane. I came back and had breakfast with Britt and then headed off to the airport myself. It was a long day of traveling and I actually got stranded in Dallas. That was fine with me because I got to spend the evening with my aunt, uncle and cousins and then miss the first few hours of work (meetings) on Wed.

PAIN
So, after I shipped my tri bike, I did some rides with my road bike which of course has a different setup. About middle of the week before the race I started to get real sore and tight in my butt and hamstrings, which I assumed was a product of using the other bike and slightly different muscles than I was used to. So I really didn't worry about it. But when I got to CdA it kept getting worse. I picked up a foam roller at the Trigger Point booth and worked on it on Friday but it didn't help. I was ok during my swim and ride Saturday morning but the tightness and pain was still really bad! You should have seen the worried look on Brittany's face when I'd double over in pain after getting out of bed or standing up from something. Luckily the pain didn't bother me too much on race day. Like I mentioned above, it was tight when in the bars for an extended amount of time and after a while on the run, I had other worries! Well, on Monday I felt better than I had all week which is not how I pictured the day after an Ironman is supposed to be! But the tightness returned. Someone thought that maybe it wasn't a muscle but rather a pinched nerve or disc. That makes sense. Sitting for long times with my big compressed seemed to make it hurt the worse. I got home and did some stretching of my bike and leaving my legs alone which also helped. I've got a chiro appointment tomorrow so we'll see what they say. I played golf Saturday, kayak'ed yesterday and had a great ride this morning and feel pretty good. Makes me think more and more it was a pinched nerve that got me. Whatever. I didn't let it stop me on race day!


I can honestly say that I had an awesome day. Sure the last few miles were the toughest miles I've ever run but I can definitely say that I had a blast out there for 130 miles and just struggled through the last 10. The pain went away when I crossed that line and they put that medal around my neck. It was a great day and the atmosphere was incredible. For the days leading up to my flight to CdA I had started to get really nervous including losing some sleep at night. The second I pulled into downtown CdA that all disappeared. I got so excited by the beauty of the area and the atmosphere. Everyone up there was just so nice. The other competitors, the locals in town and the amazing volunteers on the course. I find myself a week later already itching to not just sign up for another Ironman but to be competing in one. I had that much fun on race day. Unfortunately I couldn't sign up for next year with Britt. With a potential deployment looming, I'm stuck here in limbo. If we don't go anywhere I intend to do CdA next year as well as Arizona, which of course will be our big race for Team Red, White and Blue!

I must also say that having Brittany and my parents there was incredible. My parents have always been supportive and though they can't come to everything I do, they do make it for the most important stuff (first marathon, change of command, first Ironman, etc). And Brittany was such a great mentor. She flew up there to cheer me on and had endless amounts of good advice. I know the weekend wouldn't have been nearly as successful if they weren't there to help me as well as share it with me!! Thank you!!


Ok, that was pretty long and I know I left a lot of details out. I have many more pics. See my Facebook page for more and request me as a friend if you're not. Or perhaps I'll make the album totally public. Anyway, pepper me with questions if you have any!!

Steve

Team RWB Ironman Athlete Recruting!

Are you a current or future Ironman or Half-Ironman triathlete? Do you value America's combat veterans who have sacrificed selflessly for our country?  Would you like to make your race more meaningful by bringing awareness to and fundraising for our amazing Wounded Warriors?  If so, then the Team Red, White and Blue Ironman team is for YOU! For more information check out the Facebook Discussion and join our Facebook page!  You may also email teamrwbironman@hotmail.com with questions! 

Check back here to learn more about our athletes, their training, and their racing!