Team Photo!

Now that's a team pic
Originally uploaded by K. Todd Storch.

Dallas Athlete's are in force. Most of the group rode the run course this morning.

Nice and easy day in order to rest for the race.

Pics from:
Saturday
Friday

Arrived in Panama City

CIMG0803
Originally uploaded by K. Todd Storch.

Most of us are staying at the Boardwalk Resort Condos. Spent the afternoon at packet pickup, expo and some form of exercise.

Pefect weather this afternoon and please let the low 80's hit on Saturday!

H2F pictures here

Friday's pictures only are here

Swim Start Times

From the GC 1/2 IM site

Swim Course. The Triathlon swim course is a 1.2-mile open water swim in the Gulf of Mexico . The swim will start and finish at the Boardwalk Beach Resort at Panama City Beach , Florida . Refer to the map of the swim course, Figure 1. The swim will be an out and back course starting near the center of the Boardwalk Beach Resort. The race will start in waves as shown in the below table, the swimmers will swim straight out approximately 950 yards from shore, turn right for approximately 200 yards, and then swim back toward shore to the finish line. The first wave of the swim will begin the professional triathletes at 06:20 AM followed by 13 waves spaced 5 minutes apart.

Wave Number	Start Time	Wave Category	Number In Wave	ColorCap
#1	6:15	Physically Challenged	-	Pink
#2	6:20	All Pros	20	Pink
#3	6:25	Women 35-39	177	Yellow
#4	6:30	Women 30-34	106	Light Blue
#5	6:35	Women - All Others	167	Royal Blue
#6	6:40	Men 25-29 / 55+	191	Day-Glow Green
#7	6:45	Men 50-54	97	Red
#8	6:50	Men 30-34	130	Purple
#9	6:55	Men 30-34	130	Orange
#10	7:00	Men 35-39	147	Yellow
#11	7:05	Men 35-39	145	Light Blue
#12	7:10	Men 40-44	124	Royal Blue
#13	7:15	Men 40-44	125	Red
#14	7:20	Men 45-49	169	Purple
#15	7:25	Men 15-24 / Relays	75	Day-Glow Green

The swim will be marked with large buoys approximately every 125 yards to keep the swimmers on course. Large boats will be positioned at the outer corners for a visual reference. Several small safety boats, jet skis, kayaks, and surfboards will be positioned along the swim course to aid in navigation or to help any swimmer in distress.

Official USAT Water Temp Rules

Because the water temp is a big topic right now, here is the official USAT rule on measuring water temp. Remember, wet suits are legal to 78 degrees.

USAT link

It is recommended, but not required that the water temperature for a race be finally determined by a measurement made within 2 hours of the race start. Measurements should be made in at least three locations on the swim course, spaced so as to divide the entire swim course into approximately equidistant segments, and measured at a depth of 18 inches below the surface of the water, at points where direct sunlight can strike the water. The water temperature for the race should be determined by averaging the three temperature measurements taken. A water temperature measurement should also be taken prior to any pre-race meetings in order to forecast to the athletes as early as possible the likely water temperature on race day and the likelihood of whether wet suits will be allowed on race day.

Support Crew!

Spearheading the "Support Staff/Crew" T-Shirt effort, is our own "horn honkin' funny" Barb. For anyone that has family or friends heading to Florida, shirts will be made with this awesome design.

Excellent job!

Check out this logo and all the H2F2006 photos here (Flickr.com site)

Wecker and Barb are Horn Honkin' Funny

Wecker and Barb are horn honkin' funny
Originally uploaded by K. Todd Storch.

After a workout on Saturday morning, the majority of the group gathered at the DAES store.

Tom covered his race and fueling strategy for GC 1/2 IM.

Everyone is pumped up and ready to have a great race in Florida!!!

Something to Get You Fired Up about GC 1/2 IM

Excellent job Dusty! This is a fantastic movie from last year's IM Florida.

Ironman Florida Movie (Quicktime movie will load)

What is Your Goal Time?

Want an easy way to figure it out?

Use this Triathlon Race Calculator! (link)

Want to use last year's results to see where you might fit in or see what other's in your age group averaged on the swim/bike/run?

Go see GC 1/2 IM 2005 Results (link)

Gulf Coast Course

Time to begin planning your fueling strategy and understanding the course. They have some pretty good maps of the swim/bike/run courses on-line.

Swim map/times here

Bike course map here

Run course map here

Our H2F Hero

Dedicated to our H2F hero...Ken Smith!

Click here.

Boston Marathon

A number of Dallas Athletes' are competing in the Boston Marathon on Monday. The main field begins at 1130a CST and live coverage on OLN begins at 1030a CST.

Good luck to Curt, Jim L., Gregory L., Ros D. and Mel M.!

Curt has some good pics and firsthand Boston info on his blog here.

Eating Well When You are Away From Home

Thanks to Candy for sharing this article!

From RunnersWeb.com

Link to article is here.

The food you eat the day of your event, as well as the days prior, is very important. However, if your event is out of town, it can be difficult to find healthy and familiar foods. After spending time trying several options and determining the foods that work best for you the morning of a long ride or run, you're now left to fend for yourself outside of your kitchen and away from familiar restaurants. With some planning and an open mind, however, the challenge of finding healthy food on the road can be easily overcome.

The most important thing to remember is to stick with foods you've tried in training and had success with. Event day, and even the days before, is not the time to try new foods. Even if the food is not new to you, if you haven't eaten it in conjunction with training, you don't know exactly how it will affect you. However, sticking to the same foods while on the road is easier said than done, especially if you are in a setting where you're unfamiliar with the stores and restaurants.

Use the following tips to help you eat well while traveling:

• Don't forget to eat! When you are driving or flying, don't get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget to eat. Make sure you always have something to snack on and don't skip meals just so you make good time to your destination. Some good handy and healthy snacks include trail mix, bars, fruit, and cut up veggies such as red peppers.
  

• The day before a race, frequent small meals are best. However, when you are away from home and eating mostly at restaurants, this can be difficult. Split your meals right away and save some for later or even better, share it with a friend.
  

Saturday Ride!

At the Ballpark in Arlington
Originally uploaded by K. Todd Storch.
Great group ride today!

Most everyone did nearly 3 hours. A group of us did the Ballpark route. Very windy heading South, but made for a very quick North return!





View my motionbased.com route of the ride ->HERE<-

Time Well Spent?

This is from Troy Jacobson, the Spinerval's DVD guy you see in all of the triathlete magazines. He has a weekly email newsletter and this one hit home.

COACH TROY'S COMMENTARY - "Time Well Spent?"

Do you 'spend' time or do you 'invest' time? Or have you even thought about this distinction? If not, you are about to be introduced to an important principle of success.

You live a busy life full of activities and responsibilities. Some of those 'things to do' are absolutely essential in your daily life and cannot be 'farmed out' or substituted. Others however, can be construed as 'busy work' and probably could be (and should be) given to someone else to accomplish. After all, we each have only 24 hours in a day so we might as well maximize every hour, right?

A question you need to ask yourself is as follows: "Why am I doing this and what value does this activity bring to my life?" If your answer is that it makes you feel good or enhances your quality of life...then continue doing that activity. On the other hand, if the answer is, "I dunno!'...then you may want to reconsider the activity and hand it off for someone else to do.

I have discovered over the years that successful people are masters of delegating activities that are considered by them 'low payback' for others to do. They focus on 'high payback' activities that create more value in their lives, whether it be at work or at home. Let's take doing your taxes as an example.

Tax time is fast approaching and everyone is getting ready to pony up to Uncle Sam. Some people spend countless hours collecting receipts and filling out the mind numbing forms while others hire an accountant to take care of these duties for them. While affordability is certainly an issue, the person who 'farms out' the job of doing year end taxes opens their schedule and energy level to accomplish more. The person who labors over doing their taxes sacrifices that time when they could be doing something more productive (and with a higher payback, 'investing time'), such as playing with their kids or even making more sales calls. And since the average person is not an expert when it comes to IRS tax code, they probably end up COSTING themselves more money than they would otherwise save by hiring a tax professional to do it.

The point to this message is to look carefully at the activities you do everyday and choose to focus more on 'high payback' activities and don't just 'spend' your time, but 'invest' your time wisely. Learn to delegate. You'll have lots more energy and motivation to do the things in life that are truly important.

Be Strong and Focused,

Coach Troy

www.strongandfocused.com

Old Guy and Chick!

Old Guy and Chick!
Originally uploaded by K. Todd Storch.

Congrats to everyone that finished the California 1/2 Ironman!

Bennett, Kathi and Sam were up at Dallas Athletes last Saturday to see everyone after the 4 hour ride.

Be sure to go read the recaps of their races on the California or BUST blog!

Bennett's recap
Kathi's recap
Erika's recap

Congrats to all!!

By the way, a little birdie (chick chick!) tells me that she has already registered for Gulf Coast!

Tri Chicks and Old Farts at California 1/2 IM!

Kathi is posting some great daily recaps of the week leading up to the California 1/2 IM on their California or Bust blog.

She also has a great photo album that is growing by the day as well.

Photos here (email subscription required).

Team Chicks
Day 1 - Challenges for the Chicks
Day 2 - What a Difference a Day Can Make
Day 2 - A Great Day from Beginning to End
Day 3 - Catalina Island Paradise
Day 3 - Island Moonlight
Day 4 - Battle of the A Type Personalities
Day 4 - Back on the Mainland
Day 5 - Gloomy weather forecast
Day 6 - Our lucky day!
Day 6 - Ready or not

Team Old Farts
Day 1 - Coppell
Daze 1 or 2 - Disneyland Taper

Be sure to leave them comments as the week continues!

Days are updated to include all the posts on their blog.

Race is complete! Go to Ironmanlive.com
Everyone finished and are accounted for! Be on the lookout for blog updates from everyone. Congrats on the race!