Hy-Vee Triathlon

Twitter. It's all the rage. We're hearing about it just about every day now - talk shows, news, and of course, all over the internet. It's the big buzz.

I started my Twitter account many months ago, but I'm still learning how to use it. I've started "following" (because that's what you do, people aren't your friends on Twitter, they're your followers) a few triathlon-related people and/or companies. I check in every few days to see what new posts are up and catch up on the latest triathlon talk.

One day, I saw a "Tweet" (that's a status update) that the Des Moines Register was giving away 10 free entries to the Hy-Vee Triathlon. You just had to be willing to blog about your training up to the race and submit an article explaining WHY you want to participate in the event. Considering as I already blog about my training and Hy-Vee is a top-notch event that is on my "races that must be done" list, I figured I'd give it a shot. Two weeks later, I received an email that I have been accepted on to the "Des Moines Register Triathlon Team" and qualify for a free entry to this year's race!

This link here will take you to last year's team. I'm not sure how soon the profiles and blogs for this year's team will be posted, but I'm guessing it will be within the next couple of weeks. The content on that blog will be dedicated solely to my training for that race. I'll add a link to it when it's active in case you'd like to follow that also.

Anyone want to go to Iowa in June??

Patience

Thanks to everyone who placed a vote for me to make team Evotri. Many of you have asked how it turned out and, well, I don't know yet. Because of problems with the voting link (which some of you experienced), they extended the vote for one more week. So I won't know for a few more days.

My "500 word entry" is the previous post. Evotri wanted an "entry" to describe my passion for the sport and describe how I give back to the endurance sport community. If you haven't voted yet, it's not too late! Just click on the link below. Be sure to copy my url (http://www.mjtheironman.blogspot.com) so you can enter it in the subject line of the email to Evotri. I'll be sure to let you know if I "get the call."

Thanks for reading! If you think I should be the next fully-sponsored member of Team Evotri, please write down the URL of this web site and have it ready for voting when you click the EVOTE button below. Thank you!

Making the Team: 2008

Those of you who have been reading this blog know my commitment to the sport and my involvement in giving back to the endurance community. It’s a part of who I am and how I live. I'm writing this post to request your vote to be selected for Team Evotri. Please help me in this quest.

I am dedicated to the sport. Five days a week my alarm goes off before 4am in order for me to get in my first workout of the day before heading off to work. I treat my workouts seriously and nearly every workout of my plan is followed to the letter. Each year, I try to focus on improving some area of triathlon in hopes of developing consistent overall improvement from year to year.

Because I’ve benefited so much from the sport, I have become very involved in encouraging others to attempt their first triathlon as well as volunteering. I’ve been fortunate enough to volunteer at Ironman Wisconsin where I was able to help the pro women and countless age-groupers through T1!

For the past 5 years, I’ve participated in the Chicago Marathon as either a competitor or as a volunteer.

Additionally, I’ve volunteered for several years as a CARA Marathon pace group leader, a training program dedicated to helping people complete their first marathon or improving on their last one.

For the past 3 years, I’ve been the Team Captain of the Chicago Triathlon Luna Chix. The mission of the team is two-fold: To encourage women to get out and play and become active while raising money for the Breast Cancer Fund. This volunteer group has organized and implemented a variety of events to benefit the endurance community. These events include a weekly bike ride, transition clinic, bike maintenance clinic and brick workouts.

One of my newest volunteer activities is coaching the swim workouts for the south branch of the Multisport Madness Triathlon club. Since January, I’ve been sharing the swim coaching responsibilities of this club and it has been fun and rewarding to watch these triathletes improve their swimming skills.

Triathlon has changed my life and I cannot imagine myself not being involved in the sport. From participating to volunteering, I enjoy being around the types of people that like to push themselves to the limit and achieve new goals. These people know how to work hard and have fun. A tough workout is exhilarating and gives you a sense of accomplishment and empowerment. And doing that workout with the right people makes all the difference! During the group workouts, I’m usually the one talking a lot, making jokes and trying to keep everyone engaged.

The mission of Team EvoTri is to challenge themselves and others to live a healthy and active lifestyle through endurance sports. Without knowing it, I have been fworking that mission. Being selected as a member of EvoTri will help me achieve my goals and be able to pass on what I learn to the ever-growing triathlon community.

Thanks for reading! If you think I should be the next fully-sponsored member of Team Evotri, please write down the URL of this web site and have it ready for voting when you click the EVOTE button below. Thank you!