Team FIT Training Ride

Thanks to everybody who showed up for the ride on Sunday afternoon!  It was a beautiful, sunny 60 degree day.  Kudos to Ann who started and finished the ride by tacking on an extra 6 miles at each end.  Kudos to Jeremy for inviting Christoper...an extra rider for the rest of us to hide behind in the wind, and kudos to Aimee who toughed it out after running 22 miles on Saturday. 

Beyond Aimee falling on the railroad tracks while standing (yes, she was completely stopped, with her feet OUT of the pedals!) over her bike to pick up my water bottle (it ejected out of my holder as I rocketed across the tracks) in front of moving traffic, the ride was fairly uneventful.  Matt and John couldn't resist some sprints to the nearest signs,  and all the boys sprinted over the quarry hill...I was happy just to make it up quarry hill.  That hill is neither steep, nor long, but at the end of the ride always seems tough.  (and in March, April and May we always seem to have a head wind)

Vince Is At It!

Vince dropped off some initial artwork for our uniform design today.  I plan on taking a gander, scribbling out what we don't like, and getting it back to him tomorrow.  We may not have the uniforms for our May races, but hopefully by June!?  Now that he has the creative juices flowing, I'm sure the turnaround will be fast.

Mid Ohio on Two Wheels!

from the voice of "Farmer John"  (and posted by Natalie)

Well, I felt pretty good at MidOhio today after about the 6th lap.  Stayed with the pack and even lead the pack to close a small gap that had opened.  I'm still learining to race with the cat 3 - 4's, but I couldn't contain myself again and went off the front on the back stretch with a pretty good gap.  The peloton caught me on the sweeper leading to the finish straight.  I think had I been a little more patient I could have taken 3rd in the sprint.  There was a 2-man breakaway that stayed away with 2 laps to go.  Live and Learn!

Peachtree Sign-up Successful! (actually by Natalie)

Whew...I crawled out of bed at 6am after a 2am bedtime.  (I know, I know...that's way, way past my bedtime, but it couldn't be helped...we had company and Jimmy had already hit the hay and left me with the entertaining!)  After a quick playtime with Zoe, I left for the local Panera Bread for Cocoa, a delicious Pecan tart, and a faster internet speed than I could ever hope for at home!  Before I could get the computers (yes, that's computers plural,  I went armed with 2 for greater opportunities to get in.) laid out on the table the manager yelled over that their wireless hadn't been working!  I'm thinkin'..."you gotta be kiddin' me?  It's already 6:55am...do I have time to go anywhere else?"  As I hit the ever infamous power button on my Apples, (famous because of the movie WALL-E) luck must have been with me because my computer was connected to the powerful world of the web in no time!  (that's the "whew" part)  After approximately 1 hour of hitting the "sign-up now" button icon and getting the response that, "we're experiencing a high volumne of activity, there are still spots available, please try again later." I finally got a blank entry form.  Oh my, the fun didn't stop here!  I filled out that stupid application a bazillion times only to receive:  "an exception has occured, please try again."  I called my friend Sue in Kansas...same thing....called Aimee (who by the way didn't get out of bed until my phone call at 8am!)...same thing.  Furiously, I tried for the next hour!  When I was almost at my wits end, my application was finally accepted!  (another "whew")  I worked as fast as I could to finish Jim's application...accepted!  Whew!  Called Matt...he wasn't in yet so as he was workin' it on his hi-tech apple phone, I started putting his info. in my computer.  Called Aimee...she was in, working on John.  Did a quick Text and phone call to Matt...hit the "submit" and "accepted"...he was in...

So, all in a morning at Panera and two hours of Cocoa and a couple of Mt. Dew's... 5 of us will be traveling to Atlanta on July 4 th for the biggest 10K in the US.  (which is really just a fun party!)

Olentangy Duathlon and Herring Picnic!

Don't forget about the Herring Picnic on May 9th. at 2:00pm!  If nothing else, come for the cake!  It's worth it.  (I'm really just trying to slow down the competition)  Bring your family!  If you haven't been, or don't know, my house is full of games that children love to play!

If you plan on doing the Du...let me know early this year.  We have a new race company putting on the race this year and I want to give them plenty of time, in advance, to know who I have on my list of racers.

John Price Races Again & Atlanta Here We Come!

John Price participated in a 40 mile road race in Mt. Vernon last Saturday (March 7).  After a long fought battle of the wind and hills he finished 9th out of 16 in the CAT 3-4's.  

Peachtree Again?

Some of us will be traveling to Atlanta for the annual July 4 Atlanta Peachtree 10K.  I'm sure it still probably holds the record for participants in any 10K around the country at 55,000!  For the first time this year, the Atlanta Track Club will be accepting online registrations to the first 45,000 entrants.  For those of us who have had and experienced "application anxiety" in this particular race entry process it's going to be a race at the keyboard and moments of stress once the "enter" button is pushed!  I, for one, can't wait!  I hate running...but I love doing the Peachtree!  (probably because it's difficult to actually "run" with 55,000 other people, hence my enjoyment)  So....if you are interested, registration for Peachtree and an opportunity to get the coveted Peachtree t-shirt begins on Sunday morning, March 15 at 7:00am.  Grab your coffee cups and start typing.  Entry form is at:  www.ajc.com/peachtree.  The entry fee is $33.00.

Let me know if you get in!

New FIT Team Member

Meet Zoe Herring, newest member of team FIT.  Zoe runs a sub 6 mile and chases a tennis ball like it's her job!  

Correction for Bill Heck and John Walters.  They were NOT soaking up any sun in Houston...instead they were battling 30mph winds and a cold start at the Ft. Worth Marathon!  

Both were hoping to break the 4 hour mark on Saturday, but the hilly course and windy conditions were their nemesis.  Bill Heck finished in 4:09:50 and John Walters in 4:12:21.  Good job guys!  Way to tough it out!

John Price wasn't able to melt the competition on Saturday either.  Cold temps. didn't keep the front of the pack from traveling at 31 mph from the start.  Unfortunately, John didn't have those kind of speeds under the hood yet.  It's just a matter of time and a few interval workouts behind the trailblazer and he'll be back on his game!