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21st ITU Congress Meetings held in Madrid, Spain

Gale Bernhardt — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:14:02 GMT

During the Thanksgiving holiday week I was in Madrid, Spain for the 2008 International Triathlon Union Congress meeting. The purpose of my attendance was to be part of the Sport Development presentations. You can see the entire Congress schedule attached at the bottom of this blog. (If you don't see the attachment, click on the blog title and the attachment should be at the bottom of the blog.)

The Congress is part of the organizational structure that manages the sport of triathlon within the Olympic organization. The entire management structure of the ITU can be found within the Constitution document in the download section of the ITU website.

If you read the Constitution, you will find that there are specific rules to include a certain number of representatives from the five regions:

1) Africa,

2) Europe,

3) Americas (North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean),

4) Oceania (seventeen member nations including Australia and New Zealand) and

5) Asia

Inclusion rules are established to be sure that each region has a voice.

This Congress was a historical event in that the only president the ITU has known, Les McDonald, retired and a new president was elected. That new president is Marisol Casado from Spain.

More history was made with this being the first ITU Congress that did not require "recruiting" by the organization to fulfill the requirement of at least one woman on the executive board. Though I have not found a complete list of International Federations, I am told triathlon is the only federation with three women on the executive board.

In addition to Marisol, two more women sit on the Executive Board and include newly elected Secretary General Loreen Barnett (Canada) and Vice President Sarah Springman (Britian).

Each National Federation, or National Governing Body submits names to be considered for election. The NGB in the USA is USA Triathlon. Individuals from the USA that were elected to new positions at this congress include:

Melissa Merson (Executive Board)

Joyce Donaldson (Technical Committee)

Doug Hiller (Medical Committee)

Gale Bernhardt (Constitution Committee)

Full election results can be found here.

I will give you a few more congress tapas (name of a wide variety of appetizers in Spanish cuisine) in the blogs this week. In addition to the blog tapas, I am in the process of boiling down a five-hour interview I conducted with outgoing president Let McDonald. Watch for that story in an upcoming issue of Triathlete magazine.

Life Choices: Rust or Shine?

Debbie Persaud — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:28:35 GMT

It has been 1 year since Jimmy passed away from GBM grade IV brain cancer. He would have been 34 years old today. It was such an honor to run the NYC Marathon with Team McGraw and finish his Bucket List. I have had some time to reflect on our 12 year relationship and what I have managed to accomplish on my own since his passing. I have become more aware of how incredibly lucky I was to share my life with Jimmy and be his first and only love. I plan on taking that love and sharing it with others. Jimmy has enriched me by sharing a toolkit of how to thrive during all of Life's unexpected outcomes. Many people never find a great love or even make there place in this world before they have to leave it. I am grateful that God put Jimmy on this Earth so that I could love him. I have come to the conclusion that in Life, we can finish ourselves in two ways. In Guyana we cook a lot with cast iron pots. A cast iron pot that is never used will eventually rust, but a pot that is used often will wear down until it shines. We can choose to merely "exist" or "get by" in a life without passion and rust...or we can give everything of ourselves freely and wear ourselves out until we shine. Like Jimmy, I have decided that I am going to SHINE!

MAINE GAMES STATE POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS; MARCH 27-28, 2009

MAINEGAMES — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:49:46 GMT

The 2009 Maine Games State Powerlifting Championships are being held at the Brewer Auditorium, at 318 Wilson Street, in Brewer, Maine.

We're offering a bench-press only meet on Friday, March 27, and a full meet on Saturday, March 28. Athletes from all over the State of Maine are invited to compete, challenge each other's ability and strength, and even qualify for the 2009 State Games of America, being held in Colorado Springs, next summer.

Since 2005, the Maine Games has offered powerlifting, and the 2009 event marks our fifth anniversary of this outstanding powerlifting competition.

We consistently attract the strongest men, women, and teens to our meet, and each year dozens of athletes choose our meet as their first competion. In addition to outstanding competition, the camaraderie shared by Maine's strongest, is abundant, and we consistently attract 500+ spectators to our event each year.

If you have never lifted before, or have never lifted in the Maine Games State Powerlifting Championship, this is your chance to get registered and become a part of the biggest powerlifting meet in the state of Maine. Registration begins January 1, and until January 31, you can get the "early-bird" special and save $5 off the regular rate which applies from February 1 through 28. After March 1, the late fee is added. Register early, and give us a chance to put on the best meet Maine's ever seen.

Go to: www.mainegames.org for more information.

To learn more about State Games, or the National Congress of State Games, or the State Games of America, go to: www.stategames.org.

12.01.08 Rest

ActiveRD — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:22:35 GMT

Yet another day nursing the sickness. I am going to see how everything feels a little later and possibly (unlikely) get a run in. I don't want to put myself in a position to get even more sick, so I may just sit back, continue to inhale Vitamin C and rest. These past few days have been pretty brutal as my foot is finally starting to come around, but now my immune system says no way Jose. I am trying to keep my head up and just know that the quality sessions are around the corner. December tends to be a pretty hectic time of year with all of the stresses that surround Christmas. It always seems to be more of a stressful time of year than relaxing. Get over this hump and its smooth sailing (errrr maybe) until Carlsbad.

So, You Want to Run a Marathon?

Steve Mitchell — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:02:08 GMT

Five years ago I set a goal to run a marathon before I turn 50. That was after completing a couple of century bike rides. I am not a runner. The idea's germination goes back 15 years to a business trip when I stumbled upon the New York City Marathon finish line around midday. The people crossing the line at that time looked like average folks. Around the same time my friend, Teresa Connor Fatica, another non-runner, did a TNT marathon. I decided then that if I can climb Longs Peak, another one-off goal from years ago, why couldn't I run a marathon. (Teresa was kind enough to point out that she was in her twenties at the time... thanks Teresa).

Next month I turn 49, so the clock is ticking on my "marathon before 50" goal. I'm recording my journey in this blog so that I can look back and amuse myself. First, the sad facts: I'm 5'8", 195 LBS, 28% body fat, with cholesterol in the 250's. I hope to change all that, except for my height and age, I'm stuck with those. I did manage to run/walk a half marathon four years ago - but that took me around 3 hours. I can't repeat that performance if I want to survive a full marathon.

Two months ago I started training with my 9 and 11-year old daughters for the Gobbler Grind 5 K. We ran together with another family doing the race at the Johnson County Community College track. We chose the track so that the kids could run at their own pace. I also started an upper body workout at Gold's Gym. My race time was terrible because I walked/ran with my daughters the first mile before taking off on my own.

Right now I'm only running 2 mile training runs focusing on pace. Two months ago I was running a 11:30 pace, and today I ran 9:41, my first time below 10:00 this year. I want to complete several runs in a row under 9:30 before adding more distance.

Tomorrow I start The Runners Edge "Winter Runners Boot Camp". I'm nervous about what that will be like and whether I can keep up. I hope that all of this will whip me into shape in time to start a 4-month marathon training program next February for the Olathe Marathon in May. I'm must be crazy...

ActiveX - 12.1.08: No More Turkey

ActiveArch — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:42:58 GMT

Good first day back, great to see everyone!

30 minutes of:

400m run
20 wall balls
10 pull ups
20 double-unders
20 sit ups

Everyone seems to adjusting nicely to the "boyfriend" bands. Some creative ways of mounting them, for sure. No recoil injuries as of yet!

My First Ultramarathon

Schwinn160 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:56:29 GMT

Read about how I survived the Dizzy Fifties 50k in this article...

Mumbai Connections

Jim Kaese — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:06:31 GMT

One of my friends was in Mumbai for the Grand Opening of India's first Bikram Yoga studio. Bollywood stars and local dignitaries (along with approx. 25 American representatives) gathered at the Mumbai Marriott hotel for a 10pm Bikram Yoga demonstration and party to follow on Wednesday night.

Grenades exploded and guns were fired at the nearby domestic airport just as the yoga festivities began (airport shootings were not covered by the media). Not understanding the scope and breadth of the attacks at first, Bikram officials proceeded with a modified/shortened program as the assault on the city continued. After the hundreds of guests and spectators in attendance received increasingly alarming text messages from friends and relatives (texting held up better than phone lines), the fete was cancelled and the crowd dispersed.

The group of Westerners was taken to the home of a Bollywood singer/actor where they watched the horrific events at the Taj and Oberoi unfold on television. Ten minutes after leaving the Marriott, explosions erupted near the hotel's front drive (not covered in the media).

After spending the night at this personal residence, the group returned to their hotel--an Indian-owned property near the domestic airport. There, they unsuccessfully attempted to rebook flights and come home, but the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday made already difficult-to-reach call centers and travel agencies even more challenging.

My friend along with most of the group was able to return home Friday and Saturday. But judging from the stories, it sounds as if the international media has still yet to learn and understand the scope of the attacks. Fortunately, nobody from this group was harmed.

MGD 64 Billboards

krosenlof — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:58:25 GMT

Hey Team Phoenix,

Has anyone else started noticing the MGD64 billboards up around town? I saw two this past weekend -- in Tempe on McClintock north the of Red Mountain 202, and in Chandler on Arizona Ave. south of the San Tan 202. It makes me smile to see our product being well promoted!

Anyone seen billboards in other parts of town?

Kim

It's Super Bowl Time

RyanActive — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:53:38 GMT

It's that time of year. Thousands of young athletes have punched their tickets to Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for the Pop Warner Super Bowl and National Cheer and Dance Championship at the Disney Wide World of Sports.

It's a long road to get to this point. To get an idea of just how long, let's break down what the extravaganza at Orlando is comprised of:

--In football, Pop Warner teams eligible for the Super Bowl are divided into four different age/weight ranges: Junior Pee Wee, Pee Wee, Junior Midget and Midget. For example, Junior Pee Wee is typically 8-11 year olds who weight between 60 and 105 pounds. Midget is typically 11-15 year olds who weigh between 105-160 pounds.
--A Pop Warner team must win its respective league to advance to the Regional Championships.
--There are eight regions-Eastern, Mid-America, Pacific Northwest, New England, Mid-South, Southeast, Wescon and Southwest.
--Eight teams emerge from each region - teams from each of the four age/weight ranges in Division I and Division II-to advance to the Super Bowl.

That means that 64 teams are heading to the Orlando area for the Super Bowl. Each team is guaranteed at least two games over the seven-day event, which means the fields are going to be pretty worn down once it's all said and done.

For the cheer and dance squads, the road is similar:

--Teams are divided by squad size (small and large) and further into novice, intermediate and advanced.
--A squad must place in the top two of its league competition to qualify for regionals.
--Once at regionals, each squad performs a 2:30 routine. The top two squads in each size and division advance to the championships in Orlando.

Pop Warner expects more than 500 cheer and dance squads in Florida for the five-day event.