Team Bear Naked - Los Angeles

Hey all, just writing to find out if anyone is in harms way or perhaps needs somewhere to stay/store anything?  Feel free to email me (jeffhanna@mac.com) or call my cell (303-521-3346).  Also, if anyone is willing to get together and find out what we can do to help out or volunteer please let me know.  I will try organizing a volunteer effort for anyone interested.

I hope you are all safe and healthy.  This is a very unfortunate set of circumstances, but it is also a natural part of the ecosystem in this region.

Cheers,

jeff

Hey everyone!

I have a blog I would love all of you to check out. I just updated it with my experience over the weekend and wanted to share it with all of you.

I decided not to write a race report because Big Kahuna did not turn out to be my best race. I will spare you the details and leave it at some tummy problems from swallowing too much sea water .Big Kahuna was supposed to be my last big race before my Ironman so I was a bit bummed out that it did not turn out to be the confidence booster I was hoping for. I was pretty upset about the race until this past weekend when I got to be a part of a very emotional, inspirational experience that I decided was more important to write about.

My friend Meghan joined a group called Team in Training that I am sure most of you are aware of. I have been a part of Team in Training for a long time starting out in marathons and slowly moving my way to triathlons. I have raised over $10k for the leukemia and lymphoma society over the past four years. Last year I was the captain of the west los angeles tnt group that Meghan joined. Meghan joined to get in shape, meet some friends and raise money for a good cause along the way. She knew little to nothing about the leukemia and lymphoma society. About 2 months after training began, I received shocking news that Meghan's routine biopsy of her lymph nodes did not come back benign, but that she had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Luckily for Meghan, her support through the difficult times came from the very team she had been training with. While we provided the emotional support she needed, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society guided Megan to the proper healthcare and treatment required to fight the cancer. She had to give up her immediate goal of training for the Malibu triathlon but she was in for a much bigger fight. In April, Meghan called me with the wonderful news that she was in remission. Meghan decided it was time to start training for the triathlon she had originally signed up for. This past Sunday Meghan completed the Malibu triathlon. Everything finally came full circle as she was able to do the triathlon she had to put on hold the year before in order to endure months of chemo and other various treatments. I ran with Meghan for part of the run portion of the race and was brought back to my negative thoughts of my race earlier in the week. I felt ashamed as I looked at this girl running next to me who had been through so much this year and was still pushing herself to get through this event and I was complaining that I had a bit of adversity in my silly race. It was a good reminder of how lucky I really am. This inspiration came at the perfect time as I am getting into the scary part of my Ironman training. I needed a little kick in the butt to remind me how lucky I am.

I have been raising money this season for Fertile Hope, which is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing reproductive information, support and hope to cancer patients and survivors whose medical treatments present the risk of infertility. Meghan attributes this organization to her ability to one day carry her own child. Please check out my website at:

http://januscharitychallenge.kintera.org/fl08/dperkel

Check out my blog at:

http://danielleperkel.blogspot.com/

Hey Team!

I think I'm one of the last (if not the last) member of the Team to post something!  It's hard to beat the procrastinator inside sometimes:)

Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself and let you guys know that I'm your fearless Market Leader.  I'm here to help!  Please let me know if you have any questions, need help setting up breakfast clinics, reporting race results, etc.  Speaking of all that, how's it going with everyone?  I know we're all busy with training and racing, but has anyone made a plan for a breakfast clinic or taken any pics?  While it feels like we just got our box of goodies from Bear Naked, our season is pretty short (until February!) so start thinking about those clinics (I know, I know, this coming from the procrastinator:)

It's so great to see everyone posting workouts and trying to meet up.  I would love to get us all together at least once this season!  There's a 10K in Manhattan Beach on October 4th.  We could make this a Team Event, meet everyone, take some pictures, run a fun race, and then maybe do brunch?  Let me know what you guys think!

I hope Danielle and Jonathan rocked Big Kahuna yesterday!  I was looking out for Kerri while racing the LA Tri, but was too distracted by riding on Sunset with no traffic!  Best of luck to those doing Malibu this weekend!

Happy Training,

Jessica

*Make sure you guys check out "The Den"--there's some great info and opportunities to share tips!

Welcome to your personal blog designed for you and your market to collaborate over. Not only can you share success stories and talk about your favorite Bear Naked product here, but also build personal relationships with your market and maybe find a running buddy or two in your area! Your market may prove to be your biggest help throughout your sponsorship because they are experiencing the same things you are. Happy blogging!

Best Regards,

Team Bear Naked Manager