A second very Special announcement: It's official!!!

Yes, three exclamation marks!!!  And that isn't enough!!!  Over the past few weeks, I have been in contact with Special Olympics Utah about my benefit race season, and today I received the link to the site they created for me!  

SwifTri for Special Olympics Utah

I think it looks great, and I'm very excited to see what we can generate this year. This link also appears under "Links" at the right-hand column of this blog.

As I'm sure everyone knows, Special Olympics Utah creates a fun atmosphere for their athletes to compete and share experiences with their friends.  It does take money to do this, and every little bit helps.  I know that finances are tight for everyone right now, and "everyone" includes non-profit organizations that strive to make a difference in people's lives.  My site is set up to take one-time donations of any size; please help how you can!

I have made a pledge to donate $25 for every race in which I earn a podium spot.  That is, take 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place either overall or in my age group.  I have also pledged to donate an additional $100 for ever race I win (1st place overall).  I will be posting the results of my races throughout the season; please check back for those.  If you want to make a similar pledge based on my race results, please "friend" me on facebook at www.facebook.com/swiftri and then e-mail me there.  Or simply comment below with your pledge and include your e-mail. (I moderate ALL comments before they are published and viewable by anyone besides myself.  Any comments including a pledge and/or an e-mail address will NOT be published unless you specifically ask me to publish it.) If you make a pledge, I will e-mail you the link to the race director's results page so that you can verify my results before completing your pledge and making your donation.

All donations should be made through this site designed by Special Olympics Utah. This way, your donation will go directly to Special Olympics Utah--I will not handle any money--and will be tax deductible for you.

Thank you for all your support and interest so far.  We are just getting started; let's make this a wonderful and special year for Special Olympics Utah and their athletes!!!

Pinochle

Yes, you read that right: I said, "Pinochle."  

So, what does that have to do with triathlons or fitness? Well, I'll tell you.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I instruct a boot camp at the Orem Fitness Center. For today's work-out, we played Pinochle!  I wasn't quite sure how it would work out, but this is how I set it up:

I started by splitting the class up into four groups.  I then dealt each group twelve random cards from a Pinochle deck.  They were to keep them face down and flip over one card at a time; the cards told them what to do.  Each suit represented a different amount of reps, and each face value represented a different exercise.  Each group was to do whatever exercise the card said for as many reps as the card dictated.

I also designated a trump suit.  If any group drew a trump suit, the entire class would run (after performing the resistance exercise designated by their own group's card).  The face value of the trump card showed whether they were running up and down the hall, up and down the stairs, or around the track.

Like I said, I wasn't quite sure how it would work out, so at the end of the class, I asked what people thought.  This Pinochle work-out got rave reviews from everyone!!!  They all worked hard and said that it was a lot of fun (though being extremely difficult with all the running they ended up doing).  I had some first-timers there today who said it was "awesome" (returning boot campers said the same) and that they would definitely be back for more!  That's what I like to hear!

I'm glad I decided to do something different and try this out.  An exercise program isn't just about killing yourself every time, but it's also about having fun!  That's why I do triathlon; I think it's a lot of fun!

Guest Appearances

This year is starting out at full speed.  Things are coming along with my race/benefit season, I have a cool new logo, and my site with the Special Olympics should be up by the end of this week (I'll post that here as soon as it happens).  But I have had some other cool things happen, as well.

One of the first posts I blogged told about a photo shoot I did for the internal magazine of the largest retail company in the world.  Well, January's issue of that magazine came out last week, complete with my picture and a brief article about me.  As I walked into work there yesterday, my manager cornered me and told me I had to be on a regional conference call.  I was surprised, but even more surprised when I found out the reason:  the Regional Manager had requested my presence as a guest speaker, and wanted me to talk about my exercise/training/racing experiences.  Needless to say, I was quite nervous, but I tried to hide that well. I had the opportunity to share my story as well as my goals.  I made sure to tell everyone on there that I was racing this year to benefit Special Olympics Utah, and I shared my blog address.  I had fun with it.

And then I got another surprise.  One of my client's dad's contacted me and asked me to be a guest speaker at a group he is a part of.  The group is made up of highly financially successful men who, as far as I was able to tell, talk about ways to take care of their investments.  I was invited to talk on the investment of health.  Again, I shared my story, as well as a little bit about Linda and Tina. As I started out, I was a little nervous again, but as I went on, I really got going.  It was again a lot of fun, and I think it went pretty well, too.

With these two guest speaking opportunities, I have learned a couple things.  First of all, when I present on this topic, I like to talk about myself.  Not because I am self-centered or like the recognition.  I feel like I have had and am continuing my own success story, and I am just a normal person... nothing super-extra special about me.  So if I can have this success, I know that anybody can. And I love to help share that inspiration.

The second thing I have learned is that I am actually pretty good speaking in front of a group without a word-for-word script.  I learned to write decently well in a number of college courses (hopefully that comes through on my blog posts).  I also think I am pretty decent presenting something that is laid out in front of me.  However, I have never been extremely comfortable just talking about something in front of a group unless I have it written out word-for-word so that I can simply present it. For these two guest speaking appearances, I did not write out my presentation.  I kind of knew what I wanted to present, and just went from there.  And I feel really good about both of these opportunities.  Again, not to brag, but I just wanted to share that sense of accomplishment, and remind everyone that if I can do this, anyone can do whatever they put their mind, heart, and muscle (hard work) to!

2012 Race Schedule

So, along with spending the last couple of weeks working tirelessly (or I should say tiredly) on the fundraising aspect of this race season, designing a logo, renovating a house, and planning a wedding, I have also been trying to figure out my race schedule for this year.  I am excited this morning to announce my plans:

1. Sat., March 17th: Elevate Indoor Triathlon (Orem, UT)

2. Sat., May 19th: St. George Triathlon (St. George, UT)

3. Sat., June 9th: Daybreak Triathlon (South Jordan, UT)

4. Sat., June 23rd: Provo Triathlon (Provo, UT)

5. Sat., July 14th: TriUtah Echo Triathlon (Echo Reservoir, Coalville, UT)

6. Sat., August 25th: VikingMan (Heyburn/Burley, ID)

7. Sat., September 8th: Camp Yuba Triathlon (Yuba Lake, UT)

8. Sat., October 20th: PumpkinMan (Las Vegas/Boulder City, NV)

These will all be Olympic distance races.

I would also like to announce what I am going to do along with racing, and besides asking for donations to benefit the Special Olympics.  I will also be asking for pledges, and I would like to make the first:
I pledge to donate at least $25 to Special Olympics Utah for every race in which I take a podium spot (which is 1st, 2nd, or 3rd... overall, or in my age group).  I also pledge to donate an additional $100 to Special Olympics Utah for any race in which I win 1st place overall! (The Elevate Indoor Tri is the exception, as I am the only one racing the Olympic distance that day.) Please join me in my efforts, whether it is donating to this cause, supporting and cheering for me on race day, or even racing alongside me.  Let's make this a great race season!

It's here!

Here it is, my new logo!  I love how it turned out and am very excited about it!  I actually have three logos to choose from, two that will be used most often.  So, what do they look like?  Check these out:

Ok, so if you've been following my blog through facebook, you may have already seen the first one. I love the look; I love the colors!  But what do you think?

Special thanks again to Rickey Nielsen of R.Nielsen Designs for creating these for me!  I hope to be able to use these on business cards, fliers, even a banner... anything I can do to advertise why I am racing this year. I am even going to submit these to Special Olympics Utah so that they can put them on the web page they're creating for me.

My First Sponsor!

Shortly after I made my very Special announcement last week, a friend who also works as a graphic designer approached me about designing a logo for me.  I told him I would love to get one.  We got together the other day and discussed some ideas.  I told him what my time frame was, and that he didn't need to be in a huge hurry, as long as I had it ready in time for my first race (I'll have more about that at a later date).  Well, only a few hours later, he e-mailed me a couple ideas.  Over the next couple of days, we e-mailed and texted back and forth until he had something that I really liked.

And then I threw him a curve ball. I told him that I really liked what he had come up with, but that I wanted to simplify it a little bit.  Mainly, I decided to simplify the color scheme.  Instead of using three different colors, I wanted to just go with two.  I mentioned this to him last night, and by this afternoon, he had e-mailed me those revisions.

I love what it looks like, and I am very excited to get the finalized product.  I will be unveiling that here in the next day or two.

To thank him for all of his hard work, for doing more than just putting up with my constant request for changes, and for getting things done much quicker than I expected, I am proud to announce that he is also my first sponsor for this year's exciting race season!  If you are in need of any design, or photography (as he is also does some), please visit his blog:

http://rnielsendesigns.blogspot.com/

And if you mention me (or my blog), he will give you 10% off your order!

A very Special announcement

As my 2011 triathlon season came to an end, I decided I wanted to focus on the Olympic distance races for my next season.  In my very first post of this blog (Trying this again...), I mentioned that I was also hoping to plan something special for my 2012 triathlon season.  In a post just before New Year's (Happy New Year!!!), I mentioned that one of my goals for 2012 was to raise funds for a local charitable organization.  Well, I would like to announce what I am going to do.

In 2012, I will be racing to raise funds for Special Olympics Utah!

My dad is an Adaptive Physical Education teacher, and I remember him occasionally doing things with the Special Olympics down in Las Vegas.  I remember helping him out with it occasionally, but I probably didn't appreciate it then as much as I would now.  It is something I wish I would have done more of while I was growing up, but instead of regretting not doing more in the past, I have decided to focus on doing what I can now!  

The decision to focus on Olympic distance triathlons came at the end of the VikingMan race in Burley, Idaho, ( Sept. 10, 2011) where I took 2nd place in my age group.  Over the next month, I developed the idea to not only race, but to do a fundraiser while I train and race.  The idea to raise funds for Special Olympics came from my memories (vague as they may be) of the past, and in thinking that it would be cool to tie the Olympic theme between my races and the organization I was going to raise funds for.  I haven't come up with an official name for the next season, but it will be a special olympic triathlon season: racing the Olympic distance to raise funds for the Special Olympics!  

Like any catchy name, plans for the year and fund raising effort are not final yet.  I have been in contact with the Special Olympics Utah organization, and they are being extremely helpful in figuring out how I am going to do this.  We are working together to set up an internet page where anyone can go to donate money for this cause.  When that is final, I will post a link here on my blog so anyone can easily access that page.  I also have to finalize my race season.  I have looked at race calendars, and there are a number of races that I would love to do.  I hope to be able to find a person or business (or two) who may be interested in sponsoring me.  My hope is that these sponsors will be willing and able to pay for at least a couple of my races so that I can do more than I could pay for out of my own pocket, and therefore be able to raise more money for the Special Olympics. As plans start coming together, I will keep everyone updated right here! And as the race season develops, I will update experiences from training and racing, as well.  I hope everyone will enjoy what I hope to be able to share over the next year!

Your New Year's Fitness Resolution: The Fat-Burning Zone

As the holidays have wrapped up and the new year has begun, gyms and fitness centers will be packed.  Local and on-line retailers will be pushing a number of fitness items.  Most people will set some type of fitness goal again this year.  What makes the difference between actually sticking to (and reaching) that goal or falling off and forgetting it after February?  That will be different for different people.  One thing that will help, though, is actually knowing how to use some of the equipment you will either be purchasing for your home or using at the gym.  One feature almost every piece of cardio equipment will have is a "fat loss zone."  What is this, and how can you best use this to your advantage?


The "fat loss zone" simply refers to a heart rate zone where you are burning a higher percentage of fat as fuel.  One thing we have to understand is that our bodies are constantly burning calories; this is the basic meaning of metabolism.  At rest, our bodies burn more fat than carbohydrates as fuel.  As we begin to move, the percentage of fat decreases and the percentage of carbs increases.  The purpose of the "fat burning zone" is to keep the percentage of fat being burned greater than or equal to the percentage of carbs being burned.


So, knowing a little better what the "fat burning zone" is, how can you best use this to your advantage?  This is a trick question.  The correct answer is: you can't.  The misinterpretation of the "fat burning zone" has led to "one of the biggest misconceptions in the exercise and weight-loss world" (The Myth of the Fat Burning Zone; Rachel Cosgrove, USAT Level 1, CSCS; for Active.com). If you notice in the preceding paragraph, I mentioned percentages of fat or carbohydrates burned.  The word percentages, however, in this case has been misinterpreted to mean amount. Below is one way I have seen it explained:


"Suppose you are standing next to Warren Buffet.  Would you rather have ALL of the money in your bank account, or 3% of the money in Warren Buffet's bank account?"


For me, and probably for most people, Warren Buffet's 3% is much more desirable than my 100%.  Why?  Because it is a much greater total amount.  So, let's compare that to exercise:  


Let's take an hour of exercise.  To keep the math simple, let's say you burn 200 calories in this hour, and you do it in the "fat burning zone," where 50% of your energy comes from burning fat and 50% comes from burning carbs.  You have just burned 100 fat calories. 


Now, let's take the same exercise but increase the intensity; now, instead of burning 200 calories in an hour, you have burned 600! But because your intensity is so much higher, only 30% of your calories burned were fat calories, and the other 70% were carbs.  Big problem, right?  Well, let's do the math.  30% of 600 equals 180.  So, you may have not been in the fat burning zone, but in the same amount of time, you burned almost twice as many fat calories!  Amazing, isn't it?  Yes, but it's also just basic math.    Not only that, but you have also burned 3 times as many calories in the same amount of time!  You have created a greater caloric deficit (given that you don't "reward" yourself after such a hard work-out by eating half of a 9-inch round, triple layer Death By Chocolate cake), and this is what weight loss--or, more appropriately, fat loss--is all about. 


So, how can you better improve your work-outs to reach your weight loss or other fitness goals?  Let me know what those fitness goals are, and I would love to help you out!  Check out my "Personal Training" link on the right side of this blog, and send me an e-mail.  


Good luck with everything this year!