*Hello Gators,* This weekend the Endurance Sports Expo takes place at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center (Hall B) in Oaks (Saturday, 10am-5pm and Sunday, 10am-4pm). And if that wasn’t enough, we also are having a “Gators Dinner and a Movie” night out where we will be seeing the movie “Race” (Regal Oaks Stadium 24 at 3:50pm) and then going out for a group dinner on Saturday evening. If you have not yet accepted the Facebook invite and would like to join us for the movie and/or dinner, please do so! This will be my fifth Endurance Sports Expo… I’ve had pretty good luck with tri-related gear actually winning my first wetsuit (a full) in one of the seminars and I’ve also purchased everything from nutritional items to my first tri kit to bike shoes and a sleeveless wetsuit. I typically also attend at least a couple of seminars and some of them have been excellent. This year some of the more interesting ones on this year’s schedule are listed below. - “The Art and Science of Running… Learn the Skills to Become a Faster Runner” (Sat, 11am) - “Mental Strength and Training” by many time Tour de France cyclist Frankie Andreau (Sat, Noon) - “Open Water Swimming 101” (Sat, 1pm) - “This is Why You Are Slow” by Gator favorite Dr. Michael Ross from the Rothman Institute (Sat, 2pm) So, lots of great opportunities this weekend to help you reach your “expotential”! Hopefully you can join us for some of the fun and festivities! This week's news topics include... - *Who’s Next?... *We’re off and “running” with the first Gator racing this year (sort of)!!! - *About A Gator… *Logan’s Run (and Bike and Swim and injured arm)!!! - *And Now A Word from… *We love our sponsors!!! - *Gatorthon Update… *6 treadmills, 30 runners, and 235.8 miles!!! - *Gator Fitness Challenge Update… *Hopefully you are making good progress on the challenges!!! - *Mark Your Calendars… *Lots of upcoming events including Endurance Sports Expo, seminars, and Gatorthon!!! - *Weekly Workouts: *Do you have any song requests for Saturday morning’s bike trainer ride?? *Welcome**!: *A warm welcome to the following new members that have recently joined the Gators! - *Joe Boris* - *Sue Flavin* - *Gary Walens* - *Kelly Walens* *Happy Birthday**! *Best wishes to the following Gators who will be celebrating or recently celebrated birthdays! - *February 4: Rob Fletcher* - *February 10: Dean Milligan* - *February 12: Jeannine Kelly* - *February 14: Allison Wesler* - *February 17: Jon Wesler* - *February 21: Heather Williams* *Who’s Next**?: *Ruth got us of to a great start with her carryover effort at the Snowdrop Ultra in Texas in late December that ended on New Year’s Day. Then a bunch of us partook in the annual RefrigaGator Swim. And a few of us have run some 5Ks. This weekend we kick off our late winter/spring running season with our first "longer than a 5K" individual event participant... - *Saturday, February 20: Frostbite Five Miler (Ambler, PA): Michelle Sipe* will start her very ambitious year of running events and triathlons. Best wishes for a safe and successful event! *About A Gator**: *We have a lot of new members and some returning members that we’d like to learn more about, so this profile gets us started on the 2016 edition of “About A Gators”. As any of you that have attended a recent Tri Swim workout already know, *Logan Washburn* is a fantastic swimmer. She is also a pretty experienced triathlete. In this edition you can learn all about Logan including her most memorable event that almost led to her being in a sling for her wedding! *And Now A Word From**: *We have an amazing set of sponsors who provide us with some funding, some great event discounts and comp event entries, and regular sharing of their knowledge with the club in seminars and clinics. And we even have a sponsor to thank for our great new bike workout training mats. We’ll be sharing more information about this amazing group with you shortly including a summary of the sponsors along with contact information and any special discounting or services we receive from them. *Gatorthon**: *For Gatorthon, we’ve increased our numbers between 2015 and 2016 from 17 to 30 runners, from 4 to 9 marathons, and we’re hoping to equally shatter our Gatorthon donation to the Annual Campaign above last year’s $1,000; this is a great cause with all of the proceeds having a direct positive impact on our local community. If you have not yet had an opportunity to donate and you would like to do so, you can use the link below. Please be sure to label your donation “In Honor of… Gatorthon” so that our event is credited with your donation. And just a reminder that some companies will provide matching donations for your charitable contributions. Here’s the link to the online donation page… https://operations.daxko.com/features/onlinegiving/donationdetails.aspx?cid=3109&campaign=13786 . It should be an incredibly fun day, so please stop by even if you are not running!! *Gator Fitness Challenge IV**: *We are in week 7 of our latest Gator Fitness Challenge. The GFC motto is “it’s never too late to start”, so if you have not yet signed up and would like to do so, please contact Don Mack. This week’s Gator Fitness Challenges: 1. *SBR Challenge:* At least 30 minutes each swimming, biking, and running with a combined minimum total of at least 2 hours. 2. *Plank Challenge:* 2 minutes, 20 seconds (increases 20 seconds each week) *Mark Your Calendars**: *Upcoming events include… - *Saturday, February 20-Sunday, February 21: *The Endurance Sports Expo will take place at the Oaks convention center. - *Sunday, February 28, 8am: *Gatorthon II will take place on the treadmills at the Spring Valley YMCA. - *March Seminars: *Stay tuned for details about seminars coming in March on nutrition and bike safety and maintenance!! *Weekly Workouts**: *Here’s what’s left for the weekend… - *Saturday, February 20, 7:30am-9:30am:* Get in the zone (Zone 4) at this week’s Bike Trainer/Run brick workout led by Don M in Room 2. We’ll have lots of music and potentially another sing-a-long to “Sweet Caroline” at the end!!! Do you have any song requests? Send them to gatorstri@gmail.com and you may hear your song during the workout. Go Gators! *Don M*