*Hello Gators,* We’re almost there… We’re moving some of our workouts outside starting in April! We’re also going to institute a “two coach” approach on Saturday mornings so that we can include two pace groups. This and much more in this week’s Gator News! Have a great weekend! This week's news topics include... - *Accomplishments… *Naked Bavarian, Napa Valley Marathon, Myrtle Beach Half Marathon, and St. Patty’s Day 10K!!! - *Who’s Next?... *A couple of “New” Marathons… New Jersey and New Mexico… and the Shamrock Shuffle!!! - *About A Gator… *Jen-erally Speaking!!! - *Springing Into Spring… *Learn all about our club workout schedule for April-June!!! - *Wanna T-Shirt?... *Our 2016 member t-shirts are in!!! Find out how to get yours. - *Recommended… *Infinit Interview and the Process of Winning!!! - *Gator Fitness Challenge Update… *Hopefully you are making good progress on the challenges!!! - *Mark Your Calendars… *Lots of upcoming events including three seminars and our next two club events!!! *Happy Birthday**! *Best wishes to the following Gators who recently celebrated birthdays! - *March 7: Jay Sherman* - *March 10: J. D. Landis* - *March 14: Kelly Beauchamp* *Accomplishments**: *Recent Gator accomplishments in South Carolina, California, and Pennsylvania… - *Saturday, March 5:* - *PR ALERT…** Myrtle Beach Half Marathon (Myrtle Beach, SC): Susan Flavin *set a PR by over four minutes! Nice Gator debut, Susan!! - *Sunday, March 6:* - *Naked Bavarian 20 miler (Blue Marsh, PA): Tim Pfluger *finished 3rd place overall (out of 149)… *PODIUM!!*... in this hilly trail run. Awesome result, Tim!! - *Napa Valley Marathon (Calistoga, CA): *Newlyweds *Gregg Heimer* and *Kimberlea Heimer *wasted no time in completing their first event together. In case you are wondering… It appears that Kimberlea finished about 10 seconds in front of Gregg… Good move, Gregg (and congrats to you and Kimberlea)!! - *Sunday, March 13:* - *St. Patrick’s Day 10K (Pottstown, PA): *Wasting no time, Gregg and Kimberlea returned to Pennsylvania just in time to make it to the starting line of their first 10K together. And they had some great results with Gregg finishing 24th overall (out of 83) and Kimberlea finishing 27th overall (and 3rd in her age group… *PODIUM!!*). Amazingly, the two of them have not yet run a half marathon together… Good chance that will be happening soon. Way to go, Heimers!! *Who’s Next**?: *Gators are taking on events in Delaware, New Jersey, and New Mexico this weekend. Best wishes to all for a safe and successful event! - *Saturday, March 19:* - *Shamrock Shuffle 15K (Rehobeth Beach, DE): Maureen Pinkerton* races in her favorite event location. - *Sunday, March 20:* - *Ocean Drive Marathon (Cape May County, NJ): Jen Ruiz *makes her marathon debut. - *Bataan Death March Marathon (White Sands Missile Range, NM): Michelle Sipe *heads to the southwest to tackle state #31 on her journey to 50. *About A Gator**: Jen Ruiz,* one of our new Gators, takes on her biggest challenge to date this weekend at the Ocean Drive Marathon. But by the end of the year she plans to top that. Learn about this and more in this edition of “About A Gator”! *Springing Into Spring**:* Earlier this week our club coaches met and laid out the club workout schedule for April-June. Here it is (schedule will also be posted under “Files” to our Facebook group)... - *Mondays *(no change): - 10am-11am: Tri Swim workout (lead: Don S) - 8:30pm-9:30pm: Tri Swim workout (leads: Brian, Steve) - *Tuesdays *(repeat from last year): Starting on 4/5, when weather permits we'll move outdoors for SRT bike intervals followed by an "at your own pace" run. Start will be from the Reynolds Dog Park. We'll start the workouts at 6pm and possibly move to a later start time as the daylight increases. (primary lead: Michelle) - *NOTES:* - We will NOT offer yoga during these three months. - We will stay indoors on Tuesday, 4/12 due to the Bodymetrix Nutrition Clinic; for this week only the spin will start at 8pm. - In cases of inclement weather, we may sometimes offer spin workouts as a replacement. - *Wednesdays* (no change): - 10am-11am: Tri Swim workout (lead: Don S) - 8:30pm-9:30pm: Tri Swim workout (lead: Maribeth) - *Thursdays* (new): Starting on 4/7, our standard workout offer will be a 7pm 75-90 minute indoor bike trainer workout led by Danny or Don M. If you prefer to go outdoors, we recommend the SCU Thursday night rides (6pm start time) from Appalachian Brewing Company in Collegeville. - *Saturdays*: Starting on 4/2, weather permitting, we will offer outdoor bike rides (and optional brick run) starting from the Reynolds Dog Park. The start time will be 7:30am the first week with earlier start times as daylight increases. The plan is to have two coaches for each workout with a 13-15 MPH average pace group and an 18+ MPH average pace group. A pool of coaches will rotate through these slots. *Wanna T-shirt**?: *Our 2016 member t-shirts have arrived! You can pick yours up at the following events: - Saturday, 3/19, 7:30am-9:30am club bike trainer workout (Room 2) - Monday, 3/21 tri swim workouts (10am-11am and 8:30pm-9:30pm) - Wednesday, 3/23 tri swim workouts (10am-11am and 8:30pm-9:30pm) - Thursday, 3/24, 7:30pm-9pm club bike trainer workout (Room 2) If you miss these opportunities, please contact Danny to make separate arrangements. *Recommended**: *A couple of recent podcasts that you might want to check out… - Infinit Founder, Michael Folan (Endurance Sports on Fire #28): The host interviews one of the founders of our club sponsor Infinit… http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/endurance-sports-on-fire/e/28-michael-folan-industry-insider-infinit-nutrition-42639068 - “Winning Is a Process” (Endurance Sports on Fire #23)… http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/endurance-sports-on-fire/e/23-winning-is-a-process-42515208 *Gator Fitness Challenge IV**: *We are in week 11 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, we still have two more weeks… 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:* 3 minutes, 40 seconds (increases 20 seconds each week) *Mark Your Calendars**: *Upcoming events include… - *Wednesday, March 30, 7pm-8:15pm, YMCA Corporate Conference Room: Bikability Clinic… *Bike maintenance and safety clinic conducted by Brian Kozera. - *April Seminars:* - *Tuesday, April 12, 7pm-7:45pm: Nutrition for Triathletes *conducted by club sponsor, Bodymetrix. More details coming soon! - *Wednesday, April 20, 7pm: Running Clinic *conducted by our club sponsor, Chester County Running Store. Topics covered will include… Considerations when selecting a shoe for training and racing, proper shoe fit, injury prevention, training and recovery. Stay tuned for more details coming soon! - *April Club Events:* - *Sunday, April 10: Love Run half marathon* - *Saturday, April 23: Schuylkill River Trail 50K Relay… *Contact Tim Pflluger or Don Mack if you are interested in one of the few remaining spots on our two teams!! Each runner will complete a 5-6 mile leg. Go Gators! *Don M*