Hello Gators,The theme for the week is “Rocky”… We’ll start the weekend with a “Reynolds to Rocky” ride on Saturday and continue with our own “Rocky” athlete taking on a big challenge on Sunday. Plus this week’s “About a Gator” profile includes some info about a recent “Rocky Mountains” accomplishment and “Accomplishments” covers some additional successes by a couple of our rock stars. And, finally, learn how to avoid a “rocky” post-season relative to your strength and nutrition in “Recommended”. Yo Adrienne!, and all Gators… Have a great week! This week's news topics include...Accomplishments… The long and the short of it!!Who’s Next?… Heading north!!About A Gator… From soccer to Boulder!!So What Do You Think?... Member survey closes on Monday… Be heard!! Here’s the link… https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/99D3CXKDo You Got Game?… We’re looking for a few (or more) good runners and volunteers for the upcoming Spring-Valley Y Game Day 5K!! SPOILER ALERT… This item includes a discount code!Recommended: Strength, nutrition, and goal setting!!Mark Your Calendars… Saturday “Reynolds to Rocky” club ride, Fantasy Football draft/party, Diamondman Challenge Festival (rates increase this evening), and Pools Closure continues!! Happy Birthday!: Best wishes to Chris Reiter who celebrated her birthday this past Monday, August 24! Accomplishments: Two for two…Sunday, August 23:Cedar Island 5K Swim (Avalon, NJ): Nabil Radouane completed yet another 3+ mile swim event… Way to go, Nabil!North East Sprint Triathlon (North East, MD): Ken Beauchamp gained some much needed points for the club in the Greater Atlantic Club Challenge, where we still hold a third place position in the standings. Ken had a very successful race with an age group win… PODIUM!!... and an overall 8th place finish (out of 228). Ken’s other accomplishments included… #1 on both transitions, #3 overall bike, #19 overall run, and a top 30% overall swim. Great effort, Ken! Who’s Next?: Two Gators heading north for events this weekend. Best wishes for a safe and successful event for both Andy and Jeff…Sunday, August 30:Ironman Muskoka (Muskoka, Ontario): Jeff Spillane, famous for the Rocky Balboa run and the Funky Santa 5k (where he ran each event donned in event-themed attire; see Jeff’s “About a Gator” for more details), takes on this full Ironman 140.6 mile course.Challenge Main (Old Orchard Beach, ME): Andy Rosebrook, only two weeks removed from a successful finish at Challenge Pocono, will tackle the Olympic course at this event. About A Gator: This profile covers one of our athletes who just achieved a monumental accomplishment in Boulder, Colorado. Learn all about “Iron Eric” in this edition! So What Do You Think?: Thanks to the 35 Gators that have already completed the survey! The more input that we get the better we can address your needs. If you have not already done so, please take five minutes to complete our member survey… https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/99D3CXK Do You Got Game?: We are seeking both runners and volunteers for the Sunday, October 11 Spring-Valley YMCA “Game Day 5K”…Volunteer opportunities: We are looking for help and the following link has all duties assigned for sign up. All volunteers receive a special shirt!... https://www.runtheday.com/registration/volunteer_signup/31500Race Registration Discount: Any Gator that registers can receive $5 off with the promotional code “gators”. Race registration link… https://www.runtheday.com/registration/select_race_type/31500 Recommended: Some recent podcasts worth checking out…Bob Seebohar Interviews: Renowned endurance nutritionist and strength coach Bob Seebohar conducted a couple of recent interviews that are worth listening to that focus on some areas worth considering during the post/off/pre season… Nutrition and strength building…IM Talk interview: Includes a lot of discussion about kids’ nutrition… http://www.imtalk.me/home/2015/8/10/imtalk-episode-476-bob-seebohar.htmlTriathlon Research interview: Covers strength and nutrition… https://triathlonresearch.org/blog/episode-38-bob-seebohar-the-fourth-fifth-disciplines/10 Ironman events in 10 days (and Goal Setting “Ted Talk”): Be sure to stay tuned all the way until the end as the complete (and excellent) Ted Talk on “Goal Setting” is included… http://triathletetraining.com/tt060-goal-setting-10-ironmans-in-10-days/ Mark Your Calendars:Saturday, August 29, 7am start time: The Tri Club ride will start at the Reynold’s Dog Park in Oaks and we’ll do a trail ride all the way to the Art Museum/Rocky statue. This ride is approximately 50 miles and will take approximately 3:30-4:00 to complete. Pace groups will be determined based on participation. If you plan to join the ride, please accept the meeting invite posted on Facebook. Hope you can join us!Through Wednesday, September 2: It was just announced that the current indoor pool maintenance closure will continue through next Wednesday, September 2. The outdoor pools will be open with special hours on some mornings (5am-8am) and other area Y’s will have indoor pool times available. We will again NOT have any Tri Swim indoor workouts next week, but we may plan a Saturday, September 5 Blue Marsh open water swim, weather permitting.Thursday, September 9, Inaugural Gators Fantasy Football Draft: Our draft will take place immediately following the Thursday night Tri Club bike ride. The official draft start time is 8pm and it will take place at Buffalo Wild Wings in Oaks. Space is very limited, but if you are interested in watching the festivities, please reply back and we’ll let you know if space is available.Saturday, September 12, Diamondman Challenge: This event features all sorts of races and at least 23 Gators are planning to participate… Sprint and half Ironman distance triathlons and duathlons, off-road triathlon and duathlon, and kids triathlon and duathlon. We’d like for it to be a family event and we’re planning to host a few kids training sessions over the summer so that we can have a pack of Jr. Gators participate. Reserve the date on your calendar and stay tuned for more details coming soon! Go Gators! Don M