Hello Gators, This weekend we have several events taking place including the YMCA Open House on Saturday morning, the Endurance Sports Expo on Saturday and Sunday, and the Yoga for Triathletes Workshop led by Maribeth and taking place at the Y on Sunday between 10am-Noon. The yoga workshop will include a workout as well as some great instruction on yoga exercises and techniques that you can use at home… Most of us (especially those of us with a running background) lack flexibility and yoga is a great way to improve flexibility, which will lead to improved endurance sports performance. Hopefully you can join us! This week's news topics include...Gatorthon… Seeking donations, a few more runners, and relay team captains!!!About a Gator... A profile and a commitment to her longest distance race to date… Quite a week!!!Recommended… Podcasts 101, Marathon Training Academy, and 7 Habits of Successful Triathletes!!!Don’t Forget… Who’s In 2015? and Gator Fitness Challenge!!!Mark Your Calendars… Open House, Endurance Sports Expo, Yoga Workshop, Gatorthon, Indoor Triathlon, and more!!! Happy Birthday!: Best wishes to Jon Wesler who celebrates a birthday this week (Tuesday, February 17)! Gatorthon: We’re rapidly approaching “Gatorthon”, a combo team relay event and fundraiser (100% of proceeds will go to the Y’s Annual Campaign), which takes place 10 days from today on the morning of Sunday, March 1. Thanks to all that have committed to a donation to date! During the event, I will be running a full treadmill marathon and we have a bunch of volunteers to run a men’s and women’s relay marathon plus Jon and Danny are teaming up for a half marathon each. Following is a list of those that have interested an interest in participating on one of our relay teams; please let me know if you would like to join (note that actual distance for each runner is TBD)…Ladies: Suzanne, Heather T, Melissa, Michelle, Ellen... Average of 5¼ miles.Men: Brent, Byron, Doug, Tim, Vince, Frank, Jason… Average of 3¾ miles. So we can still add 2-3 ladies and 1-2 guys. It would also be good to have a “captain” for each team to determine distance for each runner as well as running order… Reply back if you’d like to volunteer. Also, if you do not want to run, but would like to participate in some other way (e.g. aid station volunteer), also reply back. The impetus for this event, besides another excuse to hang out with your Gator buddies, is raising funds for the Y’s Annual Campaign… If you are in a position to do so, please donate to this very worthwhile cause. You can donate in three ways…Click on the following link to complete an online donation. This can be a recurring or one-time donation. If you go this route, please selectIf you’d prefer to offer some incentive to the runners, you can do a “per mile” donation (based on 26.2 miles). To do this, just send an e-mail to nflsteeler8@msn.com with your desired per mile amount and we’ll follow-up with you after the event.We will also take flat cash or check donations anytime! No donation or running distance is too small, so please participate if you can. About A Gator: This week’s profile is on one of our athletes that is taking it to the next level by not only training and participating in endurance sports events, but also helping to develop the next generation of endurance sports enthusiasts! Learn about Ellen Friend in “About A Gator”! Recommended: This week’s recommendations include a handful of podcasts…Podcasts 101: “Recommended” often includes podcasts. If you are not sure how to play a podcast on your Android or iOS smartphone or on your PC, the following links will help to get you started…How to download and listen to podcasts on Android or iOS: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-download-listen-to-podcasts-android-ios-iphone/#ixzz3SCBmID7eiOS podcast app info: http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201859Marathon Training Academy: Since many of us are currently training for a half marathon or marathon this spring or considering one for the fall, this distance running-focused website and podcast might be useful to provide some useful tips and guidance… http://marathontrainingacademy.com/Seven Habits of Successful Triathletes: In case you are looking for something else triathlon related to do this Sunday besides the “Yoga for Triathletes” workshop and attend the Endurance Sports Expo, this free online event that airs at 5pm includes tips from multiple Ironman World Champions Mirinda Carfrae and Craig Alexander. It seems to be aimed at all experience levels as the tagline is… “Do you want to qualify for KONA, get your first podium spot or complete your first triathlon? Learn more by clicking here. Don’t Forget:Who’s In 2015?: Our club 2015 event calendar continues to grow… If you have any new events for us to include, please send a note with the event name and distance only to Don M.Gator Fitness Challenge: Check off completed weeks on the sheet posted on the pool deck bulletin board or, if you cannot get there or forget to do so, just send a note to Don M indicating any completed weeks. Mark Your Calendars: Upcoming Events:Saturday, February 21 (9am-Noon): YMCA Open HouseWeekend of February 21-22: Endurance Sports Expo (Oaks, PA)… http://www.endurancesportsexpo.com/ (discount codes: try ese1off, ese2off, and ese3off for a discount on online ticket orders; be sure to check out the seminar list as it’s been recently updated)Sunday, February 22, 10am-Noon: Yoga Workshop with Maribeth (YMCA Studio Room)… This is your chance to get in a yoga workout as well as learn about some techniques you can use at home! If you have not already done so, please reply to Maribeth’s Facebook invite (space is limited)Sunday, March 1, starting at 8am… Gatorthon!Coming in April: Indoor Triathlon… We are starting to plan for this event… Details coming soon! Weekly Workouts: Remaining workouts for this week include...Thursday, 2/19 (tonight!), 7:45pm-9:45pm: Bike Trainer ride with Danny. Tonight’s featured video: The 2012 Olympics triathlon.Friday, 2/20 and Sunday, 2/22: We do not have planned group/coached workouts on these dates, but just a reminder that run workouts are now being posted on Training Peaks in the Friday (shorter run with intensity) and Sunday (longer run with a small amount of intensity) slotsSaturday, 2/21, 7:15am-9:45am: Tri Club with Don M7:15am-9:15am: Bike Trainers on the pool deck… Note that the full workout is set for longer distance athletes (i.e. half or full Ironman distance). Athletes training for shorter distance events (sprint or Olympic) should consider only participating for a portion of the ride.9:15am-9:45am (or immediately after the completion of your bike ride): Brick Run (30 minutes) and Stretch (5-10 minutes) Go Gators! Don M