*Hello Gators,* We usually have a lot of positive news to share with you, but we also want to keep you in the loop on any important news regarding the club, even when it’s not so positive… We’ve been contacted by the University of Florida (as have other organizations in a similar situation) about our use of the name “Gators”. Apparently they have a trademark on the use of the name “Gators” and are making a push to get us and other organizations to discontinue use of that nickname. We’re investigating our options and will keep you in the loop regarding any developments. In the meantime, we have begun to consider other club nicknames in case we do have to make a change and are open to your suggestions. As we have a pretty hefty investment into our logo with the alligator, so far we’ve come up with the following options and will put it to a member vote if we do have to make a change (hopefully not)… - Crocodiles (or Crocs) - Tri-Gators (not sure if that will fly due to use of “Gators”) - Reptiles Stay tuned for more updates coming soon. And if you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact any of our club leaders. Now on to some positive news… This week's news topics include... - *Accomplishments… *Our All-American!!! - *Who’s Next?... *Heading south for the spring!!! - *About A Gator… *In training for Ironman Maryland!!! - *Workouts Update… *Inside, outside, upside down!!! - *Gator Fitness Challenge Update… *This is it!!! - *Mark Your Calendars… *Lots of upcoming events including three seminars, our next three club races, plus a special ride!!! *Happy Birthday**! *Best wishes to the following Gators who are all celebrating birthdays this week… - *March 30: Michelle Bradley* - *March 30: Dorian O’Connell* - *March 31: Dave Marine* *Welcome to the Club**!* A warm welcome to our newest Gator, *Gabriel Rosello*, who recently joined the club! Gabriel has already become a regular attendee at our Saturday morning cycle trainer sessions and even joined us for this week’s Gator Fitness Challenge culminating 5 minute plank. *Accomplishments**: *Congrats to *Steph Bieloski* and her teammates who have been named as a Master’s Swim All-Americans based on their performance as part of the Y’s Masters Swim Team 800m freestyle relay! Following is the notice that team captain, Gary Sangmeister posted earlier this week… *It's official, congratulations to Stephanie Bieloski, Jen Della Guardia, Jessica Smith, and Corinne Lampe on being named 2015 All-American for their performance in the Women's 800 Free Relay!! All-American designation is reserved for the fastest time posted in the USA during the calendar year for the event. The foursome completed the relay with a finishing time of 9:03.91 besting the second place Top 10 team by over 1:20 and set a new Delaware Valley LMSC record in the process! More info… **http://www.usms.org/comp/tt/toptenrelaylist.php?CourseID=1&Year=2015&Sex=W&AgeGroupID=1 <http://www.usms.org/comp/tt/toptenrelaylist.php?CourseID=1&Year=2015&Sex=W&AgeGroupID=1>* *Who’s Next**?:* - *Saturday, April 2:* - *Savannah Women’s Half Marathon (Savannah, GA): Heather Irwin* - *EX2 Rendezvous Ride & Run (Upper Marlboro, MD): Don Morrison* (club sponsor; Chester County Running Store) - *Sunday, April 3:* - *Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run (Washington, DC): Jen Ruiz* *About A Gator**: *This edition is about Sonny Dayrit, an accomplished runner who once completed two marathons within a one month period. Sonny has also been a regular at our cycle trainer sessions on Thursdays and Saturdays as he prepares for his first Ironman event. Learn all about Sonny in this edition of “About A Gator”! *Workouts Update**: *As previously announced, some of our workouts start to move outside in April… And April’s here! The tricky part is the weather… And the upcoming forecast including at least this Saturday morning’s ride and next Tuesday’s ride/run brick is not looking great. So we’ve decided to offer indoor and outdoor options for Saturday (see Brian’s and Danny’s Facebook events) and we’ll make a call on Tuesday later. The default for Tuesdays and Saturdays is to go outdoors so if no Facebook event or update is posted, you can assume an outdoor event (and we’ll often have events posted even when we’re outdoors). Also, just a couple of reminders relative to outdoor workouts… - *Emergency Contact Info:* Please send yours to gatorstri@gmail.com if you have not already done so. The start of our workouts will be delayed to collect this info from anyone that has not already provided it, so please be proactive and provide it in advance. - *Bike Lights:* It is mandatory for you to have a front and/or rear light on your bike for all club rides regardless of time of day of the ride. Most of our rides take place during bright daylight hours, but the light still helps to make us more visible and increase the overall safety. *Gator Fitness Challenge IV**: *This is it! The final day of GFC IV is this Sunday, April 3! So get in your final set of SBR workouts and don’t forget to do the 5 minute plank! 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:* 5 minutes! *Mark Your Calendars**: *Upcoming events include… - *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… *19 Gators are running… It’s not too late to join (and we have our own port-a-potty!)… http://www.cgiracing.com/theloverun - *Saturday, April 23: Schuylkill River Trail 50K Relay… *We have two full 6 runner teams in this 31 mile relay running event that includes an out and back between Phoenixville and the Conshohocken Brewery (you guys know where that is!). Each runner will complete a 5-6 mile leg. If there is additional interest, we can still field additional teams or just come out to cheer us on, drink some Sly Fox “SRT Ale”, and enjoy some food trucks and music at the finish line festival. For more info… http://www.schuylkillriverrelay.com/ - *May Club Events:* - *Sunday May 1: Devilman Triathlon (Cumerland County, NJ)… *14 Gators are participating in our annual kickoff triathlon that includes sprint and “half-lite” options as well as duathlons… It’s not too late to join… http://www.piranha-sports.com/Race344.aspx - *Saturday, May 7: Million Dollar Ride (Philadelphia, PA)... *Registration fee is $25 if you plan to fundraise and $60 if you do not fundraise. The $60 fee is only good until April 1… After that it increases to $80… Here’s a link to more info and the registration site (note that as of now some club members are doing the Medium/33 mi ride and others are doing the Long/73 mile ride; the fee is independent of distance and you can change your distance after registration)… http://www.milliondollarbikeride.org/mdbr-2015/ - *NEW: **Tuesday, May 17: Tuesdays In the Park 5K (Pottstown, PA)… *Our sponsor, Chester County Running Store, race director for the “Tuesdays In the Park 5K” series, has graciously offered FREE registration to this event. Watch for a Facebook event coming soon with more details including the discount code!... https://www.runccrs.com/event/pottstowns-tuesday-in-the-park-5k-series-and-kids-fun-run/ - *NEW: **Saturday, May 21: ToughKids Philly Youth Triathlon (French Creek Park, Elverson, PA):* This event is part of the ToughKids event series and is being directed by club sponsor John Kenny Tri. More details including discount code coming soon!... http://johnkennytri.com/events/toughkidsphilly/ - *NEW: **Sunday, May 22: French Creek Triathlon (French Creek Park, Elverson, PA): *Make it a full weekend by having the kids race on Saturday and you can race in a sprint or Olympic distance event on Sunday! Stay tuned for club discount code coming soon… http://johnkennytri.com/events/frenchcreek/ Happy AFD and Go Crocs! *Don M*