Fat guys making a difference the world over...

With Christmas only 8 days away, it's the season where much of the world celebrates a fat guy in weird clothing (and coincidentally, the birth of Jesus). It seems unusual to me, that our appearance driven society hasn't yet caused the image of Santa to be remade into a buff guy who drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon and uses too much hair gel (a la the guys on Jersey Shore).

Thankfully, our society still finds it acceptable and even comforting to celebrate a hefty guy in a strange outfit giving gifts, at least one day a year.

With that in mind I would like to celebrate another fat guy in weird clothes giving gifts; The Fat Cyclist. Here's a guy who turned his wifes battle with cancer into a crusade to help rid the world of this horrifying disease. Through a blog, his readers, and a link to a Lance Armstrong Foundation fundraising page, "Fatty" (as he's affectionately known) raised nearly a million dollars this year to fight cancer. His wife passed away in early August, but instead of focusing on the loss, he's only fought harder.

I'll let you read the story for yourself, but just this week, Fatty and friends raised over $100k to be shared between LAF & World Bicycle Relief, mostly through small personal donations. To me, that's almost as magical as flying reindeer. As a reward for his efforts, he "got" to ride up a mountain. As you will undoubtedly read on this blog from time to time, hills are evil, and Fat Guys should not be forced to ride them. (The fact that Fatty got to ride said mountain with Lance Armstrong and Team Radio Shack is neither here nor there).

To show that I too am in on the act of Fat men who make a difference: I shopped for the White Elephant gift exchange my wife and I are participating in tonight so she could study for the finals she took this afternoon. Yes, that's right. While Santa brings presents to about 1/2 the world, and Fatty brings hope to cancer patients the world over, I have spent 20 minutes at CVS across the street from work buying slinkys, massage pillows, and fleece throws.

What can I say, I'm a giver.

The season of giving (gear)

The holiday season and the price discounts it brings with it make this the perfect time of year for giving (whether to others or yourself) gear. Being that 2010 will be only my second season and Rachelle's first, we stocked up this holiday season.

But before i get into the gear; I want to explain how we do Christmas. My wife and I are terrible at keeping secrets from each other. Presents are usually opened one every few days throughout December, with the last few a couple days before we leave to visit our families out west. That's how I'm able to relay some of our presents and it's still 9 days before Christmas.

This year, because of our sponsorships through Loop'd, some bargain shopping at local multisport shops, and your typical pre-Christmas online sales, we got some mighty fine deals.

First, through the generosity of the folks at Rudy Project in sponsoring me for the 2010 season, we were able to save a nice chunk of change 2 of their Slinger Helmets. I've mentioned these before, but I bring it up again because Rachelle's came in today. The small white, red, and blue one was on backorder, so she chose the black, red, and white one instead. Turns out she likes this one even more than the "USA" color scheme of mine.

Since they had to ship the helmet out yet anyways, I decided to bite the bullet on a pair of sunglasses I'd been eyeing. I know it's cheesy, but Rudy makes a pair of USA Triathlon branded red and white Rydon frames with blue lenses that I just had to have. They came with the helmet today, and I assure you, pictures of me wearing the helmet and matching shades will be on this blog sooner rather than later.

Even though triathlon season is still several months away, Rach has been bugging me endlessly for a tri top to match her black Zoot tri shorts. Looking online I couldn't find quite the deal I wanted. But in a visit to Fast:Splits Multisports, I found a 2009 top that matched her shorts perfectly at a closeout price I couldn't pass up.

Being married only a few months ago, we get the occasional wedding present in the mail still. When a Sears gift card arrived in the mail a week ago, I hopped on the opportunity to order Rachelle a new bike computer to replace the one that we sold with her old mountain bike.

Finally, and I know I've mentioned this before, but Rach got me a G5 iPod Nano. Aside from providing inspiration, it also allows me to use my Nike+ system again to track running miles. I'd go crazy without the ability to really keep an eye on my speed and distance. Unless and until I get a personal GPS, you can bet I'll be glued to my iPod for training, and any races they are legal in.

Team Fuji 2010!

Yesterday, I learned that Fuji Bicycles had begun sponsoring athletes of all levels who are fans of the brand and want to be involved. The idea is that while it will be a team, being a top competitor isn't the only thing (or even the primary thing) they're looking for. Cyclists and other athletes of all levels ride Fuji, from Matty Reed and his D-6 RC all the way down to me with my entry level Absolute 4.0. Fuji is looking to tap into that to increase market share, and well, help some folks pimp their rides along the way.

Being that I never grew out of getting incredibly excited about new things from companies that I love, I had to apply immediately. I told them about being fat, only being back on the bike a little over a year, commuting, getting into triathlons, the wedding, and my second place AG finish at Maumee Bay Sprint Tri. I also told them I'm a smooth talker, with a great personality, and that every triathlete I've ever met loves me, so they couldn't possibly do better than having me on the team. (I left off snappy dresser and showering daily; that would have been overkill).

I waited with baited breath (I have never understood why someone would bait their breath, but whatever), and checked my email every 5 minutes (ok, maybe every hour, except when I was sleeping). My efforts were rewarded at 1:03 PM today when I got the response letting me know that I had been TEAM FUJI APPROVED!

Suddenly, it was as if all those years of being picked last for dodgeball, taking 16 years to graduate college, and having twice attended Star Trek conventions was washed away. I was now a representative for one of my favorite brands, one that I use regularly and honestly believe in.

Of course, being selected for Team Fuji isn't just fun and happiness. I now have more than just my own personal pride on the line when I'm competing. People will also know that I'm representing Fuji (mostly because I'll shout it to anyone who will listen). So, I'm really going to have to be serious about all the training and preparation for the coming season.

Thanks Team Fuji, looking forward to a terrific season! I won't let you down (too much).

In the swing of things

So, we've been back at training full time for 4 days, and I'm sore all over. Clearly the time off was kind to me. My list of minor annoying injuries has grown quickly over the past few days:

- Plantar Fasciitis

- Strained Bicep

- Shin Splints

- Rug burn on elbows

- Vaginitis (I dont know what this is but my wife tells me its whats causing the other 4)

These are definitely the kinds of injuries that come from not eating carefully enough, and not working out. My wife being an athletic trainer allows me to have a level of comfort that I'm not doing things in such a way that I might be doing something that will seriously impair my training or injure myself in a long term manner.

The good news is, I'm coming through each workout feeling generally stronger. In fact, during our bike training yesterday, I beat the wife by more than 15 minutes for a 14 mile ride. To top it off, my HR was about 10 BPM lower than hers was almost 2 MPH faster pace.

We're taking a day off to go to NYC this weekend, before kicking things up a notch next week. I'm looking forward to it. I just hope my vaginitis heals by then...

37 weeks

Today was the first official day of training for Timberman. My darling wife is an athletic trainer and between her knowledge and a long term plan she found online, we have begun training for the big race. Today was relatively simple: 2.5 miles on the track and some core work.

Except that me and core work are not things that usually go well together.

I'm TERRIBLE at it.

Fortunately, it was an easy set of about 15 reps of 8 different exercises. I did most of it reasonably well, with the exception of one where you're supposed to balance on your tailbone, bend your knees, extend your arms and shift side to side. That one didn't go so well. But I finished none the less.

Day 1 ended late, and day 2 starts early with a trip to the pool at 6 for 600 meters, followed by some lifting.

A couple of side notes:

- I continue to amass sponsorships for the upcoming season. Today I brought on board H2oAudio, a waterproof case company for mp3 players. While it's not one of those things you can't live without, it's certainly something that will help break up the monotony of long pool swims.

- Speaking of sponsorships and gear, we made use of my Rudy Project sponsorship to order new cycling helmets. I've been entranced by the red, white, and blue Slinger model since I saw it in a magazine very early in the year. Never thought I'd own one, let alone get one for Rach for her season. It fits perfectly and for being Rudy's entry level helmet, it's lightyears ahead of the helmet I wore this season interms of both comfort and protection. The first semi-warm day we get around here, I'm hopping in the bike!

- Lastly, I got my big Christmas present early (Rach and I never make each other wait); a black iPod Nano, 5th generation. It's amazing how far they've come since my 2nd gen unit which finally gave out this year after a run in very heavy rain. I am anxious to put in some heavy miles with the new one, especially after I get it calibrated properly for distance.