Birthday Ideas for Your Favorite Tri Geek

Picture this: It's the middle of your favorite trigeek's season. They've been training really hard. And uh oh, tomorrow's their birthday! Your first instinct is to take your trigeek out on the town for a night of birthday revelry. But he/she'll have none of that! "Alcohol! Staying up past 9pm! You surely weren't thinking of me when you made these plans!" the Trigeek screams. So what to do?

Here are 5 ideas to make your trigeek's birthday extra special--and that'll have 'em in bed with the rest of the 6 year-olds in America.

1. Make a nice meal. Yes, nice meals can be done without wine. Something with their favorite protein/carb/fat ratio. That'll show you put some extra special thought into it. Try this Roasted Salmon with Spinach and Figs recipe from Chris Carmichael's cook book. Yummy and perfectly nutritious. And don't skip the birthday cake! It's still fun to blow out the candles, even if your trigeek will be finiky about eating it (tell them you found the recipe in Runner's World or something. Then maybe they'll dig in!)


2. Give them a sensual massage. (You can even say it like Austin Powers.) Or a sports massage, if you're related or something. Ask where they need the most work--you can even ask ahead of time and brush up on some techniques to help with specific problem areas like ITs and hamstrings. And foot massages are always awesome!


3. Give them home-made coupons that'll help get them through their tough training. Like a coupon to take out their trash every Sunday for a month. Or to vacuum their carpet. Or to do their laundry once, or twice. Or clean their kitchen. Or walk their dog. (Just make sure they're something you will actually do!) These little acts of kindness will be a super help to your pooped out triathlete who doesn't have enough hours in the day to take care of things like housecleaning when they get home. Print these coupons out and fill 'em in--easy!


4. Put all of those tri pics you have of them and their friends together in a collage. You can even get pillows made with their pictures on them!Check out this website--you can make a photo pillow case, so they can dream about their past and future accomplishments!


5. Make a CD of all your favorite and some of their favorite psych up songs. Or songs that get them rarin' to go out and train. Pick stuff with a good tempo and strong beat. Hip hop works well for training. U2's Where the Streets Have No Name, and Springsteen's Born To Run are always awesome.

So there you have it. Triathletes tend to be the types who appreciate knowing that people still love them, even though they dedicate so much of their time to training, and act like grandparents when you ask them to go out for a night on the town with you. Gifts from the heart that show you really thought about them are perfect.

And if they've been mentioning some gizmo they just have to have, like a Garmin, or a fancy skinsuit, you can always throw that into the mix if it's in your budget. But never underestimate the power of a card from the heart and a thoughtful gift. Yes, it now sounds like all trigeeks are moms or something, but thoughtfulness is always good! Happy Birthday to your Trigeek!