Macca Sighting!

2007 Ironman World Champion Chris McCormack was spotted at Redondo Beach's premier triathlon shop, TriathlonLAB yesterday, chatting with employees. It's believed he may move to Redondo Beach for a few months to train and check out the scene. We local tri geeks couldn't be happier! Especially the females. The 34-year old Aussie champ makes the ladies swoon!

Even in this photo, where Macca's sponges give him the appearance of manboobs, we love him.

7 Band-Aids for the Crappiest Day Ever

Maybe I should’ve recognized burning my forearm on the oven last night as the bad omen that it was and stayed in bed all day today. But no. I woke up this morning to my first (of many to come, I know) rejection letter to a book proposal. Less than 15 hours after I submitted the proposal. At least they didn’t keep me hanging.



Then I walked to the gym so I could get my endorphins going and start the day fresh. On the way there, I noticed a parking ticket on my car’s window shield for having my back bumper in the “red zone” of a curb. Fine? $35.

Upon receiving my paycheck at work, I realized it was 2 days short, and that yesterday’s hours weren’t registered on my e-time card. And the one-woman HR department quit today. Who’s gonna give me my cash? I still have to figure that one out.

Returning home, ready for some food and a movie with the fiancé, I get a letter from a local university to which I applied for a 2nd bachelor’s degree. They’re not accepting 2nd bachelor’s degree applicants this year, as there are too many darn people in Southern California and their budget is too tight. Make do with the useless liberal arts degree you have. Try again next year. We’ll refund your application fee.

Ok, so that last one wasn’t too bad of a blow. I applied as a back up plan to a program I’m not sure I even want to attend. And now I can’t, so that decision’s been made for me.

Finally, I figured I’d see how the giant blister on my forearm was coming along and put a new Band-Aid on it. I pulled out the box of 10 extra large bandages coachancé bought me yesterday. It looked sparse; there were only 7 Band-Aids inside.

And with that, I’ve learned my lesson: If I burn my forearm on an oven, then I should not bother to wake up the next day. Or check my email. I should live a day in total meditation. And maybe buy some concrete-colored paint.

Going to bed at 6:30pm,

TriDiva

To Take Your Husband's Last Name or Not

Triathletes tend to be independent, progressive thinkers of fairly high intelligence. I’m not saying every triathlete fits this description, but more of my triathlete friends do than don’t. And most of them who didn’t get married young before they were set in their triathletic, independent ways have not been too successful at holding down a long-term relationship. They have a standardized routine, their own space, and a hard time allowing anyone to mess it up.

So what does this have to do with my ambivalence about taking my coachancé’s last name? Coachancé and I have been conditioned on the “give-and-take” side of life through college living; we didn’t have much trouble continuing to live this way as graduation wasn’t that long ago. We’ve never really had our own spaces, and have been changing up our routines on a semester system for several years. I want the heater on, coachancé doesn’t want to pay for it. So the heat comes on in one room of the apartment, designated as “Celia’s Sauna”.

So with all this lovey dovey give and take stuff, it seems like the issue of the married last name shouldn’t be an issue. Traditionally, the man gives the name, the woman takes the name. Case closed. But being one of those difficult people who’s a feminist when it comes to women’s rights, but likes dudes to open doors and lift heavy things for me, I can’t just accept this societal convention.

As far as I can tell, the tradition stems from the fact that a woman was once seen as a man’s property. When she married him, she became his, and the last name change signified just that. Their children were also his and took the man’s last name.

Does Triathlete Magazine Dislike the Phoenix Triathlon Club?

The February 2008 issue of Triathlete Magazine had a surprising addition to its "Mail Call" column: a letter dissing the Phoenix Triathlon Club for not having a single kind, friendly human being on their team. I grew up in Phoenix and actually agree with the letter's author, Jake Hamby. The thing is, when I was last living there (in 2001), everyone was still pretty friendly. It was a strange case when someone I'd wave to on my daily bike ride wouldn't smile and wave back, or offer a kind "Hello!" Maybe it's because I looked like a goofball, wearing Adidas soccer shorts, a cotton tank top, a Camelback, and lace-up mountain biking shoes to ride my full-suspension mountain bike all over the roads. Whatever it was, people then were just the way triathletes should be: friendly.

However, riding in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley during trips home over the last year, I got the feeling Hamby described in his Triathlete Magazine letter. Hardly anyone waved, nobody smiled, and the few people that did talk to me seemed like they only did so to size me up at stoplights, then try to drop me when the lights turned green. And I certainly got passed several times on the Beeline Highway when I was changing a flat, without a single "Got everything you need?" or "You OK?" I never thought I'd say this, but cyclists in Los Angeles are a million times friendlier than the new breed of transplanted Phoenicians. I'd like to think that people who grew up there before it became another tabloid-obsessed mini-Hollywood would still smile and change Jake Hamby's tire if they saw him.

The question remains, however, why did Triathlete Magazine choose to run this particular piece of mail? They only ran 4 letters in the February '08 issue--one promoting their magazine, two promoting Ultraman events, and Hamby's disillusionment with Phoenix Tri Club members. Perhaps an editor felt the same way? Or some Phoenix Triathlon Club charter member really pissed someone off? Whatever the reason, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who was saddened by the behavior of other athletes in Phoenix. I'll stick to riding up PCH where almost everyone waves, if only in acknowledgment that you have something in common: a dislike of all drivers on PCH, and the feeling like every one of them is plotting to take you out.

Happy Training! And smile, for goodness sakes! :)

Triathletes and New Year's Resolutions

It's 2008. How are you going to improve this year? My friends and I have come up with several immensely lame mottos for 2008, including: It's gonna be great in 2008! Don't be late in 2008! Get a hot date in 2008! Don't overcompensate in 2008! Find a mate in 2008! and Loose weight in 2008, which we're sure every weight-loss program is already touting, thanks to the immense imagination of their advertising agencies.

So what's your New Year's resolution? Got a motto? If you haven't resolved to do anything differently this year don't despair! Our lame rhymes actually offer some good tips to make 2008 great, in regard to triathlon:

1. Loose weight. Seriously, this sucks, but if you want to go faster and you're pushing the high end of the Clydesdale spectrum, try dropping some lbs. If going faster and feeling faster aren't enough of an impetus to shed those Xmas cookies glued to your stomach, get engaged. The thought of whale-ish wedding photos is keeping my post-holiday season eating regulated.


2. Find a mate, in the Australian sense of the term. If you have an exercise buddy, you'll be less likely to miss workouts, thereby improving your overall fitness. You'll also have someone to talk to on those long base rides so you don't go insane, and you'll have someone to complain to about everyone you know who won't ride or run with you.


3. Don't be late! Punctuality is a sign of dedication and good manners. If you've been allowing yourself to hit the snooze button in the morning, get back into the routine of getting up on time, and getting to workouts on time. If you're routinely punctual, you'll be less stressed, you won't loose workout time, your friends will like you more, and so will your boss.


4. Don't overcompensate. Ever seen those nerdy guys driving around in Hummers like they're the coolest shiz around, then think to yourself, "Geez, he's compensating for something!" Same goes for dudes who drop $10,000 on a bike and still can't beat their neighbor's 11-year old kid around the block. Want to shave some time? Work on a solid workout routine. Don't drop the money you should have spent on your wife at Xmas on carbon fiber pedals.


5. Get a hot date. Given that you are now a punctual, fit, non-overcompensator with friends, because you've followed the previous 4 tips, you should have no trouble getting a hot date in 2008. Just don't try to do so if you're not single, unless you want to return home to find your bike cut in half.

Happy New Year!

xoxo

TriDiva