Why I.....

I really like to train.  Sometimes it borders on the unhealthy side but for the most part swimming, biking and running has been good for me.  It is also an inherently selfish activity if you let it be. 10 - 20 hour training weeks need to come from the finite number of hours available in the week. Sometimes it's work, sometimes it's familiy, sometimes it's sleep.

For me, one of the reasons I blog is to share my thoughts on fitness and nutrition in hopes of inspiring others to go out and exercise.  In my mind anyway, this helps offset the selfish nature of the training I do.

I never thought of myself as a writer (just ask my high school english teacher!) but I've found that since I've started to blog about what I think about during the hours and hours of training, at least a few people have responded positively. Some have gone so far as to tell me they are inspired by it.  That's very humbling and creates an urge to write more.

However, one of my biggest frustrations has been finding the time to get down "on paper" what goes through my head while training.  Many times the stream of conscience flow of information in my head experienced in 1, 2, 6 hour training sessions is overwhelming to sort out into a cohesive blog post.

Hopefully I've found a solution.

Over the past couple of weeks I've quietly launched two communities - Why I Run and Why I Tri. Using Ning, Twitter and Facebook, I've created a place to share my thoughts in more digestible chunks, both for me to write and hopefully for those who choose to read those thoughts. As a bonus, I've seen a community of runners and triathletes join in sharing their motivations which has only served to make the communities better for everyone.

Do you run or tri? Please join the community and share with the rest of us.

Why I Run

On Ning

On Facebook

On Twitter

Why I Tri

On Ning

On Facebook

On Twitter

Decisions, decisions

I've started this post several times but right now there is no end.  The topic is next year's race schedule and there is no end because I haven't committed to what I'm going to do.

After the disaster learning experience in Lake Placid this summer and between the huge cost to compete in an Ironman and the time away from the familiy, I'm weighing some different options that will give me the challenge I'm looking for, not make me broke and give me some balance with my family.

The current front runner for a primary race is a 50-mile ultramarathon.  The problem is, that even after preparing and competing in 2 Ironman distance triathlons, attempting a 50-mile running race is approaching the end of my current perception of what is possible.  Which, coincidentally, is just what I'm looking for.

No commitments yet, but some serious research is underway.  Anyone out there who wants to weigh in on their ultramarathon experience would be much appreciated. I've already gotten some great input from Thomas on Twitter and my buddy Nathan (who completed two 50-milers this year!). I'm slowly building a twitter list of ultra-runners - please let me know in the comments who should be added to the list.

Photo Credit: Reano Deano

How Twitter saved me 80 dollars

Photo Credit - Stevewilliamsphotos

This is a cross-post from my other blog:

I'm in the process of training for Ironman Lake Placid. It's my 2nd time doing the race and prior to my first race I did a training weekend to prepare. It was incredibly helpful last time, so I decided to do it again for this year's race.

I made reservations at a reasonably priced hotel for $80/night and felt pretty good about it. Over the past several months I've been interacting through Twitter with individuals and business from Lake Placid as I tweeted about my race preparations.  More recently I saw some interesting posts from the High Peaks Resort and decided to follow them.  Their marketing guy, Bill, is pretty sharp and is using a great example of how a business can increase revenue using Twitter and other social media.

They are having a spring special called Elevate Your Rate. Here is the explanation from their website:

To celebrate Spring, the region and the High Peaks for 46 straight days beginning on April 22nd we will be "elevating" a special rate for 46 minutes each day based on the elevation of one of the 46 High Peaks. For example a rate based on the 4867 foot elevation of Whiteface Mountain will be $48.67.

How will you know which 46 minutes these rates will be available? Some time between 8am and 8pm EST each day we will alert friends, fans and followers through our Twitter Profile and Facebook Page. After the update is posted the “elevated” rate of the day will become available for 46 minutes! It used to be that you’d have to actually climb all 46 of the High Peaks to be considered a true 46’er; well now there’s another way to reach the top.

 So, I set my Twitter account to follow the High Peaks Resort via SMS.  Sure enough, that morning I got the text that the Elevate Your Rate was available and booked my room for $40/night, half of what my other reservation was going to be for a total savings of $80.  Thanks Bill.

What other examples have you seen Twitter make a real impact to the bottom line?