Dolphins Save Surfer From Becoming Shark’s Bait

Triathletes do ponder sharks when they are swimming, and shark attacks are rare, but they do happen. Here is an incredible story...

A pod of bottlenose dolphins helped protect the severely injured boarder. Article from the Today show - By Mike Celizic

Surfer Todd Endris needed a miracle. The shark — a monster great white that came out of nowhere — had hit him three times, peeling the skin off his back and mauling his right leg to the bone.

That’s when a pod of bottlenose dolphins intervened, forming a protective ring around Endris, allowing him to get to shore, where quick first aid provided by a friend saved his life.

“Truly a miracle,” Endris told TODAY’s Natalie Morales on Thursday. To read the entire article click here.~

The Underwear Run Has Its Biggest Field Ever!

The Underwear Run.

Wendy Ingraham, John Duke, and Dave Alberga, the CEO of Active.com

Dig Me Beach Thursday a.m.

Two of the founders of the underwear run.

What size are you wearing?

What does Team Nice #$@ raise money for? Forget Waldo - Find Greg Welch in this photo.

Apt.

Got Gu?

~

Triathlete.tv - Triathlete Magazine's TV Channel Launches

Push play below to check out the the Nautica Malibu Triathlon broadcast of Episode 1 from Triathlete.TV! In this 15 minute mini-series, Triathlete Magazine takes you on a journey to Malibu Beach with host Mitch Thrower, where you will meet many celebrity triathletes including Andy Baldwin & David Duchovny. The Nautica Malibu Triathlon benefits the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.

Push play in the screen above and then you can just move your mouse over the screen to select a show, or click here to watch more shows from Triathlete Magazine's Triathlete.tv

~

The Playing Field of Triathlon

Cooling down on the track after a run today,I was struck by an image. Granted, I had taken my camera with me on my run in search of images for this blog posting...

This image below really struck me.

What is it about this image that carried such philosophical clout?

It's the pipe that runs down the length of the field, separating the stands from the field, the spectators from the participants.

Growing up, we have all played and watched high sports in places like this.

Triathlon - in a way - is just a playing field where we can participate in something wonderful, a place to find a goal and then pursue it with the passion and happiness of a dog chasing a Frisbee.

Training for triathlon affords us the opportunity to live in the present moment – breathing deeply as we swim, bike, or run - experiencing the now.

And like the numbers across the line in the photo above, in a race, we may stand at the starting line in approximately the same place when the gun goes off or when our wave starts - yet we all will end up at very different places in the finisher’s rankings. But often these rankings don’t carry the same weight as our own internal ranking system that we use when judging our performance.

Triathlon is one of the most unique and wonderful sports on earth because in order to win, we simply must finish. Each athlete and every triathlon is unique. The circumstances that we each face on the road to a race can only be truly known deep within each individual.

When we “play” triathlon, we’re on the playing field of our lives. And on this field, our perspective on our existence as human beings is enhanced by the pounding oxygen, endorphins, and nutrients flowing through our bodies.

Are you going to stand on the sidelines, or are you going to lace up your running shoes and run on to the playing field of life?

~

Pray for Triathlete Tameka Day

"The condition of champion Geelong triathlete Tameka Day has stabilized following her bike crash in France last weekend.

Day has been joined by husband Leigh Newberry, who arrived in Lyon yesterday morning. He was met by Warrnambool triathlete Kris McCartney and drove to Gap, where Day is in hospital. Gap is in the southeast of France, near the French Pyrenees.

Day is in a medically-induced coma following her race accident, in which she received a fractured skull, other severe injuries and abrasions. She was taken by helicopter to Gap and was conscious, on arrival but her condition worsened overnight and she was put in the coma. Day had been descending a hill during the bike leg of the Embrun triathlon last Sunday when the accident occurred. It is still not known what caused the crash. Her bike was broken in two on impact."

Source: Geelong Advertiser
---------------------------

Be careful out there - when decending, when riding, when running, when driving, when living.

Life does not need any help to be short.

~

Video Coverage - The New York City Triathlon Underwear Run

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Click Play above and turn up your volume to watch the exclusive coverage of the New York City Triathlon's Underwear Run in Central Park.

~

A Letter From Dorette L. Sommer, Run and Triathlon Coach

Photo: Dorette L. Sommer

Dear Mitch,

You and your photographers nailed it head on and I am completely moved by your acknowledgement of “The Power of Thought”…I was so moved, it brought me to tears. I am Dorette Sommer, the woman on Page 16 of the August issue of Triathlete Magazine. Your story speaks volumes and brings validity to the values I hold on mindful training/racing, something that can not be measured by a power tap, heart rate monitor or calorimeter. If a random photo of myself could be partnered with any athletic article, this is the exact message I hope that this photo could bring. Here I am at the California ½, bonking and facing my first DNF, a very, very difficult day.

I consider myself one of those Upper-Middle-Class-Age-Group racers: sometimes in the top ten and sometimes in the top twenty. My annual “Annual Training Plan” goal is to be faster and stronger (or more specifically, to have a :34 min ½ mi. swim or sub 1:50 ½ marathon). I have an exceptional coach and training plan, but the question for me on race day is “how well can I hold it together? What will I reach for or fall back on when my body or mental toughness begins to fall apart? How do I keep it together when I’m heading for top 10 or PR?” Mindfulness. I tell my athletes to “Hold their line,” a tool taught to me by my meditation teacher prior to my second Ironman distance race, where I nailed 1st in division and 3rd overall, shaving 1:28 off my previous time. Mindfulness.

Between my boyfriend (Duane Franks) and I, we as coaches teach our athletes the physical and spiritual in training/racing. Duane, an age group winner and Kona Finisher as well, has an exceptional background in with a Master's in Kinesiology, leading such age group greats at Kathy Winker and Jeri Howland, and I, completing my BS in Dietetics, a compelling background in meditation and spirit.

Thank you. THANK YOU, Mitch. Your message reached hundreds of thousands of athletes while hitting home for me and calling true to what I long to share with other endurance athletes. It’s a great honor to be the photo girl in your story.

Namaste,

Dorette L. Sommer

Run and Triathlon Coach

USAT Level 1 & USATF Certified

East Peak Sports

~

Triathlon, The Fastest Growing Sport in the United Kingdom

I have some friends in the UK, Kevin & Lori Rowe - this past weekend, Kevin sent me this race report from Rob Lines.

July 1st 2007 started with a heavy downpour as 280 triathletes descended upon Whitlingham Country Park, Trowse, Norwich for the third edition of the Norwich Triathlon.

A standard distance triathlon, also known as Olympic distance, awaited the competitors comprising a 1500m swim in the Whitlingham Broad starting in three separate waves from 8am at fifteen minute intervals. A quick transition from swim to bike and then out for a 40km undulating course around South Norfolk before returning to transition and a 10k multi-terrain run around Whitlingham Country Park, along the River Yare and a lap of both the large and small Whitlingham Broads.

The rain eased up just as the first wave of swimmers received their race briefing at the Outdoor Centre on the Whitlingham Broad. Competitors we placed into waves according to their age group and it was the Men's age group E (25-29) that led that wave and indeed led the race overall.

Mike Auger of 2XU TFN and Tri-Anglia's Oliver Milk were amongst the first out of the water and onto the bike course. Whilst the rain had subsided there was plenty of standing water on the roads and a strong head wind against them on the undulating first half of the course.

Heavy rain had also washed lots of stone flints onto the road, which proved costly for several riders who had opted to stay with well worn racing slicks. Fortunately the wet conditions provided no major accidents and by the time the last few riders were finishing the bike
section the road surfaces were pretty dry.

Whilst the roads were drying quickly Mike Auger made heavy work of the bike to run transition as he slipped and slid into the bike racking and struggled to rack his bike. Whilst he lost time, he managed to stay ahead of Oliver Milk as he went out onto the run course.

Mike maintained his lead finishing in 2:02:22 (h:m:s) with Oliver Milk, finishing in second position just over a minute behind in 2:03:35. Third overall was another Tri-Anglia member Andrew Walpole in 2:05:37.

In the ladies race it was Rachel Barnes of Cambridge Triathlon Club that took the honours covering the course in a time of 2:26:50 with Tri-Anglia's Rose Waterman in second in 2:30:57 and Emma Thorpe of Newmarket Tri Club third in a time of 2:31:22.

In total 284 competitors entered the race, 235 started and 224 competitors finished with the male to female split being 182 to 42. The fastest swim time was that of Iain Downie of Ipswich Tri Club in 22:29. Fastest bike time was 1:01:45 recorded by Benjamin Mickleburgh. Fastest run was 36:55 posted by Nick Grimmer of Spalding Triathlon Club. Fastest ladies: swim 23:17 by Katie Davis, bike 1:12:12 by Rachel Barnes and run 41:43 by Rachel Barnes. Youngest competitor: 18, Oldest competitor : 65-69 age group.

Triathlon continues to be the fastest growing sport in the UK. Check out the Tri-Anglia triathlon club at www.tri-anglia.co.uk

~

"Was that swim a little rough?"

This past weekend I attended the wedding in Hyannis Port, MA of one of my best friends, Chris Perera, who runs the creative department at the American Subsidiary of Leopard Films, and is one of TV's top producers. He was married to Carolyn Petersen in a ceremony overlooking the Kennedy Compound at the spectacular St. Andrews Church.

Ahhhh, weddings - when stories of the past are told. At this wedding the story of Chris's first triathlon was told...

A few years ago, in a Solana Beach Spring Sprint Triathlon, Chris and I stood on the shores of his first race. Chris is a natural athlete, runner, tennis player and has always been passionate about fitness, but as I looked out to the sea, I noticed some fairly large, in fact extremely large sets crashing on the shore. Chris seemed not to notice, and thought it was all par for the course.

I wondered if these sets would decrease in size as the clock moved in the direction of the starting horn, but as we stood there, they only got bigger. I gave Chris some pointers on swimming through waves by ducking under them and staying down just a bit longer than you think you need to, and about how to relax in the post-crash wave froth. He smiled, and seemed really excited to start.

Soon thereafter the horn blew, and we started what was the roughest swim of my more than a decade long triathlon career. Froth, giant waves crashing, people getting flipped over on my right and left in the waves. It was a washing machine. I slowly made my way through the swim, getting tossed and tumbled in each wave. Chris and I had started in the first two waves of the swim, and on the bike ride, I had heard from someone on the two lap course that they had cancelled the swim after the first two waves of swimmers and they were pulling people out of the water.

I was thankful to catch a glimpse of Chris, with a great smile on the out-and-back portions of the bike and run, he was moving really fast. At the finish line, I greeted Chris, and he grabbed a bottle of water. He was really happy and a newborn Triathlete, but it was his comment that I still remember to this day. Not knowing that this was a very unusual and difficult swim that they actually cancelled after his second swim wave finished - he looked at me with a curious enthusiasm and simply said "Was that swim a little rough?"

I'm a big fan of both Chris and Carolyn and am sending them best wishes for a wonderful life together - they really are both made of everything that is true, real, sincere, giving and honest - and these are critical ingredients in a relationship. This weekend, they started a wonderful life together in a beautiful place, and marriage just might be a triathlon of it's own sometimes. Chris & Carolyn - this is your starting line.

-Mitch

~

Run Along the Coast in La Jolla, CA - Motivational Thoughts

Photo: my dear friend and amazing athlete, Pumehana before a run in La Jolla

There is a saying, "What more could you want?" and it is often said when people get to a beautiful place, or have a great dinner, or find someone they are in love with -yet the human condition is successful because there are a whole bunch of us that are never satisfied, that always will want to seek, discover, build and learn more - a bit like a triathlete in a bike store.

I do my best to join daily the dreamers, the visionaries and the people who see things as they can be and places we can go. It it is beyond spectacular that we (mankind) looked up at the sky, saw the moon, and then said, "Let's go there." And with the materials we found here on this giant spinning rock that orbits a flaming sun, and the genius we found in our own minds, we forged the stuff that hurled humans into the sky, landed on the moon, let them take a stroll, a few pictures, some samples, make sure that there was no cheese, and verify that thee are not little people running around up there (if there were, it would have been imperative that we licensed an Ironman Race there before we came home - The Lunar Ironman, one giant leap beyond Xterra). It is likely that far more than half a billion of mankind's ideas ultimately let us fly to the moon.

There is something wonderful that happens when you start to do triathlons - you think more clearly. Clear thought comes partially from increased blood flow and partially from the clearing out of the dust from our mental and physical attic. What ideas are you considering, what Tri-spirtations do you have in your life, and for the lives of others. What is your dream, where would you land your lunar lander?

Today, I brought my video camera on my run along the La Jolla coastline so you could see what it is like here. Make the trip out here sometime for a triathlon or just a training week - it is part fantasy, and part reality.

It's amazing how, when you take time off, then start again - you can feel the difference. Today's short run along the coast felt as challenging as my mid-summer 10 and 20 mile training runs. It's time to get ready for some races. On my calender this year, pending work schedule... Honu, Canada and hopefully Hawaii, with some shorter races sprinkled in for the t-shirts.

~

Part II of IRONMITCH

Sunset Photo of Mitch Thrower - Wind n Sea Beach near home in La Jolla, CA

Welcome to IRONMITCH Part II - a new chapter.

As the Ironmitch.com postings grew over the past year, readers said they wanted a new, clean - site that loads the most recent posts quickly - so here it is. To return to the original site with over 250 articles about triathlon, click here.

Are you ready for some motivation?

-Mitch