BE NICE. A Message to Motorists and a Reminder to People in General.

Dear man in truck,

I appreciate that you stopped for the cyclist in front of me. That was nice. You did not, however, stop for me, riding right behind him.

I skidded. I crashed.

And then I saw you look at me in your rearview mirror and not stop.

Yeah, that's right. I saw you see me.

I hope that extra second you saved got you to where you needed to go in a prompt manner or that it helped save someone's life. I hope you were doing something really important like heading to your daughter's wedding or perhaps your own or rushing to be next to someone who's ill and that the second you saved helped someone else.

Because if you were out just to go get a coffee, I might come find you to deliver this message in person.

And I'm sorry, sir, but this has been a long time coming and you're now going to bear the brunt of all my frustrations.

Are we at a place now where it's too much for us to give an extra second of courtesy? Because whereever we are going is so much more important than where everyone else is going, right?

Is it too much now to just be nice?  Yes, I'm talking to you now, Mr. Fisherman who chastised and cursed us because we swam by you when you were fishing, in the place where we've been swimming for years before you got there.

Because it's not enough that we can't share the roads now, we too cannot even share the ocean.

It is ridiculous that I am typing that.

I am not more important than you. You are not more important than me.

All I ask is that we share.

The roads, the ocean, the earth.

You don't have to open the door for me (although it would be nice), but don't slam it in my face.

You don't have to give 20 feet to me when I'm riding, but please give 3.

You don't have to throw us a welcome parade as we swim by you, but please be patient, it barely takes a minute for us to pass. (And for the record, we went around you. It was annoying for us and it shortened our swim, but we let it go. Can't you?)

We will all be gone soon away from one another, off doing whatever it is that we are doing in this vast open space that we share.

In the meantime, is it possible to just tolerate the mere presence of other people? After all, we are out and about within society. We are all bound to run into other people from time to time.

And while we're at it, we all could use a little more patience. It wouldn't hurt to throw a few more "I'm sorry"s out there into the world either, even if you might not even be wrong. It's just nice.

People remember rude, but they really, really remember nice. Like the old man on his bike who stopped to check if I was ok.

You don't have to like me. That's not what I'm asking. Please just.be.nice.

Yes, I am fine, Mr. Guy in Truck (thanks for asking). I tweaked my ankle, I tweaked my bike, but after my legs stopped shaking I still finished my 27 mile ride on a seat that was sorta sideways.

And to the person who honked at us while we were riding: we are more than annoying cyclists taking up your roadspace.

At the end of the day, I am a wife, a mother of two little boys, a daughter, a sister, a niece, a friend. A writer, college graduate, triathlete, above all a person. I realize the helmet and the spandex can detract from that. But I've come way too far in my life to have it snuffed by some impatient motorist who wants to get to a coffee faster on a Saturday morning.

I abide by all the rules.

I try not to get in your way.

I know that not everyone does that and that cyclists can sometimes offend too so my message to "be nice" extends to everyone.

We might not have anything in common except for the fact that we live here in this space together and that someone out there loves us.

But isn't that enough?

She Sought Out to Lose 7 Pounds. She Is About to be "Ironman."

Triathlon has a way of sneaking up on people.

At first you don't even entertain the thought of doing one. It's not for me. It's for athletes. I could never do that.

Until one day.

You think it is perhaps, possible.

(Even though secretly you don't really think it is.)

(But then you think, "Well what if it is?")

This year, I was privileged enough to witness triathlon sneak up on a dear friend of mine in the Tri-Warriors. Watching her go further and further and faster and faster has been an amazing ride for us spectators and well, I'll let her tell the rest of the story. A guest-post by Eve, fellow Tri-Warrior ,in which she discloses all her secrets to success on the road to Ironmom. (Ps. Yes. You can do it.)

Team Barrett!

Approximately two years ago, the action plan was set in motion to get off the couch and lose 5 to 7 vanity pounds. A few short jogs later, a friend asked me to run a local 5k with her. Why not. I remember Celia Dubey was the race director/announcer at my first race. Her motivating words fueled me to a strong finish, as well as inspired me to train harder to become faster. And so it began... 22 pounds later and my training plans and race goals are all over the map, quite literally.

Next stop, a marathon. Within six months, my best friend of 20 years dared me to take the next challenge, to complete a full marathon. She had completed several marathons in several states during the course of her running career and just knew I'd enjoy the thrill of victory. Indeed, she was correct. My first marathon was truly spectacular, Berlin, Germany. The family enjoyed the European vacation, as well. I completed three marathons in three months that year, qualifying for Boston on the second. Mission complete; I was officially addicted to endurance running.

During this same time period, another friend introduced me to a very different challenge, the world of multiple-sport, triathlon. February of 2010 marked my first mini-triathlon, Y-Tri, then my first sprint in April, Escape From Ft. DeSoto, followed by my first half iron, MiamiMan, in November. The bug was so strong, the full iron distance called my name. Training for marathons and triathlons was now simultaneous.

Many people ask me, what's your secret? How do you find time to train while running a business and raising a young family? Here's the short, easy answer: Jim. Although it's true a great swim master's coach can improve your swim, a properly-fitted road or Tri bike can increase your rpm's, and the right pair of sneakers can prevent blisters and go the distance, there's absolutely no better piece of Tri-gear than 150% support from your spouse when you're a triathlete in training.

Jim is a one-of-kind, irreplaceable support system. Once a goal is set, he tediously researches, selects, assembles and maintains all tri equipment in the Team Barrett arsenal. As long as we are willing to train, Jim will always make sure our equipment is 100% on race day. Not only does Jim manage the gear, he also handles the logistics, which includes race-entry confirmations, packet pickups, packing the van the night before, getting us all up the morning of the races, double-checking our inventory before we roll out, coordinating the hotels and restaurants at the various race event venues, taking photographs as we race, and cheering us to a strong finish. He does this selflessly, with not a single complaint...just extreme pride for his family.

When the decision was announced, and accepted by the family, for Mom to compete in an Ironman-distance race, it was Jim who diligently worked to find just the right books, magazines and Web sites to inspire and motivate me to a strong finish. His management roll in the business has doubled due to my temporary hiatus while in training.

He's constantly immersed in scheduling my work and training hours so there's no conflict. The first 10 weeks of training was fairly straightforward, but the last 20 weeks have proved to be somewhat of an obstacle course. The day before my next-scheduled training session, he's busy juggling my routes, trying to locate training partners, and performing preventative maintenance on my gear.

Needless to say, he's accomplished it all with incredible finesse. He's meticulously planned every detail of the upcoming 10-day France trip and left no stone unturned.

The kids have also stepped up to the task by picking up the slack around the house by expeditiously completing more chores with no extra whining. They listen more attentively, watch more closely, and as a result, have grown into wonderful young people, fantastic students AND competitive triathletes this year.

Although the early mornings sometimes wear on them, once we're in the van, they ask for the Team Barrett power song, FloRida, "This Club Can't Handle Me", to be cranked. It's adorable.

Triathlon and racing is our family passion at this point in our life. It takes a high-level of commitment from each and every individual on the team. We all work together, cheer each other on, and in the end, we share memories that are priceless and forever.

We incorporate traveling into our plans whenever possible because that's such a bonus. My best memory thus far, Space Coast Marathon 2010, my BQ. As I approached the 26-mile marker, Kylar and Kynsey anxiously awaited my arrival and each grabbed a hand to run in with me that last .20 miles...the hardest part of the race, if you ask me.

Jim was ready with camera for the Kodak moment. Sensational! Our family bond is stronger than I could ever imagine, and this is what the sport has done for Team Barrett.

MyRaceragz.com put together the fun family shirt we sport at each other's events. It sums our family up, united. We truly understand the slogan, the family that "tri's" together, stays together.

Eve is racing Ironman France later this month. She is READY!!! GOOD LUCK EVE!!! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!! Wear your cape proudly girl!


By the way. I told you it's never really about the weight-loss.

How to Like Running, by Christie O. (Happy National Running Day!)

A couple of weeks ago, I was perusing my "searches" to see how people got here and someone got here by typing in "How To Like Running."

Bahahahaha!

It's sort of ironic because I'm pretty sure I never in my life posted about "How to Like Running" since, you know, I have trouble liking running myself.

In fact, only recently have I really actually begun to enjoy running.

Don't get me wrong though. It still hurts. But only now have I come to a place where I feel (mostly) good during running as opposed to feeling good when I'm done running. And the longer I run, the better I feel! (Go figure on that one!)

I've gotten faster and seeing your work pay off feels really good and also makes you want to run some more (go figure!)

And oh, look!!! It is actually National Running Day today (surprise!) So I figured I'd share how I got to this happy place I now feel about running by posting my tips on "How to Like Running!" So here you go:

How to Like Running, by Christie O.

1. Run with friends. Save up all your good stories and gossip (I know, you don't gossip, no one does, but you know.) problems needing advice, etc for a nice long run with a friend so you have LOTS to talk about. Maybe you'll even run into one of these on a trail and have something to talk about forever more when referring to past running experiences.

2. Runs are more fun with beer involved. And by that I mean some beer AFTER RUNNING. Remember: not running WHILE drinking. Not running AFTER drinking. Drinking AFTER RUNNING. (That part is key.) So try a Run for Brews which is a group run that starts out at a taphouse or sign up for an organized run like in my area we have a Taphouse 5k that starts at the taphouse and ends with free beer. Those are lots of fun. Just remember that you may have very likely driven to the location of the run so make sure you can drive home. Mkay?

3. Look hot while running. Go ahead, wear lipgloss. Knee highs! A ROCKING HEADBAND! (Updated to acknowledge my male running friends out there!) I fully support anything that builds my confidence before a run, whether it's a cute running outfit, lipgloss, an awesome drifit shirt that says "Motivate Dominate" on it like my husband says, whatever. The better I feel the better I run, the end.

4. Flounce! Everything's funner while flouncing. If you're wondering what flouncing is, picture how your body would be behaving if you were running in a tutu. You'd be flouncing. Flouncing is fun. I love to flounce. If you're a man, you might be against flouncing. That's ok. You can move onto the next one.

5. Sharpie Up. This one's more useful (read: socially acceptable) in a race situation, but hey, whatever works, right? Put motivating words on your arms that will swing by when your running arms are pumping, draw some happy faces on there, symbols whatever. Go crazy. It'll come off someday so go ahead. Mark yourself up.

6. Talk someone who's never run before into training for a run so you can selfishly have a running partner. At first they might hate you. They will think you're crazy. But you will all feel so good when you're done and accomplished (and having a toast at the end.) And you may just have fueled a new addiction for someone. You "do gooder" you.

7. Holidays off???? NAH!!! Run on holidays! Put on your bunny ears on Easter, do a Mother's Day 5k, do a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, dress up and run on Halloween, do a memorial run on 9/11, races are fun but they're so much funner on holidays. And running for a reason other than just to run is an added bonus.

8. Geek out. I know running's supposed to be the cheapest sport but really it's fun to have a Garmin watch to track your pace and your distance or a heart rate monitor to show you how hard you're working or a Nike foot pod thingy or great music or podcasts on your I Pod. Yes sometimes I look like I'm hooked up to an EKG when I leave the house with so many wires, but I like having all my information at my fingertips.

9. UNGeek out. On the flipside, some of my greatest runs have been on the days I forgot all my techy gear. At first I am bummed. But then when it's finished I was glad to have not been hooked up. And come to think of it, that's when I think I actually started to enjoy running for the clarity it gave my mind and the natural rhythm my body would make and the natural beat that would drum in my head. Holy moly I think I'm thinking fondly about running right now! I must actually like it!

10. Run in really cool places. Yes, there are sidewalks right outside your door probably and you don't have time to drive to run. But so what. Go find yourself the places a tourist would want to run in your area. Go find the really pretty trails or the paths along the water. Mix it up!

11. Plan a vacation around a run. Or plan a run around your vacation. Do you have friends who live in California who run or don't run or maybe could be coerced into running? Find a run in California and make them do it with you. Or perhaps, just make them take you to the Golden Gate Bridge to run when you visit California. When I went up to New York, I made my friend meet me at 5 a.m. at the Brooklyn Bridge because I've always wanted to run it (let me tell you -- it was incredible!)
 My husband and I ran the Vegas Strip during our trip out for a birthday party (still needed to get in our long run!) last summer. We followed our long run with some blackjack. That's the way to do it!

12. If you hate running (or ESPECIALLY if you hate running) KEEP RUNNING! I beg this of you. Because when I ran my first 5k, it was about 40 minutes of hell. Over the years I revisited running and eventually kept at it. I watched my body evolve from all jiggly on the treadmill to keeping a pace for 30 minutes. I am not a natural born runner, but now I at least love to do it. It took years. Sure I had to add biking and swimming in there for peace of mind, but the point is, I got better and now I do actually like it. So in conclusion, it is possible for anyone to eventually grow to like something they hate. Ha! I'm proof.

Now (ironically) I'm off to go run some intervals!

Are you going to run today? You should! Because it's National Run Day!

Have a great day today! Come back and tell me about your run!