Train-This

Often times I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. When I opened Train-This I had no idea what it would bring. Throughout the past 4 + years it has brought the most amazing people into my life and into this multisport family we've got here. I don't often write about my athletes..... if they wanted to be written about they'd have blogs :-) ....... but they are an incredible group of people.

I am often asked how we came up with the name Train-This. It was a summertime phone call between my friend Rich and I in the summer of 2004. His company is the local timing and race putter onner company Score-This. He was joking around that I should start coaching and y company should be called Train-This. If I were a dentist I could have a business called Yank-This....... a nutritionist could be Eat-This....... after that phone call ended..... I think I called him back. That was not a bad idea. So yes, Train-This and Score-This..... not an accident. Once one of my fancy business friends tried to convince me to change the name to my name. Heck no. It was born out of a joke but the name stays!


It's that time of the year when seasons are coming to a close for some, and we are bringing on a bunch of new athletes for the 2010 season. Each year I keep thinking to myself..... where do these people come from? I fall in love with the excitement they bring to this sport and this team.

Because I have been asked a lot about our team lately...... I thought I'd give a little overview. As I said I don't write about my athletes. Not everyone wants their name strewn across someones blog. I think that many people in this world deserve a little privacy. You will see their accomplishments on our home page (which will be updated this afternoon!!!!).

In a nutshell we are a team. Maybe even some kind of dysfunctional family without the dysfunction, or the dysfunction being that we all love our sport. We have a google group on which we all communicate. I send out a little something (or two) each day and our athletes share their lives, experiences, race reports as well. On this group .... rides are crated, trips are planned, and the absolute insanest of insane conversations happen.

We train together when we can. In the winter it's group runs in the park. Towards spring there are rides, open water swims. Camp. It's such a fun group of people. We ordered team uniforms a few years ago and it's time for an update. We've got a new logo and a new design for our team kits, so look for those this coming spring...... hint: they are BRIGHT. :-)

Here is that new logo, thanks El Magnifico:

Every day when I scroll through the logs of my athletes I feel lucky. I am very honored that our athletes come to us, that they believe in what we believe in, that they have the passion that we do. I love what I get to learn as a coach. I love watching the journey an athlete takes and the transformation they make from season to season. I love to try new things, I love to incorporate their ideas...... I love to watch them improve.

Their finish lines are more exciting than my own. Their victories I feel very deeply. Their setbacks I take very personally. We get pretty darn close around here. It's a community, almost like a cult and we get involved in each other's lives.

I am really really proud of this team. I am proud of what they have done. There are times I am proud of what they don't do. I am proud of how they balance their lives and love their families.

This weekend we've got 5 athletes competing in Muskoka 70.3, one athlete at Quakerman, and three of us are headed to Pumpkinman. Next Monday our Google Group will be bust with stories and adventure. It's better than any blog I could ever write, it's better than anything in the world!

So to our past, present and future athletes, I say thank you. For trusting us, for staying with us, and for being family.