2007: Year in Preview

I don't like setting "goals" for the new year. Making a list of goals sounds like something you would do for work. Instead, I like to "make lists of things I'd like to do". That sounds like something you'd do on vacation, right? See, it's much more fun that way. Last year I had a bunch of things I wanted to do, and I did most of them. For 2007, I'm only listing one thing for myself: I want to complete a Half Ironman. That would be huge. I'm already signed up for Wildflower in May, so hopefully that will go well.

I'm totally drunk on the tri-Kool Aid that says triathlon is a team sport. Whether you're racing with someone, cheering someone else, training with them or just sharing race and injury reports, I'm fascinated by it all. So I'm going to add a few items to my list of things I want to happen in 2007 that I'll need help with from my "team" (however loosely you want to define it):

1. I want to watch someone finish an Ironman in person.
I've watched the live internet feeds of several Ironman finish lines, sometimes knowing a name or two from a blog. It's pretty exciting. But imagine being there, tracking someone for an entire day, someone you've trained with, then hearing their name called out at the finish line? That has to be amazing. IronmAnnie has already volunteered to help me with this by signing up for Ironman Arizona. Right now I'm probably more excited about it than she is, so she'd better not screw it up. (She's gonna kick ass.)

2. Iron Wil needs to finish Ironman Wisconsin.
Well, duh.

3. I want to be friends with Elite athletes.
It's all about reflected glory for me. The Pros and Elites have their own special section in the race results, and I want to look at the list and say "oh yeah, I train with him...Glad to see she got her bike up to speed". Either someone from the Axis of Evil (Gerald, Jon, Andre) will have to bump it up a notch this year, or I'll have to become friends with Paul in San Diego.

4. I want to cheer on Tri Team Tammy.
Tammy didn't race in 2006 because of injuries, yet she still went to more events than anybody I know. She's the best cheerleader we've got. Seems only fair that we should clap for her while she's suffering.

5. Tri Team Tim needs to do something fun.
Tim and I met as clueless Tri-Newbies 2 seasons ago, so I consider him my "Tri Hermano." He does a lot of biking, so maybe he can do a Century Ride or a multi-day event. Or maybe we can do a relay-event or some sort of budy race together. I don't know, I just want him to have stories to tell.

6. S. Dutch needs to do something.
S. Dutch didn't catch the tri-bug, and that's fine. But I don't think execise should be its own reward and if it's important to you, you should share it with your friends. S. Dutch's girlfriend seems to be getting excited about running again so maybe she can sign him up for something. The bottom line is I've done MORE than my share of whining to him about being exhausted or injured during my training this year, and it seems only fair that he return the disfavor.

7. Brad can do nothing.
He did his marathon. He can sit on the couch and eat Bon Bons all year for all I care.

Have a great 2007 everyone!