Posted by Monetta Roberts on January 17, 2005 at 11:45:03:
In Reply to: Re: Sharon White & Any Team in Training Fence Sitters ... posted by Jimmy White on January 16, 2005 at 11:44:23:
>When we finally make it out on 1/25, would you fill us in on TNT
Jimmy! Don't wait until 1/25!!! Come to the kick off party tomorrow, Tuesday, January 18. It starts at 6:00pm at Picklefish on Old Shell Road---right across Old Shell from the USA campus (just west of the intersection of Old Shell Road and University Blvd). Amy Boyes, the area coordinator, and I will give you ALL the information you've always wanted to know; answer all the questions you never even knew you had; plus you'll get to eat some yummy free food. If you can't make it by 6, come anyway, we'll be there for at least an hour and a half.
You'll get a MUCH better idea than by just listening to my disjointed thoughts; you'll get to meet new and sometimes nervous team members (as will I); you'll get to meet some team graduates who can tell you what it was like--and what it did--for them; and best of all, you'll get to meet at least one of our team honorees, Dylan, a young leukemia patient who is doing fabulously, thanks in part to the advances made possible, in part, by the gobs of money raised by Team in Training members. Team members typically do their fund raising and racing in honor or Dylan or any other official team honoree we have ~~or~~ in honor, or in memory, of their own special person. Me, I always wear a photo of my dad (when he was young and dashing, not when he was 84 and sick) on my back in TNT events with his name, his birthday and the day leukemia snatched him away from us.
Others, like current 1/2 marathon member Penny (we like to call her $.01, but she thinks inflation has raised her to $.10---we're getting a little worried she's hoping to be the next Fifty Cent---if you know anything about rap music) will wear the names of ALL the people who are dear to everyone who's contributed money to her. She's even going to color code the name tags for those who are departed, those who are in remission, and those who are still fighting. It gives me chills just to write that.
I urge you to come tomorrow night. Without even knowing you, I know you're busy. We're all busy, but I know I always make time to watch the West Wing on Wednesday nights, and so I know time CAN be made for things one considers important. And for me, I don't know that I've even done anything more important.
I don't know if you're interested in a marathon, a 1/2 marathon, a triathlon or a century bike ride (all of which we're recruiting for) but I can tell you that Coach Lynn (biking and tris) is an accomplished athlete and a dedicated coach, and that I've been coaching marathoners and 1/2 marathoners since 1997 and not one of my athletes who started their race has EVER not finished. And probably the majority of folks that join my team come from a sedentary background, to put it gently. If you've been doing ANY kind of exercise at all, you're already ahead of the game. If you haven't, it's not a problem: the human body is an amazing machine that can (and will) adapt to a gradual increase in workload.
Life is short, don't wait.
Mo