November 2008 In the Bitterroot Athlete Valley

                             
Thanksgiving week…I am on a plane headed to Stockton, CA to visit family. I am flying into Las Vegas and catching  a flight from there. It is beautiful to fly into Vegas at night!  I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving week also. 

Antara Sports now has online shopping!  At the website: http://www.antarasports.com/ click on the Store tab.  There are Sale items and great performance clothes and lingerie!  It would be great to connect friends and family with a taste of the Bitterroot via the online store.  Uploading the merchandise has been a long process and is still being updated.  Swimwear is on the list to go up also.  Thank you to Kopavi Systems for the infrastructure and Jess Law, daughter of Vicki of Bitterroot Bit and Spur, who assisted with inputting.  Jess has a home accessories website of her own at:  http://www.art2antiques.com/

Antara Sports will have Santa outside the store on Saturday, December 20th, 12:00 to 2:00.  Free gift wrap will be available and gift registering also for your family and friends’ shopping convenience.  Men, women, teenagers, athletes and all, try-on the performance wear you like and register your sizes and preferences at Antara Sports for Christmas gifts that you know you will like.  Help out friends and family and let them know you picked out some gift ideas at Antara Sports.  Then you will be ready to exercise/train/workout in the New Year; a new season of adventure and clothing motivation.

Early November, Antara Sports had a very interesting presentation with Greg Sangster, Certified Diving Instructor. Greg revealed a beautiful underwater paradise of colorful fish, corals, plant life, and old shipwrecks that sea creatures have made home.  Greg said the best place he has dove is the Cayman Islands where color, sea life and shipwrecks are beckoning for exploration and appreciation.  I never thought I wanted to breathe under water.  But after seeing this presentation, I am excited to learn. Evidentially, sharks do not like the air bubbles that come from divers and will swim around them…that was my question…still traumatized from Jaws on the big screen. If you are interested in becoming certified to dive, contact Greg Sangster or Antara Sports for more info on certification for less than $250 starting in January… final certification is at a tropical island destination. There is a whole colorful world of fauna and fish to explore and appreciate in this incredible world that only a handful of the population ever will experience.  How about a Scuba Certification Christmas gift for a special someone?

Linsey Corbin, a professional athlete living in Missoula gave a presentation on Nov. 20th. She is sponsored by Saucony, Cliff Bars, and …  We had a great turnout to hear her story first hand how she came in 5th in Ironman, Hawaii in October!  She was the first American to cross the finish line out of the top eight women!  She wore her trademark cowboy hat and caught the  announcers off-guard pronouncing small-town Missoula.  She was an excellent speaker talking about goal-setting, writing it down, visualizing,  and speaking her goal out load of crossing the finish in in 9 hours 30 minutes and in the top 10.  In previous Ironman’s her time was over 10 hours; but despite the 108-degree warm Hawaiian weather, she came in at 9 hours 28 minutes!  She was ecstatic about her time even when in the middle of her bike and marathon was questioning if it would happen.  Linsey still does local triathlons and runs including the Freezer Burn coming up in Missoula, Dec. 6th. Linsey also surprised us all that her first triathlon was as a volunteer at the Griz Tri in 2005.  2006 she went pro!  If you would like to touch bases with Linsey’s professional career as a triathlete check out her website at: www.linseycorbin.com.

Runners Update:  Saturday runners where are you??  Those of us that have still been coming to maintain what we started are looking for more people.  We have run as little as 3.5 miles and some have run more.  There have been slower paced runners and no one else to run with.  If you are just starting out, we need you too!  Come on out and join us.  It feels great to get it all done early and have your whole day ahead.  Yes, it is chilly in the AM, but wear warm running clothes and it feels OK…I know where you can get some!

Former AS runners, Justin and Caroline Yetter have moved on to Washington near Seattle.  Justin completed his Ironman in Tempe, Arizona after a year of training and preparation, but it wasn’t the ideal experience that he was hoping for.  After a year of training, he became ill while on his bike, which continued into the marathon.  The temperature was in the mid to upper 80s, which did not help.  He ended up doing the Ironman in 14 hours 38 minutes.  It just goes to show you that anything can happen on race day to anyone, no matter how prepared you are.  Read Justin’s write-up on the Antara Sports website.

Former AS runners, scientists, Jen Scotia and Scott Battaion are now in the Antartic studying various aspects of the region with about 60 other scientists from around the world.  With temperatures in the -60 to -70 range during the season of constant daylight, they are having quite an adventure.  Jen and Scott have a blog at: http://jenandscottonice.blogspot.com/  Jen is actually running a Turkey Trot!  Check it out and see.  That should be in an interesting Christmas for them!  Hope to see them back soon!  Or as soon as they want to get out of there…but it sounds like they are enjoying it!  More Antartic coverage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7668070.stm

Jim Wood and Stan Doran just ran in the Seattle Half Marathon over Thanksgiving weekend.  Jim’s half marathon time was 1:51:00 and Stan’s was 1:53:14.  Jim said it was drizzly, up hill and 10,000 people!

I participated in a 5K Turkey Trot in Stockton, Ca., while visiting family.  My 14-year-old nephew was very excited about his first fun run ever.  He said my influence as a triathlete made him join cross country and is now looking forward to his first triathlon.  As I’ve seen and heard around the triathlete community, many other teenagers are being influenced by family and friends in this terrific multi-aerobic sport.  It is a little catchy…if not to compete, then at least to finish.  Similar to what I have heard from teenage cross-country runners…they like the short distance running, but cannot imagine running a full marathon.  I tell them when they get older if they keep running they will feel the urge to at least do one to say they have done it.  (Note the palm trees in the right pic! My nephew, John and I were in the newspaper the next day-above pic…but can’t figure out how to circle us in Photoshop.  John is in the front red hair…I’m in purple looking down, back left.)

What else has been going on?  Barbara Jackson is back at the Canyons Athletic Club leading the Masters Swim class.  Weight training is the off-season maintenance of choice for local triathletes and yoga is a great option too.  I tried the Christophe water aerobics and had a good legs workout.  I also did a Bikram (hot) yoga workout during my Thanksgiving visit in California.  I know I had to do it as close to perfect as possible…stretching and working like I never left it 5.5 years ago.  Now I am hobbling up and down stairs, feeling it in my quads and back muscles—and worth it!  The winter off-season is a great time to try other physical activities…not to mention downhill, cross-country and skate skiing adventures.  Tell me your adventures and send pictures!

A new back country venue has opened: Downing Mountain Lodge.  Using the Grubstake restaurant for the winter, Jen Callahan and Mark Lehrman will have a grand opening December 13th with food, drink and back country skiing.  After, reservations will be taken for parties, individual dinners and all-terrain vehicle rides up to the Grubstake lookout. 

Grand opening info:

http://www.backcountryfocus.com/Downing_Mountain_Lodge.htm 

General info:  www.backcountryfocus.com/prpiece.htm 

Sounds like fun…and SO CLOSE! 

Wishing you the best ever Christmas Season!

...a fish from the Antartic....