Team Zoot GU 2008!

Well, I'm officially a semi-sponsored athlete for 2008. Semi-sponsored, because I will be paying someone to sponsor me. GU Sports in 2007 had a deal where, for about $200, you got 4 48-pack cases of sports gel, some powdered sports drink, bottles, other accessories, and a tri-top and tri-shorts. I heard about this, and thought, hey, that's not a bad deal for all that gear! Retail price of all that stuff is over $500.

So, I applied to be on the 2008 team, knowing that more folks had heard about this deal and would want to be "part of the team" as well. Well, whaddayaknow? I made the cut. I've been a Hammer Heed user on the bike for a couple of years, primarily due to that's what my fellow Team BNB members have used and let me try, but have preferred GU gels on the bike and run more than any other gel, so I was pretty much sold on those. I usually use one per hour on the runs, so, during marathon training and racing, which can include 650 miles or more, at 8 minute average miles, that's 87 gels to be consumed. Just training for one marathon.

Just buying gels, which I am sure I will use all of them this year, would cost $256. So, I'm spending $199 up front, getting about half a season's worth of Gu, 2 canisters of Gu2O (GU's version of Heed), lots of water bottles, gel flasks, gel flask bike mount, socks, visor, tritop, trishorts, and other deals (discounts on additional Gu products, as well as discounts on Zoot products).

I'm trying to find the disadvantage here...
My responsibilities:

• To represent the Zoot and GU brands with a positive attitude and enthusiastic spirit


• To act as a passionate ambassador for the sport of triathlon at large


• To exhibit exemplary conduct at all reace venues in regards to fellow athletes, race officials, spectators, and community members


• To wear my Team Zoot GU uniform in all triathlon and duathlon races, and other events where appropriate


• To train and race with GU Energy Gel and GU2O Sports Drink (except where unrealistic due to other brands being served on course)


• To refrain from promoting competitive products


• To have as much fun as possible while doing all the above!

So, I'll try to keep you updated on how things go in training for the events listed on this site, as well as the results of said events.

Today's workout: 1000m swim at lunch, long bike ride this afternoon (40mile)

First post-why Team BNB?

This is the first post in what I hope to be a narrative of Team BNB's exploits. Team BNB is the loosely formed "team" we founded a year or so ago. The name comes from just a simple observation by our small group of cycling/triathlete buddies, that every time we went out for a ride together, someone had a flat, or forgot their shoes, or dropped a water bottle, or broke a part, etc. We called it the "Bad News Bears" ride. So the name stuck. I ordered some Euro-style decals with BNB on them, Team Bad News Bears below. We have about 8-10 steady members of the "team". Most of the guys who have applied the decal to their bike have had an increase in luck. The others? Not so much...

You'll see the decal prominently displayed near the cranks on my '06 Felt in the picture. That's my oldest son helping out in transition prior to one of my 2007 races.


The purpose of this blog is to share some of the ups and downs of an amateur triathlete's season.

A little about me-I've been doing triathlons since 2005 (well, my first was in late 2004, but it was a relay). I've done about 3 races per year, mostly sprints, with my first international distance race in 2007. Also in 2007, I did my first half-marathon (1:37:45), and almost broke 20 in a hilly 5k (20:28). But, I'm not a runner. Yet.

I prefer cycling. I have two bikes; a 2000 Giant OCR3, and a 2006 Felt S32. I prefer the Felt for 80% of my riding. It's blue, but it's fast (common knowledge that red bikes are fast, right?) I'm getting faster every year, and the cycling has been my strong suit in all my previous triathlons.

For 2008, I have a fairly ambitious (for me) race plan:
March 8 Umstead Trail Marathon (yes, my first marathon will be entirely within the confines of Umstead State Park in Raleigh, NC.
April 26 Skirtchaser 5k; Raleigh, NC
May 3 White Lake Half Ironman triathlon; White Lake, NC
August 9 Bandit's Challenge International distance triathlon; Wilkesboro, NC
October 4 Pinehurst International distance triathlon; Pinehurst, NC
November 2 City of Oaks Marathon; Raleigh, NC

That's probably enough for now. More to come later.