Team 'Ohana 2009: No One Left Behind

[corinnak]

I can see where some coaching and challenge elements might be fun -- you'd have to gear them by level, though. It is a lot of work, and people generally coach for a week at a time. Corinna and I both usually take a week -- you can always tell because my time on other threads goes way down...

Yes - regarding coaching on Biggest Loser- and right now - holy fright, I pity those coaches. The thread is all huge and unwieldy. It's wrong for me to hope that people drop out or post less, but on some level, I am definitely hoping that it slows down a lot by the time my turn rolls around this time!

I was thinking about the Challenge of the Week (CoW) which, frankly I never participate in because there is only so much tracking I can take, so even though I almost always do the stuff on the list, I am just so NOT interested in counting ounces of water, you know?

But many others seem to like it and find it helpful, and I wonder if it could translate into a new "game" for our teams to play. My head hurts a little even thinking this, but here goes: We could assign point values to various activities that are beneficial to training. Examples:

Run or walk 1-3 miles - 1
R/W 3-6 miles - 2
R/w 6-10 miles - 3
R/W 10+ - 4

Races count double.

Crosstrain 30 minutes - 1
Crosstrain 60 minutes -2

Take a rest day - 1 (I love this one!)

Maintain your weight for 1 week - 1
Lose 1 lb - 1
etc.

I don't know if it would be less odious, but at least it all goes in the one column and it's more general, so none of this futzy adding up seconds into minutes.

Here is another idea. My brother in law just organized a team with this Challenge:

http://www.presidentschallenge.org/index.aspx

Might be a fun thing to work on as teams.


I will also step up and say I am against disbanding or complete team reassignment. Yes, we have friends in our teams. Sue me - that was kind of the point. And once you make friends, it's kind of hard to say - Wow, I like you guys and it's been fun hanging out. But there are a lot of other people we could be friends with so lets not hang out together anymore. It makes my introverted self shudder, and I'm not afraid to say it.


JenB - great to hear you are doing well with the nutrition lately! I always think it's the hardest part to get together, and it sounds like you are rocking it! And I agree with Debra - I knew Butch was a true Ohana cousin the first time I met him at DL. Ohana is transitive, I think. He's part of you Ohana, so whether or not he posts here, he's OUR Ohana, too, right? I am also starting to get too excited for Princess. Did you get your room booked yet?

Maria - I saw somewhere else that you maybe going to swing Disneyland. If that becomes a reality, we should definitely chat about it!

Richard - your racing schedule looks like a good one! A sure sign your recovery is going well, I think.



AFM - I am loving that Team Race schedule. But I'm afraid we should take the Frozen Half off of the list. I have a thing in my right leg now - nothing terrible, just a little gnarly. There's freezing rain on the way AND I'm running a show on Friday night and Saturday night as well. So there will be a late night Friday, and then if I were to stupidly injure myself somehow, it would not only impact my training for the year, it would potentially impact this stuff I'm doing for the show, a lot of which I am thinking will be potentially uncomfortable/difficult after a race. Discretion says I need to get out the old "Reality" card and say "Any one of those things, fine. All 3? No freakin' way."

Are we going to continue on with this thread for the time being? I guess some teams have started 2010 threads already. I'm good with whatever and kind of figure we're waiting to see where the Team discussion goes.

Debra - thanks so much for putting together the list of races. Is that one aspect of captaining that you have enjoyed? I wonder if it would help if several of us took a team duty so that the responsibilities were more shared? Or is it more the larger organizational stuff that has been tough on you? I am sure we could come up with another Ohana captain if you were ready to step down over here as well not that that is in ANY way a nudge of any kind - I hope that I'm not overstepping my bounds by saying that if you want to continue on as our fearless leader, we are honored to have you.

Most jumbled post...ever......

 

[Sandy321]

 

[tiberius]

back at you, Sandy!

 

[tiberius]

I did have one extra thing to post that I forgot earlier, I weighed in on the gym's balance scale at 203 lbs today, which means I am now down 60 lbs from my fall 2007 high of 263 lbs.

 

[corinnak]

Cousins - this is my friend Sandy! I don't know if any of you had a chance to meet her Marathon weekend but we had a nice chat on Monday morning at the Boardwalk. I may be misremembering but there might have even been a sci fi reference in the conversation....do you remember that at all Sandy or am I inventing it? (We were all pretty sleep deprived at that point!)


Richard - Congratulations on your impressive loss!

Jackie - I agree with everything you said!

 

[MouseDogMom]

Richard - CONGRATULATIONS!

Sandy - We love meeting new cousins! And I don't know that we officially "met," but we did talk, I think at the POP meet Friday night.

Corinna - You have to know when to say when. And I think it's time! No reason to potentially risk an entire season for one additional cold race. After all, we can be cold any time. Even in Florida.

Jackie

 

[jbucci]

Ditto what all of my cousins have said about the team I'm in!

Richard: congrats on the wt. loss

Deb: Thanks for accepting Butch into our family and for updating the race schedule. Couldn't help but notice you might be interested in the Philia Distance Run-- do it!!!! I love this race-- nice and flat. I will mention that in our race list you abbreviated it DNR instead of PDR-- struck me as funny since in medicine DNR means "do not resuscitate", should I worry about the race because of that?

I'd like an opinion from my cousins... how confident in my wt loss should I be? We will officially register for Goofy in the next week or so-- what shirt size do I ask for? I've been getting big ones-- XL but they seemed kind of huge this year so even at my current size I think a L would have been fine. Should I say M on the registration? That way I have to lose the wt to wear my cool Goofy tech shirt? What do you think?

 

[FFigawi]

I'd like an opinion from my cousins... how confident in my wt loss should I be? We will officially register for Goofy in the next week or so-- what shirt size do I ask for? I've been getting big ones-- XL but they seemed kind of huge this year so even at my current size I think a L would have been fine. Should I say M on the registration? That way I have to lose the wt to wear my cool Goofy tech shirt? What do you think?

I ended up with an L this year, and it's huge! I'm glad I was able to switch from an XL, but should have gone for an M.

 

[deekaypee]

First, must announce how happy I am that Caprica starts tomorrow.

Corinna: I'm with Jackie. In your neck of the woods, there will always be another cold race to run in. You lucky girl, you! One of these days I'm gonna try spinning, once my gym stops charging extra for the classes. (I'm too embarrassed to tell you how much we pay for our gym. There is a price for convenience.)

Richard/John: Wasn't Rocky Racoon a cartoon character? Now, wait, that was Ranger Rick. I'm so dating myself on that one! Seriously, I admire you for taking on/wanting to take on a 50 miler. DOOD really enjoyed his (much shorter) ultra. I'm sticking to halfs this year. Hold me to it.

Goofy, again? It's the churro, isn't it? You're plagued by the fact you didn't eat a churro on the course. Or maybe it's the leopard. I know *I* didn't get enough of it.

JenB: Congrats on the Neptune status! (And what's wrong with me that now you all have me wanting to be a Half Fanatic? Oh, the peer pressure.) You've got a great schedule, and if I can't do DLR I definitely want to do Philly in Sept. Not sure if both are in the cards--Philly is more local distance for me. P.S. Will correct the PDR (oops!) and GO FOR A MEDIUM!

Oh, and WTG with the diet. Fabulous--and we all know you're just as hard core as some of our other (unnamed) cousins!

Maria: Of COURSE, you're totally capable of doing it. And we always have walkers to do the full--not sure who, just at the moment. Speaking for myself, I'm doing halfs this year. I want to put in a couple of really good times (for me this year) and get the weight off once and for all. I'm not organized enough to do that, handle the holiday stress, etc. I've gained weight on both Goofy go-rounds, and I'm just going to focus on getting slightly less ambitious ducks in a row for 2010. Too much else going on.

How this helps YOU??? I don't know, but I hope you get some insights from my experiences and goals.

Sandy: Hello there! You can always hang out here, and I do WISH you'd stopped by Beaches & Cream...

About the Teams
Yes, the Miles & Minutes has a certain simplicity, an elegance to them that I don't know can be duplicated. I guess I'm looking for someone to convince me that tracking and a cross-team challenge is worth it at this point. I'm speaking for me personally, but I track regardless. Why it's so much harder to transfer those numbers....

And I have to say that I felt like a real nag tracking down people and asking for numbers. I stopped PMing people after the first several months, but that lingering sense I was the "drill sargeant" remained. All my own issues, I fully admit.

In terms of the whole team thing, what I'm mostly concerned about is this sense that "you're either with us or against us" feeling that might develop based on what comes out of the Team 2010? discussion. On any and all sides.

We're lucky that our team is so cohesive--but we also lost a lot of members. And not all teams gelled so well. I can't even remember what team Jackie was on before, she seems like she was always 'Ohana, but there are teams that don't work out. Or members who don't work out on a team. Or people who can't be on a team for various reasons, like time, and feel left out.

And with the team challenge basically sanctioning a team structure for all of WISH, it does seem like there's merit to the feeling that "if you're not on a team, you're not a WISH member." Not so much with the threads that emerge organically from being at the same race, or a triathlete, etc. But the whole team challenge--even with nothing at stake, just friendly competition--seems to work against the "come and go as you please" openness to the threads/forum. It worries me, I guess, especially as the teams become more solidified.

And as a roster-keeper, I'll admit to being stressed. Even placing people randomly on a team has its oddities. As the new team for 2009, Rebels never quite got momentum. Maybe because it was mostly people who felt they were late to the game. I don't know. And it was complicated by the miles & minutes challenge--tracking DOES make some people feel guilty. There's no way to make teams balanced in number as people come and go. People want to switch teams, and some teams were too large and unwieldy for a numbers challenge. On and on and on. Oh, poor me.

But seriously, these things are elements that concern me.

So while I see having teams as a good way to welcome newbies or shy WISHers, I'm struggling with it as well. Maybe the mixers, outside of 'Ohana hosting them, would work. I do miss the weekly threads (and was alarmed when it moved to monthly) and want to get back to them. That's just me, personally, wanting to be friendly with everyone, I guess. What's that line from Friends that Monica says? "I'm the hostess."

So where am I with the teams? I do believe it's a futile effort to try and reshuffle the teams, to try to put WISH back in the box to where it was two years ago. WISH is too big. And the teams have been around, forming those important friendships that none of us want to give up. At the same time, I seriously don't see the Challenge aspect adding anything to the teams at this point. I think the social aspect of the teams, the friendships and supports, add enough accountability.

If I had my druthers, then, we'd just dump the miles & minutes challenge, maybe even the rosters. We'd go to an informal BOT-type thread--as they're a cohesive unit that is still open to new members and visitors. I'd just let people go the teams where the personalities seem to work with their own no matter how big a group got. Have the teams throw mixer questions or host viritual races throughout the year. Outside what would be a "team's" thread. Not sure how much captaining would be necessary, but it would require the regular participation/input from several members of each team. And all teams, not just one.

But that's just me, and I'm worried that I'll push my agenda onto WISH or even 'Ohana. It's one of the reasons I'm trying not to talk about this on the Teams 2010? thread. And why I don't think I'm suited to captaining this year or keeping the roster. I just want someone else to make the hard decisions....

 

[Sandy321]

I did have one extra thing to post that I forgot earlier, I weighed in on the gym's balance scale at 203 lbs today, which means I am now down 60 lbs from my fall 2007 high of 263 lbs.

congrats - THAT's AMAZING!!

Corinna DH is the major sci fi guy - we've been together so long, it rubs off!! Thanks Cousin!

Debra I'm so glad that you like to brainstorm, talk it out - that's where I'm at - I try not to be... opinionated...

1st you shouldnt have to PM people for stats... and yet... I'm one of those people that just isnt comfortable in my own skin... so if I'm not posting - I'm hiding... doing the pre trip report forced me to be more accountable... I have some amazing marathoners that were a bit intimidated with WISH - but for some reason, hung out with my pre trip - and we met up - - I kept pushing WISH, I mean, really the only reason I had the courage to do the Half in the first place 2 years ago - WISH!!

and yes, its changed since then... and I seriously felt like a boat without a rudder... I wasnt constant in the weekly thread - I seriously couldnt keep up with every poster - it wasnt really a clique... but yet, it was ( I know that doesnt make sense... it depends on the definition of clique I guess!)

In '07 there was a huge thread about WISHers coming to Chicago for the Half in August - they all knew each other, and supported each other - I wanted IN!! (and I was surprised the huge crowd didnt show for the CDC in '08!) I posted a lot - and felt like a "cousin"....

then '09 was a bad beginning - from missing out on the Marathon weekend - to having family traumas (1 son got married, 1 son in hospital) training for '10 was a goal, a light at the end of the tunnel... but where do I belong!!

aldisneygrl told me I had to post miles.... but I wasnt doing anything, but stressing out...

I started posting on a lot of other people's trip report -and decided to start one of my own - and I had people read it!!

and at the POP meet - when Ali texted me to find Debra and pass along a message!!! I'm sure Debra thought I was a stalker - seriously!! So much anxiety on that Friday....

hmmm what was my point?

"nothing is as constant as the Northern star" and we all know how constant that is - change... its all about "WHO moved MY cheese!"

I think its concerning because the WISH team is nice. Seriously. Nice people want to be accomadating - to be inclusive, not exclusive!!

(and jbucci - get the L or XL - you want to always be able to WEAR the shirt! Not have it as a "trophy" to look at! and if you become a Med, and wear that Large, proudly display "I lost weight!" (nannaa nanna boo boo!!)

I got a 2X because I was tired of not fitting in the XL! and I'm swamped in it - so I'll probably go and sew up the sleeves, but at least it fits!!

 

[chimera]

So where am I with the teams? I do believe it's a futile effort to try and reshuffle the teams, to try to put WISH back in the box to where it was two years ago. WISH is too big. And the teams have been around, forming those important friendships that none of us want to give up. At the same time, I seriously don't see the Challenge aspect adding anything to the teams at this point. I think the social aspect of the teams, the friendships and supports, add enough accountability.

If I had my druthers, then, we'd just dump the miles & minutes challenge, maybe even the rosters. We'd go to an informal BOT-type thread--as they're a cohesive unit that is still open to new members and visitors. I'd just let people go the teams where the personalities seem to work with their own no matter how big a group got. Have the teams throw mixer questions or host viritual races throughout the year. Outside what would be a "team's" thread. Not sure how much captaining would be necessary, but it would require the regular participation/input from several members of each team. And all teams, not just one.

+1

I've been around here a loooong time, back in 2005 when there were 20 or 30 of us on a weekly thread, most of whom had no idea WTH we were doing with this racing stuff. We held each other's hands and learned the ropes with the guidance of a couple, more experienced members and bonded due to the shared experience of doing something completely insane that most of us never believed we could do. You still see that with the new folks who join and are sooo excited with just the idea of what they're trying to do.

I worked from home at the time as a medical writer so was literally online all day and could easily post the weekly threads and try to keep the conversation going. I remember trying to think of a new question to post whenever conversation died down...since it was all new, it was fairly easy. We talked about socks, shoes, chafing, jog bras, tech clothes, training plans, etc, etc, etc...

I have to say, I am soooo proud and amazed at what WISH has become. Each and every one of you has contributed to the phenomenon that is WISH. The growing pains that force these conversations are a good thing but make it much harder to keep up than the 'old days'. What I don't ever want WISH to lose is the all-inclusive, supportive atmosphere for which we are known. I've had a lot of ideas on directions we could take as a team, but LTO/WTO over the past year, so haven't been able to act on much lately.

I'm in favor of the BOT model, keep it simple and social. Keep the existing teams together that want to stay together and let other folks join them or make up their own new teams. The miles/minutes portion is over for me. I keep track of my own numbers and you're all welcome to see them on runningahead.com, but transferring them to another spreadsheet is tiresome. I would definitely like to keep Ohana together. I think we have been lucky to gel here as a team, though it's been more on literature and Star Trek than running, we still retain the spirit of the original WISH team. I really don't believe there 'needs' to be a captain so to speak, but if someone wants to be a captain to lead discussions or post whatever, I have no problem with it. I do think we'll need a new thread, just cuz there are now limits on number of pages and posts.

My $2.75 worth.

 

[tiberius]

I just want someone else to make the hard decisions....

Debra - That's one thing I am capable of doing, if not for all the money Uncle Sam put into my training a few careers back, then for dealing with my wife's family when they want to "decide" where to get dinner. I can't understand how they never starved to death. I'd be happy to tell you exactly what to do, I just don't see you as the puppet who needs her strings pulled for her. In all seriousness however, I really will help as needed, and I'll be much nicer than any Drill Sergeant. No, Debra, it's not the churro, and not even the leopard, likely just the desire to repeat an event I truly and completely enjoyed (actually I had so much fun that I can't really accurately describe it--and thanks again to you and my other team members for being part of that weekend with me). Although, the leopard is a good cover story, I'll let you go with that one....just remember the leopard will be running at DL come Labor Day, and if Ohana makes a showing in San Antonio then maybe there as well..
....and I am hopeful Caprica is as good as I hope it can be. I'll do my part to hold you to halfs this year, just remember Goofy is next year, and I might only not do Goofy, I might also do the 5K.


Maria - I know there were quite a few "just" walking the marathon. Sure, you'll have to do your training, but I think it is very doable for you, and it's probably not as far out of your reach as you might think.

JenB - I ordered the L shirts for this year, and would have been better with the M, just my experience. Another Half Fanatic brewing in our group. Wow!

Sandy - Welcome, it's good to meet your acquaintance.

Corinna - I like your ideas on scoring, although I don't have any specific need to have a competition, I will be for anything that keeps us interacted positively.

Mel - I agree much with what you wrote. WISH has indeed grown over all this time, and has become many things, but I think it still is, and will continue to be, that all-inclusive group that attracted me while also being able to grow into more. I first wandered into WISH long ago and was a lurker/occasional poster before I gave up running due to a death in the family (actually I gave up running, socializing, and a good many other things as I spiraled downward and disconnected from the world, but I digress). I returned to running in late 2006 and became active in WISH later in 2007 I really felt that I started to connect and feel comfortable and among friends, but it was on this team that I really felt like I was with family. I still connect with friends on WISH, but I connect here with family, that is the difference the teams make to me.

As for me, my knee was giving me some slight issues following a 3 miler today, so I am officially shelving any 50 mile ideas for this year, but will keep it on my life list (as is the 100 mile run...someday). My, how I can ramble on...

 

[corinnak]

I'd like an opinion from my cousins... how confident in my wt loss should I be? We will officially register for Goofy in the next week or so-- what shirt size do I ask for? I've been getting big ones-- XL but they seemed kind of huge this year so even at my current size I think a L would have been fine. Should I say M on the registration? That way I have to lose the wt to wear my cool Goofy tech shirt? What do you think?

Jen, I have been on both sides of this shirt equation. You know I was never able to comfortably wear my XL Minnie 15K shirt until.....like last month, practically??? It's one of those cut-toooo-small women's shirts. Until just recently, I have always reqested XL - when I was feeling hopeful, I'd get an L. So this year I picked up my XL t-shirt and I like shirts that fit generous, but this was ridiculous. I did get it exchanged for a medium. The way these Marathon Weekend shirts have been, though, a Small would have been OK, even.

If you request a a M and it ends up too small, it will probably be easier to exchange for a larger shirt than if you have an XL and want a smaller one - remember at DL when they ran out of Mediums and Smalls?

I am going to say, Bank on yourself, Jen. Get a Medium. You can do anything you put your mind to doing.

And in other news:

Dennis just informed me he is doing the WDW Full in 2011. This has me in a quandary. Do I try to walk the Full, or stick with the Half?

Maria, I'm getting my threads confused, but somewhere else you were saying something about the 2012 full. I can't promise for sure, but how awesome would it be - you and me, Full Marathon in 2012?? Pretty awesome, I think!


AFM - Ugh, I am not getting a workout in today. It won't be long before I have to head out, pick p the kids, take them to an appointment and hand them off to CASH (Corinna's Amazingly Supportive Husband, for those who are new to the thread!) and then over to the theater for final prep/ rehearse a few cues and run the video projector for Eurydice. Wild times. Not sure when in there lunch will be happening. Afterwards, there's a muckety-muck reception and then a smallish cast party at a local cafe. Busy, busy. Tomorrow. I will run tomorrow. Though not in the frozen half.

Yesterday, after I decided that, I was carrying something in the theater in the dark (they were working on light cues) and I slammed my shin into a steel frame box. Ugh. I said to myself "OK, Universe, I already got the hint - I'm not doing the half, already!!!!" It's still tender today - man, hitting that shin on something is really painful - it's just BONE there!

I have just completed my first week as an official maintainer. And this morning, my weight was the same as last week, so I guess I'm doing GREAT with that so far. It's a little weird to try to get excited about staying the same.

I'd better get on with finding my best black clothes to wear tonight. Have a good one, cousins!

 

[deekaypee]

Richard: Congrats on the weight loss! That's a great milestone to hit! You need a 60-pound clippy (from the main WISH board) in your siggy.

Sandy: I never thought of you as pushy--can't imagine it--and only regretted we didn't chat more. I think of new people as the cousins I haven't met yet. Re: Chicago. I certainly hope to get to the point that I can hang out with WISHers at almost every event I do, pre- or post-race. Wish game me the courage to start!

JenB: Yeah, Corinna just gave you your motto for 2010. Bank on yourself.

Corinna: You're absolutely right to not do the Frozen Half. Although I liked my image of you as a little popsicle afterwards. (A cute one!)

Teams:
I know we're committed to the continued existence of 'Ohana. I think it would be a good idea to get a roll call out, see which of our cousins are with us, in whatever form 'Ohana takes, next year.

Who's In

• Butch
• Corinna
• Jackie
• Jeanne
• Jen
• Jen B
• Julie
• Kathy (?)--still looking for that race report!
• Maria
• Mel
• Richard

We'll also want to weigh in, or opt out, on whether our team is going to participate in a challenge or another kind of cross-team interaction. So, we should probably brainstorm/come to a decision about what the structure of the teams overall. If that's possible.

So is there interest in 'Ohana participating in a team challenge or cross-team interactions? What kind(s)?

These aren't either/or options. We could do both. Or neither.

I think I lost Corinna's post in the shuffle, and thought I'd bump it back up & draw attention to it.

Thoughts?

But many others seem to like it and find it helpful, and I wonder if it could translate into a new "game" for our teams to play. My head hurts a little even thinking this, but here goes: We could assign point values to various activities that are beneficial to training. Examples:

Run or walk 1-3 miles - 1
R/W 3-6 miles - 2
R/w 6-10 miles - 3
R/W 10+ - 4

Races count double.

Crosstrain 30 minutes - 1
Crosstrain 60 minutes -2

Take a rest day - 1 (I love this one!)

Maintain your weight for 1 week - 1
Lose 1 lb - 1
etc.

I don't know if it would be less odious, but at least it all goes in the one column and it's more general, so none of this futzy adding up seconds into minutes.

Here is another idea. My brother in law just organized a team with this Challenge:

http://www.presidentschallenge.org/index.aspx

Might be a fun thing to work on as teams.

Also, there's been repeated talk about

• Virtual races
• Hosting mixers (outside our thread, unlike what 'Ohana did last year)

Are these things we're interested in participating in, either as part of cross-team interaction or as a challenge?

As far as the captaining, I'm not convinced 'Ohana needs one. I think many of us can--and will-step up if something needs doing. I will say, though, that if we decide we want one, I'm gonna have to step down. I'm trying to create a more stable income and professional niche, but my schedule is so hard to predict. I don't want to let anyone down by sporadic posting.

 

[tiberius]

Richard: Congrats on the weight loss! That's a great milestone to hit! You need a 60-pound clippy (from the main WISH board) in your siggy.

Done, and thanks for pointing it out. I had never added one to my signature as I thought they were for the WISHers in the weight loss threads, where I never participated but probably should have been all along--and probably could have saved myself a few hard lessons.

Teams:
I know we're committed to the continued existence of 'Ohana. I think it would be a good idea to get a roll call out, see which of our cousins are with us, in whatever form 'Ohana takes, next year.

Who's In

• Butch
• Corinna
• Jackie
• Jeanne
• Jen
• Jen B
• Julie
• Kathy (?)--still looking for that race report!
• Maria
• Mel
• Richard

Hooray, I'd have hated to have to hate you for trying to away my contact with all my cousins here [you are too cute and loveable to hate anyway--like the "good" Stitch], or have had to resort to "making you an offer you couldn't refuse" to let them continue.

 

[chimera]

(And what's wrong with me that now you all have me wanting to be a Half Fanatic? Oh, the peer pressure.)

Come on...you can be a Neptune, but you don't want to be a Uranus (obviously it's been a long day for me)

I definitely want to stay with the team, really enjoyed the virtual race and don't care what else we do as long as Ohana continues in some form. I think there is a WISH team group on the President's challenge but I haven't signed in there in a long time. Cross-team stuff is fine, but will have to be simple cuz I only have about 3 brain cells left at the end of most days...possibly fewer since I'm teaching this semester.

The shirt thing at WDW continues to amuse me. I guess it's the difference between the women's cut and the men's. I'm in the same boat, my Minnie/Princess shirts are XL and just fit nicely, while the marathon weekend shirts I swim in. The TOT shirt seems to fit ok.

I'm backing off my half marathon race calendar due to financial, travel and health concerns. If I did Breast Cancer in Jax, we would be traveling 3 weekends in a row. I really don't want to do Sarasota again and am not sure my foot can handle 3 in 3 weeks, so I think I'll stick to Princess, then add FL Beaches since it's part of a series. I'll just try to get 8 to 12 in for the year instead of all in a month. I also want to train for my first tri in August so I will need to get back on the bike at some point.

 

[chimera]

Maria...do you want to do a full? The race isn't the hard part, it's the training that bites.

 

[corinnak]

Oh man, was it ever a good call not to do that frozen half - it's a sheet of ice out there tonight. I made it home OK, but getting up the driveway, I had to call CASH on my phone and have him throw out some salt so I could make it!

Debra - I didn't want to be a cute popsicle - I wanted to be a glamorous popsicle!

It's been a little while but I think it might be nice for Ohana to host the Monday Mixer again (that's what it was, right?) but on a separate thread? I am willing to start the thread and post the questions and keep track of what the questions have been, but I am seriously going to need assistance thinking of what the questions should be each week and with to whatever degree we want to do it, populating the thread with responses to peoples responses. I know there are some people here with a gift for thinking of those questions! I like the idea of having it be one question per week, like we did last year on our own thread. What do you guys think?

 

[tiberius]

It's been a little while but I think it might be nice for Ohana to host the Monday Mixer again (that's what it was, right?) but on a separate thread? I am willing to start the thread and post the questions and keep track of what the questions have been, but I am seriously going to need assistance thinking of what the questions should be each week and with to whatever degree we want to do it, populating the thread with responses to peoples responses. I know there are some people here with a gift for thinking of those questions! I like the idea of having it be one question per week, like we did last year on our own thread. What do you guys think?

I like it and I'd be happy to help out with the development and tracking of the questions. I always liked the variety that came out of the mixer questions.

Maria...do you want to do a full? The race isn't the hard part, it's the training that bites.

Maria, I have to agree with Mel, and think it is especially true with my Disney marathon experience. I think it is true to say that my Disney marathon run was easier and felt better than any of my 18 mile or longer training runs leading up to it.


Mel - Good luck with that tri in August, I love tris. Somehow, I think enjoying running make them seem easier as you get to spend a good bit of the tri "sitting" on the bike.

 

[corinnak]

I think I lost Corinna's post in the shuffle, and thought I'd bump it back up & draw attention to it.

Thoughts?

As far as the captaining, I'm not convinced 'Ohana needs one. I think many of us can--and will-step up if something needs doing. I will say, though, that if we decide we want one, I'm gonna have to step down. I'm trying to create a more stable income and professional niche, but my schedule is so hard to predict. I don't want to let anyone down by sporadic posting.

My thoughts are - my challenge idea probably comes under the heading of unnecessary extra hassle, and it sounds like someone else is maybe doing the presidents challenge - So far, my participation on my sister's team there is OK, but not super exciting.

My thoughts on the captaincy - I don't really care if we have a captain or not. I think we should try the informal structure with those of us that can stepping up for things that interest us.

I like it and I'd be happy to help out with the development and tracking of the questions. I always liked the variety that came out of the mixer questions..

Awesome! Thanks, Richard!


I dropped my son off in the city this morning for a test and while the main roads are clear, the sidewalks are really scarily slippery. And I think the weather today is actually worse than it was in Florida. The temp is higher (35º), so what we've got is actual cold, miserable rain. I am SO glad to be warm at home today. I'll hit the treadmill later today and will not complain about being stuck inside one single bit.