What a day! Beautiful Weather, lots of smiles, and Ironteam flames all around.

What a weekend! Athletes, friends and family descend on Penticton to celebrate the 61 Iron Athletes and their accomplishments.

What a season! 10 months. 76 Athletes. 3000+ Miles. $750,000+

Time to get started on those race reports!

Lots of IMC pics in the Photo Gallery

Plus Mo’s Pics and Judy’s Pics on KodakGallery.

Ok… So the town’s not on fire like it was in 2003.  But the Ironteam flames are everywhere.  Two days to go!

Watch here for updates.

Five days and counting!

Pack carefully and travel safely. Next team meeting is at SFO early thursday morning.

Any friends and family not making the trip to Penticton, watch this space for updates and pictures over race weekend. Follow you favorite racers at www.ironmanlive.com

Race numbers are listed below.

2205: Christy Barney
211: Mike Beman
2001: Sarah Bourne
2114: Brenna Broadnax
1860: Kimberly Bullock
2008: Amadita Dicochea
384: Chienyo Fung
2269: Ann Garvin
246: Tom Goff
152: Matthew Lindner
1911: Meggen Mitchell
1902: Nicole Moore
318: Holger Pils
2408: Karen Promer
1551: Rick Silva
2271: Beverly Tucker

Yo –

Taper, taper, taper…

Y’all having fun with these low yardage swim workouts and EZ effort bike & runs? Keep your eye on the IRON prize during these shorter sessions and remember to hold the form you’ve developed over that past 10 months. Hopefully the videos last night helped fuel your excitement for what lies ahead. You guys are about the toe the line, so rest up and don’t do anything crazy that might get you hurt.

This week will mostly be on your own, so don’t be shy about throwing out ideas to the rest of your teammates.

Tuesday: 6:30pm – EZ spin at Sports Basement. We’ll do a 45’ spin and be finished in time to grab some race supplies from our buddies at SB.

Thursday: 6:00am – Run at Rancho. Meet at the Bathrooms. We’ll do the Friday PM run.

Saturday: OYO brick. Ideas on the ride and run location? Share your thoughts!

Sunday: Coached open water swim/run at Gull Park.

Hold the line,

Your captains,

Glenn, Celeste, Mike, and Lori

Around 3:00 this morning (August 7th), Aggie and Paul welcomed Louie Paul Alba to the world. The future triathlete weighs in at 7 lbs, 6 oz, and is 20 1/2 inches long.

Mom, Dad, and Baby are all doing fine and resting. We know that somewhere, Uncle Louie is smiling!

Kristin Drees: He’s going for speed.

Mike Pickels: He’s going the distance?

KD: He’s going for speed.

MP: He’s all alone?

KD: All alone.

MP: All alone in his time of need?

KD: Yup.

MP: I like Cake.

Great job out there Team! Lots of pics here.

Ironteam shines all across the country!

Congratulations to Dan, John, and Lorraine for their great showing at Ironman USA!

Finish videos are available at IronmanLive.com!

Lots of pics here (Mike’s pics) and here (Judy’s pics)

Back home, the Ironman Canada crew braved 105 degree weather for the Triple Brick!

Lots more pics here.

The team has arrived in Lake Placid.

John, Dan, Lorraine, and I, along with 25 of our North-bay teammates have gathered at the Comfort Inn, Lake Placid

Thunderstorms shut down Chicago’s airports and snarled air travel all acorss the country. Knowing that flexibility is the key to Ironman training, the Team didn’t miss a beat. An alternate plan was formulated involving…

Sleeping in the airport…

Flying to New York City…

And riding on a not-quite-greyhound bus.

After arriving at 8:45 AM this morning, the team checked into the hotel, registered for the race, picked up their bikes, swam in the lake, and attended the pre-race pasta party. A busy day! Tomorrow they’ll check in their bikes and bags, and attend the TNT Pasta Party. Sunday is Race Day! Weather looks great… Track their progress on ironmanlive.com

Contrary to popular belief - triple brick is not about a team mate’s poo report.

The triple brick workout is just that - ride for 2 hours, run for 50 minutes then do it again… and again. Total of 3 times.  It’s not a race - it’s an endurance workout.

Plan to arrive no later than 7:30 am for set up and instructions - corner of Canada and Edgewood roads.

Here are some quotes from previous triple brick workouts -

“This was the best workout all season”

“Doing the triple brick made me realize I am ready for Ironman”

“Triple brick?, more like a club sandwich”

A key to a successful triple brick is being prepared. Plan for your nutrition and hydration needs now. Bring extra water bottles pre-filled and keep in a small cooler. That way your transitions will be much smoother and you won’t have to worry about filling water bottles.

Same idea for your food. Cut up those Clif bars the day before and have them pre-packed in a baggie. Or whatever your food will be - prepare it before hand.

And remember - it will be hot on Sunday. Plan to take in at least one water bottle for each hour on the bike.

You’ll be able to transition right from your car.  Plan to have your run hydration in pre-filled bottles. You don’t want Coach Dan yelling at you to “Get in the water”!

And don’t forget your electrolyte plan - whether it’s Endurolytes, Lava Salts or licking a team mates arms. Better make sure that team mate shows up if that is your plan.

Triple brick is a great accomplishment and a key workout on your journey to becoming an Ironman. Be prepared with your food and hydration, check those bike tires now, use plenty of the butt buttah, don’t forget the electrolytes and by the end of the day you too will be saying

“I was ready and I owned the triple brick”.