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Ride for World Health: Coming to a City Near You

Posted by on Apr 1, 2014 in General, Perspiration Inspiration | Comments Off on Ride for World Health: Coming to a City Near You

RIDE FOR WORLD HEALTH: Coming to a city near you! Yesterday, we all arrived in sunny San Diego ripe with expectations for our journey across America to meet the needs of the world. The eager group road tripped for 38 hours from Columbus, Ohio and met up with the other members like me who flew in from all over the country. We made some very quick introductions, gathered around the campfire for a bit, pitched our tents, and we comfortably slumbered at Campland.by the (Mission) Bay. We had a lot preparation to do on our first official day all together (21 of us, 20 national riders and 1 portion rider). The leadership team had a big day planned full of activities to prepare our newly formed cycling team for the cross country adventure ahead of us. First we gathered...

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Across the Country in 54 Days

Posted by on Mar 11, 2014 in General, Perspiration Inspiration | Comments Off on Across the Country in 54 Days

This is a collection of stories from the 2013 Ride for World Health journey written by one of my best friends Erika. Erika inspired me to ride as a portions rider for 5 days and spend 7 days with the 2013 Ride for World Health cycling team. While biking from Nashville to Columbus, I became friends with so many of the riders and became aware how biking across America is such an amazing vehicle for change. Thanks Erika for the wonderful water ski memories as well as our Ride for World Health adventures. Please enjoy her whimsical collection of adventures which will be released in a two parts. -Dan Across the Country in 54 Days by Erika (part 1) This is the Ride for World Health, not the Race for World Health. Thank goodness for that, because this was my...

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Peak Training Week: Sick, Tired, Stressed, & Under-trained

Posted by on Jan 28, 2014 in General, Perspiration Inspiration | Comments Off on Peak Training Week: Sick, Tired, Stressed, & Under-trained

What do you when it is your peak training week for a marathon and you are sick, tired, stressed, and extremely under-trained? This week I am participating in the New Orleans marathon. I am happy to say that I am almost ready for a race that 3 weeks ago I thought I was going to have to drop out and run the half marathon. Training for any endurance event is difficult. The extreme cold winter in Chicago made training even harsher for the February 2nd marathon. Icy, snowy days which often dipped below my 15 degree running threshold made it difficult to train outside and I have a difficult time running on treadmills. Since the Ironman in August, I have found it difficult to stick to a structured training schedule. Already out of shape, I planned what I thought...

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Hometown Triathlon Beast Andrew Starykowicz

Posted by on Dec 6, 2013 in Perspiration Inspiration | Comments Off on Hometown Triathlon Beast Andrew Starykowicz

I grew up playing Mundelein AYSO (American Youth Soccer Association) with Andrew’s younger brother Peter. Peter and I always had a friendly rivalry. My brother and I played on a team every year against Peter’s team. Peter was a fiery & fierce competitor on the soccer field and his family was always a part of the soccer community. Flash forward to 2013, the year of the my first Ironman in Louisville on August 25. These days my sport of choice is triathlon. I had an amazing year training, learning about myself, meeting inspiring people, having amazing training partners, and having the adventure of a lifetime. Then came long awaited mecca of triathlon races, the Ironman World Championships in Kona. It is exciting seeing Andrew Starykowicz, somebody whose family grew up in my community competing on the largest triathlon of...

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Running Word Cloud

Posted by on Nov 2, 2013 in General, Perspiration Inspiration | Comments Off on Running Word Cloud

This word cloud is based on a question is asked to my Chicago Marathon survey participants: What words describe what running means to...

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Chicago Marathon 2013 Pre-Race Pulse

Posted by on Nov 2, 2013 in General, Perspiration Inspiration | Comments Off on Chicago Marathon 2013 Pre-Race Pulse

My pre-Chicago marathon survey got responses from 7 other runners. Not bad for sending it out 3 days before the race! Out of the 7 runners, 3 were first time marathoners. The experienced respondents were running their  2nd, 3rd, 7th, & 10th marathons respectively Check  out their  pre-race pulse responses: What advice would you give to first time marathon runners? Ø  Enjoy every mile. Ø  Slow down – You can’t really do anything great in the first 5 miles of a marathon. But you can really destroy your chances of a good marathon in the first 5 miles. RUN SLOWLY. If you give up 15 – 20 seconds per mile in the first part you can make that up. But if you go out and run beyond yourself you will be guaranteed to suffer later. Ø  Start slow, ridiculously...

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