Wednesday, August 24, 2005

First Taste of Iron


Tridaddy and I are making the journey to Mad City for the big IMMOO. We are going down Saturday, bikes in tow and plan to be up early to see the swim start. We are going to bike around the course cheering unitl 11 when we check in as volunteers for the run. A giant dose of perspective, we report to the run at 11. Can you imagine swimming 2.4 and biking 112 and running 5 or so miles by 11 am. Our other option for volunteering was to wipe sun screen on athletes leaving the water. Being the tri stud that he is, Tridaddy just couldn't envision himself wiping sunscreen on other men, and I'm not allowing him to touch those buff tri women. Someone needs to invent a sunscreen sprayer like they have in those touchless car washes.
I'll need to be careful at IMMOO, Mad City has a strange effect on my brain, dates back to those football games at Camp Randall before they outlawed beer, I need to remain focused so that I don't become swept up in the excitement and sign up for '06. Must get to Florida, must get to Florida.

One mild gulp regarding Florida. I made a small accounting error when I originally investigated Florida. I thought I read the entry fee was $150.00. In my estimate, $150 is a small investment in pursuing a dream, and admittedly-with shame-not a huge loss if I decide I just couldn't do the race. Last night I did a little more thorough research and discovered that $150 is the "wimp out" refund if you tuck tail and run by a certain date. The actual price of admission is $425.00. Yikes! For the record, that is 42 hours of work at my very low paying fitness trainer position at the Y. I really need to upgrade to a national certification, which coincidentally costs about $425.00 to acquire. With the certification my hourly pay doubles, which leaves me with a little fuzzy math to calculate.

$850.00 / $20.00 per hour = 42 hours. Well what do you know.

So, either way between training and working it's a good thing that the entire tribe is in school now.

Tridaddy is committed to making this work, and we will. The Y offers reimbursement for a portion of the certification if you work for a year as a trainer, and I will get to pursue two of the things I really enjoy. Not a bad long term investment on either front.

Finally some iron irony. The principle effect of low iron intake is anemia, which symptoms include lethargy, fatigue and indifference to life.

Iron is an essential element for a healthy lifestyle.

So, go get your geek on!

6 comments:

:) said...

You guys are going to have so much fun! Hell, sign up for IMMOO and IMFL for next year! /ducking/

Nancy Toby said...

Woo hoo!! You're going to have such a great time!! They do have some kind of waterproof sunblock in a pressurized can that I've seen but haven't bought yet - I want that.

Heather said...

Awesome. My husband and I are going to be down there, too, as spectators. I'm from Madison and figured that was a good excuse to visit the fam while also getting to watch some amazing competitors.

I never THOUGHT about volunteering. That's a great idea. Maybe next year...

Chris said...

Thanks in advance for being out there and helping us folks out!! :)

I'll be looking for you out there if I can figure what what station that is that you're working?

Tracy said...

OH! That is SUCH a bumper sticker! I have to find a way to get up there for this race. It's only a four-hour drive - are there any hotels left that don't cost $200 a night?

Comm's said...

I use a coppertone (?) that is an aerosol like using hairsray, instead of using a pump. Its great and is spf 30. WTO probably wont go with it but try it for yourself. Its much easier to apply than gunk.

For a national cert, try NASM, national academy of sports medicine. It runs about $400 but its only one of five fully accredited personal training degrees right now. ACE is another that has come a long way.

See what the YMCA will take to increase your pay and go with the cheapest if you don't go with something you would want to transfer to another gym or go on your own.

Doesn't the YMCA have their own degree.