Letter From Pepper

There has been significant discussions regarding all of the talk about triathlons. Several wives who shall remain nameless have questioned our ability to interact with anyone that is not a triathlete. Well, Michael Pepper finally had enough and addressed the topic in a recent email...

"With regards to only being able to talk about triathlons and working-out; frankly, I really do not know what you are talking about..! After all I tri and I tri to talk about other things, but it seems I am just swimming up stream. This has been a long running complaint by others and Julie and I have had a marathon session on the topic. Believe me, I'm working it out, daily. In fact, right now I am in a transition phase and have enrolled in a support program called "Tri to Talk About Something Else". I am finding this to be very helpful... In fact I ride my bike to and from the meetings every day ( except Thursday). Anyway, gotta run. My head is spinning from all this talk.

Pep

P.S. Are you training tomorrow!

Karno

I finished Ultra Marathon Man and was blown away by this book. This was a very enjoyable read detailing Karno's adventures including his nine Western States 100s, his marathon in negative 40 degree temperatures to the South Pole, his winning the Badwater Ultra- marathon (126 degree temps in Death Valley to Mount Whitney), and his 200 mile jaunt along the coast from Napa to Santa Cruz in The Relay (instead of a team of twelve he did it solo). Karno has run 350 continuous miles foregoing sleep for three nights (although he did fall asleep while running). This book did a superb job of articulating what drives runners and endurance athletes to push the body and the mind to great limits each and every day. You can check out Dean's website by clicking here or you can buy the book by clicking here.

Turkey Day Run

As always, Larry's Thanksgiving Day Run was a blast. Unseasonably warm weather made the annual Thanksgiving Day tradition even more enjoyable. A slew of runners gathered at the Starbucks on Hanley for the the pre-run ceremonies conducted by one yellow clad Larry Alton. It was then off for a jaunt down to Forest Park and the History Museum. It was great to be out running with "the Group". The Thanksgiving Day festivities were made all the better by the ensuing brunch at Nancy Lieberman's. This made for a great Turkey Day in STL. Here are some of Pepper's pics...

Team STL

Team St. Louis (minus Bill Cragg) took advantage of the unseasonably warm temps to take to the streets of Forest Park in order to test out the new cycles. The day before Thanksgiving weather was great for a late afternoon ride. This ride marked the debut of TPR's Scott Plasma. He was kind enough to let me take a few turns of the pedals - it as an absolutely awesome machine. Once again Tommy has succeeded in acquiring top of the line equipment that will provide him with an unfair competitive advantage. Some guys will go to all lengths just to win.

Ironmeeting

In a scene that was reminiscent of the heads of mafia families getting together to divvy up the world, the Peppers, Rosenthals and Strassners convened to set the training and travel schedule for next year. John provided a five tabed binder that layed out a comprehensive program. Julie countered with a folder detailing massages and manicures for the ladies. When all was said and done everyone felt good about the overall balance of family and training. Much was accomplished including absolutely overwhelming one Marianne Rosenthal but hey, you have to start somewhere.

CCFA Winter Wonderland

A slew of runners and triathletes showed up for the Crohns & Colitis Winter Wonderland Gala. To say that the running community was well represented would be a massive understatement. It was awesome to have so many friends come out to support me in this cause. As you can see below, our group cleans up pretty well...

Time Off

The first order of business as dictated by our new coach is to take some time off. The Marine Corps Marathon finish line in D.C. marked the end of the 2006 season for me. I am now embarking on a two week hiatus. No Wellbridge, no Forest Park, no nothing. It is now all about eating pizza and letting Suzy get to do whatever she wants. This will be a true test. Actually, I think that it is probably a good idea to have a break in between the seasons. Looking forward to the rest (and the pizza!).

LUC, I AM YOUR FATHER

After an exhaustive search that was filled with much deliberation (would you expect anything less from us??) we have decided to hire Luc Morin as our Ironman Coach. Luc is CEO and Founder of ePerformance USA, Europe, & Canada. He is very adept at working with seasoned athletes like the three of us and truly understands how to make accomplished triathletes better. I don’t know how that impacts me, Tommy or Mike but at least it sounds good. We are taking a “team training” approach and have been dubbed Team St. Louis. While I am not overly enamored with the creativity that was employed to come up with our team name, I am confident that Luc will help each of us get to the finish line in Madison. Stay tuned.