Tom Rosenthal Has Signed Up For Everything

I am now oficially signed up for the ENTIRE 2008 Tri-Season as we, the former TEAM STL (Now known as TEAM FRACTURE ), agreed upon as a GROUP, at Sidney Street in October. Let me review once more!

Go STL 1/2 Marathon
Race for Sight
Memphis In May
Hy-VEE
Muncie 1/2
Chicago TRI
Muskoka 1/2

Thank you all for your continued support :)

Calling All Titles

Life 140.6 Dream, Dare, Do, Repeat is in search of a catchy title. We are looking for something that will sell. For instance, I Was A Much Better Mother Before I Had Kids is an example of a creative title that would make you want to check out the book. The Hot Mom's Handbook: Mom's Have More Fun is another title that rocks. Ultramarathon Man: Confessions Of An All Night Runner - we all read this one. So, here is the challenge...come up with a NEW title for the Life 140.6 book. You all have been out there - now put your creativity to work. Whoever comes up with the best title will get an autographed copy of the book (first edition) as soon as it is published. What more could you ask for? If that's not enough, Seiichi will let you swim in his lane during Masters swimming at Ladue. Caution: he swims in a very fast lane. Pepper will provide free furniture for a year. Rosenthal will cut his commission on your next home owner loan (down to 25%) and Bill Cragg will give you free ART treatments for one month.

Email me with your title suggestions.

Outline In Progress

Work on LIFE140.6 Dream, Dare, Do, Repeat is progressing. Just like training for an Ironman, writing a book is a long process with peaks and valleys, highs as well as lows. We have put together a great outline and would love any feedback from you as to what you like or dislike. Email me any thoughts or comments that you have.


THE STARTING LINE

Mile 1 “Insert Name” You Are An Ironman
Real Life Lessons For Success


DREAM

Mile 2 Dream Big Or Stay Home
Creating A Vision

Mile 3 What Sick SOB Came Up With This Thing?
Redefining What Is Possible

Mile 4 It Takes Guts And I Don’t Have Many
Overcoming Adversity

Mile 5 This Isn’t Sixth Grade
Developing A Game Plan

Mile 6 Confessions Of A Type A Personality
Discovering Drive, Determination & Passion

Mile 7 Training Is Cheaper Than Therapy
Figuring Out What’s Really Important

Inspiration
The ALS Warrior Poet
John Blaze


DARE

Mile 8 We Interrupt This Marriage To Present Ironman Training
Getting Family Buy-In

Mile 9
It’s Not Cheating If You Tell Your Spouse
Benefits Of A Partner

Mile 10
What I Want From A Coach: Get Me To The Finish Line
Mentors Make All The Difference

Mile 11
Anything Before 5am Is Too Early
Time Management

Mile 12
It’s Getting Hot In Here!
One Extra Degree of Effort Goes a Long Way

Mile 13
Mama Wears Red Lipstick
Finding Your Secret Weapon

Inspiration
Profile Of Person Who Personified Dare
Blind Racer


DO

Mile 14 Pack. Unpack. Repack. Repeat
Trust Yourself

Mile 15
Dead Last
Overcoming The Urge To Quit

Mile 16 Don’t Stop BUT Smell The Roses
Living The Moment

Mile 17
When Life Gives You Lemons Make Gatorade
Dealing With Setbacks

Mile 18
Thank You Ma’am May I Have Another GU
Pacing Yourself

Mile 19
It’s Not The First 140 That Will Get You It’s The Last .6
Finishing What You Start

Inspiration
Profile Of Person Who Did
The Hoyts


REPEAT

Mile 20 Let’s Get This Party Started
Celebrating Victory

Mile 21 Chapter Title TBD
Thanking Your Supporters

Mile 22 How Heavy Is Your Bucket?
Creating A Dream List

Mile 23 Move Your Ass Tracy!
Encouraging Someone Else To follow A Dream

Mile 24 You Can’t Wear The Race Shirt Until You Finish The Race
Becoming An Ambassador

Mile 25 You’re An Ironman? That’s So Cute
Committing To The Next Goal

Inspiration
When You Were A Child, What Were You Told You Couldn’t Do?
Sara Reinersten


THE FINISH LINE
Mile 26 The End Is Just The Beginning
It’s Never Too Late To Start

26.2 Your Turn
What Gets Measured Gets Done

Nice Kick

Preparation puts you in a position to win
Effort and attitude determine the outcome

...click PLAY BUTTON

Syracuse Upsets Georgetown

From the Associated Press...

Syracuse may be down. Don't count the Orange out just yet, though.

Paul Harris scored 22 points and freshman Donte Greene added 18 to lead Syracuse to a 77-70 victory over No. 8 Georgetown on Saturday in front of 31,327 at the Carrier Dome, the largest on-campus attendance in the nation this season.

The win keeps alive the Orange's postseason hopes with only five games remaining in the regular season.

Syracuse (17-9 overall, 7-6 Big East), coming off a surprising loss at South Florida, built a 21-point lead in the first half and withstood two late rallies by the Hoyas (20-4, 10-3).

The win also served as a measure of revenge for Syracuse, which blew a seven-point lead in the final five minutes of regulation and lost in overtime at Georgetown last month.

Dates To Remember

There is some fun stuff coming up that you will not want to miss. Make sure that you get your calendar out and mark the following dates...

March 1 - Ghisallo Sports trivia night and silent auction with proceeds benefiting the Corky Miller Aspiring Athlete Fund. This fund assisits local athletes with big dreams and small pocketbooks. On hand will be great prizes, silent auction, 50/50, cardinal tickets and a bike raffle. Festivities get underway at 7pm. Tables of eight are just $160 but limited. To reserve one for your group, call 636-273-1511. Let me know if you are interested in putting a table together.

March 15 - The 2008 Michelob ULTRA St. Patrick's Day Parade Run takes place on Saturday, March 15, at 9:00 AM. One of the largest events of its kind in the St. Louis area, with over 7,000 participants, the 5 mile Run travels the streets of Downtown and Midtown St. Louis. Click here for details. I fully expect a top 10 finish for Chris Noda!

Jul 27 - Tour de Kirkwood (triathlon). The multisport event continues its focus as a low-key introductionon for newcomers to triathlon. The event is produced by the St Louis Triathlon Club with proceeds benefiting the Backstoppers. Suzy Strassner makes the transition from spectator to participant.

This Takes Guts And I Don't Have Many

THROW YOUR HEART OVER THE WALL
AND YOUR BODY WILL FOLLOW
-Plaxico Burress

When I was twelve years old my stomach hurt. This was not the typical tummy ache that is often the result of too many hot dogs and french fries but was something more severe. The pain progressed and after a year of testing (none of it fun) I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. Crohn’s is an inflammatory bowel disease which basically meant that my colon was in bad shape. You experience abdominal cramping and spend an inordinate amount of time in the restroom. It is treated with medication but the symptoms still persist.

As a twelve year old kid this disease was difficult for me because I lived an incredibly active lifestyle. In addition to doing all of the fun stuff that twelve year olds do, I also played competitive tennis. Being on the court for hours on end was not unusual and I loved competing. Crohn’s made this hard but not impossible.

Fortunately I have a great family that supported me. Two tennis playing parents and three younger playing sisters were always there for me when I needed them. They understood when I needed an “extra minute” to let the pain pass – although, I do remember my youngest sister trying to “quick serve” me on a few occasions and they always let me extend the ten minute potty break afforded players under USTA rules. They were great.

I lived such a “normal” life that the majority of friends never knew that I had the disease. I didn’t really hide it I just didn’t let it slow me down. I graduated from high school and was off to college where I took twenty pills a day to treat my disease. I had “flare ups” up at school but what do you expect when your diet consists of pizza and beer (I really miss college!). I had the time of my life.

A few years later my doctor recommended surgery.

“But I feel great!” I said.

“John” he replied, “You have hurt for so long that you don’t remember what it is like to feel good again.”

That was all I needed to hear. Truth be told, I didn’t even seek a second opinion. I immediately moved forward with surgery that removed eighty percent of my colon.

Today I am pain free. My disease is still active (causing me to still make frequent trips to the restroom) but I have not had a “Crohn’s pain” since the operation. I am up to twenty four pills a day. A small sacrifice considering that I know now what it is REALLY like to feel good.

A few years ago I began running. I did this as a way to reduce my stress level which had a nasty way of aggravating my disease. I started out by running short distances, increased to marathons and added some biking and swimming along the way. I worked my way up to a sprint triathlon. It is amazing what you can do when your stomach doesn’t hurt anymore. I progressively added more distance, worked on my nutrition and was finally ready to attempt the Iron-distance.

Part of my motivation for undertaking this endeavor was to prove that I was just as healthy as everyone else. In reality, I was not. That didn’t matter though. This was a dream of mine and Crohn’s disease was not going to stand in my way.

The physical part would present a unique challenge since it is not uncommon for well-conditioned athletes to experience some type of GI distress related to endurance activities. Exercising non stop for thirteen plus hours has a way of wreaking havoc on even the healthiest of digestive systems and mine was far from perfect.

The mental challenge would be very symbolic of the way that I had lived my life. There would be pain along the way which would need to be overcome by a strong positive attitude that would not let me hurt. Dealing with Crohn’s for twenty four years had prepared me for this.

I would not be the first Crohn’s patient to complete an Ironman. In fact, I find John Dermengian’s feat of completing an Ironman with an ostomy bag far more impressive. However, it was important for me to prove to others with this disease that leading an active lifestyle does not end with your diagnosis.

My goal was to swim 1.2 miles, bike 112 miles and ran a full marathon before the midnight cutoff. There would be plenty of porta-pottys along the way to help me through the race.

I set out to live my dream and prove that “anything is possible” even if you have Crohn’s disease.

Mardi Gras

Many area triathletes abandoned their nutritional plans in favor of the the annual Sidney Street Pig Roast. The event was held yesterday and would best be describes as OUTSTANDING. Kevin and Mina absolutely know how to put on an unbelieavable shin dig. While Bill Cragg and I were by far the slowest triathletes in attendance, we were able to eat more than anyone else (and isn't that what's really important anyway - not how fast you can bike!). Highlights included the pig which was sauteed with duck fat, chilli in a bag of fritos (one of my favorites), an authentic craw fish boil and some bread pudding that was out of this world. The food was phenomenal - Rosenthal would have enjoyed a carrot stick if he would have been in town. I am trying to convince Bill to have Kevin roast a pig for Kaitlyn's first birthday party!