Welcome Letters from IronTeam Coaches

TNT IronTeam Coaches Mary Doyle and Mike Gaw

November 22nd, 2010, will go down as a historic day for the TNT Georgia IronTeam. That's the day on-line registration opened for the 2011 Ironman Arizona and fireworks were lit for the team. Over fifty anxious TNT'ers signed up for the race, most through the regular age group slots, but some through the Community Fund slots. When we first set out to start the IronTeam program, we thought that a group of twenty would be an amazing number. Seeing over fifty incredible Team In Training triathletes on board is just plain unreal!

IronTeam coaches Mary Doyle and Mike Gaw made the trip to Tempe this year to witness up close all the logistics behind Ironman Arizona and have returned with plenty of new insights. Below are welcome letters they have written to the team. Read on and enjoy. Thanks Mary and Mike!

Welcome letter from Coach Doyle

Welcome to the first ever Georgia Ironteam!  I am very excited to be a part of this epic experience.

When Mike and I started seriously discussing the possibility of starting a team here to train for Ironman we had no inkling of how far the idea might go.  Would LLS be able to help us create this team? How do we find out about other chapters and their Ironman experiences?  How many participants would even be interested in joining the team?  Would fundraising be outrageous?  Which race should we choose?  The questions went on and on.

Well, now we have the answers to all of those questions.  With the help of Maureen Davidson, the coaches from other TNT chapters, and input from participants we are launching our first Ironteam event and you are going to be a part of it!  Congratulations!

You may already be asking yourselves:  “What have I gotten myself into?”  Mike and I are asking the same question!  We had hoped to have the opportunity to coach 15-20 athletes for IM Arizona, and all of the sudden we have nearly 50 athletes!  Do you realize what this means?

First of all, you will never have to worry about training alone.  Our team is comprised of athletes of all abilities.  On any given day you should be able to find someone to swim, bike, or run with you.  Ironman training can get to be a lonely thing, but with such a huge group of people it truly becomes a team event.

Secondly, you are about to become a part of a group of people who will likely have an impact on you for the rest of your life.  You will help each other with fundraising, push each other with training, and celebrate each other’s successes.  Along the way we hope you make some lifelong friends.  Many of you were worried about putting your lives on hold for such a long time while training for Ironman.  Instead, I look at training as a new way of life.  Your teammates become your friends.  Your social life changes from all-nighters on Friday nights to all day rides on Saturdays.  You have great excuses for getting out of dreaded family functions (“sorry, I have to ride 100 miles that day”)!  If you are like me, you will find that the more you have to do, the more you get done and you will become very efficient.

Thirdly, you are going to take yourself, mentally and physically, to a place most of you have never been before.  You are going to find out how much inner strength you possess.  You are not only going to impress your friends and family, but you are going to impress yourself with how well you handle the training season.

And finally, if each of you successfully completes at least the minimum fundraising our team will raise a quarter of a million dollars to help cure leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma!  For those of you who have never done a Team In Training event before and who might not have a connection to the cause, you will quickly become motivated by the stories of patients and survivors, and you will learn that you are making a difference in those lives. 

I started with Team In Training because I wanted to do a marathon back in 1998.  At that time I thought it was a one-time thing.  Train, fundraise, race, and move on.  I soon realized that there was a certain energy surrounding the team.  We were not just in it for the personal glory.  We knew there was a cause greater than ourselves.  That cause has kept me thrilled to be involved for 13 years.  As the program grew it became obvious that although each one of us can only do so much toward curing cancer, all of us together can make a huge impact.  Who would have ever thought that a group of athletes running marathons, riding in century rides and competing in triathlon could raise hundreds of millions of dollars?  Well, we can.  And now you can.

In my thirteen years I have seen our program continue to develop to be the best program in the US (my personal opinion).  We have the most enthusiastic support staff at the TNT office and we have a slew of highly qualified coaches.   The staff and coaches want you to succeed in your Ironman event.  We will do everything possible to make that happen so that in November, 2011 as you cross the finish line at Ironman Arizona you will hear Mike Reilly say:  “_insert your name here__, you are an Ironman!”

Thanks for being a part of the first Georgia Ironteam!

Mary

Welcome Letter from Coach Gaw

Welcome to the first-ever Georgia Team in Training IronTEAM!  By joining this group, you are making history and setting out on a journey of truly epic proportions!  By now, your emotions have probably run a gamut – of marathon distance, no less – from sheer excitement about the journey embarked upon to utter fear about the journey embarked upon.  But, you’ve run a marathon already, and we haven’t even started training yet!  While it may not have encompassed 26.2 miles under your own legs, there is no doubt that for many of you, getting from where you were just a few months ago to official IronTeam members is nothing short of an ultra-distance event!  And, you’ve done it!  The rest, as they say, is all downhill from here!

Well, “downhill” may be a bit of a stretch, but it’s not totally off the mark.  Building off of more years of experience than we care to admit, Mary and I have developed a training program designed to get you across the finish line in Tempe next November.  And, for the few members of the Team with Ironman racing experience, our plan will also help you reach the goals you have set for this sophomore Ironman event.  The anxiety you may feel right now is perfectly normal, and it is shared across much of the Team.  But, know this:  As long as you follow the training program and put in the miles consistently over the next eleven months, you WILL cross that finish line in Tempe!  You WILL become an Ironman!  And, Mary and I cannot wait to witness that phenomenal accomplishment and share in it with you!

The journey to becoming an Ironman will prove to be one of the biggest challenges you have undertaken in your life.  That does not mean that it’s insurmountable.  On the contrary, it’s actually very attainable, but it requires a level of discipline and diligence that you may not have applied to training or athletics before.  And, it requires that focus over an extended period of time – 11 months.  But, because the goal requires so much effort over many months, the realization of it will fill you with a power of self-confidence that will transcend much of what you’ve accomplished previously in your life.  In short, you will be blown away by what you achieve!  It will be something that will defy words, but it will be something that will come to define each of you in very empowering ways.

While the journey will be long and, at times, arduous, you won’t be alone on this quest.  As you’ve no doubt heard, 49 other people of questionable sanity have also thrown their hats into this ring.  And, they are coming along for the ride (swim and run too)!  Upon hearing that we had 50 people on the IronTeam, images of the Pied Piper popped into my head!  In all seriousness, both Mary & I have been rendered speechless (a very rare trait for us both as most of you know!) by the response from all of you to this inaugural IronTeam program.  When we pitched this concept to Maureen Davidson at Team in Training a year ago, we defined success in terms of having 12-15 people sign up.  But, as you all will no doubt do in Tempe next November, you crushed that goal and raised the bar even higher than we dreamed!  Fifty brave souls on this Team is mind-blowing and creates an even higher level of excitement for us, as coaches, and it will bring an even more energetic dynamic to the program!  Plus, it’s safe to say that we will have several people at all speeds and levels so that no one will be training on their own! 

In addition to your Teammates, coaches, captains, mentors and the amazing Team in Training support staff, you will be buoyed throughout this journey by your family and friends outside this sport.  Don’t underestimate the importance of their role in your success.  In many cases, these people will be taking on additional burdens and responsibilities in order to allow you to put in the hours of training needed to become an Ironman.  They will put up with early nights and even earlier mornings.  They will tolerate smelly workout clothes and incessant talk of training, heart rate zones, gear and nutrition.  (And, they will do it with minimal eye rolling.)  In short, they will pick up your slack.  And, they will do so willingly and supportively because they understand that what you’re doing is big, is important to you and requires the time and effort you are investing.  They will do it because they are your partners in this journey, and they want to see you succeed and help bring about that success.  Remember their sacrifices in helping you become an Ironman.  And, start making plans now for them to join us all in Tempe next November.  Having traveled to this year’s Ironman Arizona, I can tell you that it is – by far and second to none – the most spectator-friendly course on the Ironman circuit.  Your friends and family will see you nearly a dozen times throughout the day without having to move more than a block!  And, that kind of crowd support will boost your spirits regularly as you tackle the 140.6 miles!  What better way to thank your family and friends for their role in making it all happen than to share this special moment with them?!  After all, it’s not everyday that dreams come true.

And, speaking of fulfilling dreams, you will be doing that not only for yourselves but also for countless others facing a cancer diagnosis.  From the moment they are faced with the news, their world becomes one filled with uncertainty and fear.  But, together, this group will raise more than a quarter of a million dollars that will be put to work immediately to fund vital medical research that will improve treatment options and survival rates and WILL, one day, lead to a cure!  The money you raise will also fund patient services, which, among other things, provide counseling about available resources and support and help offset some of the staggering costs of treatment.  But, most importantly, your fundraising efforts will deliver to these patients and their families the one, often elusive, thing they seek most – the gift of hope.  Hope for a chance at life and a better future because of what EACH OF YOU has done.

So, when you cross that finish line in Tempe next November and you hear Mike Reilly proclaim to all the world that “you are an Ironman!,” you will do so not only as men and women who have fulfilled an ambitious dream of your own but also as life-giving heroes who have made the hopes of tomorrow more real to countless people who will never have the honor of meeting you but who will nevertheless feel the effects of your efforts just as palpably as you sense the chills running down your spine and tears of joy shed as you crossing that finish line.

Thanks for taking what is surely a giant leap of faith for many of you in joining this IronTeam.  While the road ahead will undoubtedly push and challenge you more than most, the impact it will have on your life and on the lives of so many others is one that defies words.  Suffice it to say that it will be a journey you will never forget.  Nor will we.  Nor will the cancer patients and their families who will call you Ironheroes. 

You CAN do this!  You WILL do this!

Go TEAM!

Mike

Ironwoman in the Making by Lindsay Carmichael

Lindsay at the 2010 Rock 'n' Roll
San Diego Marathon

“Ironman”….never in a million years did I ever think I would be training to become an Ironman. I have been an athlete my entire life and my whole family was very involved in athletics. My dad played college football, my mom ran track at The University of Georgia and both of my brothers play college ball. I cheered competitively for twenty years and ran track for eight years. However, I was a sprinter and anything over 400 yds was out of the question. In November 2008, I completed my first 5K which in May 2009 turned into a 10K. I signed up for an indoor triathlon two weeks before the event, never having swam a day in my life. It was tough, but with the help of a pair of nose plugs I finished a 10 min swim, 30 min bike and a 20 min run. Thinking it wasn’t so bad, I did my first outdoor mini-sprint triathlon in June 2009. After that, I guess you can say I caught the triathlon bug.


My first actual sprint triathlon was in Amelia Island in August 2009….an ocean swim. Holy crap was that tough! Not to mention it was right after shark week, so all I can think about was whether or not, I was going to drown or get eaten by a shark…or both!

In October, I decided to try out a half marathon. I ran with a slight IT band injury and was sore for a few days, but the real nerves were that I knew what the next step was…a full marathon. My friend, Christian Dodder, kept telling me I needed to do my first marathon with Team In Training because of the great cause and outstanding support from the team. Although my grandmother passed away from cancer, I had no real connection with Leukemia or knew of anyone that had it. I was on the fence, but then on Christmas Eve 2009 my family and I received a call that a good friend of ours’ 18 year old son was just diagnosed with Leukemia. My mind was made up and the day after Christmas I signed up for my first full marathon that I completed in June 2010. With a miscarriage in April and many weeks off from training, there is no way I could have gotten through that marathon without the support and encouragement from Team In Training. During the 2010 triathlon season, I completed four sprints and my first Olympic distance triathlon. With the twist of my arm from a few of my teammates, I was talked into signing up for the Ironman 70.3 Augusta and there was no doubt I was going to sign up with Team In Training. At some point during all this I thought that maybe I could complete a full Ironman, but had some doubts. After my Olympic triathlon finish and further training for Augusta I thought, “you know, I can do that!” and in August I signed up for the inaugural Team In Training Ironteam and the Ironman Arizona to be completed November 22nd 2011 in Tempe, Arizona.

On September 26th 2010, I will complete my first Half Ironman, a huge accomplishment! Never would I have thought I would be ready and I give so much credit for the amazing coaches I have had and teammates that keep me going. I also thank my parents, friends, and significant others for the love, support, and praise along the way, Last, I thank my two heroes for giving me the inspiration and reason to cross the finish line.

I have decided to train and compete in Ironman Arizona in Memory of my grandmother, Helen King, who passed away December 6th 2005 from Mesothelioma. In the 20 years of athletics, she NEVER missed a single competition, meet, game, etc., and I know without a doubt she will be there watching over me and carrying me through the finish line in Arizona! GO TEAM!!!!!

Lindsay Carmichael first joined TNT this past January and finished the 2010 Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon. She is currently training and fundraising with the Ironman 70.3 Augusta team and has also joined the TNT IronTeam.

I'm on the IronTeam! by Katie Aguilar

Katie and her parents after the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon

This past Monday I called my parents all excited with terrific news….I had joined the TNT IronTeam to train and participate in Ironman Arizona in November, 2011. Not sure if that is the news most parents expect to hear from their daughter, but mine sounded like they were expecting it…and very supportive. They were not, however, as excited as me. I could hear it in their voices: they had a few questions like why?


The why for me is simple…because I know I am ready for the challenge. How do I know? Because my Team In Training family has been there to help me realize what I can do. I joined TEAM with no connection to blood cancers. Throughout training I realized I was amongst an amazing group of people. I was hooked, but hadn’t put everything together yet.

While training for my second marathon with TEAM I learned of a friend, Matt Uday, fighting testicular cancer. I followed his blog; captivated at his optimism, love for life, and firm belief he would beat cancer. As I trained, I thought these things …and I started connecting the dots between my life, Matt Uday, and the amazing people I consider my Team In Training family. I realized that when I train, I feel very much alive and that I am living the example set by the many survivors and fallen heroes.

As I connected the dots, my coaches quietly proved to me that I was capable of running faster, longer and achieving more than I thought possible. I started to believe that I could achieve goals I set for myself. I started to realize these goals add an extra zest and thrill for life. I may not reach all goals I set, but working for them is fantastic!

While training for Ironman 70.3 Augusta with TEAM (my first triathlon) I have been surrounded by many teammates and coaches who are like me…at least they look like me…a “normal” person. On my team there are a few that have done something I have not: Ironman. I started to realize that I too can do Ironman. I was amazed and surprised at this revelation…but it feels right. I am ready.

This is the year of Georgia Chapter’s inaugural IronTeam. I am ready for the challenge…and excited beyond belief. I get to be a part of IronTeam and train for an Ironman! I can think of no better way to train for Ironman then by helping give hope to those who have made my life richer, while training amongst those who have encouraged me to reach higher: my TNT family.

I know that my fabulous TNT coaches Mary and Mike will give me the tools and guidance so that I can succeed at Ironman. I know that my teammates and I will support each other and celebrate many personal and team victories along the way. I know that my teammates and I will continue to give hope to the heroes battling blood cancers. I know that this will be an experience of a life time…and I can’t wait.

Katie Aguilar first joined TNT in May of 2008 to train for the Chicago Marathon. After running three marathons with the TEAM, she is currently training for her first triathlon, the ESi Ironman 70.3 Augusta. Katie will begin training for the 2011 Ironman Arizona with TNT in January of 2011.

The Era of the TNT Georgia IronTeam Begins

Picture yourself standing at the water's edge with 2,000 other neoprene clad competitors. The PA announcer is shouting out last minute instructions and words of encouragement. Media helicopters are flying over head. Some around you are still, calmly waiting, while others chatter anxiously. Meanwhile, you feel goose bumps from the excitement, but you know you are prepared for the task at hand. Suddenly the gun goes off and the time has come, you take a deep breath and charge ahead into the water knowing that you have a full day ahead of you. This is how it starts, but not how it begins...

It begins with Team In Training (TNT) and the new IronTeam program. TNT alumni and participants who wish to train and prepare for a full Ironman-distance triathlon will now be able to do so with the TEAM! Our first event is the 2011 Ironman Arizona in Tempe, AZ. 

Our IronTeam program offers you the opportunity to take on the triple challenge to swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles and run 26.2 miles, all while making a difference in the lives of people battling cancer. 

The first ever TNT IronTeam Georgia information meeting was held on Sunday, August 15, 2010. Over fifty aspiring IronTeam triathletes attended to hear TNT IronTeam coaches Mary Doyle and Mike Gaw explain what they could expect in the next 15 months until the event. Check out the videos below.

Training starts in January 2011 and if you want to be a part of the team, you can contact the TNT office at (404) 720-7842. Or if you weren't at the August Interst Meeting, you can attend the next IronTeam Interest Meeting on Sunday, October 24th, 2010 at 2:00pm at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Georgia office. Go TEAM!