FCA-E Winter Training Retreat

Did you know that the off-season may be one of the best times of the year to reach your endurance athlete friends for Christ? Have you ever wondered how you could be even more effective at sharing your faith through your passion for endurance sports? If so, we have the perfect opportunity for you! FCA Endurance cordially invites you to gain practical knowledge and training in how to use your athletic passion to introduce your friends to Jesus Christ. This evangelism training retreat is hosted by athletes and tailored specifically for athletes, so you and your family will not only learn valuable skills, but also have plenty of time to work out and play! The Gold Medal Rate has been extended until 1 January 2009, so sign up now! Click HERE for more information and to register. You can also register on-line at active.com.

Greenville Triathlon

From storms to sunshine, praise God for another great race and opportunity to serve the Endurance community!

I’m almost afraid to attempt “Special thanks” because there are so many folks who contributed immensely! Thanks to Chris for helping with a very busy packet pick-up, to Jennifer for being willing to cover the event with pre-race prayer, to all those who arrived like shadows in the pre-dawn rain to serve in various capacities and to Evan, Andy and Larry who braved the sweat-caked ankles of over 600 athletes to recover their chips at the finish line. I know far more was done by FCA-E teammates and volunteers and surely the God who sees what is done in secret will reward you when you see Him face to face!

Congrats to:
Nick – 1st AG
Chris Anderson (FCA-E’s beloved national director) – 2nd to Nick
Donna – 1st AG
Ashley – 3rd AG
Randall – 3rd AG
Carolyn - 3rd Masters

A goal for your next race? We’d love to share this thrill with you, so please consider showing up early to the next Tri you do. Wander around the transition area and help out the Novices as they set up their transition areas. What a great opportunity to actually connect with folks for more than a few quick words!

Hope to see you at Hartsville or some future race!

In His grip –
The Douglasses

Here's a note from Chris Anderson about his experience visiting SC and racing in the Greenville Triathlon:

SC Team,

What can I say... this weekend was an amazing blessing! I am truly thankful to God for each of you and the ministry that Lord has blessed you with, both individually and collectively. As I saw the Team in action on Saturday and Sunday, I was humbled and impressed by your willingness to serve and sacrifice in Christ's name. While it is not about numbers, there was no denying our presence at the event... I loved seeing all of the yellow out there! I'm just sorry the trip was so short, and we didn't get more time together. I realize that for many of you, there was little more than a brief hello. God willing, there will be more opportunities in the near future to connect again.

In looking ahead, I just want to encourage you all. You've got some amazing and committed local leaders and fantastic opportunities! All you need to do is commit, show up, and let the Spirit move through you.

Lastly, a special thanks to the Douglasses and Clay for your special hospitality during my time there! And to Nick... congrats, there is no one I would rather come in second to. That said, prepare for the rematch :-)

For His Glory!

Hot Summer Night 5K

Columbia, SC

August 2, 2008

One of the more popular Columbia neighborhood races, The Hot Summer Night 5K, was run this past Saturday evening in the Shandon neighborhood. This is a flat course beginning and ending at Hand Middle School. The race lived up to it's name as temperatures (and humidity) were very high and because there were some hot times. The first male finisher was Eric Ashton in 15:24 and the first female finisher was Kathryn Cavanaugh who finished in 18:57 (24th overall).

Th FCA-Endurance team was represented by Monica Wright who finished second in her age group with a time of 25:33.

Tour de Kershaw Metric Century - August 9th

I'm hosting a metric century (actually just a tad over 100k) ride leaving from my house in Lugoff at 8:00 on Saturday, August 9th. We'll ride through the rolling countryside of the Lugoff-Elgin area, make a slight foray into Richland County, return to Kershaw County before heading up to Longtown (in Fairfield County), and ride by Colonel's Creek at Lake Wateree before returning to my house. Final distance will be around 64-65 miles. The pace will be a fairly relaxed 17-18 mph, with plenty of hills to allow for some good hill-work (everything from mile-long hills to short, 10% grade blasts). For those fast folks, they'll be opportunities to hammer up to various stop signs and landmarks before the gruppetto arrives, as this is a no-drop ride. On the ride there will be 2 stops at filling stations/convenience stores: one at about the 20 mile mark and another close to the 45 mile mark (distances approximate). Road surfaces from fair to great, traffic from lots to minimal. So far myself, my brother-in-law Robert, fellow FCA-E'er Nick, and Brad (a triathlete from down around Orangeburg) have shown interest. Feel free to come out and invite others interested in riding or FCA-E. For more info, call me at area code eight o' three, 413-6187, or email to hthomasmorganjr -at- gmail -dot- com. Hope to see y'all next Saturday!

CSTS 3

July 27,2008

The third race of the Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series saw relatively mild weather (for late July) , a capacity crowd, and some good racing. There were four FCA-E athletes racing among the 323 finishers including Matt Flemming and Bob Wright from Columbia and Michael and Maggye Diaz from Louisville, KY.

The sprint distance race was .3 mile swim, 12.5 mile bike, and 5k run. The first female finisher was Jenny McDonagh in a time of 1:02:37 which was good for eleventh overall. The first male was Ashley Ackerman who finished in 56:48 including a 17:32 5k run split.

The FCA-E team didn't have any podium finishers but everyone agreed it was a great day, a great race, and a whole lot of fun!!!

Bob, Matt, Michael, and Maggye

I never said this was easy

Matt cruising to the finish

Open Water Swim this Sunday July 13th

Randy and Janice, a certified life guard and swim coach, will be hosting an open water swim this Sunday afternoon on the Lexington side of the Lake Murray dam starting around 12:30 PM. We encourage you to bring your family and lunch for a picnic in the park after the swim. There is a roped swimming area and sandy beach where kids (and adults) can play.

Here's a map to the park here: http://lakemurrayfun.com/swimming.html

We hope to see you there and look forward to working on our open water swimming skills together!

CSTS #2

I am racing the second Charleston Sprint Triathlon this weekend (I signed up for all four races). If anyone is going to be there, please let me know b1wright@yahoo.com .
Bob Wright

Bike Time Trial or Brick Workout

I would like to get a weekly high intensity workout on our schedule. I would propose either a short 10 mile bike time trial or a brick workout where each event is repeated several times. Run 1 mile then bike 4 miles (4:1 ratio much like races) and then repeat as many times as you like. For sprint race training I would suggest at least 3 sets and for international distance up to 6 sets, etc. These workouts are done at very high intensity - up to race pace on the last set and I find them to be very beneficial as race practice.

If you would like to participate, please post a comment to this blog.

Tuesday Night Ride

We decided to move the Thursday Fort Jackson ride to Tuesday night at 6PM leaving from Brennan Elementary School. Randy Thompson, Matthew Flemming, and Bob Wright have been riding each week and really enjoying the opportunity to get out together. We mostly ride an aerobic pace but there are certain points where we kick it up a notch and enjoy going a little faster, so we get some quality work in while still working on our base miles. We'd love to have you come out and join us.

God's Promise -I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth. Genesis 9:13

On Saturday, I was bummed because my bike ride and swim workout were both interrupted/shortened by thunderstorms but at the end of the day I was cool!!!

Inaugural Tri the Midlands Triathlon

Randall finishing the swim

We had another awesome race at the Tri the Midlands triathlon on Saturday! By our count we had 14 teammates racing and another 4 who participated by volunteering and supporting the team! A big THANK YOU to Jody, Bob, Jennifer, Monica, Randy, Janice, Andy, Harvin, and Paul for your service to the team and endurance community; y’all did a great job with packet pickup and the expo booth! The best part of the day was connecting with teammates from around the state and witnessing many athletes who came to the booth and expressed their interest in joining the team. It’s so exciting to see what the Lord is doing through Team FCA Endurance.

The FCA-E Booth at the expo

From the Columbia team we had 5 athletes who raced including Tommy, Matt, David, Bob and Nick. Sumter athletes included Andy, Harvin and Paul, while Amy came from over from Aiken, Joe came down from Greenville, Jason came from Spartanburg, Randall from Easley, and Jody from Charleston. There were other teammates racing who I’d like to mention, but I’m unable to recall their names (my apologies). It may be good to have an FCA-E athlete sign-in at the booth with name and city/team for future races.

Harvin exiting the water

On the course the temperatures were cool but the competition was HOT! Andy got a first hand taste of the competition as he posted a smoking fast time of 1:03:42 which was good enough for 16th overall but only 4th in the 35-39 age group. In the large and competitive 40-44 age group, David posted a solid 7th place with a time of 1:07:57 just behind Randall who placed 4th with a time of 1:06:23. Jason landed the 3rd place spot in the 25-29 division with a time of 1:08:33, as did Paul in the Clydesdale division with a time of 1:12:51. Nick was able to get away with an age group win in the 30-34 division with a time of 1:01:50, which was good enough for 8th over all.

Amy in T1

Matt in T1

Tommy in T1

Bob exiting T1 with the Roo

Congratulations to all who raced and finished this scenic but challenging course, we had a great showing! Thank you team for showing your love for our Savior through your racing. Your dedication to the sport and to the faith is having a HUGE impact on the racing community.

Matt coming through the chute

Team sprint-off between Bob and Jody

Andy coming across the line with his daughter

Nick coming across the line

Jody and his parents

Nick and David recovering after finishing

Thursday Evening Ride Update

It seems that Thursday night is not the best night of the week for our Fort Jackson ride. We are in competition with the local youth swimming leagues and soccer leagues, so I am proposing a change to either Monday or Tuesday evening at 6:00PM. I am going to be out of town this week but if you will let me know which day is better for you by posting a comment below, I'll update the calendar and we'll move the ride.

Thanks and I apologize for the change but this is all new and we are working it out as we go along.

Bob

Any interest in a group OWS?

Hi all,

I'm trying to get a feel for any interest the team may have in a group open water swim. I love swimming in the open water but don't like to do it by myself in case my head is mistaken by a jet skier for a buoy they want to run over. Here's a picture of a proposed out and back swim from the public park/beach on the Lexington side of the dam.



Please add a comment to this post if you are interested. If we can get a handful of brave souls we'll put something together.

FYI

Just wanted to let anyone and everyone know that the pool at the Drew will be closed all day on Thursday, June 19th and will reopen as normal on Friday, June 20th at 5:30 a.m. For more info, mash here.

Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series Race #1

Happy Father's Day

Bob Wright and his son Jake



Hi all, I raced the first of the CSTS races on Father's Day as a practice race to get ready for Tri the Midlands. The CSTS is in its 17th year and I have participated about 8-10 times over the years. It is a fun local race with some pretty intense rivalries within the Charleston triathlon community. I really needed to complete a swim in good fashion to restore my confidence after my experience at Lake Murray and I was able to complete the 530 meter swim in 11:27 which was my best swim ever in this event. I rode a respectable 21.5 mph bike split but only managed an 8:13 pace on the 5k run so I still have some work left on my comeback. I was fourth in my age group and missed third by about 40 seconds in what seemed to be a slow race. I expected to see a time less than 1:13:00 for third place but instead it was 1:16:17.

I learned later that, David Knight, who is also from Columbia and considering joining FCA-E placed fifth in his age group with a 1:07:26.

Let the swim begin

I am always happy to get on my bike

Almost home

Dad says,"If I could only swim, bike, run well in the same day". Jake says,"Those clouds sure look nice".

Teammates on the mission field

Here's a link to Columbia teammate Lindsey Lyerly's mission blog (scroll down a little) while he's serving on the mission field in Costa Rica. He's been in Costa Rica for a few days now and is getting adjusted.

Other teammates from Sumpter, Slick and Donna Douglass, will be on the mission field in the country of Ecuador. Let's keep praying for all our teammates in the mission field!

Festival of Flowers

Talk about HOT!! Every competitor in Festival of Flowers sure has the opportunity to learn a bit about “perseverance” – it was about 95º, windless and sunny on the run. But God answered Jason’s pre-race prayer for safety, and surprisingly few athletes spent any time in the medical tent.

Speaking of tents, everyone is welcome in our FCA-E tent. Not only is it a great place to find encouragement from fellow teammates, but it also affords a smorgasbord of Hammer gel and a modicum of SHADE!

Special thanks to Jody, Jim and Nick’s son for helping out with the booth; and to Jason for a great pre-race prayer.

Behind the scenes: We had the pleasure of re-connecting with Lindsey, meeting his friend Rachel and cheering him on in his FCA-E jersey before he slips off to the mission field for the next few months (prayer welcome!). Several other folks also approached us when they saw the jerseys, expressing interest or announcing that they’d already joined FCA-E as well. Praise God for the work He’s doing! Once again the “sample transition area” for Novices provided a great opportunity to interact with a few folks personally. If you are interested in helping with this, please let us know!

Congrats to Nick Brunson, Ashley Naelon and Donna who placed in their age groups.

Hope to see you at Tri the Midlands or some future race! Please keep the FCA-E initial planning meetings going on tomorrow (Wednesday) for Columbia and Greenville in your plans or in your prayers!

In His grip –The Douglasses

It all started with God doing a bit of painting…

Lindsey cruises effortlessly over the finish line (at the top of a VERY steep hill!)

Rachel, Lindsey, Nick, Jody, Jason and the Douglasses, standing behind Nick’s son who is tempting Chilli Douglass with his half-eaten hamburger.

Dinner Meeting Update

The meeting Wednesday night went really well. There were 9 of us that were able to make it to the meeting. We all had a lot of fun getting to know one another. Here are some of the items we discussed for those of you who couldn't make the dinner:

• The purpose of our team (outreach)
• The purpose of the race ministry with Setup Events (team building)
• The future of the race ministry and our team's part in supporting the race ministry at a few races in our area next year. It was great to find out that one of our members is a swim coach and has a swim team that can possible volunteer and another member is a youth group leader that can potentially tap into his group for volunteers.
• Team training opportunities
• Blog authoring

One thing that Bob and I regretted not mentioning in hindsight was emphasizing that the team is not just for triathletes and that we welcome and encourage endurance athletes of all types to join the team.

Dinner Meeting - Wed. June 11th

We’ve reserved a private room for June the 11th at the Grecian Gardens on HWY 378 in West Columbia starting at 6:00 PM. Feel free to join the meeting at your convenience between 6:00 and 6:30 and leave whenever you’d like. We’re planning an informal time for athletes to get to know one another, and take suggestions and get feedback about the group. Please feel free to invite your spouse if they would like to come also. The address, phone number and link to a map are listed below. We look forward to seeing you there!

Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Grecian+Gardens&near=Columbia,+S+Carolina&fb=1&cid=14085456615919859320&li=lmd&z=14&t=m

Address and Phone:
Grecian Gardens
2312 Sunset Blvd, West Columbia, SC
(803) 794-7552

Interested in Joining FCA-Endurance Columbia Huddle

We met several people at the Lake Murray Triathlon who expressed interest in joining FCA-Endurance and becoming a member of the Columbia, SC Huddle. If you see this message and would like to join please send me an email at b1wright@yahoo.com. I will be happy to work with you.

Bob Wright

Lake Murray Triathlon

FCA Endurance had a strong presence at the Lake Murray Triathlon with the packet pickup, novice table, expo tent and 5 athletes competing in the triathlon. The team walked away with two 1st place awards by Donna Douglass in the Women's 35-39 division and Nick Brunson in the Men's 30-34 division. Slick Douglass (pictured left) had another solid showing with 1:26:04 which was good for 18th of 41 in the very competitive Men's 40-44 division.

For one of the team members, Bob Wright, this was a return to the sport after a 2 season hiatus. Here's Bob's account of the race:

"My return to triathlon was not as successful as I had hoped it would be but I managed to finish after getting somewhat sick in the swim. On the first leg I swallowed a bit of lake water in the chop and then started feeling like I couldn’t breathe, so I shed the top to my wet suit in one of the support boats and resumed the swim. I continued to struggle at he beginning of the bike but then settled down and rode pretty strong in the second half ( a little late to get started) and then I cruised the run just to finish that sucker and get the first race behind me. All in all, pretty disappointing but as I told everyone in the FCA tent, if I hadn’t been racing for the FCA team I probably would have stayed in the support boat and never got back in the water. I’ll refocus now and try to do better at Lake Carolina in June."

We all enjoyed a great afternoon together after the race and met several athletes interested in joining the team. Here are some photos of the event:

Bob's time trial position looks very good.

Slick charges out of the water after a nice 13:54 swim

Donna storms past a male competitor on her way to victory

Jody working hard on the run

Nick with his son, Caleb, after crossing the finish line

We cannot confirm or deny if this is Donna exiting the water after the fastest FCA-E swim split of 12:51

Chili, the team mascot

Heart & Sole Women’s Five Miler

Monica ran the Women’s Heart and Sole 5 miler on Saturday May 17 in downtown Columbia. And while she didn’t run a PR she ran a good race placing eighth in her age group and 60th overall with a time of 40:37. This unique, women’s only event pays tribute to the powerful role women play in the health of their families and friends. An event created by women and for women, the Providence Heart & Sole Women’s Five Miler donates a portion of its proceeds to help fight heart disease — the number one killer of women. Great race Monica!

Indy Mini-Marathon

FCA-E athlete Monica Wright recently competed in the Indy 500 Mini-Marathon which is the largest half marathon in the country with over 35,000 competitors. While difficult to set a PR in such a large race, Monica ran a solid 1:58 under less than ideal conditions. According first hand reports from her husband and FCA-E triathlete, Bob Wright, the wind and rain let up just long enough to make the second half of the race very hot for the competitors. Congratulations Monica on a great race!

Langley Pond Triathlon

Both the FCA Endurance athletes and volunteers had a terrific day at Langley Pond even though the weather didn't quite cooperate. Here's an account of the day from the Douglasses:

Great job to all the competitors and volunteers who contributed to a victorious day, despite some unexpected changes, like an hour delay and a slightly truncated bike course…

First, a special thanks to Jody for packet pick-up help, to Jennifer for manning our booth, to Charles and Ray for coordinating the volunteers and to the youth who volunteered – your enthusiasm was noticed and appreciated! All of y’all’s help was invaluable! Also, we owe a special thanks to God for holding the thunderstorms and downpours off just long enough.

Congrats to Donna (1st AG), Tracy (2nd Open Female), Jody (3rd AG), and Nick (4th in the fastest AG).

Behind the scenes: Several new folks expressed interest in the joining the team, and a family of four who were doing their first triathlon as a family event emailed us to express appreciation for the special care given to them by FCA-E teammates. May God be glorified.

We look forward to seeing y’all at Clemson – come by the booth and give Hammer gels a taste test – or join us for the pre-race pasta feed – or contact us to offer your help (or your family’s help). Volunteers are needed for Clemson; the volunteers at Langley Pond had so much fun they asked us if they could help next year.

Race director pre-race blues!

Nick – finishing the International Distance.

The booth with the Douglasses, Jody, and Toby, triathlete and pastor of Christ Community Church Sumter, who was there to do the pre-race prayer.

From Charles Gee, the FCA Area Representative and volunteer coordinator for Langley Pond:

Slick & Donna,

Just wanted to let you guys know how much I enjoyed being a part of the South Carolina Triathlon event at Langley Pond this weekend. It always excites me to find new ways to reach others through the ministry of FCA. Your enthusiasm for our Lord and FCA-Endurance is contagious. I enjoyed our time of fellowship at Olive Oil Friday night and hopefully we can grow the numbers next year. Our volunteers from Lakeside Baptist did an awesome job Saturday and I heard nothing but positive comments. They wereenthusiastic and always had smiles on their faces even in the rain. The participants appreciated their Christ-like attitudes. The highlight for me was for Ray and I to get to carry Jason from the swim portion of the race to his bike. That encouraged and humbled me at the same time. What a great guy!

Thanks for all your efforts and I look forward to working with you again at Hickory Knob later in the season. God Bless.

Teammates in Christ,

Charles Gee, Area Representative, Palmetto FCA

Here are some awesome pictures of Charles, Ray and Jason :