austinstair.com » tnt

in the race for a good time, there are no losers

austin stair — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:04:30 +0000

i am sitting in a room that has more purple and green than usual. green shoe laces. purple nail polish. green sharpie. purple ribbons.

all of this purple and green means, naturally, that tomorrow is race day and i’m writing names on the back of my jersey, thinking of my goals and my inspirations.

my goals have changed a lot from when i started this season. when i first joined TNT, it was because i wanted my endurance training and racing to be more than just mine . i’ve raced three marathon and countless half marathons for me, but joining TEAM was supposed to be about be involved with someone bigger than my ego. for the most part, TEAM is bigger than my ego — but as race day inches closer, my ego creeps to the surface. somehow, as race day approaches, i lose sight of the purple and green and i start to get lost in outcome-based expectations and results.

when the season started, i wanted to improve my time from last year. heck, i wanted to kick butt and take names. i wanted to podium with the athena’s and party like a rock star. while it’s not impossible those things will happen, i know my training this season has not been as consistent as last year, and i do not want whether or not my experience was a success to hinge on a few minutes or i place i stand for a photo. i want my experience to hinge on how much fun i had, on how many times i smile, on how many people i high five. i want my experience to about kicking the butt of my seriousness and taking down the names of those who have been affected by cancer and wearing those names on my back. i want this experience to be colored in purple and green and elation.

for all of you that have donated your dollars and time and karma, there are not enough thanks. i offer to you my race tomorrow. the names on my back and the smiles on my face.

june training/fundraising update

austin stair — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:28:05 +0000

how it became the middle of june already is beyond me. i am stunned when i think that the lifetime fitness triathlon is just 22 days away. i am even more stunned when i think that the door county half ironman is just 31 days away.

it’s times like this, when i feel just a *tad* overwhelmed, that i am reminded why i am doing this in the first place. it may seem trite, but i train and race for something much bigger than myself. i train and race for my family, my friends, my coworkers, and classmates. i train and race for an end to blood cancer. i train and race in HONOR and in MEMORY of hundreds, thousands. i train and race with names on my sleeves and in my heart.

i train and race because i get to. i don’t have to. it’s an honor to represent the leukemia & lymphoma’s society team in training program.

thank you to all of you who have already contributed to my campaign. i am just $330 dollars shy of my $2,000 goal, so if you have yet to make a donation, i hope you will consider it.

you can do so, safely and securely, right here:

http://z.umn.edu/lifetri10

NB: i realize now that, after sending this update out to over 100 people, that this is not REALLY a training update. so, a quick work on training – my knee is doing great, my butt is sore, and am constantly nervous about the muskies in lake nokomis.

go diesel or don’t bother

austin stair — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:22:03 +0000

Mid-march in the Twin Cities means that we are approaching, gradually and painfully, spring-like temperatures. Mid-march in the Twin Cities also means preparation for taking the bike and the feet outside – time to pound the pavement and grease the streets. I dropped my road bike off at the shop this morning – and will take my commuter bike to the shop tomorrow (the number of bikes you need is always N plus 1!).

Training is going well – so far – we are still in the foundation laying stages as the event is still about four months away. In mid-April, I will be revving up my training for both the Lifetime event on July 11th AND for the half iron I am doing on July 18th. Go diesel or don’t bother, right?

As always, I want to thank those of you who have already donated. I am halfway to my goal of $2,000 and it’s only March! We are doing a bang-up job of helping stop blood cancer! For those of you that haven’t donated – I would encourage you to do so. Over 75% of your donation goes DIRECTING to finding a cure and helping those affected by blood cancer! The following link is both a safe AND easy way to give to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Look for more updates from me in the coming weeks – I have a feeling my adventures will be varied and involve at least one fall due to my new clip-in shoes …

the wait is over

austin stair — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:00:31 +0000

i’m getting ready for our first team in training group practice of 2010 – pulling out my speedo from the very, very back of my closet, figuring out which goggles hurt my eyebrow ring less, trying not to let the combination of nervous but excited drive me nuts.

as i trudged home from the bus today, it really hit me – this IS happening. five months of training begin today.

it’s hard to believe a year ago i had no idea what TNT would mean in my life. i can’t imagine not looking forward to, and simultaneously dreading, going to practice – i can’t imagine not knowing my fine, fine teammates – and i can’t imagine not knowning that i’m part of something truly bigger, totally great.

just like i always dedicate my yoga practice to my momma, i always dedicate my TNT practices to those touched by cancer. today, and always, i train for you.

cold is temporary. glory is forever!

austin stair — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:02:00 +0000

it couldn’t have lasted 15 seconds and i don’t have a picture of me ACTUALLY in the lake (my mom was too busy preparing to save me with a broom that she didn’t snap a picture!), but i know i did it … and i have all of you to thank. so thanks for freaking my mom out [unnecessarily, of course, we now see that i did not die in the lake], thanks for making me more cold than i’ve been in a long, long while, possibly ever, and thanks most especially for helping me crush my goal of $500 ($739 and counting!!) raised for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by january 8th.

more details to come as my fingers warm up …

money can’t buy me love

austin stair — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:21:00 +0000

arguably, the beatles know what’s up when it comes to money and love. however, i challenge that lyric today because i know many of you would LOVE to see me do the following crazy stunts as an incentive for your donation to my team in training fundraising.

below is a breakdown of my goals, the ensuing incentives, and indications of what you PERSONALLY get for your donation. if you have any further suggestions for how you’d like to see your donation displayed or honored on race day, i’d love to hear it!!
nothing is really to insane at this point. money can’t buy you love, but money can help buy/find a cure for blood cancer – and that’s something i’m willing to be a bit of a whore for!

GOALS:
1. meeting my $500 goal by Jan 7 = jumping into Lake Barcroft (semi-polar plunge 1)
2. meeting my $2000 goal by May 7 = running the triathlon with purple and green hair

INCENTIVES:
1. donation over $5 = any honoree’s name you want on my race-day tri-suit (you can pick the placement!)
2. donation over $50 = any honoree’s name you want on my GUNS on race day (in permanent marker, no less)
3. donation over $100 = any honoree’s name – or any person, place, or thing – will be placed, in permanent marker, any where you’d like. forehead included.

An Open [Holiday] Letter … with a Purpose

austin stair — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:58:00 +0000

Greetings friends and family,

I write you today with a couple of purposes in mind – but most importantly I write you today to tell you how much you have made my todays this year be absolutely incredible. Each and every one of you has in some way made me eke through, up and over and around, the year that was 2009.

This past year has been both record-setting and ordinary – awkwardly, simultaneously. I continue to work towards my PhD in kinesiology, I began competing in triathlons, I rediscovered my passion for yoga, and I made and deepened friendships along the way. In the commas of that sentence are the sleepless nights, the tearful mornings, and the ecstatic afternoons that made this year have color and shape and left me breathless.

And, I hope for more moments that leave me stunned, smiling, and striding forward in 2010. To get off to an extraordinary start, I am going to copy some of my incredible teammates lead and attempt a semi-polar plunge around January 8 (before I head back to MN!) – assuming I raise $500 towards my Team in Training fundraising goal by that time.

While the lake my parents live on will not be in the condition of the Minnesota lakes when I plunge, it still seems like a great way to renew myself and my commitment to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – and if you give a small amount, you’ll know you gave me a push towards an incredible goal and a frigid fate.

Please visit: http://pages.teamintraining.org/mn/lifetri10/austinstair to donate!

I wish you endless blessings in 2010!

Much love,

Me

tri this on for size

austin stair — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:20:00 +0000

throughout the season and yesterday, i never had a camera on me, so i am the mercy of others as to what kind of documentation there is of me competing and carousing. lucky me, my teammates and friends did a bang up job (maybe TOO good) of capturing some of the magic moments of our race AND the ensuing celebration.

it’s never too late

austin stair — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:14:00 +0000

i am feeling extremely grateful right now that i can write the following post and that i don’t have to try and wrap my head around all the events of the past ten days – you know where i was doing all that “ING” of the prior post.

instead, i need to, feel compelled to, have to write about my upcoming triathlon. i’m not going to write though, about how nervous and antsy i am, about how my to-do list grows as the days to race day gets shorter. i am going to write about why i signed up to do this race in the early january and how, for the last five and a half months, this team has become a quirky family to me.

these are not easy things for me to explain, for me to air to the masses – for these are things we don’t necessarily let just anybody read.

but for the cause … i will say this … cancer is an unavoidable part of so many lives and has affected my family and friends on several fronts. most immediately, i have trained all season in honor of my cousin carrie. her spirit and smile were indomitable (even in the face of cancer!). carrie would have turned 19 this past sunday, july 5. i hope that on july 11, when i make her and our family proud. i also cross my fingers that she will smile down upon me as i am in the midst of this challenging endurance event.

A tear is mid-way down my check up as i write this and maybe, you are welling up as you read this because maybe you knew carrie or maybe you had a carrie in your life that left just a wee bit too soon. maybe you think, damn, that really sucks.

that is what i think now and thought five months ago when i joined TnT. cancer sucks and this was a way, a concrete and tangible way i could affect some change. what i didn’t think was that i was going to enjoy the process of training with and relating to such an immensely diverse and dynamic group of people.

over the past five and a half months, we have had late night swims at middle school pools and tested our metal in far-from-tropic open water (this IS minnesota after all). we have spun our wheels inside and ridden circles over and across the mississippi river. and we have run – run when it’s blazing and run when it’s near freezing. we’ve run, we’ve biked, we’ve swam when we’d rather be … [you fill in the blank]

and that would almost be enough to guarantee SOME level of camaraderie, and yet it’s not really the training that made it come together for me. it was the talking during the runs, at the wall in the pool, as i was passed (yet again) on the bike. it was the cheers — coming from any and all directions during a brick workout.

so, for my families – the one that i hold dearest to me, the one connected by blood – and to the one connected to me through sweat and cheers – this weekend is for you.

i run. i bike. i swim.

i just hope i make you all proud.

this a new age – you like my new craze

austin stair — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:39:00 +0000

i’ve been training – and that word should be taken loosely – for the lifetime triathlon since february. it is now mid-june and the event is 28 days away. four short weeks.

today we have a mock tri this morning and it’s giving me a solid case of the WHAT WERE YOU THINKINGs and it’s also making me consider that those cheese curds i ate last night were a BAD IDEA.

i’m sitting here in my swimsuit bottoms and under armor top and i’m trying to get mentally ready for a swim-bike-run-die. i’m listening to an acoustic cover of ayo technology, a thumping track from wideboys, and other crazy music that i discovered in italy. i’m looking for the mantra, the beat, that’s going to get me from start to finish. i’m counting down the 12 minutes til i walk out the door.

i’m also remembering a mantra i used a lot when i was marathon-ing. i used to tell myself that i was THIS moment, RIGHT now was the farthest i’d be from finishing and every moment i’m one second, one minute, one hour, one event closer to being done, to being at brunch.

remembering this is helping. making it easier for me toss that hoodie on – pull my my hair back – slide my feet into my flip flops – one step closer to being done.

ain’t nothing to it now … but to do it.