Ewoks & a Manger: Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! from IronMakeover & family






L- Our son plays a wise man in our at-home Nativity Play.

center - My cabbage patch show pony acts as a horse in the stable. And our one baby doll plays Jesus.

R- Our son's craft ornament - the manger. Great craft idea!




L - Our toddler runs the circle that completes our family room, kitchen and hallway.

R- Our oldest helped set up some of the Christmas decorations this year. He took my (Sara) Ewoks & had them corner the reindeer. :-)

Merry Christmas!

Questions for You:
- Did your house have a "circle" for you to run laps as a child?
- Do you love Ewoks? Did you see the Ewok clip on Halloween? Total scene stealers!!

photos by me

Meet an Athlete Escort & √ Out the Bike Count @ Ford Ironman World Championships

Thanks Jessi Stensland for your updates from the Ford Ironman World Championships! Stensland is a professional endurance athlete, movement specialist and active.com expert. Tune in this Saturday for NBC's broadcast of the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championships 4:30-6 EST. 96-second teaser preview here.

As triathletes we LOVE numbers! So of course it makes perfect sense to find The Bike Count at the Ford Ironman World Championships! Triathlete Magazine sponsors the count and many industry volunteers make the annual event possible.

#1 - Cervelo crushed the count again (462 up from 415 in 2008). My hubby's bike made top 4, mine top 12. In the Kona Count you'll also find tallies on wheels, helmets, saddles, aerobars, components, power meters, compression socks, footwear, speedsuits, apparel shorts, apparel tops and apparel suits. Find the list of top bike brands here.

The Bike Count takes place at bike check-in the day before raceday. I'd love to be a counter! And my hubby's CPA skills are top-notch! But until we land on the Big Island I'll follow active.com reporter Jessi Stensland and Alice, an athlete escort, as they take us through the check-in process here in this short video.

link here



On Topic:
Turn to p.146 of the Jan 2010 issue of Triathlete Magazine for the Kona Count.

In this series:
Getting the Story @ Ford Ironman World Championships
On Site @ Ford Ironman World Championships with Jessi Stensland
Rudy! @ Ford Ironman World Championships with Jessi Stensland

Learn more about Stensland's day-long MovementU workshops here. Read @TriBoomer's MovementU report! He calls MovementU the "best day-long triathlon training clinic evah!" My hubby Ken and I are super excited for MovementU's Madison area class in 2010, dates to be announced soon!

Questions for You:
- How do you feel about numbers?
- Where does your bike brand fall in the count?

photo credit by me: I saw many sea turtles when I was on the Big Island. But I met this turtle in the Grand Cayman Islands.

Say My Name! @ Ford Ironman World Championships with Jessi Stensland (#3 in Series)

Thanks Jessi Stensland for your updates from the Ford Ironman World Championships! Stensland is a professional endurance athlete, movement specialist and active.com expert. In anticipation of the Dec. 19th airing of the NBC Ford Ironman World Championships broadcast, I'll feature several of Stensland's active.com features with bonus info from Stensland. This is #3 in a series.

The Voice of Ironman Mike Reilly

As a Cinderella Ironman Finisher I (Sara) heard The Voice of Ironman Mike Reilly call out my name welcoming me to "the club." Two years earlier my hubby Ken didn't hear The Voice when Ken crossed at Ironman Wisconsin. Reilly was there, and speaking, but my husband Ken was so focused that he tuned out his surroundings.

Ken's not alone. For many Ironman triathletes Reilly's famous words "YOU are an Ironman," obsessively call out to them during their long months of training. The words echo in and out during race day, waiting. So what happens when Reilly doesn't say "it"?


Find out by watching Active.com reporter Jessi Stensland's detailed interview with Mike Reilly from this year's Ford Ironman World Championships. You'll also learn:

- Something about race day Reilly will never grow tired of.

- Where's the hot corner for Ironspectators?

- What it's like up in the tower in Race Central.

- What's Reilly's biggest fear?


Stensland says Reilly's never called her name and she doesn't hear that happening in the future. "I've never had the desire to do an Ironman," says Stensland. "I like to train and race short, hard, often and now ... off-road."


I admire Stensland's confidence. She knows as an athlete what she's passionate about. Without passion, training and racing at any distance comes up empty. For me the most-moving post-finishline moments have more to do with what I gave to get there than simply the distance covered.
Link here





On Topic:

Find out how Reilly coined his famous phrase in this excellent profile of Reilly from ironman.com.


In this series:
Getting the Story @ Ford Ironman World Championships
On Site @ Ford Ironman World Championships with Jessi Stensland
Rudy! @ Ford Ironman World Championships with Jessi Stensland


Questions for You:
- What distance/sport are you passionate about?
- What makes the finish line magic?


photo credit by me: I saw many sea turtles when I was on the Big Island. But I met this turtle in the Grand Cayman Islands.

♥ Rudy! @ Ford Ironman World Championships with Jessi Stensland

Thanks Jessi Stensland for your updates from the Ford Ironman World Championships! Stensland is a professional endurance athlete, movement specialist and active.com expert.

In anticipation of the Dec. 19th airing of the NBC Ford Ironman World Championships broadcast, I'll feature several of Stensland's active.com video features from Kona with bonus info from Stensland.
She'll answer what it's like to be on site covering THE IRONMAN, what stories touched her most, what race day is like and more!

Rudy Garcia-Tolson
Two weeks before competing in the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championships double-above-the-knee amputee Rudy Garcia-Tolson got an infection in one of his stumps. He took the prescribed antibiotics and stayed off his feet--no running until race day for this 21-year-old triathlete. So Garcia-Tolson absorbed his latest challenge and continued prepping for 140.6 miles of Big Island decisions.

On the Thursday before race day Active.com reporter Jessi Stensland caught up with Garcia-Tolson to chat about his Kona experience and the BIG race! "I've always been a Rudy fan," says Stensland.

Click on Jessi's active.com Ironblog interview with Garcia-Tolson below:


video link

And watch NBC's Ford Ironman World Championships feature Dec. 19th from 4:30-6 EST. Preview here!

Questions for You:
- What's your top logistical challenge as a triathlete?
- Rudy calls swimming his passion, what is your favorite tri discipline?

On Topic:
Challenged Athletes Foundation: Rudy's story
Athlete: Lee Gruenfeld profiles the amazing Rudy Garcia-Tolson "the Torpedo."
Ossur: make Rudy's prosthetics
Scott Rigsby: first double below-the-knee amputee to finish the Ironman on prosthetic legs. Read more about Rigsby here.
Sarah Reinertsen: first single above-the-knee amputee to finish the Ironman (DNF in 2004, came back to finish strong and to win hearts in 2005).
Cheers also go to: Bob Babbit, Cherie Gruenfeld, Paul Huddle, PowerBar, David Bailey and Terry Martin for supporting Garcia-Tolson!

In this series:

Getting the Story @ Ford Ironman World Championships
On Site @ Ford Ironman World Championships with Jessi Stensland

Learn more about Stensland's day-long MovementU workshops here. Read @TriBoomer 's report from MovementU! He calls MovementU the "best day-long triathlon training clinic, evah!" My hubby & I are super excited for MovementU's Madison-area class in 2010! Details to come!

photo credit by me: I saw many sea turtles when I was on the Big Island. But I met this turtle in the Grand Cayman islands.

Getting the Story @ Ford Ironman World Championships with Jessi Stensland

Thanks Jessi Stensland, for your updates from the Ford Ironman World Championships! Stensland is a professional endurance athlete, movement specialist and active.com expert.
In anticipation of the Dec. 19th airing of the NBC Ford Ironman World Championships broadcast, I'll feature several of Stenland's video features from Kona with bonus info from Stensland. She'll answer what it's like to be on site covering THE IRONMAN, what stories touched her most, what race day is like and more!

Jessi Stensland is a storyteller.
"I like to capture life and stories," she says. "Those that are simply fun, that spread joy to the world and/or are inspirational and/or educational."

As part of her role at active.com Stensland has the pleasure of reporting from the Ford Ironman World Championships. "This year Kona was a lot of work but also a blast," she says. "Over the years I've realized how much more intricate of a process it is to really do it well, more efficiently and easily."

To produce each video feature Stensland needs: a vision for her topic, excellent supporting footage and the ability to engage her subject and to put him or her at ease. Stensland loves bringing out her subject's natural self while getting the story. She stays flexible too, giving the interviewee freedom to tell his or her story and letting the interview go where it needs to.

"I enjoy having a hand in all aspects of production: being on-camera, filming and editing," she says. "It's very helpful to know all three. While I'm on camera I'm also thinking ahead as to how useful the time I'm spending is, in relation to how I'll have to edit it later."

Creating a simple two-minute video from start to finish can take 90 minutes to produce. In addition to the actual interview time, Stensland must digitalize the video from tape to computer, make cuts and adjustments to the footage and audio, and insert pre-roll and title screens. Then the final piece is compressed, outputted and uploaded to the web site. More integrated features combining interviews, quotes, footage and music, can take 3-4 hours start to finish.

It's all a perfect fit for Stensland who loves sharing stories with the world. Video production takes her to new places where new faces wait to share their adventures with her. Keep up the good work Jessi!

Stay tuned for Stensland's features on: bike check-in, the Voice of Ironman Mike Reilly, Dig Me beach, Rudy Garcia-Tolson and race day!

Learn more about Stensland's day-long MovementU workshops here. Read @TriBoomer 's report from MovementU! He calls MovementU the "best day-long triathlon training clinic, evah!" My hubby & I are super excited for MovementU's Madison-area class in 2010!

Question for You:
- What's your dream job?

Also Read:
On Site @ Ford Ironman World Championships with Jessi Stensland

photo credit by me: I saw many sea turtles when I was on the Big Island. But I met this turtle in the Grand Cayman Islands.

Vote for Chrissie & Craig! USSA Athletes of the Year!

Evidence that triathlon's no longer a niche sport - two triathletes (Chrissie Wellington & Craig Alexander) have been nominated for the U.S. Sports Academy Athlete of the Year!

Fill out your ballot and vote here. Votes will be taken until Dec. 24th.
Other athletes nominated include:
- Usain Bolt, Drew Brees, Kobe Bryant, Angel Cabrera, Roger Federer, Santonio Holmes, LeBron James, Jimmie Johnson, Manny Pacquiao, Albert Pujols and Tiger Woods.
- Yelena Isinbaeva, Carmelita Jeter, Courtney Kupets, Linet Masai, Lorena Ochoa, Courtney Paris, Sanya Richarts, Jiyai Shin, Diana Taurasi, Lindsey Vonn and Serena Williams.

Learn all about 3x Ford Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington here . Also check out GOTRIbal, an organization Wellington supports, that's aimed at empowering women and promoting triathlon around the world.

Meet Craig Alexander 2x Ford Ironman World Champion and married father of two.

Watch NBC's coverage of the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championships Dec. 19th at 4:30 EST and follow bonus coverage here with active.com expert and movement specialist Jessi Stensland's video features.

Follow USSportsAcademy on twitter. Follow IronMakeover (me!) on twitter.

Question for You:
- Who's your top vote?



On Site @ Ford Ironman World Championships with Jessi Stensland

Ten years ago I flew to the Big Island to report on the conference my employer was holding. I stayed at The Hilton Waikola Village. My favorite part was snorkeling daily in the 4-acre ocean fed lagoon - sea turtles!

Of course as a triathlete Kona means something more than an incredible vacation. My husband wants to enter the Ford Ironman World Championships lottery--I'd like to report from it! Until then, I'm happy to soak up Kona's splendid warmth via active.com's on site updates.

Thanks to Jessi Stensland, professional endurance athlete, movement specialist and active.com expert, we can get a taste of the fascinating lives, traditions and radiant energy abundant at the Ford Ironman World Championships.

In anticipation of NBC's coverage of the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championships, I'll feature several of Jessi's Kona video features with bonus material Jessi has graciously added in response to my questions! Thanks Jessi! First topic coming soon!
For now catch the 96-second video preview here and tune in Dec. 19th at 4:30-6 EST for NBC's feature!

Questions for you:
- Have you been to Kona as an athlete, spectator or lucky person on vacation?
- Have you or would you apply for a lottery spot?
- Does the TV coverage make you tear up?
- Aren't turtles the cutest?
photo credit: picture by me, but of a turtle in the Grand Cayman islands, not the Big Island!

My Incredible Tri Shorts: SUGOI

This summer I received an amazing pair of SUGOI Velocity tri shorts. It was my first piece of SUGOI clothing and my first official tri shorts, even though I've been a triathlete for 14 years! Over the years I've worn a swimsuit, bike shorts or plain spandex for triathlons of all distances. Not any more!


WOW - tri shorts are incredible!
And these slinky shorts soon became my "Mrs. Incredible shorts" AKA Elastigirl from The Incredibles. The Hydro-Shifter fabric is amazing -- it's made to cut through water and air and it feels awesome against my skin. (Picture: right, me goofing around in May with my new shorts. Left, below, free download from The Incredibles site.)


Recently I applied to become a SUGOI Brand Champion. It made sense. I loved my shorts and Brand Champion athletes receive discounts on special training and racing gear. Hmmm... More tri shorts!! Brand Champions also receive support at major running and triathlon events in North America. I was happy to find out this week that I'm on board with SUGOI Brand Champions -- thanks SUGOI!

SUGOI's roots: SUGOI is a Japanese word that means incredible. !!!
SUGOI's mission: to Fuel Personal Bests
SUGOI Brand Champions program: "is geared toward supporting athletes who choose to wear SUGOI and inspire others on a daily basis."

Other SUGOI Brand Champion Athletes:
KatRunsAntarctica
Kelownagurl
This Runner's World
Checkout the complete blogroll for SUGOI Brand Champion runners and triathletes @ the SUGOI Brand Champion site. Or add your link below in the comments! Meet SUGOI's own Incredible Jane and apply to be a SUGOI Brand Champion here.

Questions for You:
- Did it take you 14 years to discover tri shorts? :-)
- What is your favorite piece of tri gear?

Photo credits: Free download from The Incredibles official site.