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February 27, 2005
Another rainy day in paradise
Rain is never fun for a race timer. Besides making everyone's life miserable, it plays havoc with our electronic timing equipment. Our last rainy event was last fall's Marathon of the Palm Beaches. Not only was it wet, it was very windy and stormy.
Now it's time for another soaker, Florida's Great Escape Tri. Unlike marathon athletes, triathletes are used to being wet. The only way it could be worse would be if it was cold out. Lucky for us and the athletes, the temperature is moderate.
According to the Race Director's Almanac, we are forcast to have three wet events this year. One down two to go.....
Posted by Fred at 09:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 25, 2005
Cisis, what crisis, continued...
Driving in the snow and ice is not fun. I cannot help but think about those clips you see on the weather channel where cars just slide around and crash into each other. I make sure I keep about 20 car lengths between me and car in front so I have plenty of sliding room.
I finally make it up to Vail and am able to pry my hands off the steering wheel. First thing on today's agenda is to review the course so everything will be fresh in my mind for tomorrow's meeting with the police and public works. After Sybil and I slide around town for a couple of hours, its time to change gears and meet with tourism folks. John will be my host as we tour several hotel properties that will serve as host properties for the race. Everyone is excited about TriAmerica coming to town and are anxious to be involved.
After lunch, it's time to meet with the rest of the tourism folks to talk strategy and answer any questions they may have about our program. Their mission is the same as all the tourism groups, they want "heads in beds".
During the course of the day I hear the news I was hoping for, a meeting has been arranged with the Town of Avon on Tuesday. I also learn that I'm going solo, no help from the toursim folks. I explain to them that I do not enjoy being thrown out to the wolves, so they arrange to get Rick, the angency guy that brought us to Vail, to attend the meeting.
Day one is over and it's time to unwind. The first few trips to a new venue are always the best. You get the red carpet treatment and they always put you up in a nice place. My room was awesome! It was beside a small creek overlooking the ski lift at the base of the resort....what a view. Then reality sets in, I have tons of work waiting for me so it's back to the laptop and my never ending flood of emails.
The meeting with the Town of Avon goes better than I expected. We talk about merging their event with ours in hopes of creating a win-win for everyone. Their event has a nine year history, but it has some drawbacks. It has a pool swim and an extremely challenging bike course. Our event will have a lake swim and an easier bike course. Because their event has already been approved by the Avon Town Council, any changes will have to go before the council for approval. Now the ball is back in my court to provide documentation on how this can be a win-win for everyone.
The final meeting of the day is with the Vail Police Department and public works. We discuss our proposed course and potential locations for the second transition area and the finish line. Of course we have to factor in a few challenges to make things more interesting. We are not the only event coming to town that weekend, there's a farmer's market, wine and food festival, and a jazz festival. Add to the mix several road closures and major construction projects and let the fun begin.
I've had all the fun I can handle for this trip so I decide that May would be a good time for another visit to finalize the courses. It's hard to envision a triathlon transition area when everything is buried in snow.
Posted by Fred at 09:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 24, 2005
Crisis, what crisis?
For all of our TriAmerica events, we partner with an organization that wants us to be there. They are the driving force behind the event in that market. Our partners vary in each market and usually include at least one of the following: Chamber of Commerce, Convention & Tourism Bureau, Sports Commission, City Rec Department, and Economic Development Agency.
In the cae of Vail, it was a private agency that was hired by the city to bring special events to the city. Potential events then go before the town's Special Event Committee to see if they make the cut. Once approved, the Tourism Bureau joins the mix.
Our Vail race will be unique within the series in that it will be a point to point race. If you have been to the Vail Valley you know there are not many options for open water swimming. Hence our swim will take place in Avon, a town located about 10 miles west of Vail.
My first visit to Vail was last Labor Day, the same time of year the race will be held. The weather was picture perfect. My host showed me the area and the many course options available. I had plenty of questions for him, including several concerning the lake we will use for the swim. I noticed there was no public swim access on the lake so my first question was if the town let us swim in the lake. The answer was yes, the Town of Avon is behind the race and and has signed off on allowing us to use the lake for the triathlon.
In December our event came before the Vail Special Events Committee and it was approved by the Town of Vail.
Now it was time for me to me to head to Vail and finalize the details and meet with various folks that will be associated with the promotion of the race. In advance of my trip, Vail's special event person, Sybill, was busy lining up meetings with the key players. One of those would be representatives from the Town of Avon. On Thursday of last week she contacts Avon and hears some surprising news; nobody knows anything about the TriAmerica triathlon or about the use of the lake for the swim. We learn they have their own triathlon planned the week before our race and they are deeply concerned aout how our race will impact their event. Both Sybill and I frantically try to track down where the breakdown in communication occured. We had to get things back on track or there would be no TriAmerica Vail. By now it was Friday with a legal holiday approaching on Monday. Time was not on our side a we made very little headway in advance of my departure to Vail. I would just have to pick-up where we left off when I arrive in Vail on Monday.
To be continued...
Posted by Fred at 02:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Tri America
Hurry up and wait...
While the internet keeps getting faster and faster all the time, our website makeover seems to be going in the other direction. Changes and additions that I thought could be accomplished in days, are now taking weeks and months. We do have a bunch of cool content and features on the horizon, hopefully it is not the endless horizon.
Posted by Fred at 12:24 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 23, 2005
sleep, who needs it??
What is up with my sleep? I'm on a red-eye back to Orlando, tired from lack of sleep the past few days, and I cannot fall asleep. I even had a super sized margarita with dinner. After my last sleepless red-eye a few weeks ago from L.A., I wanted to make sure I got some sleep on my trip so I popped a couple of Tylenol PM's before boarding the plane. We are over one hour into the flight and here I sit, wide awake.
Maybe sleep really is over-rated....
Posted by Fred at 01:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Travel
February 22, 2005
Hey, what's up???
No I didn't give up on the blog, my life has been real crazy this past week and my blog worked itself way down on my priority list.
I have discovered that airports are a great place to work on a blog. I'm sitting in Denver now waiting to catch a red-eye back to Florida, so it is a great time to play catch-up with my posts.
Stay tuned for a weeks worth of excitement.
Posted by Fred at 11:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
Comfortably Cold
Why is it that cold weather does not seem as cold in the cold climates as it does down here in Florida? Everyone says it is the dampness we have in Florida. Although the air is dry in the mountains, moisture is everywhere, it's just frozen into ice and snow. The temperature is not that bad in Vail right now. It is barely above freezing. I'm able to walk outside with just a long sleeve shirt and I'm not even cold. In Florida I would have jacket and multiple shirts on and still be cold.
I guess you could say I'm comfortably cold....
Posted by Fred at 12:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 20, 2005
Why me???
It's a beautiful Saturday in sunny Clermont and my day has been going great. My dog Inga took me for a nice run and in return I let her take a swim in Lake Minneola, her favorite post run activity. It was one of those days where you could not justify being indoors. I was glad that I had booked an evening flight to Denver. Yep, I have not even been home three days and it's time for another site visit. This time it is a solo trip to Vail to meet with the various city and tourism folks on our TriAmerica Vail race. I guess it could be worse, I could be flying to Newark or something. I had hoped to be able to squeeze an extra day in my trip to ski, but with a double event weekend on the horizon next weekend, my skiing would have to wait. That was just as well, I only learned how to snow ski last year and it is true, it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
Things are going great as I prepare for my trip. I decide to run to the office to grab some files and materials I would need for my meetings. While there I decided I better clean out last week's travel receipts from my wallet. Wait a second, where is my wallet??? This is when the fun begins. I think for a minute and then remember I had set my wallet on the back of my truck while I was loading a box of oranges to bring along on my trip. I ran outside thinking maybe by some act of luck my wallet would still be on my truck...after all I've gone from my house to the office with my coffee cup on my truck numerous times. No such luck this time, so I quickly return to my point of origin to begin my search. After thirty minutes of searching with no luck, and less than two hours to go before I need to leave for the airport, I decide I better switch to crisis mode.
My biggest concern is how do I pick up my rental car at the airport without a credit card and license. I remembered that I had a duplicate license in my desk from last year. I had misplaced my drivers license early last year and of course once I went to the trouble of obtaining a duplicate, I located the original. Time to focus on the card issue....hhmmmm, my sister has the same last name, maybe I can use her card and pretend she is my wife or get some sort of written authorization from her to allow me to use the card. I quickly call the rental car company and explain my dilemma. The guy on the other end just chuckles. "No way guy" he exclaims, "the card must be in the name of the person who rents the car, no exceptions." Time for me to be creative. I ask, "what if that person goes to the Orlando airport and completes the paperwork and pays for the car there and then I just pick the car up in Denver?" No way I am told again, no card, no car. I soon realize I have no other options.
Fortunately I have some great friends in Denver, Judy and Paul Lawler. I was planning to spend Sunday with them prior to driving up to Vail. I explained my situation to Paul and he insisted I use one of their cars. Crisis #1 solved.
I quickly locate my duplicate drivers license and realize it has expired. Oh well I figure, at least it will get me through the airport security. Certainly they do not look at the expiration date. Wrong! I am instantly tagged a high security risk and was subject to that extra special treatment at the passenger screening security checkpoint.
Fortunately my Saturday experiences did not set the tone for the rest of the trip.
Posted by Fred at 11:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 18, 2005
TriAmerica Chicago
With the exception of missing the city council meeting, our TriAmerica Chicago site visit went well. We are marketing the race as Chicago, but the race actually takes place in Zion, Illinois. Zion is located about 40 minutes north of Chicago, on Lake Michigan about half way between Chicago and Milwaukee.
While touring the city I learned Zion was one of the first planned cities in the United States and was platted to imitate the layout of the British Union Jack flag. It also boasts more park space per capita than any city in the region. The actual race site is the Illinois Beach State Park. It is a beautiful 4,160-acre park with nearly 7 miles of shoreline on Lake Michigan. Wildlife is everywhere and we must have spotted over 50 deer in just one day. A couple of giant skunks patrolled the resort, but don’t fret, we learned they have never sprayed humans.
The swim will be in Lake Michigan and will be wetsuit legal. The bike course is flat and a good portion of it will be shaded. I’m still not sure if we will just design a 5K loop run course with the 10k runners completing two loops, or a combo 5K-10K loop course. Most of the run will be on scenic paved or gravel trails.
Everyone we met with up there was great. It is always refreshing to meet with police and city government folks that all share a "can do" and "we'll make it work" attitude. I wish I could bring some our local political types with us on our site visits so they can see how other cities welcome our events.
While our race is the week before the albatross of a triathlon, the Chicago Triathlon in Downtown Chicago, I still expect at least 800 athletes in our first year.
Posted by Fred at 12:40 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Tri America
February 17, 2005
We can't swim here....
While scouting out the shoreline of Lake Michigan looking for a suitable place to start and finish the swim, I notice something peculiar. There are huge slabs of broken concrete lining the beach as far as the eye can see. They are giant slabs about a foot thick and they resemble chunks of an old road bed. We can't swim here, there is no way they can be moved and no easy way to get over them. I figure they must have been placed there for erosion control.
I think to myself, "what other surprises are waiting for us down at the shoreline?" I proceed to head down the beach to the shoreline. As I climb over the concrete slabs I become enlightened. The slabs are actually ice and with the sand coating, appear to be concrete from a distance.
I really do need to have my eyes checked...
Posted by Fred at 11:07 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Tri America
If at first you do not succeed....
So much for making the City Council meeting, however I did manage to call in to the USAT Conference call while in transit to my hotel.
Man does it get cold up north. It was a nice balmy 28 out when we where scouting out the venue. I learned a valuable lesson, do not walk out on the beaches of Lake Michigan in the winter dressed like a Floridian.
I just booked a return trip to attend their next city council meeting on March 1. This time I'm flying direct to avoid Atlanta!
Posted by Fred at 01:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Travel, Tri America
February 15, 2005
I got to get out of this place...
Seven hours in Atlanta Hartsfield airport is enough to make you go crazy, especially when you have to stay sober. I'm still holding out hope I'll get out of here in time to make it to the city council meeting tonight. If our flight leaves on time and the roads are ice free, I might make it the meeting by 8:00pm. That's only an hour late, not too bad when you compare it to the three meetings we already missed this afternoon. And of course there's that 8:00pm important USAT Board conference call tonight....decisions, decisions.
We still have another hour to go until our delayed, canceled, delayed and delayed again flight is scheduled to depart. Of course the plane has to arrive here at the airport first. You see, travel really is as much fun as most people think it is...
Posted by Fred at 04:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Travel
Lost in the fog
Today was an early day for me. Alarm rings at 2:30am and it's time to head to the office to do a few tasks before driving to the airport for our trip to Chicago. Usually I fly out of Orlando but this time I opted for Tampa to take advantage of a better flight. It's 40 minutes further but I had already decided to let Brian, my ops guy, drive so I could work on emails during the trip. It worked out great for me and I was able to send about 30 messages out before we arrived in Tampa.
I knew when we left Clermont the day was not going to go as planned. I saw on the Weather Channel that the Atlanta airport was already fogged in. As luck would have it our flight involves a plane change in Atlanta. We finally receive the official word form the airline, our flight will be delayed at least 1-2 hours, perhaps even longer. Thank god for my wireless connection, I can tackle more emails from my endless email pit in outlook.
Today we meet with the various city and county folks associated with our TriAmerica Chicago race. At 7:00pm we go before the City Council for what I hope will be a rubber stamp of approval. The race will actually take place about 40 minutes north of Downtown Chicago, just south of the Wisconsin State line. The venue will be a beautiful state park located on the shores of Lake Michigan.
The weather forcast for the area is snow and freezing rain, perfect weather for a site visit!
Posted by Fred at 06:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Travel, Tri America
February 14, 2005
Bring it on, I'm ready for battle!
I just read an interesting story in the St. Pete Times announcing that Ironman is looking to bring their Half Ironman Championship race to Clearwater, FL, in the fall of 2006. If I was a boxer, it would be as if the Great Floridian - Florida Challenge is down on the canvas waiting for the knock out punch
Those of you that have been around in the sport for more than five years remember when Ironman started their ambitious growth phase across the US. Our Great Floridian Triathlon took a major blow as result. You see the year before ironman came to Florida, the Great Floridian had attracted 1,100 athletes. I felt confident the next year the race would fill and then I would be set for life. Once a race fills to capacity and turns athletes away, it gains a cult like status. Athletes know that if they want to race, they have to enter quickly or they are left on the sidelines. Word of mouth spreads like wildfire and athletes just hover over their keyboards waiting for registration to open.
Ironman decided to place their new Florida race right after the Great Floridian. That year our participation dropped from 1,100 to less than 500 athletes as everyone jumped ship to race Ironman Florida. Although our attendance has grown some since then, we had no choice but to combine the Florida Challenge with the Great Floridian on the same day in order to keep the Great Floridian alive. If you follow the sport, you know that we are not the only race that finds itself in the shadows of ironman.
Now in 2006 we may be faced with an official half ironman on our doorstep in close proximity to the Great Floridian - Florida Challenge. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure who will be the winner in that duel....in the long run, I doubt it will the athletes...
Posted by Fred at 09:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | More in: Great Floridian, Random Thoughts
I didn't say that....
Whenever I get a call from a media person I cringe. You never know what they are going to ask and what tidbits of the conversation they will actually use. My worst fear is not knowing what info they will repeat out of context or in error.
Recently I came across a story on one of the Tri Magazine websites that gave me credit for running the 2000 Triathlon Olympic Trials and for founding the Danskin Tri Series. Wow, I didn't say that! I said we timed the first Olympic Trials and we currently direct two of the Danskin races, Disney and NY Metro. I hope the story did not offend anyone...
Posted by Fred at 06:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 13, 2005
Polar Bear Plunge
Sunday was one of those awesome days that makes you appreciate why you live in Florida...crisp blue skies with the temperature in the mid 70's. After moping around all day Saturday recovering from my trip to the dentist, I was anxious to get some training in. First on my agenda is to let my dog take me for a run. I have a great dog, she's an akita mix and she lives to run. Unfortunately she always tries to set the pace, her pace not mine. I have to hold her back, so she ends up pulling me along for most of the run. From time to time while I'm traveling, a local hotshot triathlete will take her out for a run so she can run at a more enjoyable 6:30 pace.
After an hour run, Lake Minneola was beckoning me. I grabbed my Kayak and set out for a quick paddle around the Lake Minneola shoreline. This is a great time of year to kayak because most of the wakeboarders and jet skiers are hibernating. I like to skim through the grassbeds and you can do this practically spider free in the winter, in the summer it's another story.
After returning to the ledge I use to access the lake, it was time to exit. Well that's where the fun begins. I'm not the most graceful person in the world and when you couple that with slick sandals and a little algae on the rocks, you end up with Fred on the rocks, and in the water. All I can say is bbbrrrrhhhhhhh, Lake Minneola is freezing this time of year!!!
Posted by Fred at 06:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
Your time to shine!
As part of our website makeover, we'll be adding some cool new features. One of the first to debut will be our featured athlete profiles. Each event website will feature a different athlete. You do not have to be a super star to be featured, all you have to do is complete our featured athlete survey and you are in the running. To apply, just click here or follow the links on all of our websites.
Posted by Fred at 02:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: News
February 11, 2005
I didn't need that tooth anyways....
The past couple of weeks one tooth has been doing everything it can to make my life miserable. It's a problem tooth from way back. First it was a root canal, then a crown, and now it's throwing in the towel....of course not without a fight first.
Friday I was greeted by an emergency trip to the dentist to carve out the tooth. Hopefully the pain pills he prescribed will make my weekend tolerable. So much for my weekend training.
Posted by Fred at 08:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 10, 2005
Help wanted...
It is amazing how many people think we are a big company housed in a big glass building somewhere with dozens of employees running around. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have a small office in Downtown Clermont, often referred to as our Global Headquarters....you have to think big, right? It is hard to believe that this will be our 15th year in this very same office.
Right now we have way too many empty desks in our office. Working in the special event business is tough. Going non stop for weeks and weeks at a time with no days off can take its toll on employees. Last year was a tough year for us, especially following the impact of the hurricanes. As a result, we ended the year with less employees than we started with.
I have some ambitious plans for my company and now I'm faced with the challenge of bringing on board some very talented and highly motivated individuals. My current employees are awesome. Cindy, Brian, Scott, and Mason are great team players and are devoted to the success of the company.
The highest priority position I plan to fill is that of administrative assistant. This person will act as my personal assistant and also perform general office and clerical duties. We plan to implement a new customer service campaign in March and this person will be a key component of that program. Anyone who has tried to contact us in the past and has found themselves lost in email or phone system hell, knows what I am talking about. That will all change next month and I'll explain the program in more detail later.
So, if you know of someone who is up to the challenge of keeping me organized, drop me a note. Hopefully your email will not get lost in the big black hole in my Outlook inbox...
Posted by Fred at 10:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
Mason gets juiced!
I have never been a big fan of social functions. I tend to be more of homebody than a social butterfly. Tonight was an open house for one of the many new banks that have opened in Clermont. Seeing how we are looking to partner with a new bank this year, I decided I should attend this function. Mason, who happens to love social events, and the events and the attendees always love to have her present, was also was there.
At the end of the function it was time for door prizes. Believe it or not I actually won something, and so did Mason. Mason was the proud recipient of a box of oranges and a certificate for some fresh OJ from Publix. I think this was the first time Mason left one of these functions juiced!
I won a practical gift that was perfect for me, a basket of caffeine! You see we finally have a gourmet coffee shop coming to town. No longer will you have to go inside Target to visit our token Starbucks kiosk, you will be able to go to a real coffee shop. My gift basket was filled with all types of coffee and even some coffee candy. The good part is that it is all full strength stuff, none of that decaf crap. This should keep me going for the rest of the week!
Posted by Fred at 07:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
Flowers for Charlie
Charlie Knight, who with his wife Ann, founded and directed the Santa Rosa Island Triathlon, passed away after a two year battle with cancer. I was fortunate to be able to work with Charlie and Ann in the early days of their race. Charlie was a big guy with a big heart.
A couple of weeks ago Charlie was supposed to be at the USAT Race Director's Conference in San Francisco, but his health condidtion made it impossible for him to travel. While I was with Ann checking out the sights of San Francisco, I decided to give Chalie a call and wish him well. Charlie always had a great sense of humor so I decided to joke with him on the phone. In my most serious voice I explained that Ann had too many glasses of wine at the reception. While travelling back to the hotel following the reception she was pulled over for running a stop sign. She then proceeded to argue with the police and ended up getting arrested for DUI. I explained that USAT was going to help bail her out of jail because it was their reception. While Charlie was pondering the thought that maybe we should just leave Ann in jail to teach her a lesson, I decided to break the news to him that it was just a joke. Charlie belted out a phrase I had heard from him many times over the years "now dammit Fred!"
I really wanted to travel to Penscacola to pay my respects to Charlie, but I just couldn't work it out. I know Charlie would understand. Now I'm faced with the challenge of ordering flowers over the internet and it's tough. There are so many options and the memories of Charlie keep flashing back.
Charlie you will be missed.
Posted by Fred at 02:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 08, 2005
It's meeting time
This will be the third year the Danskin Women's Triathlon Series has been held on the New Jersey Shore. The race takes place on the upper most tip of New Jersey at Sandy Hook National Seashore, part of the Gateway National Park. It's just across the bay from NYC and the New York Skyline looms on the horizon. It's a beautiful setting with dozens or large historic buildings lining the bay along with the park’s centerpiece, the oldest operational lighthouse in the nation.
The purpose of my trip is to get things rolling for 2005. I have meetings set-up with both the park service and the Coast Guard. As you can imagine, working in tandem with the National Park Service and Coast Guard can be a challenge. Fortunately for me I have been able to partner with some great people at the park and Coast Guard. The meetings went extremely well. We reviewed what worked and what didn’t work and I brought up some changes I would like to introduce for 2005. Now I just have to let things work through the system and prepare for follow-up on my end. I'll return in June for more in depth planning meetings and to finalize our operations plan.
It was nice to learn that the Danskin NY Metro race had the highest athlete approval rating of all the Danskin races last year.
Posted by Fred at 09:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 07, 2005
Are these people nuts?
Driving out to the Jersey Shore I am reminded that winter is still here. Snow is everywhere, including the nice white kind. As I near my hotel I decide to stop by the store to pick-up a sampling of the local brew. I need to reward myself for my safe trip in and out of the city. When I pull into the parking lot, squeezing in a tight parking space between a big pile of snow and an SUV, something crazy catches my eye. Off in the distance I see a guy in shorts and a T-shirt. I figure this guy must be on his way back from the gym or something and decided to make an impromptu trip to the store. But walking in and out of the store I see several other people in short sleeve shirts and no winter clothes. The temperature is in the 40’s....are these people nuts or what???
Posted by Fred at 09:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Travel
New York, New York
Every time I take a cab ride in NYC I'm terrified. After all, I'm a country boy from Clermont and city life is not my style. When I'm forced to drive myself around in NYC, that terror is compounded with fear. Of course Danskin's offices are in the heart of New York City's garment district and I've been tasked with driving there. Usually my trusty GPS mapping program on my laptop guides me direct to where I need to go. Not today, it refuses to map my route out for me. No worry, I always have a back-up plan so I pull out a map and directions I printed out before leaving. I soon realized while I can get away with reading and driving in Florida, that's a nearly impossible task in the city.
Time for plan three, a frantic 911 call to the Danskin gals. An hour later than planned, I'm outside their building wondering if it is too early for happy hour. Then reality hits, I get to do this again in the afternoon when I head out to the Jersey Shore.
Posted by Fred at 04:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Travel
There's nothing pretty about dirty snow
When I arrived in NYC I was greeted by the aftermath of last week's blizzard, large piles of dirty snow. When I think of snow, I picture a postcard setting with glistening snow draped over everything in site. I'm sure that’s how it looked around here last week, but today there are piles of dirty snow everywhere. There is nothing pretty or sexy about dirt colored melting snow...
Posted by Fred at 04:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Travel
February 06, 2005
Super what?
I can't help but chuckle when people ask me if I am going to a Super Bowl Party. Yeah right, I think to myself. My Super Bowl Party will entail me working on budgets and USAT sanction applications for the two Danskin Triathlons we produce. If I have time, I'll even weed my way through some of the backlog of emails that accumulated while I was out last week.
One of the benefits of owning your own company is that you get to work your own hours...and everyone else's hours too.
You can't survive Super Bowl Monday without at least knowing who won the game. What else will there be to talk about on Monday? I'm sure I'll receive a CNN news alert with all the excting details.
If only the sport of triathlon involved a ball of some sort...
Posted by Fred at 05:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
Up, up, and away...
My original plans had me flying back to Orlando on Sunday so I could attend the Competitor Awards Banquet here on Saturday night. Of course that was before I booked my NYC flight to meet with the Danskin folks. Upon arrival I realized that was not very bright because I arrive back in Orlando at 1:00am Sunday night and then fly back out early that same morning to NYC. Fortunately I was able to switch to a Saturday night red-eye back to Florida. As a bonus it saves me from having to attend the banquet.
The Competitor Awards Banquet is a California thing. It's a formal affair at Sea World that allows a few people to pat themselves on their backs and then distribute a bunch of awards to deserving souls. Don't get me wrong, it is a fun time. But you have to dress in formal attire (I hate dressing up) and it drags on for hours. I've been to it three times so it is a "been there, done that" type of thing for me.
One advantage of being in the event business is that you develop the art of power napping to science. I should be able to squeeze a good four hours of solid sleep out of this flight.
I'm out of here....
Posted by Fred at 12:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 05, 2005
What a conference
The Running USA conference wrapped up today and boy was it great. I always figure if I can come back from a conference with 2 or 3 pieces of useful information, the conference was a success. Well I'm coming home with plenty of new ideas and a much better understanding of how running industry compares to the triathlon industry. What is interesting is that the big boom distance in running is the half marathon and the half-ironman appears to be the big boom distance for triathlons right now. Another interesting snippet is that 5% of the marathons account for 80% of the marathon participation. I would suspect that triathlon has similar statistics.
Another highlight of this conference was that I had a chance to meet lots of new people and catch-up with plenty of people I had not seen for years.
After three weeks of back to back conferences, I'm all conferenced out right now...
Posted by Fred at 11:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
I could live here!
Everytime I end up in San Diego for meetings I say to myself "Man, this is my place if I ever decide to leave Florida". San Diego has it all, awesome weather, exotic plants and active people. The weather has just been great the whole conference. Of course seeing how the conference ended after lunch today and we were all set free, the clouds quickly rolled in and sun went in hiding.
This town needs a TriAmerica stop in 2006....I'll be back!
Posted by Fred at 06:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
February 02, 2005
Travel, travel, and more travel
For some people, the thought of finding a job that allows you to travel around the country would be like a dream come true. I can assure you it gets old real quick. I was out of the office for travel 15 days last month and this month will be no different. Today I'm off to the Running USA Conference in San Diego. I return late Sunday then turnaround and head out on Monday morning to NYC to meet with the great Danskin folks folowed by a site visit the next day to the New Jersey Coast to work on the Danskin NJ/NY race we direct. Later this month I can look forward to two day site visits to Chicago, St. Paul, Hampton, and Vail. Hmmm, Vail could be fun!
It's true, there is no place like home.....
Posted by Fred at 01:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts, Travel
February 01, 2005
How tough can this be?
How tough can it be to find a name for this blog??? I really don't want to associate my company name with the blog title because I realize how easy it is going to be for me to put my foot in my mouth with my comments. Fred's Blog sounds like a disease, but hey, that's what it is anyways. Perhaps I should associate triathlon into the title, afterall, that's what I'm about. Does it really even matter, it will just be a link on our websites?
I think I better sleep on this one...
Posted by Fred at 02:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: Random Thoughts
Welcome!
Welcome to Fred's Blog! With all the buzz about blogs, I felt it was time to take the leap. My intention of putting this online journal on our web site is to give our visitors and event participants a unique insight into my company and the many events we are associated with. I also plan to share my perspective on trends within the multi-sport industry, ChampionChip timing, USA Triathlon, and other topics of interest.
It will be interesting to see how much information I'm willing to share in this blog. A few years back an employee of mine posted some behind the scenes race week info on his personal blog. He was new to sports industry and needless to say I was not impressed with his comments. Special events can be somewhat magical. From the athletes perspective an event may be flawless, but behind the scenes it may be complete chaos for management team.
I guess only time will tell how much of this chaos I'm willing to share. Stay tuned...
Posted by Fred at 01:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack | More in: News
