Semper Outlaws!

It just so happens that I know a TON of people who are doing this here IronMan thingie coming up in Arizona next weekend.

Mishele and Comms - I have no doubt that you will do great things, and I shall be rooting for you...

...forgive me if it's not in the same way as I shall be rooting for my fellow teammates.

I am an Outlaw. If we had a credo, it would probably be "Wear Black and Be Badass." I don't think we have a credo. If we did, nobody told me about it. (do we have a secret handshake too?) Mostly, however, we wear black when we race, and my teammates are most definitely badass.

Our jerseys say "Wanted...Dead or Alive..." on them. You could take this as an indication that we are a pretty committed bunch.

My Outlaw brothers and sisters have their bib numbers now. As a fellow Outlaw I have been asked to predict their race times. I've listed my teammates below along with their bib numbers and club names:

Carl “Muffin” Armstrong - 1875 - I have no idea how Muffin will do. I think I rode with him once, and he kicked my ass across town. Judging by the volume of training he's been putting in, he'll ride to victory in a blaze of glory. He'll probably do it in 13 hrs.

Tim “Sluggo” Chavez - 696 - Sluggo is one of my fellow team-mates who I have trained with for over a year now. We share an awesome coach. Sluggo and I seem to bump into each other at the pool a lot lately. To help me with my fear-based tri training, he grabs my ankles when I swim - a truer teammate there never was. I suspect he will kick major butt in the swim - Go Sluggo! I bet Sluggo will do a 13hr IM.

Maria “Go Go” Ladd - 2398 - In September of 2006, I fell off Go Go's bike and broke my arm. This was not any bike, this was Go Go's Brand Spankin' New 2006 Cervelo P2C - her new baby! In spite of this, she still talks to me (I love that about her). Go Go also shares my awesome coach. When we can, we train together. Go Go is a smokin' fast runner, but she is also fearsome in the bike and swim. Go Go is mighty. You won't see her coming. I see a 13 hr finish in Go Go's future.

"Mighty” Mike Montoya - 790 - I got to know Mighty at the same time I met Sluggo. Mighty and Sluggo train a lot together, we train with the awesome coach. I seem to bump into Mighty quite a lot when I go running. Sometimes we run together, mostly he kicks my ass and I wheeze "you go on ahead, I'll catch up." Mighty and Sluggo do the Pikes Peak marathon together. They have gotten um, Iron Fit and they look reeeal good. Mighty and Sluggo like to race together, so I bet he is probably not far off a 13hr finish.

Brian “Myles” Pilgrim - 1184 - Myles seems to run me down every time I am in a race with him. He's big and he's fast. And he rides all the miles. You think I'm kidding? This is a guy who thinks nothing of 1000 mile months. I know Myles wants a 13hr finish - I bet he'll get one.

Paul “Mr. Walnuts” Zetocha - 1586 - I can't say I can remember meeting Mr. Walnuts (aka Stitch). Have we met? Have you kicked my ass yet? I'm sure you'll have the opportunity real soon. I see you've been training very hard...does 13 hrs sound feasible? It certainly looks within reach for you.

So, I predict that my fellow Outlaw bretheren and sisteren will finish as a pack - I'm being generous here, it's Iron Day so take your time. I know you are all capable of doing great things. I've trained with you, sweated with you, shared my gu with you. You are all Iron ready, I couldn't be prouder to support you!

Kick Butt and Take Names, y'all!