A few more Ironman Hawaii 08 images

Amy wanted to swim out with me to the Coffees of Hawaii Espresso bar



The race is about to start and there is no more coffee time for the athletes



Craig Alexander won the big one



My buddy Timo Bracht finished 5h but was later disqualified



Chrissie Wellington won the women's event again



The finish line crowd is huge every year until midnight



We stayed at the finish line until midnight too



We had food at Island Lava Java pretty much every day



We used the last day to do a bit of sightseeing



Beware of low flying objects

My Kona swim

I swam out to the Coffees of Hawaii floating espresso bar today and Albert Boyce took this shot of me. :-)



Albert also shot this images of the dolfins who swam around the espresso bar. :-)

The real Sarah Palin?

This is a very nice comparison of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on SNL and the real Sarah Palin with Katie Couric. The comedy writers at SNL got really lucky here, they just pretty much were able to use the original interview as material. I was amazed how similar it is.

A new relationship

Moving forward I will be the manager of 2 time Olympic medalist Simon Whitfield. Simon won gold in Sydney and silver in Beijing and he is smart, articulate, outgoing and super fast.

Getting ready for Hawaii

I'll be leaving very early Monday morning for Kona, Hawaii to report on the 30th anniversary Ironman Hawaii World Championships for slowtwitch.com. Amy will follow a few days later and has kindly volunteered to help out in the medical tent on race day. This will be my 9th trip to the big event and Amy's first one.

Haile just jogging along

Haile Gebrselassie ran under 2:04 at last Sunday's Berlin Marathon and broke his 26th world record. Sadly enough he looked so effortless, it appeared that he was only jogging along.

Leaving Las Vegas

I spent the week at Interbike in Las Vegas and reported for Slowtwitch from the show. It is also a great place for networking and re-connecting with old friends. But I am glad to be back and here are a few impressions from Vegas.

Welcome to Las Vegas



Oh yes, this is Las Vegas.



And this is not Italy. :-)



Simon Whitfield shared his silver medal from Beijing with me.



Neon signs everywhere.

I am a PC

I am a PC, but I am made on a MAC. Nice :-)

Great coat rack

But the question is, will kids or immature adults leave it be? :-)

Wind Tunnel

Went to the A2 Wind tunnel today and what a great experience it was. The Rudy Project crew tested a new helmet and a few glasses and I got to be a test person. :-)

Bye bye MOSKITO

I got my NC driver's license today and soon I'll have NC tags too. That means I'll have to say bye bye to my TN vanity MOSKITO tags. :-(

But maybe there is room for something more creative since NC allows you 8 letters. :-)

Wordle is fun

I stumbled upon wordle.net a little while back and just remembered what a fun tool it is, and today I created a little Wordle snap shot of my guerrilla marketing blog.


© wordle.net

Chrissie Wellington talks to slowtwitch.com

I have interviewed all kinds of great athletes for slowtwitch.com, but the interview with the current Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington seemed especially fun and down to earth.

Going a bit overboard?

I really like Barack Obama and would surely wear a cool designed Obama t-shirt. But these flip flops might be a bit too much. :-)

Go Green Winston

Mayor Allen Joines announced "Go Green Winston-Salem: Sustainability Today & Tomorrow" in a news conference today.

Here is the concept: Celebrate with the City of Winston-Salem as we highlight the city's growing 'Green' influence in everything from transportation to business, in a week-long celebration!

Thank you Mayor Joines.

Nice placement

When you are going to the Republican convention next week, expect a nice welcome sign from the Daily Show. As you are leaving the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport heading into the Twin Cities, this is what you are going to see.

In case you don't know what Oligarch means, check it out here. :-)

Silvie's politics

Our cat Silvie has been taught how to handle certain politics folks. We used a previous President for it, but I thinks she is ready now for George Bush and friends, or should that be Fox and friends?

Amy's Ramblin' Rose Triathlon

Today, Amy participated in a women only triathlon in Winton-Salem called the Ramblin' Rose Triathlon. They had almost 450 starters and the event seemed to have encouraged quite a few newbies.

Here are a few pics of Amy's Ramblin'Rose Triathlon

Hmmm, pink for a women's triathlon?



Checking in early and preparing the transition area



Getting body marked is an important part of the pre race ritual



There were lots of women racing today



It is time to head to the pool



Only a short time left before it is time to go



Lining up for the swim start



And off she goes



Done with the swim and off to the bike



Fighting for space in the transition area



The best part of each triathlon starts now



And off she goes




Almost done with the bike and just a little run left



Very few bikes already there means a good bike split



Heading out on the run



Almost done and looking good



I can't talk to you right now, need something to drink



Yeah, I got it done

JD Power baloney

Every time I see or hear an ad that features the line "According to JD Power and Associates" my mind immediately tunes out because I only expect complete marketing bullshit.

So how does that JD Power endorsement stuff actually work? Let's say you have a product that no one wants such as GM, Ford and Chrysler cars and trucks, then you call the good folks at JD Power up and based on how much money you are willing or able to pay them they give you a nice review and glass award?

Along those lines, Oreck vacuum cleaners would be a great JD Power project. :-)

Congrats Simon

Simon, I am super happy for you that you won the silver medal at the Olympic Triathlon event. You showed unbelievable athletic prowess, determination and class.

You are awesome.

35°85° party in Chattanooga

So we moved to Winston-Salem, NC and now there is a big party in Chattanooga that is promoted via guerrilla marketing. :-(

We can't be there, but you can. 35°85° Chattanooga is happening on Monday,August 18 at the Loose Cannon Studios on Rossville Boulevard.

Geico go-cart

In general I don't care much for Geico ads but this one is very nice. Mike Wallace, I want to race you in a go-cart too and run you into a wall. :-)

The Olympics are starting today

Despite the issues with China let us focus on the events, the athletes and their amazing performances for the next 16 days.

I want a Snickers bar

While my photoshop skills are not too bad I didn't manipulate the image below. Amy actually stumbled upon it and pointed out the similarities to me.

All of the sudden I have a beast of a hunger. :-)

Green Drinks Winston

Amy and I went to the monthly Green Drinks meeting in Winston-Salem last night and had a good time. It took place barely a block away from our apartment at the Krankies coffee shop so we could stroll over quite conveniently. I went to a few Green Drinks in Chattanooga before, but this was the first time for Amy.