Alabama Orthopaedic Clinic, P.C. is a group of 20 physicians providing over 50 years of care in four convenient locations within the southern region of Alabama. AOC has two locations in Mobile on the campuses of Springhill Medical Center and Mobile Infirmary. Several AOC physicians also travel to rural areas of Chatom and Jackson, AL to provide orthopaedic medical services to those areas.

AOC physicians are board certified in orthopaedic surgery, with specialists trained in spine, total joint replacement, pediatric orthopaedics, interventional pain management, radiology, hand, sports medicine, foot and ankle. AOC therapy department has 3 full time physical therapists and two occupational therapists. AOC also provides state of the art digital imaging – Musculosketal ultrasound, MRI of the extremities, digital x-ray, durable medical equipment and bone density screenings for osteoporosis management.

In 2010, AOC established the AOC Wellness Program which is a strategic collaboration partners such as the Arthritis Foundation and The Delicious Dietitian to bring new and improved nutrition and arthritis exercise education programs to Mobile, AL. Developed specifically for people with arthritis, the Arthritis Foundation Life Improvement Series (LIS) programs are gentle on the joints and have been proven in research studies to reduce arthritis pain and improve ability to do more daily activities. AOC Wellness Program added Mobile Arc and Regina’s Kitchen as additional partners to provide and prepare locally grown hydroponic bibb lettuce for the nutrition classes. For more information about AOC Wellness Program, visit www.alortho.com/wellness.

Suanne White-Spunner, MD is a physician at AOC and also the Team Captain for the Mobile Bombers – a running team of 12 competing in the 2013 GCI Relay!  For physician bios or more information about AOC, visit www.alortho.com.

The post Meet our sponsor, the Alabama Orthopaedic Clinic, P.C. appeared first on Gulf Coast Interstate Relay.

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Located in Daphne, Alabama, the United States Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and the world with programs in instruction, research and service.  The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports.  They provide Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral programs as well as continuing education.

Founded in 1972, the Academy is the only freestanding, accredited sports university in the country.  It is the largest graduate school of sport education in the world and has provided sport education to more than 65 nations.  The school is dedicated to sport art with its American Sport Art Museum and Archives (ASAMA) and boasts one of the largest collections of sport art in the world.  They pay tribute annually to those who have made significant contributions to sports and since 1984 they’ve celebrated “the artist and the athlete.”  What’s more, the Academy helps more than 70% of its graduates gain jobs in the sports industry, which is more than double the rate of graduates in other social science fields.

The Academy is generously providing parking, bathroom and shower access and volunteers!  And all you runners can feel free to take a snooze in their parking lot if you wish! Below is a sampling of the beautiful art in their collection.

The post Transition #24 – The United States Sports Academy appeared first on Gulf Coast Interstate Relay.

I started telling her about my friend Ivy, who is leaving her job (we work together) and taking the quintessential “Gap Year”.  She’s traveling Asia for 5 months, northwest US national parks for a month, then South America for 2 months.  And all with only what she can fit in an REI backpack.  This got us talking about fear.

Rodney is a kick-ass athlete (runner, triathlete, mountain biker, trail runner, adventure racer) herself (runs in the family ).  She is also a single mom of 3 and going back to school for a degree in her early 50s.  Reflecting on some recent life moments, she told me about a conversation she had with someone who told her this:

Get to height of your terror as quickly as possible so the worst is out of the way.

She said it definitely works.  I could identify.  It’s been a wild ride and I’ve admittedly been on the verge of hyperventilation and exasperation more than a few times in the last year.  The thing is, once you get used to being terrified and afraid, it’s not so bad.  The growth and reward from constantly being slightly (and sometimes extremely) uncomfortable make it all worth it.

I started telling her between my work at LBi (I love my job – it demands heart) and putting on this race, I have pretty much been in a constant state of freak out mode for about 6 months.

Then Rodney said the nicest thing ever – “No way man.  You’re creating this massive happy zone.  It’s healthy.  It’s community.  It’s what you love.  It’s something people can hang their hat on and get excited about.”

That made me really happy.  I am so very excited about all this race is and even more about what it will inevitably become.

As my friend Sister Louisa would say, F%$K FEAR!

The post F%&k Fear appeared first on Gulf Coast Interstate Relay.

Established nearly 20 years ago for the greater Pensacola area, the Tri Gulf Coast triathlon club has grown to over 300 members strong. The club’s goal is to provide support for athletes of all ages and abilities to train, compete, and socialize with other multisport athletes. Tri Gulf Coast takes pride in the very successful Mere Mortals program, a 14-week training program designed for beginner triathletes to train and prepare for the annual Santa Rosa Triathlon in October. Tri Gulf Coast members primarily compete in multisport events throughout the Gulf Coast but oftentimes do travel to races across the United States and even internationally. The club proudly represents Pensacola and is a recognizable force in the triathlon community. TGC also offers group training for all levels of triathletes.

The Mere Mortals training group meets almost every Sunday at 6:30am from June through the end of September and can be seen nearly every weekend at Casino Beach for a group swim, followed by a bike-run on Via De Luna.

So if you live in the Pensacola area, contact the club and join them for a workout one day!  Tri Gulf Coast has been very supportive of GCI Relay.  Check out our cameo in the Tri Gulf Coast December Newsletter!

The post Multi-sport Spotlight: Tri Gulf Coast appeared first on Gulf Coast Interstate Relay.

Last season I was a winning triathlon age-grouper in the old-man category. Not easy, by the way, since the dwindling number of competitors in my age group look like ex-Navy Seals. Just a few days before my last race of the season during which I had intended to blast my way to stardom I tipped over on my bike and broke my hip…..completely off. The doctor said since I was so active he thought a complete replacement (you know, titanium, ceramic, and space-age poly-something-or-other) would work best. Went home after a day and within two weeks back at work, no limp. The busted up hero returns!

Immediately, like any type-A geek (or you, if you’re one of those) who wants to get on with their life, I started swimming and riding the bike on the trainer again, somewhat surprised that I’d lost some power and speed after only a couple weeks. Running was the biggie though…I thought I’d be able to start slowly running again and if I was careful I’d be back at it full steam.

Longer walks, punctuated by a few puny little running steps, became my big “I’m going to make it!” challenge. Then I did a few miles with tentative walk run steps one Saturday. Whoa ho! I can do it! Run into the house and use the googles to assure myself that people with total hip replacement will be running full tartan tilt in no time whatsoever.

No no no no! Crap! It says running will shorten the life of all that metal and ceramic in my hip and I should never do it again! What!!?? At work I pounded the desk and actually cried…… I thought there was a possibility that within a couple years I might actually make All American. Well, that dream is shot down like a clay pigeon.

To return to the main idea (the title of this happy dirge) I’ve found seventeen ways to triathlon running excellence without running (I hope). Run-muscle simulators, lateral side motion ellipticals, steep treadmills, pool running (it’s REALLY HARD btw). Like a deranged machine hopper I run from one machine to the next hoping I’ll be able to run again.

See, if actual running (feet on the ground) is limited to races and I’m careful about how many races maybe I can get by and still achieve my goal. We all have our workarounds and this is my ‘you can get it if you really want it’. It may be just a phantom; my machine world healing, but it’s all I’ve got and it keeps me high.

Cheers and stay cool!

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Team Sweet Baby Jesus (SBJ) is a four-man cycling crew from Louisville, KY. We are best described as weekend warriors, representing the youth of today (youngest is 32) and the AARP demographic (oldest is 52). This past year we participated in numerous group rides covering distances of 55 miles up to 100 miles. Our group dynamic lends itself to speed over time and distance, so a race will be quite different for us. In fact, none of us have ever raced unless you count who was the fastest guy to Happy Hour. There is currently hot debate about pace for the GCIR. Being from KY, we don’t have many routes that are flat so we are trying to gauge that with what will surely be a gale force wind out of the east come race day. Consensus on pace hasn’t been achieved but we expect to be in the 18 mph range (the old guy is an anchor but he came up with the idea to go in the first place).

Training, at this very early stage, consists of drinking beer and talking about logistics. We need a wheelman for the van, a couple chicks that are good sports and a good DJ for the beach in Pensacola. Once we figure that out we will begin real training in January, hoping that the weather gods go easy on the snow. Assuming we can get a couple of training rides in, we should be ready to shake and bake down to NOLA on April 3 (need a night on the town y’all before we get too serious).

We look forward to meeting our fellow racers, hearing their stories of glory and sharing the fun of what should be the ride of a lifetime.

Please just stay out of our way.

Team Sweet Baby Jesus is…
Bill Shadburne-Captain (Scorpio)
James Cole-Libra
Robert Theuerkauf-Gemini
Peter Massey-Cancer
“If you ain’t first, you’re last…” Reese Bobby

Written by Bill Shadburne, Team Captain

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I’ve been cycling for 10 years now.  Every since September 2002 when I did my very first triathlon.  I’ve had my fair share of relationships between then and now.  Today I’ve been reminiscing  about the way each ex-boyfriend reacted to my endurance sports habit when it became a real part of their lives.  It has always been (and always will be!) there without fail.

Names have been changed to protect the egos – I mean – the innocent.

Alejandro

Alejandro was (I guess he still is) Colombian.  He’s the only Colombian I’ve ever dated, so I can’t make generalizations about his view of women and their “roles”.  I can say that his views about a woman’s “place” didn’t exactly jive with mine – since the women in my family run the family.  I felt like he wanted to keep me in a little box so he could always make sure I was a “good” girl.  Bleh.  Besides that, he was a great guy.  Great friends, great family, good job, lots of fun.  Except for the part when he would get SO PISSED if I wanted to take a nap on the weekend after a really long ride.  I mean geez – it’s ok to nap on the weekend right?  I had certainly earned it!  Oh yeah and let’s not forget about the part when I had to remind him all the time that what I do is not called “f#$%ing running.”  It’s just “running.”

Adam

Adam was soooo impressed that I did triathlons.  He and I had a whirlwind romance – we fell head over heels in love with each other and were engaged within 5 months of meeting.  (Word to the wise – this is not a good idea folks.)  He was a Green Beret in his past life and was also a tandem skydive instructor with over 3,000 jumps.  So he was athletic.  Sort of.  Well he used to be.  When we first started dating he came to cheer me on for my first Ironman 70.3 in Orlando.  I was thrilled with a sub-6-hour time.  After that he really wanted to do a triathlon with me.  So he bought a bike.  I’ll never forget the first ride we did with my friends.  He hadn’t purchased a cycling helmet yet so he used his skydiving helmet.  He was a sight to see (as in hilarious).  We only went 20 miles, but pretty fast and he hung in there!  We signed up for the Miami Man Half Iron distance together and did that later in the year with little-to-no training.  After that his bike just looked pretty in the corner.  I didn’t like having to dust it when I cleaned.  This was the first time I let a relationship prevent me from training.  I wanted to ride and run on the weekends and he wanted to eat chicken wings and watch football.  Sigh.

Brian

THIS guy.  Was a piece of work.  Very into himself.  We only went out for a few weeks but we did go riding once.  I totally smoked him.  Maybe that’s why when we packed up, he secured his bike, but “forgot” to secure mine.  I about had a heart attack when I saw my bike fly off the rack in the rear view mirror as we were going 70 miles an hour down the highway.  I was freaking out!  My Pop-pop, the late, great Charlie Knight gave me that bike!  THANK goodness he secured the wheels together with a bungee cord so when it fell off, it didn’t tumble.  Instead it just slid and by some miracle, it didn’t get run over.  He was kind enough to pay for the repairs but after that I’d had enough.  My bike was my baby!

Tim

I actually met Tim at work when I first moved to Atlanta.  That was a little tricky dating someone at work.  I am so thankful he ended up getting a job at another agency BEFORE we broke up.  That would have been real tricky.  Tim was (is) a really great cyclist.  I have him to thank for encouraging me to hang up my tri bike and get a road bike.  And also for introducing me to this thing called hills (I am from Florida, people).  He pulled me all around town and I got pretty strong.  We did the 3 Gap 50 ride together and that was the hardest ride I’ve ever done – 58 miles of mountain.  4 miles climbs, 6 mile descents – I got up over 50 MPH on my bike!  I’ll never forget after the first long climb we made it to the top and he was talking to me like the worst was over.  Well, the second climb (Wolfpen Gap) was like STRAIGHT up and it was awful.  I didn’t think I was going to make it.  Have you ever had to push through something so hard that you started whimpering to yourself a little?  Yeah.  Anyway, when I finally got to the top he was standing there and it was obvious he had been there for more than a few minutes.  He saw me and started clapping and said “good job, babe!”  I just glared at him and gave him the death stare.  I was miserable.  Of course when we were done I was on Cloud 9 and felt like a super woman badass.  It’s funny because when I first met him he said triathletes are gay and he’d never run anywhere unless someone was chasing him.  Well, the year we broke up he did an Ironman 70.3 AND a full Ironman.  What was that you said before Tim???

Brandon

Brandon and I didn’t last very long but it was with him that I really started feeling comfortable on my road bike.  We rode and climbed quite a bit and I started to learn all the routes around town.  He got me my first bike lights and after that I started waking up at 5:30am to do my 20 mile loop in town before work.  It is AWESOME to ride in the dark and have the roads all to yourself.  He introduced me to Heed (the best sports drink ever), Capo, Rapha, the FM ride, etc, etc, etc.  It wasn’t until I started riding with him that I really started to see myself as a real cyclist.  Before I was just a triathlete.  On Brandon’s watch I got so strong on the bike that I was able to ride out with the Faster Mustache group on Thursday nights.  It’s about 30ish miles of excruciating climbs and pretty fast too.  And week after week it was ALL guys and little ole’ me.  Felt pretty freakin’ awesome to be the only tough chick out there.  Thanks Brandon!

Not much time for dating these days…

But I WILL keep my promise to myself to stay in cycling shape winter.  It will be impossible to stay off my bike since I just had it pimped and all.  Thanks to my awesome Aunt and two-time Ironman finisher, Cindy McBride and Outspokin’ Bicycles!  New tires, bar tape, bottle cages, pedals…and new winter gear!  Who wants to ride???

The post Riding with Boyfriends appeared first on Gulf Coast Interstate Relay.

We are on a mission to spread the word. We want the inaugural GCI Relay in April 2013 to be the best it can be. Everyone knows with events like this, the more the merrier! So we’re making sure anyone and everyone knows what the heck we’re trying to do here. We want 500 Facebook likes and 250 Newsletter Subscribers by January 1, 2013. Help us get there and win!

Massey’s Professional Outfitters, with its 5 locations in Louisiana, is a staple in the Gulf Coast outdoor adventure community. Not only are they sending a cycling team AND a running team to the 2013 GCI Relay, but they are also kind enough to sponsor our effort to spread the word with a very awesome pair of Marmot Vests! One for guys and one for girls.

The handy and comfortable Tempo Vest, provides extra protection for your core. Great for running, biking, or anything requiring comfort and flexibility.

Leadville Jacket in a vest form; this WINDSTOPPER® M2 softshell wonder keeps your core warm and dry, yet breathes easily to prevent clamminess during high-output aerobic activities.

Here’s How to Enter:

1. You are automatically entered if you are subscribed to receive the GCI Relay Newsletter. If you haven’t already, you can subscribe via the form right on this page. Scroll down a little and look to your right to find the GCI Relay Newsletter Sign Up form.
2. On Monday, December 10, 2012 – we will send an email to all subscribers. For every 5 friends you forward it to, you’ll get one additional entry into the drawing.
3. Between now and December 10, 2012 – any newsletter subscriber who shares the GCI Relay page with their Facebook friends will receive 1 additional entry per share.
4. We’ll hold the drawing on December 12, 2012. We’ll pick one guy and one girl winner. Then Massey’s Outfitters will get your vest in the mail just in time for the holidays!

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I was in Pensacola Beach, FL this weekend for the 17th annual Santa Rosa Island triathlon – an event that I’ve been attending and racing with multiple family members (some years as many as 30 of us!) for many years.  My grandmother, Ann Knight, founded the race in 1996.  She and Charlie Knight (Poppop) Co-Directed the race for 9 years.  In 2000, the sport of triathlon made its debut in the Olympic Games.  Right after her win as the Australian Olympic Silver Medalist for in the inaugural Olympic Triathlon, Michellie Jones came to Pensacola Beach, and won the Santa Rosa Island Triathlon.  I was there that year, amazed by the people and the energy (and Michellie!) and marveled at how our little race was getting so big.  In 2005, the SRI TRI was featured in Inside Triathlon magazine as one of the world’s top 10 destination races!

This race has endured all of the Gulf Coast’s hardships over the recent years – including cancelling all together due to hurricane Ivan in 2004, which devastated Santa Rosa and surrounding counties.   In spite of oil spills and hurricanes, the SRITRI has been and will continue to be a Gulf coast triathlon tradition, a flagship event for the entire Gulf Coast region.  Today, the Race Director is Charles Gheen and he does an awesome job, along with Board Members Jehan Clark, Diane Martinez, Jackie Brown, countless volunteers, sponsors and community support.  The race is back to selling out every year – back up to 1,100 athletes on October 8, 2012, the 17th annual.

This year was a great race with perfect weather.  Beautiful beach.  Nice little weekend getaway.  That’s why we picked Pensacola Beach for the GCI Relay finish line too!

The post The Santa Rosa Island Triathlon – a Gulf Coast tradition appeared first on Gulf Coast Interstate Relay.