Well, I just got my emails from Russell Bex, the race director for the Cajunman Triathlon. Unfortunately due to water covering much of the course, power lines covering much of the course, and trees covering the rest of the course, the race cannot be held. There’s also no power at the race location. Too much strain on the help would be a bad thing, too. I’m a little bummed, but Russell and the race team did all they could until the very end to try to make it happen. Oh well, at least we can pick up our packets on Saturday and get some goodies anyway. Maybe we can have a fun run later in the year or something, free of charge to people who registered for the Cajunman. I’ll have to talk to him about it, but maybe it can happen. Out for the weekend…

Tophie

Well, here we are, probably about 16 hours or so away from Gustav. All the prep work is done, and I even went and shelled out the bucks for a generator. At least with that we can keep the fridges working and I can plug in my crappy cell phone and office stuff. My wife is at the hospital working as mandated to all managers. I wish we could be together, but at least we are in the same town and our daughter is safely tucked away out of town with Grandma. Is it greedy for me to hope we still have the Cajunman Triathlon? I look at it as a distraction and a return to normalcy. Even if my house floods, I can take a couple of hours off next Sunday and do a race and feel like a normal person for a while. I’m exhausted from boarding up the windows and bringing everything inside. I’m sure our sunroom is going to get some water in it, but I hope not too much (the carpet can all be replaced for about $400, but the treadmill, tv, sofas, etc. might be pricier…). I like storms, but hurricanes are no fun. And I’ll be alone as far as people go, but will have our boxer with me. That’ll be fun, I already practiced howling with him. He just picked up his fluffy bone and threw it across the room so he could pounce on it. I hope everyone who is riding it out rides it out well with little if any damage…

Tophie

I grew up in the South. I even enjoyed it for the most part. I remember hurricane Kate in the 80’s when it hit Tallahassee. We had about 6 acres out in the boonies, so there was the worry of trees hitting the house, or one falling in the pool. Luckily, nothing like that happened, and we got by with just the power going out. Unfortunately, being on a well, that meant the water was out too. Ever spent a week brushing your teeth and bathing with pool water? Fun times…What brought this up is my move back to the South. I spent 1997-2005 living in either Arizona or California and loved it. Arizona had the sand storms and a couple of earthquakes (yes, Yuma, Arizona is in a seismic 4 zone). California had the fog for four months out of the year (we were in the central valley, not the “postcard” California). When we moved back to Louisiana, I was mostly concerned about the humidity and bugs, two things I never missed. We got here in April 2005, and at the end of August 2005, Katrina hit. Then Rita a little while later. We were lucky and just got a lot of wind and rain. Now, Gustav is projected to head straight for us. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy living here. I have made some friends, have been able to compete in A LOT of races, and have started a business and settled down with my wife and daughter. But three big hurricanes hitting the state in three years is really no welcome. The biggest problem? In 2005 a great triathlon, the Cajunman, was cancelled due to Katrina. It was cool with everyone since all the shirts and food was then donated to relief efforts. Gustav is set to make landfall on Tuesday. Cajunman is set for the following Sunday. If nothing else, I hope the race is able to happen. I’m totally out of shape for it, but still looking forward to it. And it’s a great race, with a great turnout, and GREAT food afterward. Maybe this weekend I can get in some wind training…

Tophie

I plan on going out to the T-Gator Triathlon #3 in Lake Charles this weekend and taking some pics of the action. I’ve taken pics at several races now, starting two years ago at the Yam City Triathlon, then the Erath 5K. That was when I was just getting used to a new camera. In the last year I have taken more pics at the T-Gator Triathlon last summer, then the Tri-Cajuns’ Rip Van Winkle Tri in New Iberia and last Friday’s Erath 5K again. People ask me why I take the pics and just give them away online instead of charging for them. Well, I just love taking pictures! And I figure getting people to come to Sportfriendly.com to get their pictures for free is a good way of getting the name out there. So, if you’re doing any of these races around South Louisiana, come look for your pictures!

I got the idea for this blog from a new friend of mine. He says the blogs from here get good ratings on Google and that’s what I need. I want to let everyone know about a new social network for athletes I created called Sportfriendly.com. It’s totally free for all members, all you have to do is create a page. Actually, create several pages. You can post pictures, have a blog, write articles, invite friends, put events on the calendar, find old classmates, make new friends…the list goes on. Check it out, it’s totally free! If you have a business that caters to endurance athletes, we also have an EXTREMELY affordable banner and text ad program.