volunteers

Volunteers make the multisport community go 'round!

I had a volunteer meeting tonight for Tri-this! and it went fairly well. Because we're just starting and I've done a LOT of behind the scenes work (like make contacts for different events, insurance information, etc.) there was a lot of me talking and them listening, but it was cool. The deeper I get into this, the more I see the essential work volunteers do to shoulder the actual workload of the dozens of events that take place in just the Fresno area alone, and it's hard to find people that are interested in multisport and want to volunteer too!

We are hoping to volunteer at some events this year in order to get our name out there (not being the Fresno PAL team anymore, etc.) and give back to the Tri community which has given back to us so much over the past two years.

Volunteering is what makes events happen and I'm looking forward to introducing my students to what I have found to be the greatest gift I can give as a regular human being - giving someone my help for free.

We also are still one board member short of being able to officially file for non-profit status. Gotta get that going...

hello 2009! - catching up

It's been almost a month since my last blog post. craziness. this year i'll be retooling the blog as i've long been talking about to make it more focused on teaching and coaching triathlons. especially as we start a new company and all that jazz... http://www.tri-this.org

The first week of our glorious three week break was spent with family and traveling. I love my family and I love meagan, but i gotta say i really just needed a day alone after it all was over. highlights included seeing my twin bro Daryll and his lovely wife Trish when meagan and i were down in L.A. and Meagan and I's One year anniversary on the 26th. Almost everything went according to plan which was awesome; including the sunset!

Then last week (week 2) was spent setting up meetings for this week and doing more relaxing. Oh, and lots of running. But nothing with kids or with math. However I did happen to see quite a few students around town which was strange. Also got to hang out with meagan and friends quite a bit which was fantastic.

This week started back to school activities. Saturday saw a run with a handful of kids then biking with Meagan and mike fast in the RAIN afterwards. Cold, wet. Sunday running then some awesome carne asada and home-made tortillas with a student athlete, which no many times it happens is always something special. I mean here are these parents of a kid whose life the triathlon team has really transformed. They hardly speak english and I barely speak spanish, but we respect each other and they genuinely care about me. It is at once a humbling and gratifying experience.

This week did some research on different things for the triathlon team. Specifically insurance, background checks for volunteers, sponsorships, a planned kids tri camp, and more! It is fun but almost never-ending! A meeting for tentative board of directors people tonight went great, although I need one more person before I can turn in the paperwork to properly incorporate. I'm excited though.

Tomorrow will begin some school prep stuff(talking with some students today I realized how much I sucked at teaching this semester. quote: "yeah, first period said you were always kinda just waking up and didn't really have a plan yet..." True i was just waking up, untrue I did actually have a plan, but yeah was usually hindered by the fact that i just woke up :-( ) and more triathlon team stuff mixed with relaxing.

i need to finish the 'series' on the journey of the triathlon team. maybe tomorrow.

watching a basketball

I'm sitting at a basketball game blogging just like a real blogger.

Things right now are pretty darn good... a few weeks until Christmas break which is three weeks long, and I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm building support for the splash and dash as well as the Pi Day run and just need to be looking at more sources for grants and money basically... will do that in a bit. While i'm watching the game to support some students I figure I'd get the "extra" work done now. I know when I go home I'm not really in the mood.

After a great 3 mile sprint workout yesterday and an easy 2 mile run today with the kids to stretch things out, I decided it was time for new running shoes. So I got some nice new Nike's the same Air Structure ones I've had... just new! Tomorrow the plan is to do 2 long runs, not really caring about distance just an hour each. HOPEFULLY in the morning and another in the afternoon before night school.

night school, which I'm teaching twice a week 3 and a half hours each time, is a bear but the financial reward will be worth it. The kids are alright and I'll probably have to kick a couple kids out tomorrow to set the tone. So far they are great.

Today in Algebra II we did our last new stuff; from here on out will be just review and getting ready for the final next week! woohoo! I'm starting to relax a bit. This weekend will be an Ironman party with the Visalia Tri club on Saturday and family reunion with the lady friend on Sunday!

getting ready...

break from the beginnings story to copy and paste an email i recently sent to friends and supporters:

Greetings,

Just a SHORT holiday note to catch you up to speed on what's going on
for next year.

In early 2009 a new company which we're calling Ascension Multisport
will be formed to further the goal of the triathlon team - to increase
the opportunities for exercise of at-risk youth in Fresno. The last
two years have been fantastic but success thus far requires more
people to continue being a success.

We are planning on two events thus far - a March 14th Pi Day run which
will be a fun run. The idea as it stands now is to have teams of
"millipedes" - runners grouped together connected by a thin, loose
rope - running about a mile. The reason for that is mainly because
March 14th is Pi day..(3.14...)

The big event on the horizon for us is the MAY 30th Splash and Dash.
At this point all i should say is we'll have a 400 meter swim and 5k
run. We are also hoping to add a version that is twice that distance;
I'm in the USA Triathlon and Millerton events sanctioning process
currently, but the date is set. Please mark it on your calendars.

Funding-wise, once we incorporate and then apply for non-profit
status, we are hoping to rely mainly on grants and fundraisers like
the splash and dash instead of the generous support of people like who
you helped us get going.

We plan to work closely with PAL, group homes (especially Valley Teen
Ranch), and of course continue recruiting from the general population
in our target area of McLane and surrounding schools. We certainly
want to spread the joy and benefits of triathlon to our target
students, but need to have the infrastructure (Volunteers, money,
etc.) to be ready for them to continue to change lives.

There will be an informational meeting JANUARY 6th at 7pm at the
Me'N'Eds Victory Grill (Cedar and Ashlan) conference room for
interested parties. Please let me know and thank you for an amazing
year!

2 years ago

2 years ago this week was the beginning of the relationship that would form the triathlon team.

A student, we'll call him Dustin, was in my geometry class my first year teaching. I made acomment that if 'they' didn't understand slope, they should have failed Algebra I. He came up to me (big, 6 foot plus football player) afterwards and admitted that he didn't know anything and had somehow slipped by.

So he came in for about six weeks every day at 7:30am and we went back to the basics. And the focus of the conversation was the occasional 'how's it going' etc.? But after a while, we started talking a bit more. I challenged him to do winter water polo, and he accepted (mostly because his girlfriend played water polo at that high school so he'd get to see her for 10 minutes before practice started.).

The week before Thanksgiving break, we decided to do some running to stay in shape between water polo/football ending and winter water polo. We decided to run the five miles between Fresno State and McLane. But he asked a few questions about life as we started, and we pretty much jogged/talked the entire way there and back. I was a new teacher, and he was thirsting for an adult to talk to. He's lived with his grandparents most of his life and because of the teacher-student relationship we had due to the math tutoring, the seed was planted. At the end of the run, he informed me we'd be doing it again the next day. And we did - more running, but still tons of talking before and after the run. I hardly said a word; just listened. I remember going up to my parents that first thanksgiving break being very excited about this new opportunity in teaching - already I could tell I was actually forming a helpful relationship with a real student. For sure the first teacher-student relationship of any substance.

The first day at water polopractice, even though he had a swimming background, he just about drowned, but started to get better. After six weeks he was a proficient water polo player. At one point I knew he was comfortable with me when he noted as we were running during Christmas break, "what kind of deodorant is that?"... could have been awkward but I thought it was quite disarming and showed the level of comfort he had with me and the other kids that were now running with us.

So we were sitting as a class before Christmas break in 2006 watching a movie, and he asked me the question as a teacher you want to always hear:

"So Mr. Dorman, what can you do to challenge me next?"

Prompted by my inability to compete with a friend in mountain biking a couple of months before, I suggested we try triathlons. We did an internet search and found the Ice Breaker Triathlon in April 2007. We learned that not all triathlons were ironman distance... but that there were sprint, olympic and half ironman distance ones too (news to us.). So without bikes, running shoes, or any idea of what was going to happen next, we set a practice schedule for Christmas break and shook hands.

And the Triathlon team was born.

Thanksgiving Break

It's almost thanksgiving break! We're doing imaginary numbers in class right now, and the kids seem to be kind of enjoying learning something cool. I'll be posting today's quiz up on my website with answers after the day is done. http://www.mrdorman.com

Unfortunately, last night I went for a run and after about 2-3 miles, my left knee really started hurting again. IT Band. So I started walking and immediately iced it on both sides. Then i did some single-knee squats nice and slow to strengthen the muscles around it. I knew i'd been favoring my right side because of the plantar faciitis which hasn't been flaring up since the half marathon which is good news. So... a day or two more of rest and these exercises and I should be back on track for 20 miles by December 1st.

The guy in charge of things at Millerton is 'really' supposed to call today... the ladies in the office know it's me now when I call because I've left about 3 voice mails and called every day for the past week. I've also sent two emails... all of it talking about the splash and dash. I will be meeting with some more people tonight to talk about what needs to be done. This weekend I'll be looking over some documents with my dad (former attorney and registered CPA) in order to incorporate at the beginning of the year.

Some more donated bike gear came in yesterday! The plan is to bring in some bikes for repair on Tuesday of next week! run on monday at 2pm.

Training/races/$$

Ok, so after the marathon in February:

- I'll be doing as little racing as possible to save $$.

- Kids won't be doing Olympic Distances as much as possible.

The latter advice from a couple of leading USA Triathlon people, so I figure it's time to stick to it!

- Meetings every day this week regarding triathlon stuff; which is great but already getting a bit too busy. Good thing next week is thanksgiving break and I can try to get ahead on school stuff! (I'll make myself!).

- the back of my left knee started to hurt running yesterday. I iced it again today and then went also to a hot tub and did some walking/'running' motion stuff underwater. tomorrow will do absolutely nothing except go to a concert with meagan for a guy named Matthew West. very cool guy/music; we saw him in february too. best song is probably either 'More' and i really like 'life inside' and 'You are Everything'. he's a christian dude so if you're not into that don't be offended/you've been warned.

Starting next week I'm going to kinda recount the history/specific cool stories of the Tri club thus far. Two years already. just an FYI. I'm going to also work on growing the readership of this blog by trying to comment more on other's; I'd really like this to be a place for others starting up youth tri clubs/interested in the movement to be able to come for community and I've really been realizing lately that I do have a formidable leadership position in the Fresno tri community when it comes to kids doing triathlons. Time to really start developing my Program!