Today was the first “official” outdoor group ride of the New Year. Our previous rides had to be canceled due to weather. Today we had perfect riding weather! We were all so thankful to be outside riding in the sunshine. Everyone was just thrilled to be off their trainers!
I decided to start a team last fall with the encouragement of some friends and my husband Mike. A friend of mine sent me an e-mail the other day. She is thinking about joining the team and the one question she asked was “ Can you tell me what your team is about?” About?... Hmm? I really hadn’t thought that through, “What my team was about?” We were just wanting to get a group together who enjoyed each other’s company and who liked to train and race together. We wanted individuals to join the team who are looking to better themselves and who want to work together with others to achieve their goals.
That's really it. Everyone on the team is trying to balance career, family and their training. This year my son Stephen’s football coach would ask the boys what "TEAM" stood for, and they would all shout out:
Together
Everyone
Achieves
More
This group of Boys had their best season ever!
Triathlon is not a team sport, but I believe being part of a team can help you get through those tough workouts that you thought were impossible, and that you would most likely not have done on your own. 
Everyone brings something that can help other individuals on the team… knowledge, inspiration, humor, support. Being part of the team gives you a support network when you need help or have a question. You have someone you know and trust that you can go to.
We had a wide range of ability levels starting out on the ride Saturday. I had planned the ride so that there would be different points where riders could drop off depending on how long of a ride they had on their schedule. This seemed to work very well and I am going to plan on trying to do more of this. It was a great opportunity for some of the newer folks to learn from the more experienced riders.
After our ride yesterday, I headed out for my run. I thought about the day and all the individuals who had shown up and how the ride went. There were 13 of us. I was so pleased to see the support and encouragement that was offered to those who were new to the group. This is the type of team I want to be a part of. These are the type of individuals I wan to spend my Saturday mornings riding with.
Thanks to everyone for being such great team mates, and also for being such great sports about the weigh in! This was not meant to be a scientific measurement of your true sweat rate; it was meant to get you all thinking about hydration, and of being mindful of what you are eating and drinking during your workouts.
Together we all will achieve more.
Jill
