Welcome to Season 3 of SimplyStu.  This show is a 2007 season recap as well as an Ironman Wisconsin recap.  After this show wait until you see who is coming next!  Stay tuned!  You won't want to miss this.

45 days out I had a plan to take my bike in for a tune-up. Yep. Check it all out. Cables, breaks, wheels, spokes, cranks, and hubs. After all was said and done, the mechanic worked on my bike about 4 hours. He changed out a bunch of cable, adjusted just about everything, put on a new chain, and made it sparkle. I love these bike store guys that know bikes inside and out. He told me of many potential problems (none of which are major), and made the necessary adjustments.

I took the bike home, took it for a ride, and it just feels perfect now. I wanted to do this so I had time if anything major needed to be done.

Next up? New rubber. I will do that about 2 weeks out so I have plenty of time to wear them in.

Now comes the nutrition fine tuning. I have two 100+ rides left and several 2-4 hour rides. EACH ride and EACH run NO MATTER how short I practice nutrition just like it will be on race day. I have to do this as the tag line said in an E-Mail from a friend of mine - "Ironman is just an eating contest!"

Listen to the Zipp Podcast. Very cool!!!!!

Click here to visit Zipp and the very cool ZippCast Podcast

PODCAST #53 is ready

Interview with the Producer of the Triathlon movie "What it Takes." Get a behind the scenes look at the production of the movie. Also listen to one of the stars of the Movie, Heather Fuhr. Also Heather Gollnick!

2nd Annual SimplyStu Worldwide Triathlon:

Sign up NOW for the 2nd Annual SimplyStu Worldwide Triathlon. This is a great way to try and do a triathlon at your house, with a friend, or at the gym. No pressure, no fuss, just a lot of fun. This is for the young and old. This may be your 1st or 100th. Just join the WORLD in doing a triathlon this March! This is a FREE triathlon and the first 100 kids that sign up with parents get a T-Shirt! All you need to do is send me an E-Mail at Stu@SimplyStu.com to sign up. Make sure you send lots of pictures and video! T-Shirts will be available for adults February 1st.

Tour de Moo 2:

Ok everyone. The 2nd installment of Tour de Moo is all good. The training continues to go well, as the weather is going "South" in a big hurry. The warm temperatures are gone, and snow has made it's way to Madison. As you can tell by mile 1 and 111 on the Ironman Wisconsin bike route, snow is back in Madison. As soon as you cross this snow covered bridge you will see T2. I stood on this bridge yelling at people toward the end of the day telling them they had to pick it up to make the bike cut! I love this bridge, and so will you. Knowing the bike is almost done is such a good feeling. Make sure you check out my training log. Stu's Training Peaks Log!

Several weeks after the 9/11 attacks, I arranged a trip to visit the Pentagon and the World Trade center with my brother (A fireman) and my best friend. It all started as we exited the Metro (Subway) in Washington D.C. It was about a mile walk from the exit to the part of the building that was hit. Since I work partially out of Washington D.C., I had seen the Pentagon 100's of times. Even after knowing the layout of the building, I was not totally sure where the attack took place. What I had in my mind and what was actual were two different things. After coming closer to the building I was in total shock. No matter how many times I had seen it on TV, seeing it live was unbelievable. You could see crews with hoses still working on the building. As we sat and reflected, I started to look at writings people had of the day. I also took lots of pictures as this was something I never wanted to forget. Living in Wisconsin and watching this take place in Washington was so hard. Going to the Pentagon and seeing it first hand was so healing…

Later that day we took a train to New York City to see the World Trade Center. We checked into the hotel and decided we would go to the site in the AM. I had made arrangements to get onto the grounds to let my brother make peace with all that had happened and pay respects to all that had fallen, especially the Fire Fighters. As the Subway got closer to the site, I started to think back to the day all this happened. I was shaking as we got off on the last available stop. As we exited, you could still smell smoke, even after all this time. The moment I stepped out into the light of day, I was speechless. You could still see the ash on the ground. You could see it on the buildings. It was weeks prior, but you could still see, smell and taste the aftermath.

I continued to walk in silence to the gate where we were to meet with my contact to walk us to the site. We met and walked into a screening area where we had to leave all but our jackets. We did so and started to walk in areas where the general public were still not allowed. We walked in silence and could see it right in front of us. We continued to walk to the actual footprint of the buildings. You could still see piles and piles of rubble. You could see the infamous grid that you see in so many pictures. For those that have seen the footprint, it is so much bigger than you could imagine.

We did not talk much at all. There was nothing really to say. You can see by the pictures, that not much really can or needs to be said at that moment. I looked at my brother and could see the pain he felt for his fallen fraternity brothers. He is a firefighter that would have gone in that building without question as so many did.

NOTE: I want to make it clear that I'm not in any way equating what happened on 9/11 to triathlons, but what happened next will be a print on my mind for the rest of time…

As we made our way out of the building, we had nothing to say. You could still see the window shades blowing in the breeze inside the broken windows. You could still see cars and trucks with concrete slabs on top. The ash was on my shoes. As we walked down a few blocks, my friend and brother had walked ahead and I stopped in front of a store. I looked and instantly dropped to my knees. Inside the ash washed windows was a small family owned dry cleaning and shoe repair store. There were about 20 bags full of clothes. There were also rows of shoes that had tags on them. As I looked closer to all the bags, they all had one of 2 dates on them 9/10 or 9/11.

I will never forget that store. Those tags. The lives that were changed in a matter on minutes. I use this as a constant reminder that we never know what tomorrow brings. We never know what life has in store for us. For everyone that is doing the Ironman Wisconsin this year it is on a very special day. That day is September 10th, 2006. Everyone should understand that on this day before the attacks, the world had no idea what was in store. The world had no idea that the very next day would be one of the most significant days in world history. This day was the last day of innocence.

I think about this on race day for 2 reasons.

1) When it comes down to the grand scheme of things, the Ironman is not all that big of a deal. In fact when it comes to what happened on 9/11, it is not even on the radar. So, if you are worrying this week, think about the race in the big picture. If you are stressing, drop it. If you are not getting sleep, take a deep breath and relax.

2) When it comes to YOU and those you WILL inspire on race day, this is a BIG deal. This is your 9/10. Think about what a different world things were on 9/10. You have a chance to repair brick, by brick what was torn down and destroyed on 9/11. You have a chance to do your part to help restore a very small but significant piece of the world. Yes, the Ironman is a big deal. It is an amazing race. It is an inspiration. It shows what humans can do with some incredible effort, dedication and passion. Ironman is a day when people from most every country, state, race, and religion come together to show what human nature is capable of. 9/10 is the LAST day of innocence. 9/10 is the day when the world was still Naïve. 9/10 is the day that Ironman truly belongs on.

For all those doing Ironman on 9/10 - enjoy your portion of history. In the grand scheme of things your Ironman race is microscopic, but for those you inspire it is as tall as the World Trade center. Never underestimate the power you give to yourself and those that see your passion.

Take a tour of Trek. Meet Zapata Espinoza, Tyler Pilger and Krista Rettig. These folks rock! Also meet Ben (Ironbenny) and James Bonney as they talk about Ironman Arizona! Win a WSD wind vest from MS 6.8.

Learn all about ROL Wheels and Rocket Science Sports. Also listen as a few SimplyStu listeners race!

Visit Rocket Science Sports at www.RocketScienceSports.com

Visit ROL Wheels at www.ROL Wheels and drool.

Listen as Stu talks with the Brand Manager from Clifbar. Get the inside scoop on all the existing and new products that will help you hydrate and succeed in a triathlon. Also listen as Stu talks about the 1st annual SimplyStu World Wide Triathlon.

Meet Pro Triathlete Jessi Stensland. Listen as Jessi talks about Escape From Alcatraz, the Olympics, and Core Performance. Jessi talks about the importance of a strong core and how it will help you as a Triathlete at any level. Jessi also talks about her journey to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Also listen as Jessi tells a very funny story about Peter Reid.

Meet 3 time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton. Suzy is an incredible athlete that was once voted Big Ten Athlete of the decade. Suzy was a former U.S. Record holder in the 1000m, and the U.S. Indoor Record holder at the 800m. Imagine running the 1500m in 3:57.40. This is the #2 all time for the U.S. Suzy also talks about doing a triathlon one day. There is also talk of Team in Training. Stu signs up with Team In Training for a 7th time. Also, listen for the HUGE announcement of the "1st Annual SimplyStu WorldWide Triathlon. Mark your calendars for March 25th-26th! [Bill gets some swag from Stu] [Brian gives a shout out] [Ben showing off his Stu-ie Swag] [Drew giving it his all] [Joyce with this awesome sign. Gotta love it!] [Stephen gives a shout to Stu] [Suzy and Stu at the interview.]