Runners, Take Your Mark

Up, two, three, four. Down, two, three, four.

Now, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Good, good. Do you feel yourself getting warmer?

If you're just filing in, you are probably wondering what it is that we're warming up for.

Why, the Highlowaha Triathlon, of course!

Last year, in honor of the summer Olympics in Beijing, Highlowaha started a tradition. We weren't prepared to sit back and watch Michael, Phelps, Nastia Lukin, and Misty May get all the glory. Instead, we decided to compete with the best of them, by hosting a Highlowaha Decathlon. Ten events, ten days, one winner. Events included activities such as card-making, haiku-writing, and cookie-baking - each event flexing a different creative muscle.

Cheryl, Cassie, and Peggy were our gold, silver, and bronze medalists, respectively.

But... there's a reason the Olympics only comes around every four years and it's because athleticism at such an elite level requires rigorous training and endurance. We don't want to get in the way of your Olympic training, as you'll need it when we reconvene in Summer 2012. Instead, we want to give you a work-out just tough enough that we know you're muscles haven't atrophied and that you mind is still nimble.

Three events, three days. No baking, no snail-mailing.

Game on.

I will post the day's event at 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday (8/11), Wednesday (8/12), and Thursday (8/13). You will have until 10:00 CST to complete your task and to send your submission via email to info@highlowaha.com. To compete in the triathlon you must complete all three events, though you may dabble in only one or two events if you're a purely recreational highlowaha-er.

Submissions will be evaluated by a small panel of judges and assigned a score, ranging from one to ten points. The three people accumulating the greatest number of points will be crowned our gold, silver, and bronze winners and will take home purses of either $100.00, $50.00, or $25.00 and countless endorsements from the likes of Wheaties, Nike, and Hobby Lobby.

Ready to warm up?

"Good things, when short are twice as good." (Baltasar Gracian). There is a feature in the panel on the right hand side of our screen titled, "Surprise Me." Click on that feature and immediately you will be thrust into the archives of Highlowaha posts -489 to be exact. Make the post on which you landed twice as good by rewriting it in 25 words or less, plus a title.

Then get some rest and eat some carbs. It's going to be a fun week.

Signing off until tomorrow...