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Wanted to give a little back story to the article that was published in the March/April 2016 issue of Triathlete Magazine. In mid-December I answered a note from Susan Lacke who is a writer for Triathlete Magazine, Competitor and some others about “Everyday Triathletes” with demanding schedules and how they get training in. We exchanged a few emails and the article was written. I mean travelling every other week and more, married with 2 little girls, coaching and still trying to train for a few Ironman races a year should qualify me right?

Shortly after that I received and email from Lisa Williams, the Art Director for the magazine, wanting to set up a photo shoot. I wasn’t expecting that at all because I thought my information would just be some short bullets on a side page or something. It was pretty exciting though. The next day, January 5th I was contact by a local photographer, Julia Robinson about a photo shoot for the magazine. Things moved pretty quickly after that. I was actually in town that week so we decided to shoot for that Friday night after work.

Really the only negative about the process was on my end. I have been an annual member at Pure Austin gym for 9 years along with my wife and I have referred many others to the gym and they became members. Well I approached them immediately wanting to showcase my “Home Gym” and instead of saying Yes we would love to be a part of this and help support/promote a long standing member they looked at it as a way to try and make some more money. Needless to say we didn’t do the shoot there and they have lost way more than a few bucks and free publicity!

Luckily Julia had a great relationship with the Downtown YMCA. I had never been there and I can’t say enough good things about them from the moment I walked in and was greeted until we were done. That really made things easy. And Julia was a real pro. She had an idea of all the shots she wanted to take and we moved from a couple areas outside to inside and it went quick even though I think she took about 1,000 shots and I really don’t want to see all the bad ones! The only request I had was to get a picture of her taking a picture of me – Thought that might be a cool picture, especially since I hadn’t told anyone about it. And I thought it would help me explain to my wife why I was downtown “Running” on a Friday night!!! (Which I actually did afterwards).

I didn’t know what to expect from the magazine but in early February I saw a tweet that showed the cover shot and knew it was coming soon and that they didn’t do a collage and I wasn’t on it – I am sure they wanted to sell a few copies and probably shouldn’t have my mug on the front! Then I was looking around and found a Sneak Preview on their web site and I was floored when I saw 2 pages for my article and a big picture. That is when I realized I didn’t break Julia’s camera! I thought it was pretty cool and was looking forward to seeing the actual magazine. After a couple attempts at Barnes & Noble I finally found (and bought all 3 copies) in Houston last week. And WOW was I surprised with not only the article but I was the picture for page 2 of the magazine.

To close this entry I will say Susan and Lisa were great to work with and I appreciate what they did to help promote the sport I enjoy so much. Follow them on social media and read their magazines!!! Julia is a true pro, especially to make me look presentable!!! Oh and she is also an Austin Runner so if you have the need for a photographer I recommend her. Keep it Local!!! And lastly thanks again to the Austin Downtown YMCA for hosting the shoot. I will be back for some real workouts one day!!!

@SusanLacke @TriathleteMag @RunCompetitor http://triathlon.competitor.com/

@juliarphoto http://www.juliarobinsonphoto.com/

@AustinYMCA @ymca http://www.austinymca.org/branches/townlake-ymca

After years of fighting off social media I have taken the first step. Today, best known as “Convenience Store” day (7/11), I have opened our DTH Endurance Twitter Account. A friend told me recently, after he struggled to read my lengthy race recap, if you can’t say it in 140 characters it is too long. Now I know that was tongue in cheek but some truth is said in jest. Not to rant and rave but we have seen a societal change since the onset of cell phones, then the computer/web and now with the smart phones. We used to have to actually talk to someone face to face or write (by hand) a letter to communicate. Now if we type or speak into our phones more than a few sentences people are put off and move on to something else. In this “Now” society what will be next? Have we evolved to a point where we can absorb so much condensed information that it is actually useful?

I sure don’t have the answers but I do have questions. As I dip my toes into this new media I am sure I will learn as I go but I am willing to give it a try. But the question you should ask is how do you feel after sitting with family and friends discussing the world, life or really nothing at all vs. spending the same time reading 2 sentence notes about totally random things?

Remember - All we really have is Memories & Experiences, Make the most of Both!!!

Shawn Boston 2011

And we begin a new chapter for DTH Endurance as we enter the World Wide Web! I hope everyone who follows us is up for the ride! Here is a Cheers to you!!!