Hello Savannah!

Hello Savannah! I walked around Savannah for a few hours before going to a show at the relatively new Enmarket Arena. I brought my camera along and so, of course, I have a few favorite photos.

Before we get to my top favorites, here are a few runner-ups from Savannah, Georgia, October 2023.

-Out of the Wilderness

Hitting someone with a car is not so fun

Someone I know recently was driving– not a Lincoln driven by Serena Williams— in the evening and (accidentally) struck a pedestrian who was crossing the road. Obviously this could be an ongoing issue with insurance for the foreseeable future, which is two things: 1. Annoying and 2. The reason insurance exists. Before going into it further, I should say that both parties (the hittee and the hitter) are OK. It was a low speed accident, thank the Lord!

It was kind of a crazy and weird coincidence that the same day I heard about this hit & (not) run, I was part of a triathlon group meeting and the guest speaker talked about insurance as it relates to vehicle/cycling accidents. One hundred percent because of what he talked about, I came back home and changed a few things about my insurance.

I try to be as safe as possible but it’s impossible to know how other people are going to act on the road. All it takes is one driver glancing down at a TikTok on their phone and boom, an accident happens! The driver of the car would barely notice, but any bicycle rider is going to pay the price no matter who’s fault it is.

Just something else to think about as I continue prepping for future sprint triathlons!

Sprint Recaps: Tallahassee, FL Red Hills / Marianna, FL Freedom Springs / Macon, GA Rock ‘N Rollman

-Out of the Wilderness

United Airlines Commercial – The Yodel, The Voice, and More

This is the first time I’ve written about a United Airlines commercial but I heard the song and couldn’t NOT write about it. Here’s the yodeling ad, then scroll down for more…

The Song. Giving us all the feels is a song called “Yodelay-Hee-Why?” by Wild Earp. Check out more offerings on the band’s website WildEarp.com. I love a good yodel, so here’s the full track for your listening pleasure…

Wild Earp had this to say about the inclusion of his song in the ad…

Since we’re on the topic of yodeling, I first thought of LeAnn Rimes. Here she is singing “I Want To Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart”…

Then I came across a contestant from “The Voice” named Ruby Leigh. I won’t lie, this audition gave me goosebumps. Is that weird?

And to give credit where credit is due, here’s the original version of that song by Patsy Montana from nearly 100 years ago…

-Out of the Wilderness

The Progressive Gold Suit Commercial – The NFL Football Players and More

Two NFL football players show up to a football stadium wearing the same exact gold leather suit. It’s a tale as old as time! OK, I have no idea if gold suits are common on that level of wealth but Von Miller thinks the mistake by Stefon Diggs is offensive, and not just because Diggs plays offense. Miller gets defensive, and not just because he plays defense, when Diggs accuses him of making the fashion faux pas. Take a look…

Fits the Bill. Both of these elite athletes play for the Buffalo Bills. Surely Progressive did some “Digg”ing and bought Sunday afternoon time slots during Bills games. I could go on and “Von” but it’s a smooth move by Progressive, knowing Bills fans are watching, endearing those fans even more to Miller and Diggs, and adjacently, Progressive, too.

Von Miller also has as supporting role in which of these ads? Guess right and get a gold star!

Progressive Red Flag Replay with Kid ‘n Play

Google’s American Gothic Commercial

Chevrolet’s Gay Holiday Commercial

Not Your Friend. I heard from a lawyer recently that insurance agencies are NOT your friends… even if they have funny commercials like this classic exercise ad from GEICO or Doug getting replaced in this Liberty Mutual spot. At the end of the day, we give them money every month and when we call to get it back, they’re very skeptical. Not a very healthy relationship, huh? But I’m guessing Miller and Diggs are friends, and maybe they don’t hate that they’re wearing the same outfit. Best buds forever. Even if the gold on gold on gold is just too extra.

-Out of the Wilderness

A Triathlon Recap – Macon, Georgia

It was a whirlwind weekend going up to Georgia for a concert in Savannah Friday night and then a sprint triathlon in Macon Sunday morning. Concert, great. Savannah, pretty. Triathlon, hard.

One of my favorite photos from Savannah, Georgia

From Savannah, it was back on the road west to Macon for the Rock ‘N Rollman Sprint Triathlon and I’m proud to say I finished it with a personal best in running! This was just my third race. I remember after the first one (Tallahassee Red Hills recap), it was so hard that when I crossed the finish line, I said, “I’m never doing this again!” But then I did it again in Marianna, Florida (Freedom Springs recap). Then again with this one in Macon, Georgia. OK, OK, I might be getting obsessed. This was also the first race with an absolutely beautiful Trek Domane… my new bike! I will always love my (very) old bike, I say that every time I can. 😃🚲❤️

The Swim. What’s the slowest fish in the sea? An eel? A whale? A manatee? Even a manatee is faster than I am. For some reason, this swim was a struggle which surprised me since I seemed to improve in my last race. I think I saw a manatee pass me swimming backwards. I finished 500 meters in 13:43, a pace of 2:44 per 100m.

The Bike. This part was fun. I LOVE my new bike and it helped me pedal hard, fast, and smoothly up hills and down. The course was challenging, the hardest part was going uphill for the entirety of miles 5 through 10. I completed 15 miles in 50:35, which is 3:22 per mile.

The Run. The run course was uphill on the way, then turning around halfway, downhill on the way back. That helped me get a personal record for a triathlon 5K. My time was 23:10, under 8 minutes per mile.

Recap. I can sum this race up with one phrase: Room for improvement. And lots of it. Eventually I’ll probably break down and get a swim coach or join some sort of swim training because that’s the area I can improve the most. For biking, more leg workouts, longer rides, and pushing my legs to be stronger and faster. Running, keep pushing and training for a time under 22 would be a great thing to accomplish.

I haven’t done the same race twice yet so that will be a memorable experience, most likely happening with the Red Hills race in Tallahassee in 2024. Until then, my excitement grows daily and I’m pumped to swim better, bike harder, and run faster.

-Out of the Wilderness