Well day eight of 2007 and so far so good. Been sticking with my diet for the most part. Again diet for me is making sure my calories are correct for the day and that I get more of them from protein (fish, chicken, lean meats) and less from sugar, wheat/flour, and dairy. Had a little off the wagon moment on Saturday as I enjoyed some bread and a couple beers. But beyond that, I’ve been pretty good. Even brought a small snack size cracker jacks to the movies this weekend instead of my usual small popcorn. The software I’m using to track calories gives me a pretty good look into how much crap is in a lot of stuff. Just excess carbs or empty calories.

The software I’m using is Calorie King. I like it because it’s very basic and they have a version for Mac OSX. So I just pull it up and plug in what I ate, it gives me the nutritional breakdown and I’m done. You can set the percentages for your diet and it’ll show you how your doing. For example if you need a base of 2,000 calories a day and you use a 40/40/20 diet, then it’ll tell you exactly how many grams of protein/carbs/fat you need each day and as you plug in your meal it’ll update and show what you have left. Anyway i think it’s good because it’s making me more aware of what I’m putting into my system, a component of my training I’ve lacked in the past.

Some Team Updates
I’ve finally got through evaluating several different companies for the racing kits. I’ve decided to go with quality over branding. Meaning I’ve chose to order from a company that makes quality triathlon apparel and then heta transfer our logos on the clothing. As opposed to choosing a company that allows you to brand and color scheme the whole kit but may not be the best performance wear available. Matt tried the stuff on and said it’s the best he’s worn, so coming from a pro (and knowing other pros wear it) I think it’s the best decision. You guys will be fast! I’ll announce the supplier soon.

Still working on sponsors for the team. A little more difficult than I thought. Takes a long time for people to get back to you in this industry, maybe everyone’s out on their bikes? So since the overwhelming majority of voters were o.k. with sponsors, I’m still going to try and get some to help lower cost of kit or provide discounts on products and samples.

Been working on a new version of the site that will have a team section. The section will have a team photogallery, team roster, mapped location of members so easier to connect with one another, trying to come up with a race schedule piece, a new blog aggregator that just pulls in posts from team members, and then news, race-reports, columns etc from Team members and sponsors.

Here’s where I keep getting stumped, and hoping for some input from you guys. I tried for weeks and months to get this new system to play with the current forums/registration system, but just not going to happen and pulling my hair out. So this new Team section will only be available for team members. Everyone can read and see it, but only Team members can participate: post photos to team gallery, get mapped, get special sponsor discounts, be eligible for raffled off product, etc. And I have to manually set them up since it’s on a different registration system.

So, the issue - maybe… We have thousands of members in the forums and thousands more readers. I don’t want to create a Team that makes the others feel like they aren’t a part of the community. There is the free access community and everyone is part of that family but I want the Team to be something more, a way to extend the Trifuel brand and what we’re all about beyond the virtual and into the real world. Thus offering some of the things you may get from a local club. However, i can’t manage this for tens of thousands of readers. It’s only manageable for a subset of those who are serious about being a part of the team concept. So initially my though is everyone who buys a kit is on the team and that’s the differentiator. But, I don’t want to have a price tag of $60 dollars to be on the team. Many can’t afford that but may still want to be an active contributor and supporter of the team. As well many race under their local team colors and our Team isn’t meant to compete with that, rather to offer something to those that don’t have that available or that want to support what we’re building.

So in looking at the local club model, I’m thinking of maybe just asking for a recurring yearly fee like they do. But maybe just $20. So it’s very affordable to be on the team and take advantage of Team benefits and race with your buddies without the expense. And I’d price the kits so that the $20 bucks came back to those who wanted to race in team colors. So, $19.95 a year for Team membership and then you’d get $20 bucks off you kit purchase. So a wash for those already buying a kit, but a way for others to be a part of the team as well.

So other than creating a subset of loyal users that would be easier to manage and give access to product discounts and raffles, I think it would also act as a filter and keep out some of the pure marketers that occasionally show up in the forums. Basically trying to keep the quality of Trifuel as high as possible.

So more thoughts on the $19.95 membership benefits:
- 10-15% discount on Trifuel swag (t-shirts, socks, etc)
- Listing and participation in Team section
- Maybe a special forum just for Team members
- Eligibility for product give-aways and raffles
- Discounted Kits
- Maybe ability to comment directly on articles and news on the site
- Close up Trifuel.net blogs to Team members only (of course anyone currently with one can keep it regardless), so a free blog and I’d just manage that blog site for Team members only
- Perhaps even make Trifuel ad free for Team members. So no more ads on articles, news, forums, just maybe smaller sponsor logos.

So now where would the $19.95 go?
- Maybe someday if we get enough recurring members we can hire an official Team manager to help organize re-world events. That would be cool.
- Offset costs of managing Team site
- Flow money into get togethers or team camps
- Banners and/or booths at select races
- monthly product raffles
- maybe hiring coaches or specialists to answer Team questions and be a Team training consultant.
- Better original content for the site. Maybe podcasts or video training segments
- Allow me to spend more time trying to get better sponsors and deals for the Team

Anyway, I know that’s was just a lot to absorb. A big thanks if you got this far . This is what I struggle with, trying to wear a business hat and getting Trifuel to the next level of a valued product and brand, while maintaining the open grass roots community feel that the name was built on. I trust and appreciate the feedback I get from you readers, so please let me know your thoughts.