Handshake 2.0 High-Tech Athlete Profile

Anne Giles Clelland, 49

For what high-tech company do you work, what is your area of expertise, what is your position, and what specifically do you do in your position? 

I am the to-be president of to-be incorporated Handshake Media, Inc., the originator of Handshake 2.0, a high-tech business news site offering brand-building blog services to local high-tech companies.

I awake each morning between four and six, steep a pot of tea, settle in with my cat, and write content for Handshake Media’s sites, including Inside VT KnowledgeWorks.  The best word for my area of expertise is “engagement.”

In the afternoons, I work in and on the business with the guidance of advisors associated with business accelerator VT KnowledgeWorks, of which Handshake Media, Inc. is a member company.

What is your sport, how long have you been doing it, and how did you get started?

At Blacksburg High School in Blacksburg, Virginia, I played on the basketball team and threw the shot put and discus for the track team.  In the 80s, I wore fuzzy ankle warmers at aerobics classes.  In the 90s, I jogged.  From a back injury in 1998 (lifting the corner of a mattress to make a bed), I recovered poorly until I started weight training with a private coach in the mid-2000s.

When I met my husband-to-be at the very end of 2006, he was training for something called a triathlon, an event I associated with the Olympics.  A mild-mannered, bespectacled guy, I felt a tad sorry for this nice guy with a mid-life crisis.

A supportive girlfriend, I went with him to Lynchburg, Virginia to the first triathlon of his 2007 season.  The temperature was in the 50s and the rain poured.

Over 300 athletes of every age and shape swam, biked, and ran within inches of spectators packing the transition area.  It was the most intense, engrossing, heart-pounding, sports-watching experience I have ever had.  Clark Kent transformed into Superman and finished 3rd in his age group, 44 out of 188 men--all but a dozen or so younger than he--and 50 of 308 individuals.  But I'm not really keeping track.

I never thought, “I can do that.”  I thought, “I would cherish the ability to do that.”

In honor of her 50th birthday, a friend biked the entire Blue Ridge Parkway.

I thought, “Should I do something wild and crazy to commemorate my turning 50?”

We went to a Roanoke Valley Triathlon Club party celebrating the end of the triathlon season and a young woman showed us the scrapbook she had made upon reflecting on completing an Ironman.  She had an Ironman tattoo on her ankle.  She said she was a triathlon coach.

One relay and five solo sprint triathlons later--the story of which could fill a blog--expertly coached by Kati Derrick and Clark Kent, I am still not 50, am doing my best to organize a triathlon locally--the New River Valley Triathlon--and have started pre-training for the 2009 season of the Virginia Triathlon Series.

Why aren’t you playing Wii instead?

I admit:  I am fun-challenged.

What is your favorite equipment and why?

I love the fingerless bike gloves.  I feel like a character in a Dickens novel.

What was your greatest high--your peak experience--in high-tech?

Passing the NT Server 4.0 exam in 1998 to become a Microsoft Certified Professional.

What was your greatest high--your peak experience--in your sport?

After 15 minutes of flailing in a men’s shorty wetsuit in the middle of a cold, cold lake in Culpeper, Virginia, sensation leaving my hands and feet, arms and legs stiffening, I realized I needed to change.  If I didn’t, I would drown. 

I stopped worrying about “doing it right” through lifting my head to see the buoys, and I stopped worrying about “being a burden to others” through lifting my head to make sure I was out of the way of other swimmers. 

I didn’t scold myself to the shore.  Instead, I felt a pure, clear resolve.  I put my head down, trusted my intuition and my coaching, and swam.

Granted, I put myself in jeopardy and I did it for a sporting event, a non-essential reason.  That’s foolish rather than heroic.

What lingers, nonetheless, is a sense of both peace and joy from having decided to, and having been able to, save my own life.

If applicable, does your significant other understand your passion for your sport?  If yes, how do you know?  If no, how do you handle this?

Look at my cool new road bike!  It's light!  I used to ride a hybrid.  I cut 10 minutes off my bike time!  It's a gift from my husband!  ‘Nough said.

How has what you know about high-tech helped you in your sport?

Of the five, not three, triathlon disciplines--swim, bike, run, transitions, and core strength--it’s the last I love.  Coding, programming, using WYSIWYGs calls forth complete absorption in me.  Weight training does the same.  Constant practice in each helps strengthen my focus in both.

What question would you most like to answer about the relationship between your high-tech work and your athleticism?

The question I most want to answer is “Why, why do you do triathlons?!”, which isn't about the relationship between my high-tech work and my athleticism.

I’ve got to rethink the value of the question about the question.  I thought Gordie Zeigler did a fine job of rewording it to make it meaningful.

(If you’re thinking of creating a Handshake 2.0 High-Tech Athlete profile, feel free to use the questions in any way that fosters your creativity and insight.)

What is the answer to that question?

These words from Thoreau have woven through my life more than any others since I first read them studying history with Dr. Doreen Hunter at Virginia Tech in 1978:

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived….I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”

Doing a triathlon reminds me of going to the movies alone, sitting in the middle of the front row, arms open in welcome, face upturned. 

I want to live deep.  I want the whole of it.

***

Added 7/1/2010.  Coach Kati Derrick's Ironman tattoo:

Handshake 2.0 High-Tech Athlete Profile

Gordie Zeigler, 40

For what high-tech company do you work, what is your area of expertise, what is your position, and what specifically do you do in your position? 

I am an Account Manager for SyCom Technologies. We are a network integration firm. We specialize in designing, building, and maintaining stable and secure network infrastructures for voice, data, and video. Our customers include private and public sector clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic. My specific area of expertise lies in my business experience and my ability to bridge the gap between technology and business processes by really taking the time to learn about my customers and their business, and then working with our engineering team to leverage the right technology for our customers’ benefit. Ultimately, my job is to sell.

What is your sport, how long have you been doing it, and how did you get started?

I first ran in junior high school, but did not run my first competitive race until I was 34 years old in 2002. Running is my first love but through a desire to cross-train I have become quite fond of cycling as well. I also compete in 3-4 triathlons per year as well. Notice I did not say I have become fond of swimming too.

Why aren’t you playing Wii instead?

I prefer to play in traffic.

What is your favorite equipment and why?  (Please limit to 100 words!)

A bicycle can be so sexy in so many ways whether it is a state-of-the-art carbon frame with the latest technology or a steel framed classic. But for my money, I like my running shoes. The bike is freedom on two wheels, but my running shoes will carry me anywhere, limited only by my own legs and not subject to mechanical failures. They never flat; they never need an adjustment, I never suffer road rash or saddle sores from running.  This is more than 100 words but… well worth it I think.

I am so much more than a running shoe;
I am the wind beneath your feet.
I am the hurdling of what humbles you
I am the overcoming of defeat

I am what makes you the Prince(ss) of Strides
I keep at bay the years' advancing tides
I am the path to happy exhaustion
I am darting by cars with no caution
I am the feeding of your addiction
I am a better defense against affliction

I am so much more than a running shoe
I am the wind always in back of you
I am a ticket to mile by mile freedom
I tell your demons you will beat 'em

I am your partner who will never quit
I am the guilt you hear when you sit
I am the vehicle to a leaner frame
I am a smaller swimsuit without shame
I am the breathless view from the top of the hill,
I am better living - without a pill

I am so much more than a running shoe
I am your friend and load-bearer too.
I am a negative split, a new personal best,
Another met challenge, another passed test.
I am your transformation to a cuter back-side,
I am the one to whom you swear and even confide.

I am long runs on Sundays and up before the sun,
When you scream I listen, and I'm the only one.
Yes I am so much more than a running shoe
Just lace me up to see all this come true.

             - Zig 2004

What was your greatest high--your peak experience--in high-tech?

In 2003 while I was head of the NCTC, I had an opportunity to help lead the effort to launch Roanoke’s Free Downtown WiFi zone. It was the very first free wifi zone of its scale in Virginia and one of the first in the entire country. It brought attention to Roanoke on a wide scale. Helping to bring the pieces together to make that happen was something that I am proud of to this day.

What was your greatest high--your peak experience--in your sport?

I have several that mean a great deal to me for different reasons and I could never pick a “#1”.

• The 29 minute 5K I ran with my 10-year-old daughter.
• The 5:24 marathon I completed with my sister even though her knee cracked at the halfway mark and we had to walk much of the last half
• Completing my first Half Iron distance triathlon despite a bout of gastroenteritis
• Running a 3:22 marathon

If applicable, does your significant other understand your passion for your sport?  If yes, how do you know?  If no, how do you handle this?

My wife knows that I do nothing halfway. Whether she understands that from the standpoint of relatability as an athlete, I doubt. But she knows how I am and we temper each other in that regard. She knows when I appear stressed that I need a run or a ride and she encourages me to seek that. Most days, we provide each other with a nice balance.

How has what you know about high-tech helped you in your sport?

I think probably the reverse is more applicable – how has my sport helped my career? Training at a high level for hours-long events has required me to find better ways to manage my time both at home and on the job. The confidence that I have gained through meeting physical challenges has made me more confident in my work. I find I relish the competition in the marketplace as well. I refuse to be out-sprinted within sight of the finish line.  My circle of contacts has also expanded as a result of the connections I have made through my athletic endeavors. As a person who is trying to get introductions and gain acceptance, being visible throughout the community has helped immensely in my career. My athletic pursuits augment and complement my career nicely.

What question would you most like to answer about the relationship between your high-tech work and your athleticism?

"What IS the relationship between your work and your athletic pursuits?”

What is the answer to that question?

Life is stressful. Work and family pressures can take an incredible toll on the mind and body. Things are moving ever faster in the world of business. We expect instant access today in the age of instant communications, email, and cell phones. I do not know what I would do without the opportunity to zone out for 30-60 minutes a day and just let my own breathing be the pace that controls my life. It is my balance. I do not solve the world’s problems in a 2-hour run, but I can make great headway on my own – if I so choose to devote the energy to them while I run. I run in ASICS shoes not because of this but the name is derived from the Latin phrase: “Anima Sana In Corpore Sano” – “Sound Mind in a Sound Body."