THE TRIWIVESCLUB ONE YEAR LATER…

This week marks The TriWivesClub’s One Year Anniversary.  To us, it’s an unbelievable milestone.  Like everyone says these days, where did the time go?  When Jodi wrote the first piece, 4:30 AM Really!!!!, on 8/2/13, we had no idea where it would take us.  Would anyone want to read what we had to say?  If they did, what should we write about it?  More to the point, can we even write?  What actually is a blog?  And, what do we know about writing one, let alone all the technical aspects of creating one?  But, we managed to figure much of it out, learned an incredible amount of new “stuff”, met an equally incredible group of new friends, and actually have more of a plan for the year ahead.

The most important thing we have to do at this milestone is profusely thank all of you, our readers, for finding us, sharing our posts, making us a relevant part of your lives, suggesting topics for articles, and just being our friends.  Without you we would not be around to begin year two.  So big hugs to all of you.  The other people we have to thank are our triathlete husbands, who provide us with so much content, some willingly and some begrudgingly, but always in good spirit.  They, too, had no clue where this idea would take us or if it would last, but have truly been our biggest supporters.  Carl is the best PR person anyone could ask for and David’s vast experience in the social media realm has been invaluable.  Big hugs and kisses to you two.  And finally, all of the kids – we love you very much.

A lot happened to us over this year.  As with everything in life – both good and bad.  First, there were unexpected, personal turns:

• Jodi stepped back from front and center, but remains a contributing writer to the blog, our sounding board, and best friend.  Dana and I are saddened not to have her by our side all the time, but since this has turned into a full-time job for us and Jodi already has a full-time job, what can we say…
• Dana has certainly experienced the most life-changing events so far this year.  Her triathlete husband was hit by a drunk driver on his bike this spring and suffered multiple injuries, cutting his season short and causing much family anxiety to say the least.  We are happy to report he’s on the road to recovery and recently swam a mile in the pool!!!!  Next, they left their long-time home of Austin, Texas and moved their family to Omaha for a job change.  So far so good and this looks to be the permanent Zucker residence.  Finally, they will send their twins off to college in less than a month and will become those empty nesters.  Whew…
• Sherry had one of her beloved pups develop cancer and went through surgery and chemotherapy with her – now cancer free!!  As such, she missed two of Carl’s major races this year, at which he won spots to both the 70.3 and Ironman World Championships.  Not sure if this implies anything…Never-the-less, you can catch Sherry at Mont Tremblant and Kona this year promoting both her triathlete and the TriWivesClub.

Second, in terms of the blog, we continue to grow as writers (in our minds, anyway) and continue to grow our content, followers, and visits to the site.  And, many fortunate things came our way over the year:

• We were asked by Charlie Patten to write for Rev3 Triathlon.
• We were asked by Kim Orlando to be contributing writers at TravelingMom, as the Triathlon Traveling Mom.
• We were featured in an article for Triathlete Magazine written by Susan Lacke and published in the August issue.
• We are starting to be contacted by local convention and visitor’s bureaus (CVB’s) to develop working relationships.

In terms of what the future holds, we plan to stick around and see where this adventure takes us.  You are always supposed to do what you love, right?  Well, right now, we are thoroughly enjoying what we do, while trying to stay true to our vision for this endeavor.  Some of our plans for the “new year” include:

• Expanding our reach into the triathlon, travel, and food worlds.
• Improving our interaction with our readers, making this a priority.
• Learning as much as we can about blogging and social media.  It never ceases to amaze how much we have grown in this realm when we started at ground zero, but wow, still have a long way to go…
• Featuring more guest bloggers.  We love to open up our site to new voices and to content that our readers can use and appreciate.
• Remaining open to where our writing and readers take us.  We never expected this year to have such a prominent focus on travel.  So, who knows what avenues may open up to us over time.

Oh, you may also notice the site looks a bit different than it did a year ago.  We decided to make the site more user-friendly and to depict all of what we’ve morphed into over the year.  We did lose all of our social sharing data in the process, but if that’s the worse that happens…We hope you like the site and the TriWivesClub and continue on this journey with us…

 – DANA & SHERRY