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Read Mike's article, "Tri-athlete Training for Body and Soul" in the June /July issue of Faith and Fitness

Here are a few snapshots from the article. Mike shares how he got started in triathlons:

“A sprint triathlon? What’s that?” I asked my spotter, Curt, after we finished our set on the bench. “Oh, it’s just a shorter distance triathlon,” he replied. “You swim around a quarter-mile, then bike anywhere from 10 – 15 miles, and run 3 – 4 miles. I’ve been racing them for about 3 years now. It’s a blast. You should give it a try!” As he headed down to the pool and I to the basketball court, I thought it sounded kind of fun. Too bad I couldn’t swim.

As the summer went on, I kept running into Curt. Every time I saw him, I thought about the sprint triathlon. I knew I had to give it a shot. On July 15, 2000, I asked Curt if there were any races coming up in the fall. He said the only one left that summer was on August 4 in Duluth, MN. Perfect. That gave me 3 weeks to learn how to swim!

The race consisted of a 600-yard swim, followed by a 10.5-mile bike and a 2.5-mile run. I had a fairly solid running base, but had to dust off my old mountain bike and quickly learn how to swim. But it was just a 600-yard swim. In golf terms, all I had to do was swim to my tee shot and back. How hard could that be? Stupid question. My first time in the pool, I didn’t even make it to the other wall – just 25 yards away – without resting on the side of the pool! The next 2 weeks consisted of crash course swimming lessons and some time on the rusty mountain bike. By August 4, I could successfully swim 600 yards without stopping (albeit a mix between the crawl and the backstroke). I’d be just fine as long as the swim course was truly 600 yards and the lake water fairly calm.

As my wife and I pulled up to the race in the early morning, I felt a bit out of place. My soccer shorts and tee shirt didn’t seem to match the spandex attire of the rest of the racers, and a trade between my car and one of their bikes would have resulted in me still throwing in a thousand bucks. What was I doing here?

He addresses how to balance training and life:

How could I justify spending 12 hours per week training? And that was the bare minimum, according to all the triathlon-training articles I had read. My priorities were very clear: Faith, Family, Others, and Self – in that order. How could triathlon fit into that mix?

He offers 5 keys from triathlon that can be applied to your spiritual and phyiscal training:

1. Set a goal. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:26 that he does not “run like a man running aimlessly… or fight like a man beating the air”.


2. Aim high. Ephesians 3:20 says “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us…”


3. Give God the Glory! Ephesians 3:21 completes the verse quoted above by saying that God’s power is at work in us so that he may be glorified “in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations.”


4. Discipline. It may take discipline, but any goal worth accomplishing requires discipline.


5. Rest. Rest is something that God incorporated into his creation, demonstrating this to us by resting on the 7th day... Your body needs rest, and God built it into his creation.

And he explains how the Janus Charity Challenge has made all the difference:

The Janus Charity Challenge became the key that would transform this self-serving sport of mine into something that would serve a greater purpose. In the last 4 Ironman triathlons, we’ve been able to raise over $573,000 for various non-profit organizations such as my local Christian school and crisis pregnancy center, and have received additional bonuses from Janus totaling $32,000. Over $600,000 raised for these non-profits! Praise God!

The fund-raising is a tool to draw others to the sport and communicate to them what really drives me: My passion for Jesus Christ and what he has done for me.

Read the complete article at www.faithandfitness.net

ran an article on February 15 highlighting the impact of pregnancy centers across America.

"... thousands of crisis pregnancy centers in the U.S. are working to end abortion... the new face of an old movement: kind, calm, nonjudgmental, a special-forces soldier in the abortion wars who is fighting her battles one conscience at a time. Her center helps women navigate the social-service bureaucracy, sign up for Medicaid and begin prenatal care. She helps pregnant girls find emergency housing if their parents threaten to throw them out. Free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds are just the latest service."

"[They] talk of changing hearts. They are part of a whole other strategy that is more personal and more pastoral..."

"...the pregnancy-center movement takes the fight over abortion deep inside some of the most intimate conversations a woman ever has."

"Pregnancy centers offer everything from emergency food and formula to strollers and baby clothes to help with the month's rent."

"The latest trend is to convert pregnancy centers into health clinics that offer free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and testing for sexually transmitted diseases."

The article fairly wrestles with the complex issues of abortion and the important role of pregnancy centers. The closing sentence sums it up, "On issues of such weight, making the questions harder for people is the first step toward finding some answers." The need to raise funds for these CPC's is continually important.

Here is an article that ran in the West Central Tribune as we kicked off the Ironman 2006 Lake Placid fundraiser for CMCS. We raised over $103,000 for CMCS in this fundraiser! Praise God!

Mike has received notable coverage for his work in the community.

Excerpts are from an article written by Cari Quam, West Central Tribune, December 2005. The full article can be downloaded at http://www.kandiyohi.com/documents/Dec05newsletter.pdf

Amy Kelleher left Atlanta to work at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar. Liz VanDerBill decided to quit her job in Brooklyn Center and moved to Willmar before finding work. Michael Pluimer moved out of the Twin Cities so that his children could attend Central Minnesota Christian School in Prinsburg. Kelleher, VanDerBill and Pluimer all grew up in the Willmar area, moved away after high school and decided to come back. The Bring Them Back Home task force, a program of the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission, wants more people like them. The task force is trying to figure out ways to link area natives who have moved away with local jobs.

Published Summer 2006 in the West Central Tribune. Excerpts in this article were also taken from an article by Diane Macht in the Raymond-Prinsburg News. The full article can be downloaded at http://www.kandiyohi.com/documents/Summer06_BTBH_000.pdf

In the midst of a successful career as an engineer at Toro Co., Michael Pluimer moved out of the Twin Cities so that his children could attend Central Minnesota Christian School in Prinsburg. The lure of returning home was strong for Pluimer, who was pursued and hired by a local company, and has since become an engineering consultant/lobbyist living in rural Raymond. Pluimer wanted to give back to his community and the school that raised him, and decided to do some fund-raising by competing in the Ironman USA Triathlon, which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run. He finished in the top 500 among 1,800 competitors. That was good, but even better was knowing he met another important goal. He trained hard not only with the goal of finishing, but he wanted to raise money for a cause dear to his heart: Christian education at his alma mater, Central Minnesota Christian School. Pluimer did both – in grand style. He finished the race in a time of 11 hours and 43 minutes, and raised $83,000 for CMCS. Since Pluimer was the top fundraiser in the Janus Charity Challenge, he earned an additional $10,000 for the school, on top of the $73,000 that was donated. He accepted the award at a ceremony in Idaho, where he spoke about his charity, saying he was “extremely humbled and blessed.” Pluimer said the next nearest fundraiser to him was at $40,000. Janus gave him a free pass to any race in 2006, and Pluimer plans to race again. He wants to raise $100,000 for CMCS at the Ironman in Lake Placid, New York on July 23, 2006.