Challenging Conditions Channel Courage

(I wrote this a few years ago and never posted it. Here it is)

Triathletes are considered lunatics, not because it is outrageous to swim, bike then run, instead that these disciplines go on for endless miles, in uncontrollable conditions, and with fire-in-the-eyes determination.   The ‘Tri Bug” is basically a burst of courage to overcome a physical and mental obstacle that simultaneously humbles and builds you up.

My boss came into work the day after IRONMAN Lake Tahoe’s inaugural race with a 140.6 PR, and bragging rights to the advantage of growing up in the icy mountains of Colorado.  She was prepared for the freezing air temperatures with the emergency gear, with the game plan to stay calm and the reward was to head out to KONA World Championships in Hawaii few weeks after for a work expo.  Mantra was “The sooner you finish, sooner you can thaw out in Hawaii.”   Uncomfortable and unexpected conditions are intimidating, but not impossible to overcome.

Seeing her overcome that sudden weather change challenge with courage made me relieved I didn’t have any unexpected conditions racing in San Diego.  Then… Doh!

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Triathlon Gear Hygiene: Cycling

Besides fitting in the training for 3 disciplines time management is essential for triathletes in order to maintain all the gear.  This will be a series of posts discussing tips to quickly frequently make time for this.

The only bike that doesn’t need cleaning

Unless you have an invisible bicycle like this kitty, maintenance involves cleaning.  Although wearing cycling gloves can protect your hands if you need to change a tire, your calves and clothing will still get chain marks someway or another with a dirty bike.  Unlike the excuse many girls gave me for not riding, you do not need to drive somewhere to arrive cute & clean!

Even if you do not have a brand new bike, keeping your “partner” clean will:

Fashion on the Blue Carpet: KONA 2014 Highlights

Early on one of Roger’s selling points to me on triathlon was since I liked changing into multiple outfits, triathletes get to do that a lot in training and racing. It totally worked! I now have almost as much swim/bike/run clothes as I do work clothes. Putting giggles aside, let’s talk best and worst dressed at KONA 2014.

Where’s the light out of this darkness?

Swim  It was the only area of sport that’s still underwhelming as far as design creativity.  Only a couple color burst speedsuits stood out in the sea of black, so hopefully more brands will start to “lighten it up” in the water.  It could be because the water is so tropically amazing that the only color that doesn’t blend into the corals for pictures is black?

You are not an Ironman?

Before the movie The Fast and the Furious, I grew up in the car scene where two camps of people existed: The prebuilt super car owner (Ferarri, Porsche); the second group of people purchasing a $500 beater and throwing a $500 speed boat motor inside, by their own hands.

Lake Havasu 140.6 Vacation Race

I paid 150$ for this race, cause I signed up very early, they even extended this discount after the expiration date that you can get 150$ if you volunteer. Also you can cheap it out by camping on race grounds wildflower style. What is also great about this series is there is not much pressure, if you want to jump down to 70.3, oly, or sprint, you can. The half and full go off at the same time, so you don’t feel lonely on the course in a small race.

Even if you pay the normal rate, its worth it, especially this destination, a typical college spring break party destination. (girls gone wild films here, hahaha)

I did a 140.6 in training to see if I can finish 2 years ago, and knowing that decided unless I am paid to do it or there is a sick deal, no thanks… so officially this is my first one.

Snow Valley XTERRA Trail Race weekend with our pig!

We planned to camp in the middle of Big Bear Mountains/Snow Valley in an off-season ski resort, so we finally were able to bring our pet Juliana miniature Pig “Milo” with us on a weekend adventure!

The TOUGHEST race in the most BEAUTIFUL place

( A dual story by Roger and Bessy, Bessy’s personal story is in italics)

As the title states, that is the motto for the June Lake Triathlon held right next to the well known Mammoth Mountain.  It sounds so cheesy but it does make sense when you do the race.  To me this is quite a remote area, so rarely am I up for something that requires 7+ hours of sitting in one place just to get there – cause that is the same time to finish a Half Ironman!  The first thing that motivated me to try it was that my wife Bessy from XTERRA Wetsuits had to do an expo there, where I would also help her out.  This race has been only Kids, Sprint, and Olympic distance, but this year they added in a Half.   Being at 7000 feet of elevation,  many San Diego Tri Clubbers decided to use this race as prep for IM Tahoe, so having people you know in the area is also a motivator.

We arrived Thursday night so we can get a Fri morning workout to acclimate us to the high altitude – an easy 10 mile run, where you get to see how it affects you rather than seeing yourself go 1:30 min per mile slower during the race.  After that we went to work the expo at the bottom of the ski resort, meeting all the participants and the locals who gave tips on the race.  After the expo the athletes take a ski lift up to a mountain chalet for a catered athlete welcome dinner. So many people came by asking me to fix their stitching tears, ankle rips but sorry, I didn’t bring my patches/sewing machine with me this morning… maybe I should learn how to do that.