How the story Begins...getting to Lake Tahoe

Okay, I am finally going to post something about my trip to Lake Tahoe. We ended up leaving on a Monday morning...at about 5am, wait...we woke up at five but we hadn't loaded the car. After loading and eating breakfast we were probably on the road at about 8am...ugh!!! But we weren't in any hurry. We were aware of the long trip ahead of us...and boy was it long!!!! After about 2 and half hours of driving Crystal had had enough of driving and I was tried of trying to keep her awake, so we made a pit stop and we swapped spots. After I took the wheel everyone feel asleep. My niece and nephew (Giselle & Danny)came along for the trip...we left a few days early...the rest of the family was meeting us up there on Wednesday. The weather was fine at first, then the skies darkened and it was pouring!! But there weren't too many people on the road. The 395 is pretty scenic and there are so many places I want to stop and dedicate more time to (IE. Yosemite,Mammoth lakes,etc.)but that will have to wait. When we finally arrived, 10 hours later, we were exhausted and everyone was a bit cranky...OK, I was the only one who was cranky...but I was just sick and tired of driving!!!! We checked into our hotel and had some huge burritos from Sanchos and crashed out. We awoke to some awesome conditions...clear skies and warm. We had breakfast at the lake which was across the street from our hotel and we tested the waters (frick'n cold!)After that we headed to Carson city to get me some running shoes, since I had forgotten mine at home. The rest of the day we spent sightseeing and we did a training run. I was there for the Xterra Nevada triathlon, Crystal did the 10k and Giselle & Danny completed the 5k. At the end of the first day we headed back to the beach in front of the hotel and the winds had kicked up! Lake Tahoe can get quite rough! I hope the the picture slideshow adds some substance to these words, but I'll get to the rest of the story later. Stay tuned!!!

Thing's to come...so stay posted!

It has definitely been a long time since I've posted anything...and there are several reasons, some valid and others...well things happen! lol Anyways, for those of you who have visited, I apologize for my inconsistency. I will be posting the Lake Tahoe Xterra race report, soon, along with pictures and videos from the trip...it was amazing! I think I'll let the images speak for themselves. I am also looking forward to next years race schedule; Figuring out my training plan and assessing what I want to accomplish in terms of my fitness goals.

Imperial Beach Triathlon 2008

About 2 weeks ago I did the IB sprint distance triathlon, and had an absolute blast doing so! I had expected to complete it in about an Hour and Forty-Five...but I was able to finish in 1:18. The race went well: Crystal and I got to the transition areas @ about 6am...which is very early for both of us! I didn't have any major issues setting up, other than a busted presta valve that came lose, I didn't have any spare tubes so fortunately I was able to fix it!!! Lesson Learned #1: Have some spare tubes, air pump, mini-tool, tire levers, and plenty of Patience!!!

Some guy next to me came prepared and I was able to use his floor pump that didn't damage the valve any further. Thanks Dude!! Ah...I hate not being prepared. Other than this brief act of generosity, the vibe that I took from this event was a bit weird. Everybody was so serious and some what stand-offish. Lesson Learned# Dos: This is so much different from the Xterra scene that I have been lucky to experience. Everybody seems so much more relaxed and easy going. Then The swim begun and in all honesty I feel that I could have done better...I held back for some reason, I should have gone all out! I think my swim was about 13min or so...I think I'll cut it down to 9-10 min next time! Lesson Learned# 3: Get used to swimming in the morning!!! My stomach felt some what queasy. Gotta get out there earlier to get used to being in the water, because most if not all races have their swims at dawn.

Okay...then came the bike leg, here I didn't run into too much trouble. But, before I go into that I should talk about my T1 (transition one; from swim to bike) lol. i did quite well, around 1 and 1/2 minutes. Considering that at my first Xterra I took about 10 min. This was a flash!!! On the bike I went pretty hard...after I over came my nauseousness. Again, I gotta get used to training early!!! And I have to make sure I don't drop my gloves, I had to stop and go back to pick up a glove that I dropped when i was trying to put it on. No major lesson's learned here. Finally, the run Leg: T2(bike to run) time not so good, just got to focus a bit more and get my shoes on a bit faster. The no sock option helped out. Thanks to Conrad Stoltz for that pearl of wisdom!!! As for the run itself, I did the 3 miles in 27 min, which is really slow...at least I think it is. I know for certain i can run it faster, because believe it or not at some point in my existence i was able to run three miles in under 19 min. But, be it as it may , I had a lot fun and I will definitely be there next year and I'm gonna go sub hour...maybe 58min!!! Which leads me to Lesson learned #(what number am I on...oh yeah #4): I gotta lean out!!!! I am way to heavy ( aka FAT) even though I have dropped a few pounds I gotta loss more. The Day of the race i was probably pushing 169lbs and I felt good, but I know I have to get to maybe 145...150 at the most. No excuses! So stay posted, for the next adventure which will be the The Xterra Nevada! At The Finish Line!!!!

Crystal's 25th Birthday!!!

Well, today crystal turned 25 and we celebrated by going to dinner...Cheesecake Factory... and we had a blast!! Good food, good conversation, and good times!!! The funny thing is that the whole b-day thing is new to her (long story, I'll just say she grew up a Jehovah's witness) and sometimes I'm not really sure what shes expecting. I guess it has to do with my personal view of these yearly celebrations...I always found them depressing...I guess i still do.
Here She is holding sum flowers I got her and I sincerely think she was surprised to have received them form me. I'm not the most romantic bloke in the world!!!
My parents were also very kind to have purchased her a cake...which was quite delicious. I hope to someday throw her a bash she won't forget. Because she deserves it...she is truly amazing to me and I am so lucky she walked into the Library that faithful day...Happy Birthday Babycakes!!!! I love you.

Get'n Ready 4 The IB Triathlon!!!!!

This past Friday babycakes (my silly girlfriend Crystal who was there for moral support) and I joined the Tri Club of San Diego for their Friday swim at the Cove, and although I'm not exactly sure of the distances of the buoys, I went out to the second buoy, which is probably out about 1/2 a mile. I felt strong, although my wetsuit was giving me a rash around my neck.
The IB triathlon is a week from today, and even though I've done 2 off-road triathlons, this will be my FIRST road triathlon, so I'm quite excited about that. I'm hoping to finish in under 1:45.
Afterwards, we stuck around and were treated to this awesome sunset. Stay posted San Diego!

Very First Post!

Hi. This is my very first blogging experience! "This is exciting!" I plan to use this as my personal journal, which will help me chronicle my foray in the world of triathlon...and other fun excursions that life may throw my way.