24th Annual Jamba Juice Wildflower Triathlon Festival

May 5-7, 2006

I can't believe that it is this time again; Wildflower Triathlon Festival is here. Jay, Sprocket and I got down there early on thursday morning to give ourselves a day extra to relax and get comfortable down there.

Friday was spent dying my hair pink before giving a transition clinic on the main stage. It was sponsored by Tri-Zone and it went really well. I even had a woman come up to me the day after and said that my tip about baby powder really worked and she thanked me for an informative clinic!

I felt confident going into this race despite the fact that I believe I was somewhat undertrained. I was on my new Felt F1C for only a week prior to this race, so wasn't sure how I was going to feel on my new set-up. I got down the the transition area about 7:10am and put it together only to realize I forgot my wetsuit back at camp...so, I made my run warm up back to camp got my suit and ran down. Then I guess the majority of the women racked in the wrong spot...so, we had to move our gear down the rack a bit; no big deal. I was a bit nervous and just wanted to start. I got a small swim warm up in, but nothing much as they called us out of the water pretty quickly. We started 5 minutes after the men and I felt pretty good. I was able to get with a pack of women and hang with them. I felt a bit choppy and tried to relax. I noticed that our pack caught up with a few women just ahead of us just prior to the exit. I had a pretty good swim and exited at 27:07. It took me a few seconds to find my wetsuit cord and get the top half of it off, but managed pretty well once at T1. I ran out towards the mount line and was off on the bike. I was on a mission to catch a few women who I "normally" can ride faster than, but it wasn't going to be my day on the bike. The longer I rode, the harder if got, both physically and mentally. I didn't have enough time on the new bike to be comfortable with it and as I said before I was undertrained on the bike. I did the best I could despite the fact that I wanted to not race triathlon again (thoughts come and go on a ride like this and that was one of them). I was slower on the bike this year by 9 minutes! My legs felt heavy and sore and my low back felt on fire! I honestly couldn't wait to get off the bike. I was excited when I did after a time of 2:56!

I felt so much better on the run and I had a goal to catch 6 women. I had no idea what place I was in and I just wanted to try to be in the top 10 ( I didn't think I was there when I started the run). I felt strong on the run and my attitude changed to the positive and I was glad I was racing now! I was able to catch 3 women and tried my hardest to catch 2 more with 4 miles to go; unfortunately I wasn't able to, but I did run myself into 10th place with a run time of 1:31 and a total time of 4:57...At least it was under 5 hours!! For complete results go to www.tricalifornia.com.

The weather was great. It started out foggy and cold and eventually warmed up about half way through the bike. It never got too hot out there and I was thankful for that considering we haven't had hot weather to train in.

At 3:45pm on Saturday, I was once again on the main stage as part of the Power Bar Nutritional Panel. Scott Tinley was the announcer and Cam Widoff, Chris Lieto, Kim Loeffler, Tim (sorry, can't remember his last name) and Julie Upton (Nutritionist) and I were on the panel. Please visit www.powerbar.com for information on nutritional goodies!

Jay had a good swim and bike but pulled out before the run due to getting sick the week before the race and a small piriformis injury. Dad placed 8th in the long course on Saturday and 3rd in the olympic distance on Sunday and mom placed 5th on Saturday's long course.

I leave for Honolulu on friday May 12 and will be racing on Sunday the 14th. It's a PanAmerican Cup ITU and you can look at results at www.honolulutriathlon.com.

New Sponsor

A big thank you goes to Jim Felt from Felt Bicycles for taking me on so late in the season. I am now riding an F1C road bike and it fits great! Please go to www.feltracing.com to find out more about Felt Bicycles.

Sea Otter Classic

The weekend of April 6-9, 2006 was the Sea Otter Classic. One of the largest cycling events in the U.S. and it's held here at Laguna Seca Raceway. My father is the volunteer coordinator for the VIP Tent and I must say the best volunteer job there is! We've been volunteering each year for the past 4 years I think and we always have such a great time.

In addition to volunteering, I like to do the circuit race which this year was held on friday and the road race on saturday. The circuit race is 50 minutes long around the race track; one of the only times that one is allowed to ride their bikes on the track. Since I don't race bikes that often I am a sand-bagger in the women's cat. 4. There were approximately 30 women in my category and once the whistle blew to start I stayed as close to the front as possible. I believe it took us about 10min./lap and I eventually saw the "3 Laps to Go" sign. I was going to wait until maybe the last lap to make my move, just like I did last year....Jumped with one lap to go and rode as fast as I could and no one caught me. With two laps to go, I saw mom and dad on the side cheering for me as we went up the first incline. Dad motioned for me to jump and get away and I mouthed back, "Now???" Knowing that I had two laps to go and not sure if I could solo it for that long. He shook his head yes and I jumped. I pedaled as hard as I could up the back side hill and once I reached the top and was about to ride down the corkscrew I glanced back and saw on one behind me. I kept it strong on the back side down hill and made the left turn directly into a strong headwind...I looked again and on one was there. I kept on pushing through the start/finish area with the lead motorcycle just in front of me. One lap to go and I had to really push it up the hill because I was unsure if the pack behind was getting organized. If they were, I had to really keep pushing. Down the corkscrew again and into the head wind I went for a second time by myself. I kept on pushing through and eventually crossed the line in first place by 51 seconds!! Second and third place finished only 1 second apart! I can't believe I held off the pack for two laps!!
It took forever for the awards ceremony and we waited in the rain for three hours until the awards were given.

The next day (Saturday) I went for a 14 mile hilly run in the morning before I had to volunteer at the VIP Tent. My run felt good and I figure I'd have enough time to relax before my 4pm road race through Ft. Ord.
At 3:45pm I made my way towards the start line on the track. Today I was racing in the master's women 30+ category. I thought that it might be a bit more challenging! The official grouped the 30+ and 40+ women together to make it a larger pack and we were able to work together. There were only 8 women racing in 30+! The course was 4 loops in Ft.Ord. A 46 mile hilly course at that. There is a great uphill finish (Barloy Canyon Rd.) and since I train out there, I think I had a slight advantage.
The race started late and instead of starting at 4pm, it was closer to 4:30pm.
A group of us broke away after the first loop; Three 40+ women and three 30+ women (including myself). We finally got organized and were never caught by the chase pack. One woman broke away and got a small gap, but it didn't last long as we caught her. We made the right hand turn up Barloy Canyon toward the finish. The six of us stayed together until one woman started to get away (her name is Monica and she raced the 40+ for Velo Bella). A women who raced for Galaxy Granola jumped on Monica's wheel and the two of them were a few feet away from the rest of us. I decided to go with them and broke from the other 3 women. Just before we reached the 200m mark no one had jumped yet. I didn't want this to come down to a three-way sprint, so once we got just inside the 200m mark I jumped with all I had and crossed the line in first place!!

I looked at my watch after I crossed the line, it just after 7pm; thank goodness it was still barely light outside. I wasn't sure if awards were going to be given out tonight considering it was getting late and all the vendors had gone home and the only people left were those that raced and maybe some of their friends and family. I rode my bike to the grand stand with Patty and Flavia, two women who raced in cat. 3's and who placed 2nd and 1st, respectively. We wanted to know if awards were being given or not. Apparently they were, but results had yet to be posted, so I had time to ride back to my car, change into some warm clothes and then walk back. The results still weren't posted and by now it was 8pm. I thought mom and dad had left, but when I got back to the stage I saw my mom waiting for me! She had decided to stick around and watch the awards.

Well, when the results were posted, finally, they were wrong!! It had me in third place. I had to put in my protest to one of the USA Cycling officials to get it corrected before they could hand out awards. I think most categories results were messed up because officials ended up not allowing some participants to finish


the final loop of the course because it was getting late. So what happened was, these people who didn't finish the required amount of loops ended up crossing the finish line with their timing chips and getting a time and finishing place. That's why the two women who finished 20 minutes

Patty Selbicky

ahead of me were put in first and second place and me in third...those two women were down a lap each. Mom and I ended up waiting, along with some of the other participants, until 8:35pm when our awards were finally announced. It was horrible. I know some of the other women were cold, tired and hungry and we all just wanted to get home! Mom and I ended up walking to our car in the dark at 8:40pm and couldn't wait to get home to eat dinner and take a shower!!

the 3rd place woman and Me

Besides the awards fiasco, the weekend was extremely fun. It's great to volunteer and race and we also met some very nice people! Oh and I even ran into Derek Wiback, who used to ride on the SDSU cycling team with me. Crazy who you meet at these things!

I am preparing now for Wildflower Long Course which is on May 6th.

Bay Islands ITU
Roatan, Honduras
March 25, 2006

After emailing back and forth, the race director finally gets in contact with TACA Airlines, one of the sponsors of the race, and a free airline ticket is reserved in my name.
West End Town
Racing for close to 10 years now this is the first time that I’ve gotten a free airline ticket anywhere! I was leaving on Wednesday midnight out of San Francisco, or so I thought. With 20 minutes before driving up to the city, I check my email one last time to get directions to my home stay and good thing I checked as there was an email from the race director. I open it and it says that I need to call the TACA Call Center, as the “free” tickets aren’t really free. I need to pay $113 for taxes apparently. I call the 800 number and finally get a live person who tries to explain that my reservation has been cancelled because I didn’t pay the fee 24 hours before my flight was to depart. I proceed to tell her that this airline is the sponsor of the race, that this is a sponsorship ticket and that I am a professional who must be at this international race to compete. She puts me on hold and after waiting for some time I get disconnected! So, I dial the number again and get a different person. I tell him my problem and he looks up my information and tells me that I only had a reservation and because I didn’t pay the fee that my reservation was cancelled and that I could make a new reservation for the following day; same flight times, numbers, etc. just on Thursday. So, I end up making new reservations for the following midnight and he told me to call the next morning and pay the fee and that will confirm me on the flights.

It’s now Thursday night and my dad drives me up to SF airport and drops me off. I stand in a line for about 40 minutes and when I get up to the counter to check my bags in and get my boarding passes, I find that I am there for another 45 minutes! I’m not exactly sure what is going on, but it seems as they are trying to make sure
The inside of the plane to Roatan

that I’m on this flight. The woman behind the counter then gives me my boarding pass from SFO to El Salvador and then from El Salvador to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. She then tells me that I am on standby from El Salvador to San Pedro Sula and then when I get to San Pedro that I’ll get my boarding pass to Roatan. I arrive in El Salvador and go to the counter to make sure I get my boarding pass. The person behind the counter seems to not know what he is doing and says that someone else will help me. I wait a while longer and another person comes up and says don’t worry come back in a while. I ask if there are seats available and he says yes, don’t worry. So I go and sit and wait.
Did I mention that my flight from SFO left at 12:40am and I arrived in El Salvador at ~ 6:30am. I didn’t get much sleep and I just wanted to get to Roatan. It’s now Friday morning and I am supposed to arrive in Roatan at 11am. Just prior to boarding the flight, I go up to the counter to see about getting my seat



assignment and I finally get one. I boarded the plain and was glad to be on my way. I arrived in San Pedro and had to go through immigration and by the time I got down to the ticket counter and asked about my boarding pass. After talking to a few different people it was finally told to
The outside of the square plane.

me that I apparently didn’t buy a ticket from San Pedro to Roatan! I exhausted, I speak very little Spanish (just enough to barely get by) and the person behind the counter says I don’t have a ticket, but I can buy one for two hundred and something dollars!! I again run through my explanation that TACA is a sponsor of the race and that I called the TACA Call Center and made sure that everything was in order as far as my ticket was concerned, etc., etc, etc. but they wouldn’t listen. So I missed my 9:55am flight and the only other flight to Roatan was at 4:30pm. I went to call the race director to see if she could help and she didn’t answer her phone. I used a phone service at the airport because I couldn’t remember how to dial to the U.S. I even tried dialing my father’s 1-800 number but that didn’t work either. A very helpful woman let me borrow her calling card to call my dad and he didn’t answer but after I left a message he called my phone and I was able to receive phone calls. I thanked the woman and she said she’s been in my shoes before and knows how it feels.
I told dad what was going on through tears in my eyes and a runny nose. It has been one of those extremely stressful journeys and all I wanted to do was be on Roatan relaxing. He called the race director’s cell number and office number and again she never returned his phone calls. After a while I went back to the ticket counter and tried to talk to them again. I asked how my bags could’ve gone to Roatan (I had my claim tickets that were tagged to Roatan) and not me??? It didn’t make any sense. I ended up asking another airline if they had flights to Roatan and it was $112. I finally ate a sandwich that I had brought with me and read my book until I decided to go back to the ticket counter yet again.

Part of the bike course…can you tell it’s steep???

I'm sure by this time they were sick of seeing me there. I spoke with a woman who was still trying to tell me that I had not purchased a ticket and I had finally had it and broke down crying saying that I needed to get to the island for a race. She finally said that she would charge me $12 for a ticket and that I could get on the last flight to Roatan. I thanked her profusely and got my boarding ticket and waited a few more hours before boarding. I still think they tried to scam me; I’ve never had anything like that happen before.
I spent a total of 7 hours in the airport of San Pedro, exhausted, stressed out and irritated. I boarded the square plane bound for Roatan and was happy to notice another professional triathlete on the plane. We introduced ourselves and she is Ana from Brazil. The flight was about 45 minutes, which included a stop on La Ceiba. We landed in Roatan at 5:30pm and I had to find someone to help me locate my luggage, which should have arrived at 11am! After wondering around the airport and asking about 5 different airport employees, non of whom knew what the heck was going on, I finally found a woman who yelled across the small airport to a TACA employee who opened a door and there sitting on the floor was my bike box and my clothing bag! This is a first, where my luggage actually makes it to my final destination before I do, go figure.

I go outside and find Ana sitting in a shuttle bound for the Mayan Princess Hotel where the mandatory pro meeting has already finished! Both of us needed to pick up our race packets there and we had agreed on asking the race director about staying at the host hotel as it was getting dark and we weren’t about to wonder the streets looking for my home stay with a bike box the night before the race.
As we were driving to the hotel I again started to feel sick. I believe it was again exhaustion and stress. We finally arrived at the hotel at 6:30pm; found the race director who pointed us in the direction of registration. We filled out some paperwork and got our bags and then proceeded to chase the race director around (she was on her phone) to see about staying at the hotel. We finally found someone who tried to help us get a room, but as it were they had no rooms available. I was really feeling ill by this time and so Ana said for me to wait in the lobby while she went to look for the race director.

As I was waiting, I saw Susan Williams and her sister Lisa and I said hi. Susan came and sat with me and in the course of our brief chat she found out I had just got in and wasn’t feeling well and didn’t really have a place to stay, so she graciously offered for me to stay with her and her sister in their place in the host hotel. I accepted and off we were to her place. I also saw Branden Rakita there and I was supposed to stay near him, but he was about to leave and I still had to put my bike together. Lunch after the race with the girls.

The first thing I did was start putting the bike together. I was is such bad shape though that as I was putting it piece by piece I was hoping that I was putting the saddle on correctly or the handlebars on tight enough. I honestly could’ve cared less about the race the next morning. I didn’t even bother to put on aerobars. I was almost finished putting it together when this horrible feeling came over me; I dropped what I was doing, ran to the bathroom and vomited my sandwich that I had earlier. Needless to say I won’t ever eat that sandwich again. (It’s too bad because the first time it was good) That’s pretty disgusting isn’t it??? Sorry, but you wanted the whole account, right?

While I was doing this, Susan and Lisa had made up the coach for me. Actually they pulled the mattress down on the floor and made up a nice cushioned bed for me. I thanked them very much before they went to grab some dinner.

I went back out and finished the bike and was trying to get some things organized when again I ran to the bathroom…I’ll leave it at that as it was the same as before! Disgusting.

I wasn’t hungry, so no dinner for me. All I wanted was to sleep. Dad had called me and I spoke to him, mom and Jay and he told me the number to dial out. We hung up, I tried it and it worked! We talked briefly again and then said goodnight. I was asleep just after 8:30pm.

RACE DAY

I was up at 5:30am and feeling 100% better. I rechecked my bike making sure that bolts were on tight and straight and even put on my aerobars. After doing the usual prep in transition, I rode my bike on the gravel road to make sure it would be okay and then headed down to the ocean for a quick pre-swim. I asked a few of the girls which direction we were swimming, as I had no idea. The men started a few minutes before we did. There were 12 women on the start line and I was hoping to do well. Although it was humid out, there was cloud cover that kept the sun at bay. It could’ve been extremely hot here, but thank goodness it wasn’t.
The gun sounded off and we were in the water. There seemed to be a strong current and it was difficult to get out. (there weren’t big waves though, so I’m not sure why it seemed hard). I hung with the pack for a while but noticed that I was putting in more effort than I think I needed to and not going anywhere. Before we reached the first buoy I was already trailing in last place. I tried even harder to catch someone in front of me, but nothing. I got around another buoy and couldn’t see the women at all. There were now a few good-size swells coming in and if you weren’t on the top you couldn’t see where you were going. I actually had to ask a guy on a surfboard which direction I needed to go! Yeah, I’m a professional triathlete??? I did happen to pass a few professional men in the water though, that made my day! As I rounded the last buoy and headed towards the finish of the swim, I saw a girl just ahead of me. I again tried to pick it up and at least get on her feet, but it didn’t happen; I exited the water about 5 seconds behind her but ended up running past her in transition. She was right behind me though as we started the first horrendous climb on the bike.

I’m so glad I put my 12-25 cassette on because as it was I had to weave across the hill to make sure I’d make it up! This wasn’t a good sign…”I can’t even climb up this hill?” I thought to myself. My legs must be really tired! I did see about 3 other women ahead of me and I set my sights on them; I had to catch them, I would catch them.
I made it up and soon caught two girls. They hung with me for a while, but I was on a mission to catch as many women as possible. The entire bike course would be considered rolling hills except for the first hill and one of the last climbs…those were steep hills. The middle section of the course was comprised of two loops before heading back towards transition. Before we completed the first loop I was in a pack of 6 women with 4 women ahead of us. The bike course wasn’t marked clearly and there were no volunteers on the course our first loop. I was leading the pack at the time and say one of the male pros just ahead. I thought we were supposed to make a U-turn at one point and do the loop for the second time, but the male pro kept on riding straight so I followed him, but slowing down just a bit and looking behind me I saw Maliaka make the turn around, I yelled to turn and the few girls that were behind me and myself included turned around. We didn’t miss the turn around by too much and in no time at all I was leading again, this time faster to


make up the few seconds that we lost. As we were about to finish the second loop we caught the 4th place women and had also dropped a girl or two on the way. With about 5k go to I saw Maggie carrying her bike and walking towards transition, I thought maybe she had gotten a flat.

West End Town

Come to find out she had crashed. After the race I was told she was okay, bruised and sore, but okay. You never like to see someone go down.

On one of the last climbs I broke away and one girl came with me. We worked together for a while before I dropped her and headed into T2 in 3rd place. I headed out on the run and felt heavy and sluggish, but

hoped that I would soon feel much better. The run was half of grass and gravel and half of pavement; also a hilly run! It was a Popsicle shaped run where you head out, run three loops and then return pretty much the same way except for the final 800 meters to the finish. (I’ll explain in a minute).
I thought I had a pretty good lead heading out, but didn’t want to look back, I would have time to see who was behind me when I made the turn around loop at the far end of the run. After the first loop I was indeed in 3rd, trailing Lauren Groves and Susan Williams, 1st and 2nd respectively. At the turn around of my second loop I noticed that a girl was catching up to me. I picked it up a bit, but still wasn’t feeling as good as I hoped. After I started my third and final loop the girl had caught me, but she didn’t pass me. She stayed just behind me on my left shoulder. I picked up the pace a bit and she hung with me. I was starting to feel better and picked up the pace again and she stayed. I was surprised that she didn’t pass me; I guess she was content to let me set the pace and that was fine with me. We passed the last aid station and she slowed to get water, I figured this was my time to put the


hurt on, so I picked it up and headed back through the grassy field towards the finish. I eventually got onto the graveled road and as I made the last left hand turn I looked back and didn’t see her. I was now on a dirt road that headed straight for the beach. There was only the right hand turn onto the beach and a 400m stretch on the sand to the finish. As I rounded the right hand turn I again looked back and there she was, I was a bit startled and laid it out again and I sprinted on the sand as fast as I could to finish in 3rd. There was no way I was going to give up third place after what I had gone through to get here, especially in the last 400m! I bested her by 10 seconds!


After the race there was complimentary lunch for all the participants and a small podium ceremony were top 3 male and female finishers were recognized. In the evening there was complimentary dinner and the full awards ceremony. I didn’t stay out too late and was in bed by 10pm.

My flight wasn’t until 4pm on Sunday afternoon. Most of the athletes had early flights and I was left to wonder about the small island alone. (That sounds pathetic doesn’t it???) I left Roatan bound for El Salvador again and once there I had to go to the ticket counter, as my ticket back to SFO was again standby. I was extremely nervous, as this was the last flight to SFO and I wanted to go home. I kept checking and rechecking at the counter to see if I was going to get a seat assignment. Once they started boarding, I counted every single person that went on the plane. I knew there were 150 seats on the flight home and I had counted 125 people on board and it was now slowing down. I again went to the ticket counter and pleaded my case yet again to get home. Finally the woman behind the counter wrote down my seat number and I practically ran onto the plane. I was the last one on. I was there for about 5 minutes or so, when one of the male agents came on board and said that he was sorry but I had to get off the plane! I said that I was given a seat and that I had to get home. He said that he spoke with his supervisor and he’s sorry but there is a weight limit and with me on the plane it makes it too heavy. I kept pleading my case as the man in the aisle seat got up slowly and so did the woman in the middle seat and I at the window seat reluctantly started to stand and grab my backpack. I told the guy that I had nowhere to stay in El Salvador and he said that they would help me, but I still just wanted to get home. When I stood in the aisle, the agent had disappeared and I saw coming towards me a male flight attendant you was hurrying me back into my seat saying, “sit down, sit down.” Tears were now gushing from my eyes, as I just wanted to go home and get out of this place. “Not again,” I was thinking to myself, not with all these empty seats are they going to make me get off this plane and stay the night in El Salvador! I had so many problems on the way over and I didn’t want to go through that again. (Even though I sort of was already!) I quickly sat back down and waited for what was going to happen next. Two women seated in front of me were saying “You poor thing, that’s horrible.” And believe me it was a scene on the plane. I didn’t want to be dragged off the plane by security and thrown in some prison down there, but I really didn’t want to get off that plane either.
Another minute or so went by and a woman flight attendant come by with a huge smile on her face and said that she was sorry for that and the captain has made an exception and I can stay on the plane. I was still crying and very upset but thankful that I was able to stay on and get home! One of the women in front of me handed me a handkerchief and we ended up talking a bit later and I filled her in on the entire story of what happened!


I must say I’m not sure if I’ll ever go down there again. It was almost too much of a problem. I’m very proud of my race though and it seems I’m off to a great start this season.

Ford 70.3 Oceanside, CA

On Thursday March 17, after Jay got home from work, we packed the car and headed on down to Santa Barbara where we stayed the night. Because we left late on Thursday, we didn't want to drive the entire night to get to Oceanside and since we had stayed in SB last year, we decided to do the same this year. Friday morning we continued our drive to the Oceanside Pier where the Ford 70.3 race was to be held. We picked up our race packets while my bike went to the mechanics for a bit of an overhaul. Yep, it never fails that just prior to a race something goes wrong with my bike! It's like clockwork; funny how it happens just before and not during...I guess luck is on my side. Come to find the rear derauiller cable was frayed at the brake hood and needed to be replaced.

I think there is something sharp in there that keeps causing this problem because just before Kona I had to replace the cable as well.
Note to self: Have someone who knows what they are doing take it apart and fix it!!

Jay and I met up with Beth and Flo, two friends of mine who also race professionally and the four of us went for an easy spin along the run course. After that is was time for a quick and late lunch and then to the pro meeting at 5pm. The meeting was brief and to the point (just the way I like 'em) so Jay and I got out of there quickly and drove to our hotel to check in and get cleaned up.

Beth drove over to our hotel in the pouring rain to meet us for dinner that night. Forgetting that it was St. Patrick's Day and the first two restaurants we went to were packed with an hour wait...we found a place with no wait. The food was good and we were hungry!

After dinner we said good nite to Beth and drove back to our hotel to finish preparing for tomorrow. At 4:20am on Saturday the alarm woke us up and we put our gear in the car and drove to Starbucks. I couldn't believe that there was a line at 5am at Starbucks, but there was!
We had some time to kill as we made it to the race start pretty early. We finished our coffee in the car while it started to rain again! Not only was it raining, but it was quite windy...too windy for my taste actually and I was in hopes that it would die down before our race started.

Jay and I went in to transition together but quickly went our separate ways as he was going to race as well and needed to set up his own transition. After my transition was together, Beth and I went for a short run to get warm and the weather continued to wreck havoc.

It was time now to get into our wetsuits and hopefully get a bit warmer in the process. Jay and I had wished each other luck and we hoped to see each other on the course! The pro men started 3 minutes before we did and we were fortunate enough to get into the freezing 55 degree water for a very short warm-up swim; and to be quite honest it wasn't really a warm-up swim at all. I didn't even want to get my face into the water. You know it's cold when your teeth hurt!

The gun sounded off at 6:43am and as usual we were jockeying for position for the first 300-400 meters before the group settled down. I couldn't get into a rhythm and I think it was because it was so cold. I had a group of women to swim with which I find now more often than not! It's about time too! I was swimming with a fairly large group when I happened to sight in front and saw that there was a gap between our group and a group in front of us. I decided that I'd try to catch them and moved out of the slip stream that I was in and go for it. I realized after a while that

"Wake Up, Jay"

I wasn't making as much progress as I had anticipated and moved in behind one of the girls. I did however move up within the pack and now found myself at the lead of my pack. I exited the water and ran along the pavement sidewalk on the outside of the transition area and passed at least one woman on the way.

To explain how this transition area worked, once you exit the swim, you run on the outside of the transition until you reach the rear of the transition area and then run down the middle aisle until you get to your designated spot. So, as I'm running down the middle aisle who do I notice just in front of me but Michellie Jones and Desiree Ficker!! I was just a few seconds behind them. I quickly got out of my wetsuit and was putting on my helmet and grabbing bike to exit when I see Beth running out of T1 just before me. She had a great swim by the way, coming out ahead of Michellie and Desiree and I think just behind Hillary Biscay and Dede Greisbauer. My swim time was 28:10 which put me at 7th exiting the water and 2 minutes down on 1st place. I was in such a rush that I forgot to put on my race belt and sunglasses! I quickly passed a few girls and suddenly found myself in 3nd place; it was brief as Desiree who had stopped for some reason passed me like I was standing still! I eventually caught up to Dede and passed her just to be re-passed by her some time later in the ride. I didn't bother to put on arm warmers or my vest that I had put out just in case and while on the bike I almost wished I had taken the time to put them on as the sun was still having a hard time showing herself. The bike course is a mix of gently rolling hills and semi-flat sections. Katja Schumacher had passed me and for a while she I and were playing leap frog out there. We were never close enough to draft as I made sure that there was the appropriate space. In a non-drafting race I am not one to draft. I heard stories though of some of the women drafting which in a race like this I consider cheating.
With 15 miles to go, my low back was starting to hurt. I think this happened for two reasons. The first being that I had not spent that much time in my aero position prior to this race and second I had not trained on too many hills. Two things that I need to work on for future races!

I entered T2 with a time of 2:43:16 (20.6mph ave.). With the 3rd fastest transition time I was out quickly in the hunt for a top 3 finish. I was in 7th place off the bike and quickly caught Katja and Kristianna which now put me in 5th. Dede was ahead of me a ways and I kept my eye on her and eventually passed her just after mile 3 I think. I felt strong on the run and kept moving ahead. The run course was mostly flat with a few bumps in the road (small hills) and a course change from last year was the 400m stretch of sand that you had to run on 4 times! That made it of course a bit more challenging, but I liked it and actually passed a few people in the sand!

I don't know how many minutes ahead the third place woman was but I wanted that spot and I kept pushing until the end. Unfortunately I never caught her, but I was happy to finish 4th in a time of 4:42:31. I had the third fastest run split of 1:27:14. Two years in a row now with 4th place finishes...I think next year I'll have to improve!

Beth at the Awards
My next race is this weekend in Roatan, Honduras. This is a PanAmerican Cup Olympic distance race with Olympic qualifying points.

The Art and Science of Triathlon Conference

February 24-26, 2006
Colorado Springs, CO

I went to this year's Art and Science of Triathlon International Conference at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. I arrived in Colorado a few days early to spend with my friend Cami in hopes of getting in some altitude training, but as luck would have it, I was getting over a sore throat and a sore back while Cami wasn't quite up to training. So, I did some running and swam and rode the trainer twice!! I had a good time visiting nonetheless.

The conference started on Friday afternoon and there were some great speakers, although one did put me to sleep! I won't mention any names though. The conference covered such topics as distance running, swimming, power on the bike, core workouts, youth development and physiology of sport. My friend Cami


There were opportunities to run and swim while at the resort and a nice banquet on Saturday night.






Sharon and Phil Go for a Swim







Rachel Sears and I after our swim

TV Interview on KPIX San Francisco

February 16, 2006

I'm driving home yesterday afternoon after my massage when I get a call from Brent. He askes what I'm up to tomorrow. I told him nothing really as I'm taking a few days off from training because my throat has been a bit scratchy. Then he proceeds to tell me that he's up in San Francisco and that tomorrow (thursday) at 8pm he's going to be interviewed for CBS 5 (KPIX) along with one of the Tour de California HealthNet riders and they are in need of one more person! Then he asks what color my hair is?! I told him it was normal, but should I dye it pink (I had already said I'd love to be on TV!)? Brent said that he had already told the producer about my pink hair and the producer loved it! So needless to say I agreed to dye it pink and head up to SF this afternoon. The interview wasn't scheduled until 8pm.

I got up to SF around 4pm and hung out with Brent until it was time to go to the station. I met the producer Collin and Dennis O'Donnel the sportscaster. We didn't get into the "stage" area until close to 9pm; almost past my bedtime!! Good thing Brent and I stopped for coffee before we went to the station!

It was a 30 minute taped interview that is goind to aire sometime soon. In fact I believe it'll be aired approximately 3 separate times. I need to get the dates from Brent.
It was a round table set-up where Dennis lead the conversation and although I didn't speak much I looked cute with my pink hair! The interview was mostly about the Tour de California with a tid-bit or two about the Escape from Alcatraz which that was why Brent and I were there.

I think it was a bit difficult for a few reasons, the first being I am still inexperienced with speaking in an interview where I felt I didn't have an answer to some of the questions either because I didn't know who they were making reference to or I just couldn't think of something to say. There were four of us on the round table and I was the only female. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with my quietness, but it might have played a small part.

I had a good time and was able to get my name out to a wide variety of people which is always a good idea. I talked with the producer afterwards and I hope that I'll be able to be interviewed in the near future. I'd do much better especially if the questions were directed specifically to me.

I had a great time and am thankful for the experience and will forward to many more TV interviews!

Looking For a Title Sponsor

February 13, 2006

As most of you know, it is quite expensive to do a triathlon. Not only do you have the entry fee, but there is travel, accommodation and training expenses that can be extremely costly. I've calculated my yearly expenses to be over $25,000.

I have an opening for a Title Sponsor this year who would be willing to put up a minimum of $10,000. In return your logo would appear on my racing uniform as well as training gear, bicycle and helmet. I travel not only in the United States, but all over the world and your company will receive great promotions.

If you or someone you know is willing and able to help support my dream of competing in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, please email me at alexis@montereybaymultisport.com .

Together With Love 10k

February 12, 2006

What better way to start off a sunday morning than with a 5 mile warm up to Lover's Point before the 10k race even starts? Yep, I decided that I wanted to get in a long run today so I ran from my house to the race start ( a flat 5 mile warm up), ran the 10k in an okay time 38:26 which was good enough for 1st place and then ran home to get in a total of about 16 miles!

It was a cool morning and the wind picked up ever so slightly during the 10k. I had high hopes of running close to 36 minutes, but after riding long yesterday it didn't happen. That's okay because I've only just begun my speed work; so by the time Spreckles 4th of July 10k comes around I will no doubt be able to run at 36 minutes and hopefully faster.

I stayed with a pack of men for the first half of the run, but noticed that my breathing was a bit too labored and so backed my pace down just a little. My hands were so cold when we started but once I got into the run they eventually thawed out!

I ran a good race for where my training is now and was excited to win a nice pullover sweater and a $100 gift certificate!

It took a little over an hour for the awards ceremony and I was getting cold. Mom, dad and Erin all went out to breakfast while I ran my 5 miles home...very easy of course.

Our Ride to Aptos

February 11, 2006

Jay, Mom, Dad at a bathroom stop

As much as I wanted to ride the Monterey Loop (100 miles) today, I didn't think it smart to jump up 30 miles from my longest ride of 70, so instead Jay and I rode with mom and dad up to Aptos. Jay and I met them at Red's Donut Shop (their local hangout) and to our great surprise, Mindy and Tim were there with their tandem ready to go the distance with us! As luck would have it, Mindy brought their camera and decided that since she would be spending most of her time on the rear seat that she'd take some photos along the way. Unfortunately after viewing these photos I noticed that she is in none of them??? Mindy, we need to rectify that. Next time, I'll take some photos of you!
Jay's filling up bottles

It was a cold and overcast morning and we were all bundled up except for Tim and Mindy who I think run pretty hot. I think it took us a little over 2 hours to ride the 35 miles north to Aptos were we stopped at Surf City Cafe to grab some hot coffee and treats before heading home. At one point the sun did come out just to say a quick hello before ducking behind the clouds again. A headwind on the way up brought a nice tailwind on the way home!

It was great to ride with Mindy and Tim and unfortunately they will be leaving the peninsula in April for the east coast.

I did a short 4 mile run afterward as I plan on running longer tomorrow in the Together with Love 10k run.

Wind Tunnel Testing

January 31, 2006

I had the opportunity to meet up with John Cobb at the wind tunnel near Texas A&M at the end of January. What a great experience to be properly fit on my bike. I've felt for quite some time that my bike just

Me in Texas at the wind tunnel site

wasn't as comfortable as I think it should be and so going to Texas and having professionals fit me was highly valuable. I now have piece of mind knowing that it was done correctly.

After the initial fitting of seat height and saddle position as well as cleat adjustments, I was able to get into the wind tunnel for fine tuning of handle bars, stem and aerobars. Although there was light in the tunnel, it just wasn't enough to be able to get quality photos especially of the huge propeller that was behind
Just outside the wind tunnel

us sucking in the air and then blowing it at me from approximately 30 mph! When the propeller started, it had this deep guttural sound as if something from the depths was coming up to get me. It was a bit creepy to be honest!

Michelle, Patrice and I with ? I didnt' catch his name...oops.

Then about 3 seconds later the wind started to blow. My bike was tightened down on an apparatus similar to a trainer and I was able to pedal. In addition to testing a direct headwind, the platform that my bike was attached to was able to spin ever so slowly so that cross winds could be calculated as well. It's pretty cold in the tunnel and since I was only wearing a bathing suit and a short pair of cycling shorts I tried to pedal a bit quicker to keep warm. My eyes started to tear and my nose to run!

After the first time in the tunnel I guess my position wasn't quite right because in about less than 5 minutes John and Zane had put on a longer stem. (I had a feeling that I needed a longer stem as I have been feeling very "squaty-body" on the bike). I went in for the second time and it felt so much better. Again they gathered

Pre-testing a wheel and fork

data on items like body position, drag and I'm sure a bunch of other things. I'm waiting to receive copies of the data and will hope to have that soon to post.

I now have specific measurements for any bike that I need to set up for long course or IM events. I'm hoping to go back later on this year to get fit for road and short course (Olympic distance) events.

I stayed in Texas with my manager Charlie and his wife and was able to

John and Zane putting on my new stem

train a bit down there. I had a good time in the sun and even got tan; after the burn of course. My motivation has returned and I'm ready to get back into shape. Some of the pics below are extras from my stay in Texas.

Texas has great roads for cycling

Jen, Brian and me inside Lifetime Fitness where I did my swimming while I was in Texas

Clambake Swim Meet

January 21, 2006

One thing that I've wanted to do for a few years now is compete in a swim meet. I did one (this same one actually) about 4 or 5 years ago, but only competed in one or two events as I had no idea what I was doing. Well, this is the year that I am going to compete in a few swim meets and all of the freestyle events I can get into! The first one this year was held at the Patullo Swim Center in Seaside. The meet didn't start until after 10am and so I had time to go for a 7 mile run beforehand...just to warm up!

I was excited, anxious and nervous at the same time. My first event was the 200 Free where I competed against one other women who was older than me. I have done 200's in practice but never in a meet situation...I just swam and came in with a time of 2:19:55. A PR for me! I then had a few minutes before the 500 where there were a couple of women that I swam against. My time for that was 6:14:21. Again a PR for me. My next event was the 50. John Haussermann figured I could go a :29 and so I dove off the blocks and swam as hard as I could and went :29:45! Again a PR!! I was on fire. I guess it's easy to get PR's if you haven't really swum in a meet before!

After the 50, I had about 2 hours to sit and wait while other events were going on. It was nice to visit and cheer other athletes on. I had two events to go the 100 and the 1000 which so happen to be one right after the other without any other events sandwhiched inbetween. Just prior to getting on the blocks John told me to go a 1:02 in the 100; my fastest time before had been a 1:04 and that was a few years ago in practice. I think there were a few women who started with me although I think they were older than me. I swam my heart out and came in on a 1:02:??. I did it!!
I didn't have much time to either swim down or catch my breath before getting back on the blocks to start the 1000, the last event of the day. It was just me and Heidi Haussermann (John's wife) who were brave enough to compete in this event. Eventhough I couldn't see a clock I tried to keep my pace as consistent as possible and even try to pick it up during the end. I really had no idea how to swim this, but figured I just try to keep it strong and as fast as I could. John had given me a few times that he thought I could get...a 13:20 most likely or if I was really going for it a 13:00...Well, like I said I just swam and came in at 12:23:59!! A super time for me and boy did it hurt! I guess I even swam my first 500 of the 1000 faster than my 500 earlier in the day!! I think I just need to get a really good warm-up before races!

Other local athletes that competed and did an outstanding job (although I don't have their times) are Philip Darst, Tim (I don't know your last name), Heidi and John Haussermann and Les Waddel. We all had a great time and encourage other athletes to attend swim meets in the future.

Our New Business

Sharon Osgood (affectionately known as Shozgood) and I have recently begun our own coaching business. Please check out our website, www.montereybaymultisport.com . It is still in the beginning stages, but we will hopefully be updating it soon.
If you or someone you know is looking for a multisport coach, please check us out.

Rio Resolution Run

Happy New Year! 2006

What does an athlete do to ring in the New Year?? Run a hilly 6.5mile race of course; when she hasn't run hills or track work. Basically to get her lazy butt off the couch, stop eating chocolate and junk food and get back into race shape.
So, at 9am on 1-1-06 the race started. It was a drizzly morning and a bit cold but I figured I'd warm up quickly on the uphill trails. I soon found myself in the lead (for the women). I kept my pace strong throughout the course even when the wind whipped up and felt like a wall pushing me backwards. I pushed it in to the finish to place first women with a time of 40:06 only 5 seconds ahead of 2nd place!
Want to know how I knew I was out of shape??? I was SOOO sore for 4 days afterwards!!
This race was just the kick in the pants I needed to start my early season training. After I took a few days easy of course.
I hope your New Year's Day was as rewarding as mine was!

Treasure Island Triathlon

November 5, 2005

Three weeks after the Hawaii Ironman I was back at it again, this time the olympic distance at Treasure Island in San Francisco, CA. My last race of the season and I was definitely ready for it to be over.
The race started in the afternoon and the water temperature at this race is always cold. My face, hands and feet are always numb after the swim.
The start was a bit nerve-wracking as I tried to stay with a group for as long as possible. These starts seem to be getting more brutal each year with all of us trying to jockey for position. I just want some feet to hang onto! I got in with a pretty good group, maybe the third pack of women and stayed with them until the end. My swim time was 23:19. I hoisted myself onto the exit deck and ran with numb feet to my transition area while unzipping my wetsuit. I was able to get onto my bike pretty fast and quickly found myself with approximately 5 other women! Great...a pack to ride with. The only women I remember being with were Katja Schumacher and Maggie Shapiro. It was just the three of us that were taking pulls with Maggie doing most of the work because she was stronger than the rest of us. Katja also competed in Hawaii and did very well over there. So needless to say both of our legs were pretty shot. After a few laps it was just the three of us as we had dropped the other women on the short climb. There were a total of 6 laps total for the ride and on the 4th lap I was leading our pack up the start of the climb and decided to pull off and let Maggie go ahead of me and I'd drop in behind Katja. Well, my plan backfired! Maggie stood up and put the pedal to the metal while Katja followed suit and I did not have the power in my legs to catch Katja's real wheel and I saw the two of them slip away from me. The two girls caught the next pack and I was left alone to try and catch them. I rode the last two laps by myself as hard as I could but to no avail. I should have known better. But it was a good learning lesson and reminder! I won't do that again. My cycling time was 1:08:45.
After those two grueling laps I finally entered T2 and headed out onto the run to try and catch as many girls as I could. Not only was I not in the top 10 coming out of T2, but my overall standings in the Tri-Cal Pro Series were slipping and I had to do something.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me that day and I was able to pass a few girls to come in 10th place! Whewww. Katja and Maggie came in 9th and 8th respectively...so I figure if I could have stuck with them on the bike I could've placed a bit higher, but these races are still learning lessons even for us pros! My run time was 37:10. For an overall time of 2:10:55.
As far as the Tri-Cal Pro Series is concerned I placed 2nd! Thanks to Leanda Cave who came in first and bested Becky Lavelle. If Becky had won the race, she would've bumped me from second and I would've been out of luck. There's always next year...for us all.

The Dream Came True

It was 1986 and I was 12 years old when I saw my mom and dad compete at the Hawaii Ironman. I remember running along side of my dad in my flip-flops while he was somewhere in the beginning of the marathon. I wanted to continue running with him as he was having a hard time because of the heat and I think he knew he wasn’t going to be able to finish as tears welled up in his eyes. I told him I wish I had my running shoes so that I could run the whole thing with him and he’d be able to finish. I wasn’t able to go very far with him and I soon turned around to wait with my grandma at the finish line. He didn’t finish because of dehydration; my mom though finished and I was able to see her come across the finish line. It was here that the dream to compete in Ironman was first established; at twelve years old I knew that someday I’d come back to compete here and someday win.


At 3:45am on October 15, 2005 I awoke, gathered my race equipment and Jay, mom, dad, Erin, my cousin Serena and I drove from our hotel in Captain Cook to Starbucks. This was the day that I had been dreaming about for 18 years and I needed to start the day off right, with a cup of coffee! I tried to eat some oatmeal as well, but because I was nervous I don’t think I got a lot of food in. We walked from Starbucks down to the transition area where I was body marked. I proceeded to put my nutrition gels into the bike and run gear bags and then tape my Power Bars and electrolyte pills to my top tube. I double and even triple checked to make sure I had everything on my bike and then walked out of transition to meet up with Jay and my folks. I found my dad and Erin waiting for me, but Jay, Serena and my
mom had gone to secure a place to sit on the sea wall to watch the start. Dad and Erin helped me put on sunscreen and stayed with me until it was time to get to the water. The each wished me good luck and gave me a huge hug.
As I waited on the stairs before entering the beach, I finished off a gel with some water and said hello to a few of my competitors. I would wear my pink and silver Speedo suit with a silver one-piece fast skin over the top to help with fluid dynamics. Once the swim was over I’d take off the top suit and complete the race in just the swimsuit. The water was a bit chilly at 6:30 and it took me a bit to get used to it. I did a nice warm up and kept moving until it was time to line up in the water underneath a rope that designated the start line. Our start time was 6:45am. The group of professionals were getting anxious and kept inching forward while the officials were telling us to keep moving back behind the line. I guess someone got jumpy and started to swim and then the rest of us started as well. I didn’t hear the cannon go off until a few seconds after we had started. I thought that we might actually get called back because someone false started, but we didn’t…they just let us go.

I’m not sure how many of us started but I’m glad that the amateurs didn’t start until 15 minutes after we did, as it was a bit crowded out there for us. It took a while for our group to eventually spread out and I did get hit a few times by some girl. I stayed with a group of people for quite some time and then for some reason I found myself alone. I saw ahead of me a group and I thought I’d better pick it up to catch them. I eventually did and stayed with them for the remainder of the swim. I kept it comfortable as this was my first 2.4-mile swim without a wetsuit and I thought there was not a huge advantage to swim as fast as I could in this distance race. I finished the swim in 1:02; slower than I had originally wanted to, but I exited the water with some of the top women in the sport. I exited the water and ran past the T1 gear bags, grabbed mine and headed straight into the change tent. Across from me was Desiree Ficker; I said hi as I quickly took off my outer swimsuit and grabbed my sunnys and race belt and headed out of the change tent to my bike. I put my helmet on, got the bike and ran out to the mount line.

The first section on the bike course was a figure eight that was partly a false flat on the way out on Kuakini Highway with a nice downhill on the way back towards town and then a nice short uphill on Palani Dr. to the Queen K highway. Here is where we’d stay for the majority of the 112-mile ride. I had originally thought that this course was basically flat with high winds and humidity. I was wrong. It’s not extremely hilly, but there were undulating rollers and I had to get out of the saddle a few times too.

The week before the race I rode out from Kaiwaehi towards Hawi. This is typically where high winds and gusts normally made it difficult for the competitors. I was very thankful for the two women who invited me along to go with them, Lydia and Diana; two amateur athletes who raced here before and knew the course. That 24-mile ride was one of the scariest rides I’ve done! (The scariest was riding across the Golden Gate Bridge one day with 45-mile/hour winds…I actually sat down on the bridge and hung on to my bike for dear life. It would have blown away if I hadn’t…but I digress.) I couldn’t even get down on my aero bars for fear that I’d be blown into the street or worse, off of my bike. I was thinking to myself, “why did I want to do this? I could have done a different IM.” After this short ride, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to pre-ride it or not. Oh well. But it really sucked! So on race day when I was getting closer to the windy section, I kept my eye on the ocean. If there were horrible wind chop I would know that the wind would be horrendous. I also kept my eye on the athlete in front of me…if they wavered into the street, then I should be aware that it would happen to me and to hang on! Well, there was no wind chop on the ocean and the athletes seemed to be just fine. There was a head wind up to Hawi, but a nice tail wind on the way back. Just past the turn around there was the special needs pickup. I slowed down a bit to make sure I could grab my bag. I was really looking forward to drinking my Red Bull and hoping it would give me wings when I got the bottle and realized that the top had popped off and spilled into the bag leaving only two sips in the bottle! I was bummed. I took the two sips and tossed the bottle to the side. Got my other bottle and my gel flask and threw the bag to a volunteer. I now had a tail wind and a downhill and wish that I could have pushed the pedals harder. For some reason I just didn’t have the extra energy to do so. I don’t know if I didn’t have enough to eat, not trained enough or was just tired. Maybe it was a combination of all three? I couldn’t wait to be done with the bike, especially with about 25 miles to go as the big toe on my right foot started to ache. It was almost more than an ache, but a sharp pain that would come and go. I contemplated taking my foot out of the shoe and resting it on top to let it breath and let my toes stretch out; but then I thought that if I did that I wouldn’t want to put my foot back in the shoe, so I opted to leave it in there and then relish at T2 when I could eventually take it out. People kept passing me during the later part of the ride and I kept thinking to myself that it was okay…I still had to run a marathon and I would hopefully pass a good chunk of those who’d passed me on the bike. Oh and another thing that blew my mind was a 55 year old guy passed me on the bike! I couldn’t believe it. Then I had some women over 45 pass me too! Holy crap. Was I going really slow or what?

I was so thankful when I took my feet out of my shoes, entered T2 and handed my bike to a volunteer! My bike split was 5:41, which averages out to 19.7mph. I grabbed my run bag and went into the change tent; took my time adjusting my toes, putting on my socks and shoes, grabbing my run race belt all the while a volunteer was putting sunscreen on me…thank you! I exited the change tent, grabbed a cup of water and was on the run course. The first section of the run, approximately 10 miles was an out and back section on Kuakini Highway and Alii Dr.
It was great to see so many spectators and friends of mine out there that I didn’t even know would be there! I felt good during this section and tried to keep my pace even. This section had a few small rolling hills, but was otherwise flat until I got to Palani Dr. and had to run up a good size climb while the spectators where cheering and yelling quite fiercely for every athlete out there. Once you get to the top, you make a left hand turn onto the Queen K and head north towards the Natural Energy Lab. I tried to take as many sips from my gel flask as possible, but at some point, you just don’t want to have another gel! I had to force myself to keep ingesting it. There were still athletes heading toward the finish on their bikes as I made my way down towards Energy Lab (EL). Even though I knew it was warm outside, only once did I actually feel hot; running out of the EL with the sun on my back. Of course I used the sponges at every aid station and took in fluids too.

I did not take a look at this part of the course before the race, so I had no idea how far I actually had to run before we made our turn around and headed home and out of EL. I was going to ask someone near me, but thought that I better not. I would just keep running. It was about a mile and a half I would guess before I reached the turn around. It was such a good site to see. By looking at some of the other competitors’ faces I knew I was in pretty good shape although I knew also that my pace had slowed and I no longer felt that snappy feeling. What I really wanted to do I remember was brush my teeth! Was I delirious? Maybe. Funny how random thoughts are allowed in when you’re out there for so long. Heading toward the finish along the Queen K and making that right turn down Palani Dr. was really something. There were still loads of spectators cheering the athletes with approximately one mile to go. Ahead of me I saw a pro women and knew that I had to catch her. I picked up my pace and steadily ran by her. The crowds were now so much more intense on Alii Dr. that I couldn’t help but pick up my pace again and with my signature pink hair and gleaming smile I ran through the finish chute weaving back and forth slapping spectators hands like I had just finished first. My marathon time was 3:33; 10 minutes slower here than at Lake Placid. My overall time was 10:22:02 and with that time I placed 32/54 pro women.
As soon as I crossed the line, two volunteers were right beside me just in case! I had told myself though that I would not need the medical tent this time around and I didn’t. I was escorted out of the finishing area to pick up my finisher’s shirt and medal, get photographed and finally reuniting with my family and boyfriend, Jay.

We walked over to get a massage and I wish it could have lasted longer! I started to get cold, so we wandered over to the hot tub where I soaked until I was warm while chatting with one of my competitors. I then got into the pool to cool off and then make our way to the transition to pick up the rest of my gear and then find a place to eat dinner! I did have a few stomach issues afterwards and by that I just mean some cramping. I was extremely exhausted and other than wanting to eat, I also wanted to sleep! By the time we finished dinner and drove the 25 minutes back to Captain Cook all I wanted to do was take a shower and get to bed.


The next morning I found myself to be quite sore and had the IM gimp going on. You don’t know what that is??? It’s the walk that almost every competitor has that signifies that you raced IM the day before. You can’t miss it. We had a nice breakfast and then headed to the beach to rest and relax and catch some sun. That evening was the awards ceremony and it was a nice presentation. We stayed almost to the very end, but again knew that we had a bit of a drive ahead of us to get home.

All in all, I had a great experience out there and now know what I need to work on for the next time around.

In 2005 an 18-year-old dream came true.

Speaking Engagement at Monterey High School

On Friday October 28 at 9am I will be speaking to a class at Monterey High School, my alma mater. This will be the 4th time I've been asked to come and speak about triathlons. I enjoy telling people what I do and how I started into the sport. I hope that I inspire people to try triathlons or any healthy activity.

If you or your company is interested in having me come and speak, please feel free to contact me at trigirlcali@hotmail.com.

On the Radio

I will be a guest on David Waite's Can't Get Enough Sports show on KNRY 1240 Am radio today at 4pm. This will be my first radio show. If you are able to, please listen as I know it'll be a good time.