Kaiser Permanente 1/2 marathon

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to join a bunch of runners at the Kaiser Permanente half marathon. Rujeko and I decided to run this together as a preparation for the upcoming Oakland Marathon which we also are going to run together. I am going to pace her, hopefully, to a Boston marathon qualifying time.

We woke up pretty early as we needed to drive all the way to the Golden Gate Park. After scrambling to get my stuff together we started the drive. It was uneventful until we got to the area where the finish line was supposed to be. Apparently everybody else thought to get there on time as well, and by the time we got there, not only there wasn’t any parking nearby, but the amount of cars in the road was amazing. Little by little we made it out of there and decided to park at close to the starting line. And again, I think everybody thought the same thing as the amount of cars circulating the starting line was just as crazy as the finish line. Somehow, we made it into the Golden Gate Park parking lot, expensive, but we had little to spare. We got into the parking lot, changed into our running clothes and made to the start.

We made it to the starting line and after a quick visit to “the bushes” for me and the porta-potty for Rujeko; we were in among 10,000 runners ready to start the run.

The weather was wonderful, not too cold or hot, perfect running conditions. Now, bear in mind that I have been experiencing some plantar fasciitis issues, so I didn’t know if was going to be able to run the whole thing yet alone pace Rujeko to a decent finish time. Thank God I was able to run the whole thing and did not have to stop at all.

We clocked our first mile in 9:13 minutes, not too shabby, but taking in consideration we were navigating lots and lots of slow people… second mile was 8:13… now we were talking… That was a more decent pace… We kept a good pace until about mile 9 or 10. At that time we slowed down considerably, it got hotter and Rujeko wasn’t feeling good. We ran well when we felt good, and slowed down during the rest stations. Our nutrition strategy worked well, and drinking patterns was awesome. Not issues with nutrition, we just need to do a bit more speed work. At the end we ended up finishing in 1:52:35 which is a decent 8:35 minute per mile average. Taking in consideration that our first mile was pretty slow, we actually ran faster than 8:35 mpm after mile 1. Not bad really…

All in all, this was a great experience and looking forward to run the Oakland marathon together too... woohoo!!

Unfortunately at the end, we learned that a fellow runner died on the course that day.That is pretty sad and I wonder why? Apparentely there was a slow response from the emergency team. It took 22 minutes from the time they were notified to the time they actually arrived on the scene. That seems a lot... don't you think?

Pictures? Damn it.. We forgot our camera!!

A new beginning

It has been a while since I wrote in this blog.. I have been so busy, but I want to start once again. This is the first of many posts this year I am sure of it.

A short recap of 2010…

It was an awesome year indeed. I got to run in many trails, I got to bike some major bike rides and finally the most important news of them all, I got engaged AND purchased a house. Yep, that is right, I am engaged to a wonderful and beautiful woman. Looking forward to the future.

I also continued my CrossFit adventures and they are getting better and better. I keep posting great times and I also realize that CrossFit is like math, the more you do it the better you get at it. It has been an amazing journey, and because of that I feel younger and fitter than I ever felt before. I workout at Carlos CrossFit, a great place I proudly call my own. In there you grunt, you sweat and increase your performance. They offer no mirrors, no chrome, just results; which is a great slogan if you ask me.

This year, my racing calendar is pretty cool it involves a little bit of everything. Here are the most important races I expect to complete.

Oakland marathon March/26

Lake Sonoma 50 M April/2

Miwok 100K May/7

San Diego 100 Miler June/11

Ironman Wisconsin Sep/11

In addition to competing on IMWI, I am also taking a trainer role. I am training a couple of individuals to compete and complete IMWI. It is going to be fun. I will post updates here on that front as well.

So there you have it… those are my A races for this year. Of course there will be others, the PCTR trail runs calendar is very enticing, I am sure I will be on those trails a lot.

Now, keeping checking back, I will post regularly from now on…

Thanks for reading.

Mount Diablo 50K

So last Friday I was making plans to have a mellow weekend.. I thought.. a nice easy ride on Saturday, probably a 12 mile run on Sunday but other than that it was going to be an easy mellow weekend… or so I thought..

I got a Facebook invitation from Janet to run Mount Diablo 50K with her and Abe.. Abe is Janet’s friend currently training for Western States 100. I saw the wall post and I had my mind made up…huh… thank you.. but no thank you.. I just have reconnected with some friends from elementary school and junior high. Some of them my age are already grandparents… I mentioned to this “friend” that was trying to get me to run Diablo with her. S he said…. "Well prove you are not a grampa… come run with us"… and that is all it took. All of the sudden I was frantically trying to sign up on line, I got a friendly reminder from Sara saying that registration had been closed, but I could still sign up on site.. I went home and found my running gear. All I needed now was a good night of sleep and some carbo-loading. Friday afternoon was beautiful so I thought.. I should go somewhere I can sit outside and enjoy the fine sunny afternoon. I joined Rujeko in Redwood City and we went to the only place that it had available outside sitting outside, Milagros a Mexican restaurant. Now… bear in mind, I was trying to carbo-load for a long run the following day… I ended up eating lots of avocado, chips and salsa, corn and beans and other Mexican delights.. NOT necessarily a good pre-race meal.

The day of the race I woke up early… the sun was already up and I couldn’t help but smile of the crazy thing I was about to do.. I dressed; put Vaseline in “certain” locations to make sure I was not going to chafe, and I even had enough time to put a load of laundry. For breakfast, a banana, a power bar and a glass of orange juice was on the menu, and I was on my way to pick up my running buddy.

We drove to Mount Diablo, it had been a while since we saw each other so we had time to chat about the new developments in our very sedentary lives. And then I could feel my stomach doing something that it shouldn’t be doing, not on race day anyway. Just before arriving to Mount Diablo Janet spotted a Peet’s caffee and I made a really fast turn to get in there… it was a relief to have found that place, not necessarily for the coffee or tea but for its “facilities” . Thank you Peet’s coffee.

The start, picture by Alan Geraldi

We arrived at the race start and it was great to see all of the ultra peeps. I met Janet’s friend, Abe. He is training for WS100. And of course it was great to see Sara from PCTR. Like always, in every ultra, everybody was smiling and feeling optimistic about the day which by the way it promised to deliver a nice warm weather for us. Mount Diablo did not disappoint. I haven’t run a single Mount Diablo when it isn’t hot. I mean, is that why they call it Mount Diablo, cuz it is always hot?

Janet and I just before the start of the race.

After listening to the instructions we were off. We knew it was going to be a long steady day so we stay at the very back of the pack… a Million people passed us and we were totally unconcerned about “racing”, we just were happy to be there and running that mountain. The morning was already hot and humid and I just coulnd’t imagine how much hotter it was going to get. I started taking in water pretty fast and took salt pills with earnest. I knew I was going to need them if I wanted to have a good day in the mountain. My tummy was making noises and I was afraid that eventually that Mexican food I had for dinner the day before was going to catch up with me… thankfully it didn’t at all.s the day went by I completely forgot about it.

Now going up in Mount Diablo is not easy, there are places where even footing is a challenge. Running is Not an option in many sections as it is very steep and very technical with many loose rocks and…. well… it is very steep.. I said that before right?. Abe caught up with us and we ran together until the first aid station. We stopped, we drank, and we ate, we chatted and continued our run toward the top. The day was already very hot and Janet and I were overheating. We remember that there was an aid station at the top; however this aid station was missing. This is the first time we do the 50K, so it is possible that the aid station at the top there only on the day of the 50Miler. Thank God there was a water fountain where we could actually refill our water bottles and be on our way once again.

We reached the aid station at Juniper campground where we made another quick stop and put our hands on that delicious fruit they had there. Watermelon and melon dipped in salt never tasted so good, and bananas too.. And of course, the coke… what a life saver coke on race days is. I never drink cola except on race days, it is awesome. Heather Van Ness managed to pour cold water on us and that was a nice touch. We said our goodbyes and we were on our way… As soon as we reached Mitchell Canyon Road which is the flat section of the run, we kept seeing people walking and some had children. So we kept assuming that the finish line was just around the corner… but it wasn’t. We finally made it to the end. We ate and drank some and we were back for seconds..

Janet and I finishing the first 25K

Now running in this mountain is always something special, the views are amazing. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera this time so I did not have many pictures, so I’m “stealing” some from different places and friends that took them on that day. The second loop was obviously slower, hotter and harder. However, I was in good company and we knew it was going to be a long hard day.

What is next… I don’t even know.. It could be another 50K… or a ride or something. One thing is for sure, I am so blessed to be able to do this and most importantly to have friends that challenge me all the time. As people, our lives are influenced and shaped by a bunch of factors... and relationships are definitely at the top of the list. I have been influenced by my parents, brothers and sisters, teachers, friends etc. My values habits, behaviors, passions and attitudes are definitely learned through association with others. I am so glad to have found great friends that inspire and encourage me… for that.. I am very thankful.

Happy kids... the start of the second loop...

Miwok 100K

A quick recap of last year… the weather was horrible, I missed the starting line and it was cold, it was wet and it was windy… with all that I did better than this year.. What gives?

I could go on and blame it on my crew? Oopss.. I didn’t have one… Or I could say that I slept through my alarm Opps.. I woke up and I got a friendly call from my ride.. Or I could say it was my nutrition or perhaps the shoes… I could blame it on the weather… nope that will not go neither since it was a glorious day.. Damn it... Then what went wrong? LOL..

Look at the views.. aren't they amazing?

I got an early wakeup call from my ride, Amy an awesome friend who was coming to volunteer for the first time. I did everything right the day before.. I even went to bed early. When she called me I got out of bed jumped in the shower did my regular pre-race routine with plenty of time to spare. We drove to the starting line, got checked in and took a little nap before the start.

Check the profile... it is over 10,000 feet of elevation gain.. And the downhills are just brutal.

I woke up a couple of minutes before the start, got rid of most of my clothes as it promised to be a gorgeous warm day. I kept my arm warmers and my San Carlos CrossFit shirt... I made it to the starting line said hi to a couple of friends and we were off. The morning was glorious; the smell of the ocean was intoxicating and the views… OMG.. I cannot describe how beautiful was that morning… I could tell that we were going to have great weather it wasn’t cold or windy. It was just perfect for a nice 100K run…. And we were off….. And we were stuck. The race starts at the beach and then it goes into the trails pretty fast and there is not enough room to accommodate all the runners at the same time.. So unless you are a top dog you just have to wait and wait until all runners get on a single file and start the climb right away.

Check out another view.. this climb was long...

It was a great start for me and I was afraid to get sand in my shoes. I had that happen when I ran Headlands 100 with some very unpleasant consequences. I managed to avoid that which was a blessing. As the day went by I soon realize that I was going a little bit too fast. I tried to maintain a pace that definitely was a bit too fast for me… You know you are in trouble when you start seeing little rainbows in dry weather, and or you feel a bit dizzy…. That is how I felt just as I was passing the Bolinas Ridge aid station. All I wanted was some Sugar something that will lift me up. I knew right away that I was going to be in trouble and I wasn’t even half way there..

I ran a bit with Erika Lindland and then she left me in the dust, then I ran a bit with Victoria Folks and she also left me in the dust, ran with Catra Corbett and her bad ass self left me in the dust as well, and then my buddy Brian Harvey also left me in the dust. All I wanted to do was to sit down and never get up. Somehow I found the motivation to keep going.. I knew I was going to finish I just didn’t know how long was going to take and The ONLY time that I seriously consider quitting was on the return at the Tennessee valley aid station.. Good thing Amy was there cuz she motivated me to keep on going… and MY GOD I was spent by then. I was kind of dizzy then…

I tried to hang with Catra, I coudn't.
Remember pain is weakness leaving the body and you left a lot at Miwok (Catra Corbett)

But back to the race… starting in Rodeo Beach we go to Tennessee Valley via some trails I have never been on, they seemed different this year.. or perhaps was just the change of weather. The views were amazing not matter the time, no matter in which direction you look. It was a glorious day indeed… what a difference from a year ago when the weather conditions were totally different. Some days are magical and some days are just miserable, and this one was beginning to seem like the former… it terms of weather that is.. But definitely miserable in terms of how I felt. I remember that infamous time when I got lost in Mount Diablo and it took me almost 8 hours to complete a marathon… even then I wasn’t feeling like I was feeling on Sunday. By far, this is the worst I have felt in a long, long time.

Coming back from Randall aid station, into Bolinas Ridge aid station, runners would usually pick their pacers there.. And I could totally see the difference between those of us running solo and those with pacers. All of the sudden I was being passed by all runners and their pacers, I even tried to shadow a couple, at not avail. I was spent and no matter how much effort I was going to put, I wasn’t going to get any faster so I decided to suck it up and just survive the rest of the way. I knew I was going to be slow, the only question was how much slower than last year?

.

After what seemed like forever I reached the Tennessee Valley aid station, my lowest point in the race, but somehow I found to motivation to keep moving and so I was on my way with Amy’s blessing. The last climb was hard and then the very last part of the race was the hardest.. This one is a bunch of stairs and loose rocks going down steeply and then there is this damn paved bike trail that seems never to end. UGH!! At this moment every single step was painful and I just wanted it to be over with. I could see the finish line from the ridge, but I could also see the paved road ahead and I hated it, I hated every single step of that damn pavement. Then it was the final stretch… a hiker started to scream when she read the back of my shirt (San Carlos CrossFit), and she said that is where I am from. I hobble to the end, got my medal and my finisher’s bag… said hi to a few people but what I really wanted is to sit down and just pass out. After I picked up my swag met my ride and we left the site to grab a bite to eat. I ate and then I just crashed in the car, apparently there was a big traffic problem, I never saw it. The next time I opened my eyes I was already in front of my house. Took a shower and went to bed, the day was done..

This is the very last paved descent ugh.. brutal, I just couldn't run anymore and even walking was painful.

When I think of this day I think of an amazing lesson I learned. I learned that we all have wonderful days and sometimes things do not go the way we envision them to go. Some days are great, some days aren’t, and sometimes I will do great, others I won’t. However not matter who shows up (a great day or a miserable one) I am in control of how I react to them. Today might be a bad day, but there will be a sunrise and a sunset the next day, life goes on and so will I.

Solvang Double Century Bike Ride

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving” (Albert Einstein)


The city of Solvang CA, pretty nice town.. Didn't have much time to check it out..

Last year when planning my running schedule for 2010, I thought I would like to become a better biker.. Well, the only way to get better at biking is to get on the bike and ride… so with that thought and the encouragement of Janet I signed up for two major biking events this year… The Solvang double century and the Death Ride.. This is the race report of the Solvang Double century…

Check out the elevation profile....

And let me tell you something about training for a double century… My God it is hard. Not much on your legs but on your buttocks and on the time you get to do something else. So I after I did my share of riding I finally felt ready… Going into tapering I was nervous but I was also excited.

On Friday before the race I drove south to Solvang… Janet, my training buddy, had to work so she was going to meet me in Solvang that night. I did not go to work on Friday so I could drive slow and take my time.. So I packed the night before and on Friday I left aiming to get to Solvang by 6pm. I was excited but also a little nervous. This was the first time I was going to ride for so long and also ride at night, I did not know what to expect.

Bikes all nice and secured on the roof of my car to take the 5+ hour ride to Solvang.

My commitment to become a better rider meant that I needed to step out of my comfort zone and actually embrace the challenge. And I did, I spent long hours on the bike, climbed lots of hills and became comfortable to be able to get out on my bike at any given day and ride lots. Interestingly when I signed up for this race I didn’t know what to expect, thus I was stressed and afraid. But, I really tried to use the fear in my training, Fear is our biggest enemy, and “Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing” After I put the time on the saddle in training I thought, well I am ready, and I hope I will get to the finish line.

The drive was uneventful, I stopped at the outlet mall in Gilroy and got myself a few essentials, a new pair of shorts and a new biking jacket.. I arrived to the host hotel and checked us in, got our bib numbers and checked out their merchandise. The mood was pretty relaxed; it reminded me of the ultra marathon culture. Everybody is just relaxed and it seemed that everybody had done more than one double century… And here I am doing my first one, and did not know what to expect the next day.


After checking in, I drove to the grocery store and found myself some breakfast food. Stopped at a local Italian restaurant and order some carbs, drove to the hotel put our bikes in the room, inflated the tires, and sat down to enjoyed the rest of the evening…

Ride day..
We got up around 4:30 am… checked our bikes one more time, checked tire pressure, food etc. As soon as I stepped out of the room I thought to myself… Damn it is cold. I didn’t know how cold it was, but I sure felt it. Drove to the start, parked the car, checked in and we were on our way… First things first, I turned on up my lamp and Janet asked… “so you got the extra battery right?” I am like.. “What extra battery?” Luckily I had an extra flash light, a head lamp which actually worked well. But man it was cold and dark too. My poor hands and my feet were in pain not to mention my face as well. I wasn’t prepared for this kind of cold.. I couldn’t wait for the sun to show up and warm us up. We settled in a good rhythm, not too fast, not too slow, just consistent.. Then we hit the wind and OMG it was brutal, Janet and a couple of other people were a bit ahead of me and I could see them tilting over a bit, was a funny sight. And I am sure I was doing the same, a lady passed us and told us that we were riding funny, and I thought to myself, so this is what crosswinds feel like.. ugh!!


So then the sun started to warm up and I can feel my extremities come back to life. It felt good until I felt a sharp pain on the side of my leg, my IT band was starting to flare up and we were not even half way there. I got really scared, I could not pedal without pain and I felt absolutely horrible. We reached the second rest stop at mile 86 or so and I tried to stretch a little and took some ibuprofen and we were in our way. The funny thing about all of this that I remember me riding, but I truly don’t remember what was going through my head at that moment. I just remember I was in pain and it was a miserable time. We left the second rest stop and after a while the pain subsided (Thank God for Ibuprofen) and I felt strong again. I kept eating my newly discovered home made energy bars. They were good and filling and obviously were working. Janet had to remind me to eat as I tend to forget that…

One of the aid stations....

This is new to me... I never park my bike like that... ;)

The rest of the ride just got better and better. I think that the first century was harder than the second century. Once I passed the 120 mile mark which has been my longest ride ever, it was uncharted territory from there. But I felt stronger as the day went on… It was great.. We stopped for lunch and all they had was Subway sandwiches all with meat, I asked for vegetarian and of course they didn’t have any. I am glad I brought my own food including a can of goods which I almost forgot at the rest station. Thankfully Janet casually reminded me “are these your nuts?” A guy looked at us and started to laugh, he said “if you had that on video that would had been a great funny one”. We talked about that incident throughout the rest of the ride.

Are these your nuts?

No bad incidents to report, Thank God… except Janet got a Flat tire. She got a flat coming down on a very steep downhill.. She managed to get to the bottom of the hill. We changed her tire, took a well deserved break and we were in our way once again. I think, for me, this particular forced break was a blessing. Yes, we were coming out of a downhill, but I was really tired by now. We rode through some really nice areas including Morro Bay, along the beach in Pismo Beach, and by San Luis Obispo. All sights in this entire ride were freaking awesome, I was thinking that it was really a great day for a ride.

Janet chewing something or something.. :)

At mile 176 or so we had our last rest stop. It was here where we changed to our warm clothes once again. I put on my tights, arm warmers and jacket as the temperature was beginning to drop once again. We also got our flashlights ready for the night to come, ate some, and we were in our way for the last effort. Well as soon as we left the aid station we were welcomed to a very steep climb. The Drum Canyon climb, the road was very rough and then it got night and really dark. We managed to leave a few people behind as we were motivated to finish. We saw some people walking their bikes, but after a grueling day with more that 170 miles on the saddle there is no shame on that. The road was very rough and after we reached the summit we had to go down which was a challenge as it was steep, dark and the asphalt very rough. We managed to get down in one piece, and then it was just a few more miles to the finish line. Those were happy moments, we kept thinking.. WE DID IT.. Wow… I was happy and the best thing of all is that we finished in one piece, within the time limit and we finished strong.

Happy kids the day after.. :) We did it... Woohoo!!

I keep thinking.. Man I am such a lucky man. I am healthy, I got amazing friends including some as crazy as I am that will actually do this with me, and I feel blessed.

Rodeo 50K, an elvish experience..

The last adventure of the year… The PCTR Rodeo Beach 50K.

Fabric $7.00
Tights $3.50
Running 50K in an elf costume- Priceless

A year ago we ran the Muir beach 50K, in that particular race a friend. (Fred Ecks) decided to run as Santa. Janet and I told him that if he was up to, we wanted to be his elves next year (this year). He moved away to Colorado (poor guy), and well, we decided to do it anyway…

Fred Ecks, I mean Santa running Muir Beach 50K last year.

Of course we did not want to spent lots of money on costumes, so we searched for an affordable costume idea.. I found one and we decided to go for it.
The weekend before, Janet and I decided to go for a double Dip Sea trail run. It was her first long run in a while and it was my return to the trails. I had been training for the Ironman in flat easy courses, so needless to say the experience was a little painful. OMG, after we were done with the dipsea trail, we were in pain. And for the whole week following the run I was very sore…. It was laughable, really. We used to train in this trail all the time and now… well obviously we are out of shape.

The day of the double dipsea run, we drove to the fabric store, parked the car and the minute I got out, I realized how much my poor legs ached. I was limping and laughing at the same time, Janet was in the same condition. We found the fabric and bought enough for the costumes and left. Jon Burg and Kim Evanson joined in the festivities. And all of the sudden we were about to have a host of elves running this 50K. Lazy elf (me), Sleepy Elf (Janet) Finisher Elf (Jon), Doctor Elf (Kim), Honorary Elf (nicole). Jon being a Costume making expert managed a really “aerodynamic” and more professionally made attire than ours

Just when we got there.. we look like dorks huh?

The day of the race we got there early, put our costume on and left the car. I have never dressed up for a race, and I don’t think Janet also. Jon on the other hand is always looking for excuses to dress up… We got lots of smiles from the fellow competitors, lined up at the start and waited for the GO from Wendell.. It was a fun start; people kept giving us compliments and looks of disbelief since we were planning to run the 50K "on that".

At the startting line.. from left to right, Finisher Elf, Lazy Elf, Sleepy Elf and Doctor (Cool) Elf.

The best thing of all is dressing up and running a great race with friends. Honorary Elf (Nicole) was doing her first 50K on this race, one of her goals for this year. She had no idea that she was going to be embarrassed by a host of crazy elves.. She did not have a good start but managed to hang on.Her stomach was not collaborating. We, being magical creatures and all, were bouncing along the trail having a great time. We even managed to find Santa. He was riding a horse (not a raindeer), and was wearing a bike helmet…. Obviously NOT the real Santa. We took a picture of him anyway.

The weather was perfect, although a little windy on the ridges, but for the most part it was an amazing day. Perfect weather conditions for running. The best thing of the whole race, people and the fact that we were there to have fun and nothing else.

Look at this sight... What an amazing day it was.

Finisher Elf tackling the stairs..

Taking a little break, what a beautiful day it was..


The lost Elf... Sabrina a member of my running group.

A funny thing happened, we were at the finish line, after the first loop so we needed to get out and do another smaller loop to finish the 50K. As we were getting ready to leave, the first male (Nathan Yanko) came in breaking the course record. WTF? He finished in the 50K in the same time it took us to finish 30K and he wasn’t wearing an elf costume nor was he a magical creature. We laughed and went back to finish the race. Nicole was feeling a lot better then, we talked, we laughed, we talked some more, we laughed some more and then we had less than two miles left. So we picked up the pace… Didn’t want Nicole to believe that all 50K’s were this easy, well it didn’t work, she finished ahead of us and with a big smile in her face. She is officially an ultrarunner now. Welcome to the dark side of running Nicole.. I hope to see you on the trails for more fun and I promise you, they get better and harder too, I wonder what your goal is for 2010?

This is the spot where Nicole became an official ultra runner.. At mile 26 or so... yay Nicole..

After the finish, she holding her "not longer a 50K virgin" coaster from PCTR.

Ironman Arizona

Well, So I drove 12 hours from San Mateo to Tempe AZ . I was not looking forward to the return, but I knew it was going to be just as great. You see, I had to make a decision a while back, drive or fly. I always wanted to go on a road trip and since I signed for this IM, I decided I wanted to drive, fast forward a year later and BAM I was in my way to AZ and after a grueling 12 hour drive I got there… But that is what I wanted huh?
The trip was uneventful, left home around 6:00 am in the morning and did the mandatory pee stops, food stops and gas stops, but other than that I was moving all the time. I was afraid that LA traffic was going to slow me down, but it didn’t. It was moving quite well and in fact with all of those cars in the highway I was moving pretty fast. I kept looking at people for signs of other triathletes making the pilgrimage to Tempe, but found none.

I really liked the road by Pismo Beach. The weather was perfect and I wanted to stop and take pictures, but I knew that I was on the clock so I had to just keep going. I took some “moving” pictures though.

I had plenty to think about while driving there.. It was me myself and I… and Jessica packed really nice and comfortable in the trunk. I was listening to my Ipod and song after song I kept thinking how much of this I can actually stand. No play list was long enough, so I switched to shuffle… and MY GOD… what an experience. I have all sorts of music there, but I started to listen to the actual words of many of the songs I have…. And… well needless to say many were so freaking pathetic. It reminded me of a “this American Life” episode from NPR about breakup songs. They all have that theme, that sorry ass theme… you know what I am talking about. The “you don’t have to love me”, and “please don’t go” theme. And the most pathetic of them all, “I’ll do anything”, and I was thinking, WTF? But then, just like breakups, in the middle of the shuffle came this song that was about to become my personal anthem. I heard it before, but now I know it by memory, Guru Josh project, Infinity. It goes something like this.

Here's my Key Philosophy A freak like me Just needs infinity

I played that song again and again and again, and the more I played it the more I like it, and before I knew it I was in LA.

Driving through LA was very interesting, and made me more aggressive driver. Crap, I was not going to give any room between me and the car ahead. I know, drafting is illegal, in triathlon that is, but in LA traffic is a necessity, or is it called tailgating. I don’t think I will be able to live in such city with such traffic, I will probably cut my veins pretty fast and then I was there…. Found my hotel and checked in, took a shower, grabbed a bite to eat and hit the sack…. Ahhh… felt so good..

The next morning I went to the swim, just before departing my hotel room, I thought, I should go early so I can stop at a coffee shop and get myself something to drink/eat. I had no idea that Tempe is so freaking confusing (for me at least). I could not figure out where I was supposed to go, and then I could not find a parking spot. Well, I made it finally to the swim area, I had just enough time to get on my wetsuit and take a dip on the lake. And OMFG, have you had brain freeze? Well that is how I felt when I hit the water. Water was so damn cold and my feet and head were hurting. As soon as I started swimming, things got better, blood started to flow and then I was OK. But the initial shock was a little hard. Another interesting fact about this swim is that the course is straight in a wavy canal. So If I want to stay to the shore, I will have to swim the extra yardage. Most likely I will be in the middle and hopefully will draft somebody and find my way around…

The practice swim, God the water was freezing.


After I froze my butt in the water... :(

After the swim, my friend Dolores and I went to check in. Checking in at an Ironman is pretty good experience, most volunteers are in awe that you are going to put yourself through that kind of pain. And the first question usually is, is this your first? The second question, did you bring your family? The answer to those questions for me was the same, no and no. It is not my first, and I was there by myself, most people bring loved ones to share this moment. The IM race is kind of a big deal, and I was there on my own. It made me realize that the three IM’s I have done I have gone on my own, and it made me a little jealous and sad. But Hey, not time to be sad now, I have to get ready to do an Ironman damn it.

I don’t really know how the rest of the days went through; on Friday evening we had athlete’s dinner and mandatory meeting. It is here where they try to pump you up for the pain that is ahead. It is here where you learn of the amazing people doing this race with you, it is here where you feel the energy of the IM event.. It is pretty awesome. I was sitting next to Joe, a great friend of mine from Texas. We were chatting away and then, Mike Raily said please stand up if you lost weight getting ready for this race. My friend from Houston stood up, Mike said, remain standing if you lost more than 20 lbs, 30 lbs, 40 lbs all the way to 80lbs. There were only three people standing including Joe, they were called to the stage and were asked how much weight they lost preparing for this race. Joe had lost over 100 lbs, it was pretty cool. The next group of people called to the state was the oldest and the youngest IM participants. The youngest was 16, the oldest 70somehting. He was such a funny guy. He took the microphone and gave us a really good pep talk. He said, I love doing this, specially because half of my friends are dead, of the ones still alive ¾’s are in assisted living and or don’t remember who they are. It was hilarious and very inspiring as well. Finally they introduced Rudy Garcia-Tolsen. The first above the knee double amputee to attempt the race, he did not made the cutoff in Kona, and he was going to try to become an Ironman in Tempe… Amazing young guy, more on him later.

The day before the race I took my swim to bike and bike to run bags. In these bags you pack everything you need for those events. I was like, “what am I forgetting?” I see people walking around with these bags and they seem to be pretty full, mine were pretty minimal. I kept thinking, “what am I forgetting?” Happy to report that I did not forget anything, I guess people were adding more stuff than needed. Fuck, I could not remember for the life of me what else to put in there. I actually put two pairs of socks in my bike to run bag just because I wanted to have the feeling that I put something there. It was hilarious.

And then it was race day…. Wooohooo!!!

I woke up early, ate my usual thing, (bagel, cereal) and drove to the race start. I had plenty of time and I knew where to go this time. Arrived there with plenty of time and went to check on Jessica. She was there all pretty, I check her tires’ pressure, and loaded her with my nutrition bottles. I took a picture of her and told her to take care of me this day, I told her “please what ever you do, do not get a flat today”. A couple of guys looked at me like I was crazy, talking to my bike… and I thought.. “sheesh, beginners”

Jessica in good company with over 2500 other bikes..


My bike..

I put my wetsuit on, turned in my dry clothes and went to the starting line. I could feel the energy, and of course the fear of the IM virgins and experienced. And the funny thing is that I was anxious, just like the first time. I knew what to expect, but still it was nerve wrecking. Got into the water and or course it was damn cold. Just like the first time I got into the water, I felt like my brain had instantly froze and my feet, oh my poor feet. They started to hurt, like I was being slapped with a sack of needles. I could not wait to start the swim; I knew it was going to get better once I started the swim.

Then, a massive release of adrenaline as the cannon goes off and everybody starts to swim, and just before I turned horizontal to start the swim, I felt this kick right on my groin. It was painful and I just stayed there unable to start the swim. People in the back kept hitting me and pushed me and I realize that this was not going to get any better anytime soon, so I started to swim, forward, but slightly to the right, toward the edge. I grabbed a boat/surfer/something and my goggles were wet, tears were coming down my eyes.. I was in real pain and the race just had begun. I don’t know how long I was there it could had not been more than a couple of minutes, but then I felt better or the pain went away miraculously, and I started to swim. And then before I knew it… it was over. Got out of the water and went to the strippers or peelers what ever you call them, I went down and they pulled my wetsuit off.



The transition in an Ironman is something amazing, they have millions of volunteers and they are there to help you. Most of them are triatheltes themselves so they know what to do. As soon as my wetsuit was off, a volunteer guided me to get my swim to bike bag; he helped me to empty the contents and made sure I did not forget anything, from sunglasses, to my little salt pills, and helmet. I was out of the changing tent in no time and then I was greeted by the “sunscreeners” another set of volunteers whose only job is to make sure you get plenty of sunscreen. And then I was off biking for a mere 112 miles, not bad.

The bike is a three loop affair, in the way up we battled the wind some, and in the way back, I had the tail wind and I am sure I was cruising pretty fast. The fist lap was a pretty happy one. Lots of people and even though some were drafting or blocking, the majority were good sports. I had one incident, this guy passed me and as soon as he passed me he slows down. I was like WTF? If you are going to pass me, you are going to continue with the same passing pace, I got pissed so I passed him again. And then he did the same thing, so I told him to take a hike. To either pass me and keep going or let me go. So he let me go, never saw him again. I was drinking plenty and of course I got a need to pee, there were toilets in every single aid station, and in all of them there was a line. So I did what I had to, I stood up in my bike relaxed the muscles and just went, it felt good, I had to do it a couple of more times again. In my head I had my anthem and keep saying

“Relax Take your time The time goes by So naturally you'll receive Infinity”

And before I knew it the bike leg was over. I only stopped once, at the special needs bag, to exchange my nutrition bottles. Did the turnaround to start the last loop got ready to battle the wind again. It wasn’t as bad and was looking forward to the final turnaround so I could cruise and as soon as I made the turnaround I noticed that the wind had change directions. Now I had a headwind, not what I needed or wanted. But needless to say, I had a great bike leg. Unknown to me how much my swim or my bike timing was since I decided to go out naked (no electronics). I had my watch but the only thing I was monitoring was my nutrition, every 15 minutes I would take a sip, chased it down with water and repeat. It worked well. When we were passing mile 99 I was like.. OMG, it is almost over. And I was feeling great, so I hammered the rest of the way. Getting into town was awesome, lots and lots of people cheering and having fun. It was great.

As soon as I got to the dismount line, a volunteer took my bike away and I went to the changing tent again. Another volunteer had my bike to run bag and just like the first one, helped me to change and get ready for the run. I left the changing tent and got more sunscreen (too much I think) and I was on my way to run a marathon. I was happy and I ran the first two miles sub 8 (I started my stop watch when I left transition), and I thought OK Luis “Relax, take your time”. So I slowed down and settled in a pretty good pace. After all this is my event right? When running a marathon you know that you have a risk to hit the wall at mile 20, at the ironman you start with the wall. Soon I realized that I was pretty tired and my legs were not moving as fast as I wanted them to move. I maintained a pretty good pace and then the sun started to go down and my run was minimized to a shuffle and finally to a fast walk. I wanted to walk at the aid stations, which I did, but now I was walking in between them too. Not good, then two things happened, first Pam Reed caught me, Pam Reed is an incredible ultra marathoner. She had just finished IMFL two weeks before and there she was. I started to run with her and chatted some and at that moment I was inspired. I picked up my pace and did not stop running until I crossed the finish line.

I was running through a sea of liars, they kept shouting “Hey you, Looking good”. Are you kidding me? That is a lie, it is funny no matter in what state you are in a race, spectators always tell you “looking good” Is that a question or an affirmation? If their comment annoys the hell out of you, you probably ARE NOT looking good and you are about to pass out. They have no idea that somebody replaced your shoes with bricks, or somehow your shorts turned into sandpaper “down there” and your pee is of the color of coke by now. They don’t know that the blisters in your feet are about to pop, they don’t know that your whole body hurts like hell with every step, Looking good? I don’t think so, feeling good? Hardly! It will be great if instead of saying looking good they will say something like “You are awesome and even though you feel like $hit right now, it will feel good in the morning, and I am in awe for your awesomeness, I do want to have your babies (if she is hot), you are a freaking Superstar” or something like that.

During my run I saw a couple of friends Joe (the biggest loser) and Dolores. And then I saw that I had 2 miles left so I picked up the pace, and I ran pretty fast the last mile, as soon as I went into the last stretch, there was this guy who was coming from behind in an all out sprint so I took him on. We sprinted like bats out of hell until the end, the bastard bit me, but it added some emotion to the finish. This is my third IM and I not once I have heard Mike Riley say “Luis Velasquez, you are an Ironman”. He does it, but I guess I am too busy and emotional to hear him.

Oohhhyyyeeaaa!!!

And then it was over, the rest was the standard end of the race thing. Here is your finisher medal, you shirt and hat. Lets take an overpriced finisher picture and then to the food tent. In there, I just could not eat anything. Waited for a massage, got my massage and then called my friend TJ. She came looking for me, I went to pick up my bike, put her in the car and then came back to see other people finish. The finish at an IM is very emotional, it is amazing. Love to see people crying in disbelief, it is amazing how we can push our bodies and still have plenty to sprint to the finish line. My friend TJ drove us to a food place where I got some real food and then back to the hotel and went to bed with a big smile in my face.

The end..

Finishing the IM triathlon has given me the most amazing feeling of accomplishment, again. It is very inspiring and most importantly, very satisfying. It is something amazing, but not impossible; we are stronger that we think we are. And not matter what is your physical condition if doing an Ironman triathlon is what you set your mind to do and are willing to do the work, you too can do it. Wanna try? Drop me a line, give me a call and we can talk it over.
I have decided that I am going to do one triathlon a year, and I hope I can do an Ironman a Year until I am 90. In the meantime, I will keep doing what I think comes natural to most of us, running that is. You put on your shoes and get out the door and you come back with a satisfying sense of accomplishment, it is effortless and it is fun.
Ironman Arizona was a great experience, seeing Rudy on the bike was very inspiring. He was all the way to the right, like as if he was not in the race and my GOD Rudy, you are an Ironman. (See Rudy Ironman Story here). I recommend to read this with paper tissue at hand, it will make you cry. I heard that he stopped at a red light, can you believe it?. He is an amazing person which really puts a reality to the old saying “I was sad because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no legs”. And now we can add, “And this man completed a freaking Ironman triathlon” How does that make you feel? I tell you how made me feel, it made feel inspired, it made me feel blessed.

Check Rudy on the course... Go Rudy, Go..

What I love about endurance sports is the sense of accomplishment that they give you. Our bodies are amazing machines that respond to stress, the more you stress them the more efficient they become. We are natural runners, our ancestors used to run their pray down. And now, I am going to get my brand new running shoes, open the box peel back the tissue paper, look at those amazing pristine shoes lift the box to my face and take in that smell deeply. Can you smell the potential, the toxins or the insanity? I smell potential; definitely potential. Yay!! Got to go running now..

Crossfit and Running

So I have been doing CrossFit for almost a year now and it really has changed my fitness level. It even has changed the way I look at myself and how I train. In the past I had to have some sort of training schedule to complete and a race to train for. That was my motivation and that was what kept me going.

Last year, I did Mount Diablo 50 miler and then IM Cour D’Alene. After that I was pretty beaten, and had horrible plantar fasciatis and my IT band was killing me. I also was not very motivated to run anymore. So I took CrossFit as an alternative, as a recovery period. God, what difference has made.

Me and Tony Doing handstand pushups... A year Ago I could never had been able to do this..

I learned about CrossFit first from my friend Q (Jeff) , he was doing CrossFit and his times on the run were going down, significantly. A couple of friends from my running club started CrossFit and invited me along. I have seen them run and after they started CrossFit, they got stronger. So I went, and when I got there I barely could do 5 consecutive pull-ups. It took me a while to get going but once I got going, I could start to see the differences in my body and the way I was feeling. Yes, you still have to work specially if you are an endurance athlete, but having CrossFit has definitely made me a better runner and a fitter person, that is for sure.

When I started Crossfit, I could barely do a couple of pullups.. I can do Angie now, 100 pullups followed by 100 pushups, 100 squats and 100 Situps..

How it works physiologically? don’t ask me. .. Check the website (www.CrossFit.com), or come to Maddawg fitness in Redwood City, all I know is that it works. It has do to something with Increasing VO2 max, metabolizing fat, building muscle, getting stronger, and getting faster because you are getting stronger. . Therefore, performing more work in less time will increase your strength, fitness, and overall health! Who would have thought that a 4 minute Fran can make a difference.

Check out Fran, this is a great workout. It is amazing and grueling.

Just recently another friend, Haley, a marathon runner/triathtlete started CrossFit a few months ago. This past weekend she ran a marathon with very minimum running training and PR’d by 18 minutes… I know this thing works, it is amazing.

Check out Haley, isn't this low?

Personally, as a runner I have become stronger. At the end of 2008, I did 4 ultras in 4 consecutive weekends and I PR’d each one of them. And just recently I did Headlands Hundred and I never though I could finish in under 28 hours, and I posted a 25 hour and change time. I could have done faster, but there were other issues besides fitness that came into play. And now that I am training for an Ironman, I realize that I am stronger not only on the run but on the bike and the swim as well. Last year prior to IronMan Cour d’Alene at this stage of my training I had swum almost ¼ million yards and I barely broke 1 hour 15 minutes for the whole 2.4 mile swim. This time I have only swum 34,000 yards and I posted a 1 hour 9 minute 2.4 mile swim a couple of days ago. I am freaking elated.

Having found Maddawg Fitness in Redwood City, basically changed how I train. My perspective is now becoming stronger fitter person overall, rather than posting a PR in a race. All CrossFitters are amazing people and the most encouraging people you’ll ever know. I often hear people say they are intimidated by the thought of training at a CrossFit gym. Most of them believe it is a gym that it just involves lots of weightlifting and grunting. It is not a traditional gym, believe me. In this gym there are not TV’s, no Magazines, definitely not people in uniforms cleaning after your sweat or guys trying to pick up girls. Everybody sweats, everybody grunts and everybody gets fitter. The secret? One small class going at any given time. Each class is lead by a trainer who coordinates the warmup, skill development and workout. And the best thing of all, is the camaraderie between members. We all come from all different walks of life, different ages and different fitness levels. And they all encourage each other all the time. Oh, and here is another reason why do you want to avoid regular gyms.