Sunday was the 5th Annual Rhodes Race 5k around Lake Merritt in Oakland organized by our friends Claire & Matt Rhodes. It’s a fun run to raise  money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (Matt’s a cancer survivor).

All are welcome, adults, children, babies & dogs with awards going to fastest in age group, fastest kids and even the fastest dog. I wasn’t out to win any awards myself, it was just a great training run surrounded by friends from Team in Training.

Kerry ran as well with our new family member, Jake. He’s a little long-haired, wired-haired terrier mix that we had been fostering for Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation and then ended up adopting. Now if there was an award for the scruffiest dog we might have been in with a chance.

Back in 2010 the Rhodes Race kicked of my 10×10 Challenge and I completed the 5k in 25 minutes and 50 seconds, this year I’m ashamed to report it took me 27 minutes and 36 seconds…oops! I must admin the last couple of months have not been good on the training front, especially when it comes to running. Next year it’ll be a personal best I promise!

My next triathlon is coming up May 5th & 6th at Wildflower, I have to decide if I’m fit enough to attempt the long course (half Ironman distance) or instead play it safe and do the Olympic distance…or maybe do both…who knows. You’ll have to check back next month and see and as always I’m doing it all for a good cause, so why not help me out and make a donation.

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $1,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation

After taking last year off from any serious training (only completed a century ride around Tahoe and a marathon) I’ve started to get back at it again and kicked off the year with a century ride.

My wife, Kerry, had been training with Team in Training (TNT) for the Solvang Century and I decided I’d join her for the ride.

This was the 30th Annual Solvang Century ride and our first time. Solvang is the “Danish Capital of America”, a  9000+ acre enclave in the verdant Santa Ynez Valley just 125 miles north of Los Angeles. It’s a pretty unique tourist destination and really does look like something straight out of Holland.

The ride is a 100 miles through Santa Ynez Valley with 4000 ft of elevation gain. For us it was just a fun ride and I was fortunate to join in with one of the TNT teams and tag along for the day. The photo is from the top of one of the last climbs at around mile 85.

Even though the day started out frigid at 5:30am with thick fog, finally about 3 hours in the weather started to clear and as you can see ended up a beautiful spring day with blue skies…definitely stripped off a few layers as the day wore on. The ride took over eight hours to complete, although only about six and a half of that was riding. You’ve got to make use of the food stops along the way and riding with a team means waiting sometimes for people to catch up.

All-in-all a fun day and a great kickoff to my 2012 season. As I’ve done since 2010 I’m fundraising for the Challenged Athletes Foundation again throughout this year. So far, I’ve got the following events lined up:

• Rhodes Race, a fun 5k run lined up in April
• Wildflower Olympic Triathlon in May
• AMBBR century ride around Tahoe in June
• Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in June

So why not help me out and make a donation…

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $1,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation

On Sunday Kerry and I completed the 20th Annual America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride, a 100 mile ride around lake Tahoe. Beautiful yes and also a little brutal too…as you can see from our muddy faces.

We awoke at 4:30am to the sound of heavy rain outside, not fun. With temperatures in the low 40’s it was time to layer up and put on those waterproofs (and shower cap). Funny, the day before we’d dropped into the local Pearl Izumi store, it was packed and they’d pretty much sold out of all rain gear…with riders from across the country I’m guessing most didn’t expect California to be this cold and wet in June!

At 5:45 Kerry’s TNT ride-group headed out from the hotel with me tagging on behind, it was raining and just getting light, 100 miles stretched out ahead of us, rain or shine. From the state line in South Lake Tahoe we headed clockwise and I quickly realized that I should have had breakfast a little sooner, so time for a quick rest stop and then a fast peddle to catch up with Kerry at the top of the first climb at Emerald Bay. The rain was letting up a little as we headed to the next rest stop at Homewood and mile 30.

Finally some sun and it was off too Tahoe City and an out-and-return to Truckee. At mile 50 we arrived at the Truckee turn around and the next rest stop. On the way back from Truckee one of our group took a tumble after their front wheel got caught in a rut, thankfully they didn’t take out anyone else and jumped right back on their bike…this is a hard-core bunch.

From Truckee it was on to Kings Beach, lunch and the 70 mile mark. It was still chilly but thankfully mostly dry…although clouds ahead indicated that was soon to change. I donned my waterproof trousers again in preparation for the rain ahead, which greeted us just up the road heading into Incline Village. At mile 75 the last big climb up to Spooner’s Summit began just as the rain eased again. Spooner’s is a 9 mile climb to over 7000′ from lake level, after 6+ hours on the bike that’s a hard climb. An hour and a half later I was at the summit and the sun was out again…mile 86 and mostly down hill from here. I basked in the sun waiting for Kerry who’d stopped to help one of her team mates who’d had a flat earlier on.

The 5 mile downhill was just reward after that climb and it was rolling hills through Cave Rock and back to the state line for the finish…although by that point rolling hills didn’t feel quite so rolling!

100 miles and 9 hours 30 minutes later it was all over, total ride time was just over 7 hours…that’s a lot of stopping time, more than expected…what can I say, I blame the weather.

All-in-all a challenging ride, truly beautiful and one I hope to do again on a sunnier day.

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $2,500 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation

Wow, holy cow, oh my god, *add your own exclamation here*, was that hard! But I’m pleased to report I am officially an Ironman, 140.3 miles in 14 hours, 44 minutes and 38 seconds…the hardest 14 hours, 44 minutes and 38 seconds of my life.

What started 10 months ago reached fruition this Sunday with completion of race # 11, Ironman Cozumel. That’s a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run, back-to-back.

It’s hard to describe how intense it was. It’s obviously been quite a build up to this point and spending the 5 days prior to the race acclimatizing in Cozumel all added to the experience. Come Saturday night I went to bed at 9:00pm, alarm set for 4:30am. Unfortunately, I was wide awake at 1:00am, sleeping fitfully through to 4:30am…not unusual for race day, but a little more sleep would have been nice.

After a quick bowl of cereal and cup of tea off we headed on the shuttle bus to the race start at Chankanaab Park. And what a crazy start it was.

I’d setup for the swim/bike transition the day before, so prior to the start all that had to be done was check the bike, walk the transition and then watch the pros head off at 6:40am. As soon as they left 2,500 competitors jumped into the sea ready for the mass in-water start. I now know what it feels like to be a fish in a shoal as we bobbed around waiting for the start…and then all hell broke loose and it was every man/women for themselves. That’s the largest mass start I’ve ever done and to be trying to swim in a sea of bodies was challenging to say the least.

The upside was the beautiful, crystal clear, aquamarine sea and 80+ fahrenheit temperature. Looking back now the swim seemed to pass quickly, if an hour and 27 minutes can be called quick, that is. Actually, I’m very pleased with the swim, I was hoping to complete the 2.4 miles in an hour and a half, but thought that might be too optimistic, so I did well. Along the way you get to thump and be thumped by your fellow competitors, watch the divers below blow “air rings” up at you and do your final turn as you reach the submarine…yep, a little different from your average triathlon.

After the swim it’s a short run to pick up your bike transition bag and into the changing tent to get dried off and into your bike gear, the pros are all done in under 2 minutes, me, more like 13…but, hey, what’s the rush. With the swim done, 112 miles on the bike beckoned. This consisted of 3 laps of the island (yep Cozumel ain’t that big).

I started out feeling good, my first lap averaged over 17 mph, but for about two-thirds of each lap you’re peddling into wind (head or side wind). To give you an idea, normally, when training on level terrain, I’d be in the large cog on the front, here I was having to pedal in the small one (I only have two). It was as if you were constantly going uphill and the best part was, with each lap, the wind picked up, so by lap two I only averaged 16.5 mph and by lap 3 I was down to 16 mph. I’d hoped the bike might take between six and six and a half hours, it took me 6 hours 46 minutes (that did include a pee stop and rest stop to restock my nutrition) and I’d definitely used more energy than I’d figured into the process, which didn’t bode well for the run.

Once you finish the ride you hand your bike off to be racked and grab your run transition bag and head to the changing tent, by way of the porta-potty, of course. The run transition is usually the quicker of the two, but for some reason it took me longer than my bike transition, nearly 15 minutes…must have been one long pee! Anyway, after changing and putting on more vaseline (don’t ask) and sun block off I went for the run, full of vim and vigor…and that, ladies and gentleman, is where a tough race turned really tough.

The run also consisted of 3 laps, the first 8 and a bit miles weren’t too bad, I ran for nine minutes and walked for one, probably averaging around a 10:30 / mile pace. Approaching the halfway point of 13.1 miles I’d slowed to a 12 minute / mile pace, running 4 minutes and walking one. I managed to drag myself around to complete the second lap, but, knew I was toast as I came around the turn point for the last lap. I saw Kerry, who’d be out supporting me the entire day, and told her I was well and truly pooped!

As I approached the 18 mile mark I hit the proverbial wall. In all my races to date I’d never reached the point were I felt I just couldn’t keep moving. For the next 8 miles even walking was hard, my pace slowed to 18+ minutes / mile, time dragged on and only sheer will power and determination kept me moving forward. I knew if I stopped I likely wouldn’t start again, I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other and let the finish line come to me.

I can tell you waves of emotion wash over you at that point, you’ve been going 14+ hours, your legs ache, your back aches, your feet ache, heck even your aches ache. The sun had set several hours ago, the winners crossed the finish line just as you were starting your run, the field has thinned out so it’s just you out there, maybe occasionally someone who can walk faster than you passes you by…that is why they call it an Ironman.

You just keep moving forward.

And so it was that after just over 6 hours since starting the run I reached the finish line, not pretty, but then again Ironman is not about being pretty, it’s about grit and determination, perseverance and will power, conquer or be conquered. To all those that have trained for and completed an Ironman I salute you, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done…but I am IRONMAN!

You can view more pictures of my race on Facebook

By making a donation you will directly help a challenged athlete in need.

Help me raise $10,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation