Last week of 2009..Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2009 was a really good year...

Not every one would agree but I thought 2009 was a pretty good year! Reflecting back, I had a lot of fun and great experiences! I checked off Ironman #2, I dived the Great Barrier Reef (you never truly realized how cool it is until you actually do it), I made many new friends and some that will no doubt last a lifetime, one of my best friends got married and is now awaiting a little one, witnessed history with Obama, had the time of my life at Kona this year, was introduced to trail running, bought Pip, got into Twilight (Rob Pattinson.. gorgeous!), fell in love with Blue Bottle Coffee.. more so their hot cocoa, learned to use the manual modes of my dslr.. that took long enough! I also grew as an individual and another year of being more comfortable in my own skin...that in itself made it a successful year! I am at a happy place!

So for 2010.. I am not a believer in New Year's Resolutions because... well.. how many of you actually remember what your resolutions were at year's end? I know I don't... not necessarily. I do have a list of things that I have to look forward to in 2010..

- Ironman St George

- Ironman Canada

- Kona 2010

- Finish reading the Twilight series

- Breaking Dawn movie (3rd movie of the Twilight series)

- Where will destination 2010 be?! Will I go back to Australia or will it be somewhere else?

And I look forward to whatever else comes in between all that! How is that list different than New Year's Resolution's? I am not telling myself that I will do this or that more.. for example.. go to the gym more.. eat less chocolate.. etc. Speaking of the gym.. one thing I am not looking forward to is the throng of New Year's Resolution gym go-ers at the Bay Club! I've seen it for MANY years now.. the first 7 weeks or do of the New Year.. the locker rooms are extra crowded.. lines for the showers.. not my favorite time of the year! When are these people going to realize that fitness has to be incorporated as a lifestyle and not a resolution? Just like dieting... it has to change in eating habits and not seen as a restriction..

Anyway, enough preaching.. hope every one had a Merry Christmas and wishing every one a Happy New Year!!

Workout Summary-

Swim- 1 hour and 57 minutes

Bike- 9 hours and 14 minutes

Run- 3 hours and 50 minutes

Workout Summary- 15 hours and 1 minutes

First post- vacation depression experience...

Still wish I was in Australia!

I've been traveling abroad since 2004 and yet this is the first time I've experienced post vacation depression.. that was pretty much my week! I wanted to go back to Australia before I even left and one of the first things I did when I got back to the office was asked a colleague of mine how she was able to leave Australia after her trip there last year? Her response? "I cried on the plane!" I said, "Oh.. .ok! Glad I am not the only one experiencing this!" I would spend minutes looking at a live webcam of Bondi Beach and Noosa Beach just holding on to my time there! While Australia wasn't one of the most beautiful places I have been to or the most unique in sights, the atmosphere and the feel of the place was just not comparable with any of the other places I've been to. I just loved it there! Reflecting on my trip.. I wouldn't have approached or changed it any other way. The one thing I wanted to change, I was able to, which was shortening my time in Melbourne and head to Sydney. I still need to write a thank you note to the Sebel Manly hotel for upgrading me to the beach front balcony room! A friend I met there, Hayley, is still at Manly. She will be there for 6 months! I am very envious! So 2 hours after I arrived home, I was off to my friend Nicky's Holiday Warming party.. photo below!

And remember Monique? A friend of mine that was involved in that awful head on bike vs car accident? Well, she's walking now without her walker!! I love this photo of her below.. she's glowing!

This week was also about adjusting back to my real world life.. I was quickly thrown back into work having to buy the Fall 2010 line for Gap Online Body and then training wise.. thanks Coach for the 15 hour training week.. I only did half of the hours though as I adjust to jet lag and getting my life organized again but starting tomorrow.. I'll aim to be better at it!! This week was tough with the time change.. I go to bed hungry because that is my dinner time in Oz and wake up foggy because I am in the middle of my sleep in Oz during that hour. Hopefully this week will improve.. besides.. nothing like a 4 hour ride to kick you back into training mode! Thanks so much to Raf for keeping me company for he full 4 hours even though all he had to do was 3 hours.. he even came with entertaining advice.. "you have a good gig.. prolong marriage for as long as you can!" Ha ha.. that's the part I love about long training rides.. the funny conversations!

Speaking of triathlon.. hope you guys had a chance to catch the NBC Ironman Worlds Kona coverage! Yours truly had two cameo appearances in there.. one when Chrissy Wellington was coming out of the water and when Rudy Garcia was coming out of the water as well! I thought the coverage was good but didn't find it as inspiring as last year, as far as the AG portion was concerned.. maybe it was the background music? The Pros portion was great though and after a dinner conversation with MG while I was in Sydney, about Ironman and next year's battle especially where the Pro men are concerned, I am looking forward to it even more!

Saturday night was the PacWest Athletics party.. a team I joined for the 2010 triathlon season! I had two glasses of champagne and discovered that it was 1 more than I can handle..!

Photo below- PacWest Athletics holiday party-

Oh and photos from Australia here- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=140424&id=687712413&l=9296651534 I selected 200 from the 1189 I took! Enjoy!!

Workout Summary-

Swim- 0 hours and 0 minutes

Bike- 6 hours and 55 minutes

Run- 0 hours an 30 minutes

Total Workout- 7 hours and 25 minutes

Travel blog #4.. the last one for Oz..sadly!

Sadly, my last blog from Oz...

http://realtravel.com/e-297155-sydney_entry-my_last_stop_in_oz_sydney

It's been great fun and an adventure! I look forward to coming back!

Travel Blog from Oz #3

In Melbourne!!

http://realtravel.com/e-296995-melbourne_entry-at_first_glance_melbourne_kind_of_reminds_me_of_san_francisco

Cheers :-)

Blog #2 from Oz.. Noosa!

I heart Noosa...

http://realtravel.com/e-296774-noosa_heads_entry-falling_in_love_with_noosa

One item you must bring or buy in Noosa? A hat!

Blog #1 from Oz!

Hello my friends & readers..

Posted here is my first link from Oz....click on "Travel Blog" below to read on..

Travel Blog!

Time To Put the Big Girl Pants On!

Big girl pants time...

It's Sunday morning...I get a text message from Tricia early in the morning about the going on's at IM Arizona.. I log onto ironmanlive.com and started watching the live video.. I could hardly peel myself away from the screen as the Pros were getting out of the water but I had to get ready for a ride with Caesar! I get up.. get ready.. out the door and what did I see? Rain! Ugh! Great! As I am driving over to meet Caesar, I called him and asked if he realized it's raining out (hoping he would bail on the ride so I can jump back in bed with my laptop on ironmanlive). He insisted it wasn't raining so I continued my drive to Sports Basement.. once he got there.. I said, "See! Rain!" Long story short, I put my big girl pants on and soldiered on with our ride out to Fairfax. The reward? Fat Angel Bakery in Fairfax and their Scone of the Moment scones! Today was coconut, maple and pecan and it was scrumptious! We even saw a rainbow while riding out... while riding back.. the rain was replaced by the wind. Riding in the rainy weather today wasn't so bad... except for the bike cleaning part! With Pip being white.. it's diligent effort to keep her white and clean but nothing that a spray down hose won't do along with some chain lube!

Come home.. cleaned bike.. lubed all my bikes since I was lubing...then back to the computer screen to watch my friends complete some amazing IM AZ race results!! Congrats to Monica as she won 1st place in her AG of 40-44! And to Nicky for her 4th place finish in her AG of 35-39! Greg and Steve and Killian and Clemens- good stuff! And Daniel.. and the list goes on..sorry if I forgot some.. :-( Now, I sit here rooting for Rudy Garcia-Tolson to come through!! Come on Rudy!!

Other highlights form the week...went to my first Master's Swim at Koret with Sandy..that was fun! Tough but fun.. thanks to Ty and Drew.. my lane buddies :-)

I leave for Australia on Wednesday and I've done 2 loads of laundry and a big cleaning session but still need to pack.. perhaps tomorrow nite! I will have to strategically make room for some training clothes as I got an email from coach earlier this week with my game plan for Aussie.. he's turned my vacation into a mini training camp.. he even suggested fun things I should consider doing on MY vacation.. love it! Ha ha. Have a great Thanksgiving every one! Thanks for reading and I'll try to update while I am in Aussie!

Workout Summary-

Swim- 1 hour and 50 minutes

Bike- 6 hours and 0 minutes

Run- 0 hours and 40 minutes

Strength- 2 hours and 0 minutes

Total workout- 10 hours and 30 minutes

oh, my legs are tired!!

Thank goodness for recovery week!

Coach had me a lot of strength training along with trail running with the usual cycling and a bit of swimming which all added up to tired legs. Despite that, I had a good week! Not so much from the training aspect though but more in terms of the other aspects! I took Part II of a photo class and am now feeling more confident in shooting outside of the Auto mode on my dslr camera! Had a few movie nights and a great ride with my friend, Nicky!

Movie nights were a lot of fun! Had two this week! One on Thursday to watch Race Across the Sky, a documentary covering the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race, with Dana, Monica, Nicky and Tricia. Coach and Frank were there too on their date night with their significant others. What a great documentary movie! I have to say, I would never ever want to do that race and from now on, if I am ever going through a rough patch at a race, I will say in my mind, "At least I am not riding in the Leadville 100!"

Movie night #2 took place on Saturday night right after my photo class in Novato with Brian, Dana, Adam and Mo. Dana & Brian prepared dinner (thank goodness) which was accompanied by good conversation and then a very entertaining narration of LOTR 2! Mo is doing great by the way! She is progressing amazingly on her road to recovery from her accident. I look forward to the day when she's back 100%...I know she can do it!

Sunday morning, Nicky and I met up for a ride in the Penninsula. It was Pip and Gold Member's first date (our bikes) although Pip was a little intimated at first since GM decided to show up in a disc wheel as Nicky is prepping for IM Arizona exactly one week away from today! It was a great ride and we had a lot of fun.. thank goodness Nicky was going easy for me otherwise, I would be feeling a lot more smashed than I am feeling right now...sitting in bed watching the Patriots vs Colts game!

This was my week of balance of passions- triathlon and photography plus 10+ hours of sleep on Friday night.. apparently much needed! I am taking advantage of this time while I can 'cause like I said before, once I get back from Aussie, it's game time for ironman training!

Workout Summary-

Swim- 0 hours and 0 minutes

Bike- 6 hours and 11 minutes

Run- 0 hours and 15 minutes

Strength- 1 hour and 0 minutes

Total workout- 7 hours and 26 minutes

26 weeks 'till St. George!

My weekends have been less about training and more about spending time with friends... if you couldn't tell already but don't you guys worry.. this will all change once I get back from Australia mid December! Once I get back.. it's game on as far as training is concerned for my 2010 season!

My week of interesting events started off with a text message from Coach that read, "How are you feeling and in general 26 weeks out from St. George?" I responded... "..... will be refreshed once back from vacation!" He responded, "Figure 3 weeks are gone for holidays, etc. Then 2 weeks for taper.. heck only 20 weeks!" I thought...wait! What?! This is not funny! But I responded with, "Your tapers are not 2 weeks, they're 10 days at best so I just gained half a week back :-)!" St, George is my first main objective for the 2010 season and it's safe to say that if I can do that Ironman, I can probably do any! The profile for that course is disgusting! I am quite fearful of that run but I think fear will be good for my training as I'll push harder knowing what I'll have to face! While coach is counting down my weeks to St. George, the only countdown I am concerned with right now if my countdown to my trip to Australia!! Speaking of which, if anyone has recommendation on where to stay in Melbourne, I am taking recommendations!!

Had a great weekend... Saturday was beautiful here as I introduced Pip to the Golden Gate Bridge (so much better now that it's nearing Winter.. less tourists on rental bikes) and Paradise Loop! After ride, I stopped by Monique's Tag sale which raised over $5k to help relieve some financial pressures since her accident. I love it when the kindness of the human spirit shines through! After hanging out with Adam, Mo, Rick and Tyler for about 1.5 hours, I made my way over to Mill Valley to help Tricia & Sandy celebrate their birthdays! It was a full day but what a great day it was! Consumed too much sugar though!

Sunday... hit the pool... hit the trails at Land's End... went with my friend Dana to watch Brian dive at the Aquarium in Golden Gate Park.. it was another great weekend spent!

Photo below- Land's End..can you find a more beautiful trail?! Well, maybe the Marin Headlands.. but I love the water!

and that's Brian in the tank with the fishes:

And btw, I am finally fully unpacked from my trip to Kona a month ago! See what happens when I get in a 12:30am and can't do it right away?! It sits for a month!!

Workout Summary-

Swim- 2 hours and 5 minutes

Bike- 5 hours and 55 minutes

Run- 1 hour and 40 minutes

Strength- 2 hours and minutes

Total workout- 11 hours and 40 minutes

Intro to trail running!

I think I like trail running...

Had a great week this week! So many things that stood out... got a couple of awesome emails that made my day... had a few really good conversations with friends that was good for the soul... great weekend of training and it's sunny and warm here in San Francisco... now if only the Bay Bridge would open back up!

Weekend training started on Saturday with my routine 3 hour pre-season bike ride. Went out with Mary, Caesar and Pete. I found out that when riding with the boys (more than one)...the topic tends to lean towards eating scones and talking about knockers. I caught back up to the group after putting my arms warmers back on and Caesar asked, "Yi, do you know what knockers are?" I said, "Socks?!" Caesar said, "no!" So then I said, "Ok, fine boobs! Duh!" Caesar, "See Mary, Yi knows what they are." Turns out, they were talking about knockers while I was catching up, Mary didn't know what they were and bet that I didn't either. It was too funny, you had to be there! Loving my new ride, Pip! new saddle, narrower handle bar, and a raised seat height equated to a better ride than last week! I even feel stronger on the climbs... probably had more to do with the raised saddle height though!

Sunday, I had a great intro to trail running from my friend Dana! I had to head out for an hour and 15 minutes while she headed out for 3 hours - yes 3 hours for a trail run race in a month! We started at the base of the Marin Headlands just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The warm up was tough as it started uphill but once you get into your rhythm, it's not too bad. To be honest, I surprised myself with the hills... didn't have to walk all of them! The only tough thing about trail running for me is that I am controlled by heart rate.. so a few times.. I had to walk once my heart rate hit zone 2 max...walked until it got to the base of zone 2 before picking it up again. Beautiful day out with good company and the Golden Gate Bridge as the backdrop.. seriously?!

Still have not fully unpacked from Kona yet but will shortly since I leave for Australia soon! Have my cities all planned out.. Cairns (Great Barrier Reef and Cape Tribe), Noosa, Melbourne (hopefully including the Great Ocean Road) and Sydney!

Good week mates!

Workout Summary-

Swim- 1 hour and 37 minutes

Bike- 6 hours and 17 minutes

Run- 1 hour and 35 minutes

Strength- 2 hours and 0 minutes

Total workout- 11 hours and 29 minutes

Meet Pip!

Introducing...Pip!

She's hot, she's pretty, she's got a hint of pink, she's rides amazingly, she's Pip!

I got the call from Woody of Above Category last Saturday that my 2010 Pinarello FP3 had arrived! Monday, I drove through a Bay Area storm to pick her up! Took her out on Saturday for her first ride! Caesar came by in the early morning and we drove out to Bear Valley to meet Mary for our 3 hour pre-season training ride. Rode out from Bear Valley out to Tomales. Morning started out wet and foggy but ended with sunshine and warmth. Pip rode amazingly even braving at all the sights of road k*ll that was out on the road! It was really bad! I had never seen it so bad out there... a couple of deers... a couple of foxes... mice on their backs like in the cartoons... yea yuck!

So right after the ride, I stopped by Above Category so that Chad can raise my seat up a little and switch my saddle out. Saddle not my friend! Looking forward to the next ride already!

This week was about getting back into a consistent workout mode. It started the week prior but this week I really got back into the groove and I can feel myself getting back into running shape! Starting to love the trail runs!

Btw, I still wish I was still in Kona enjoying Ironman Worlds week all over again! It was just too much fun! And the photos I took during race week are surfacing on the websites of a few top Pros including Macca's... how cool is that?!

Workout Summary-

Swim- 0 hours and 53 minutes

Bike- 6 hours and 0 minutes

Run- 2 hours and 15 minutes

Strength- 1 hour and 0 minutes

Total workout- 10 hours and 8 minutes

Post Ironman Kona 2009

Where do I start with how this week went?!

Such a strange week since it started in Kona and ended here... home in San Francisco but wishing I was still in Kona because I had so much fun this year! My flight home was less than smooth with delay after delay due to weather and then due to the plane not detaching from the gate while we were trying to taxi out but out of that, I got a $250 credit towards my next flight and met a new friend who happens to work for Competitor!

As many of you know, I took a lot of photos in Kona. I can't help it! I have a passion for photography & sports and I happen to be lucky enough to capture a few good ones! I've been receiving emails via facebook all week from friends & strangers complimenting my photos and even notes from a few of the Pro athletes (which is such a compliment since their photos are being taken all the time). I love being able to share my passion with others and being able to benefit others in that as well! Can you tell I miss Kona?!

Last weekend was full of race day and post race parties... this weekend was very similar minus the race! Saturday was Ted's 40th Birthday weekend so many of us headed down to Los Gatos for a night of Bocce Ball! It was great to see Ted, Mai, Caesar, Nick & Leslie, Victor, Renee, Pete and many of Ted's family members! Bocce ball was a hoot!! Sunday was a full day! A long run, coffee with Abbey which included a Jake Gyllenhaul & Reese Witherspoon sighting, a 3.5 hour visit with Monique, who is progressing VERY well by the way (she leaves the hospital tmrw) and ended with a dinner party at my friend's Alex & Heidi's house. It was a weekend of catching up with friends and a lovely weekend it was! Reminds me of how lucky I am to have all these wonderful people in my life!

Friends + photography+ triathlon + travel = happy me

I leave you with another GREAT recap video by TimRabe of Ironman Worlds 2009-

Workout Summary-

Swim- 0 hours and 0 minutes

Bike- 4 hour and 30 minutes

Run- 2 hours and 15 minutes

Total Workout- 6 hours and 45 minutes

2009 Ironman World Championships Blog- Days 5->8

A spectator's perspective...

Days 5-8 10.10.09- 10.13.09

Yes, it took me a few days to blog again because there was a lot going on and plus post race, I was just drained and tired! Supporting is hard work! So I guess I'll start with race happenings...then race itself... post race... then overall thoughts.

Race Happenings- I woke up at 3am to report to Body Marking duties..yours truly was assigned to bodymark the Physically Challenged and VIP athletes which is generally a less chaotic of a line- thank goodness! That coupled with being positioned right next to the Pro line gave me great photo access! Great photo access was the theme of my day! After body marking duties, I made my way through transition and then there it was- prime spot to take photos of swimmers exiting the water- right on top of the swim stairs where they exit! I wanted to stay out until the last person comes in which is what I've done in the past but having not slept for more than 4-5 hours a night since I've arrived in Kona and being up since 3am, I made it until 1030pm..so onto the race...

The Race was one of the best ones I've seen in terms of drama and how it unfolded..well the Men's race anyway! The Women's race was all Chrissie Wellington! It was also great because I knew a lot more ppl that were racing this year vs. last year! Being where I was at the swim exit, it was great to see friends as they entered and exited the water. The most exciting part of the race had to be about mile 9 of the run? We saw Macca then Andreas followed closely by Crowie and Faris Al-Sultan.. they were all chasing Chris Lieto...at that point.. you knew there was going to be drama drama drama happening on the Queen K! Crowie and Chrissie Wellington ended up winning the race but two athletes I was most happy for was Chris Lieto and Andy Potts. Chris Lieto for risking it and bringing it to them on the bike and holding that gap for the majority of the run of bring home his best finish yet and Andy Potts for only dropping two places from last year despite being involved in the Chicago Tri crash. By the way, have you heard? Chrissie Wellington broke the Women's course record previously held by Paula Newby-Frasier in 1992! Very cool that I was at the finish line watching all this unfold!

And while all that was great, the most inspiring moment had to have come when physically challenged athlete, Rudy Garcia, a double amputee, exited the water in a 1:05!! I felt chills and tears when I witnessed it!

This photo would not do the moment justice but here it is-

Photo below- Crowie being crowned as the 2009 Ironman Champion!

Photo below- Chrissie Wellington broke the course record held since 1992 as she is crowed the 2009 World Champion!

Post Race..the after party has been at Huggos for the last two years sponsored by K-Swiss and a great party it was! It's the place of Who's Who in the world of Ironman Triathlon, AGers, and supporters! Abbey and I stayed out until about 3:30am that day and got to bed around 4am. Good times!

Below is a video I put together for the AIMP crew- congrats to all!!

Photos can be found here!

Race Week Activities- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126013&id=687712413&l=66ff2024ee

Bike Check in- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126204&id=687712413&l=81077cc18f

Race Day Part 1 of 2-http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126574&id=687712413&l=aabc08415e

Race Day Part 2 of 2- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126586&id=687712413&l=6e2ec6e203

As I sit here, my last morning at Lava Java in Kona, I will miss the sounds of aerodynamics and carbon passing by every 2 seconds, the compressions socks and the vibe here in Kona. Until next time! Mahalo...

2009 Ironman World Championships Blog- Day 4

A spectator's view..

Day 4- 10.09.09 Friday!

Morning started with people watching at DigMe Beach and you can feel the nervous energy of the crowd as this would be the last practice swim before the BIG day! No photo shoot sightings today but I did have a Normann Stadler sighting and photo op :-)! Also had fun watching Brian in photo action for his upcoming project which is yet to be revealed early next year!

Before I forget, a video from yesterday's Underpants Run! My camea appears 10 seconds in and about 1:06 in right before Borat himself and his butt cheeks running!

Reported into body marking practice duty-- yours truly will have the privilege of body marking the VIP and physically challenged athletes! My day may just start and end with tears! Other than that, most of my day was spent watching folk check in their bikes! Relaxing day today otherwise but I must end this here for today as I have to rest up for a 20 hour day tomorrow! I plan to wake up at 3am.. be at body marking by 4am and won't sleep until 1am as I will be out there until the last finisher comes through!!

Here are photos from today's Bike Check In to keep you entertained! Aloha!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126204&id=687712413&l=81077cc18f

Schwag- baby blue Cervelo Kona 2009 t-shirt.. thanks Sandy :-)

2009 Ironman World Championships Blog- Day 3

A Spectator's Perspective:

Day 3 10.08.09- Thursday

Morning start with people watching at Dig Me Beach-- I must say this has got to be THE best people watching spot in the world of triathlon! Luke McKenzie was doing a photo shoot for Blue Seventy out in the water- cool to see! LOTS of folks showed up for the swim this morning.. makes sense since today is the last day to check in for the race.

Happenings- It's Thursday during race week lead up in Kona...you know what that means!! Underpants Run!!

It was hands down the most fun I've had in a running event and it was definitely an event! Attended Coach's race mtg so that I can see every one and it was quite interesting listening to race strategy from Coach. I heard some things that I found to be helpful for my next Ironman race! Coming out of that mtg, phew hearing him break down the bike course and potential conditions AND then the run... yikes! I wish all athletes the BEST of luck on Saturday! Nothing else really going on today as race is getting closer... folks are starting to take it easier!

Tomorrow is gear check in day so I'll be on site there with my camera ready!

Schwag- orange Avia hat that they were selling at Wildflower (free), VERY cool Art of Tri limited addition Kona T-shirt (thanks to Kara for grabbing me one from Toby), gel flasks, waterbottles, swim caps- that's the free stuff. Stuff I actually paid for- pink compression socks, Crocs Repair slides, socks dogs for my stinky cyclig cleats.. hopefuly they will be stinky no more!

More photos here- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126013&id=687712413&l=66ff2024ee

2009 Ironman World Championships Blog- Day 2

A Spectator's View"

Day 2- 10.07.09- Wednesday

First thing this AM- did an hour morning swim at Dig Me Beach (IM swim start). Warm but choppy waters but what a change a pace to be able to see in what's under the water that you're swimming in :-)! Needless to say, I was well distracted during my swim this AM! Went in with Ariane and Jordan.. was hoping to watch Sandy & co coming out of the water but missed them for photos! Pre-swim, Macca's Beistmilch crew was out giving away tattoos, swim caps, and t-shirts but to get the t-shirt, you had to have the tattoo on your body! Heck, give me that bottle of water! Afterall, it is Kona week :-)

Happenings- Checked in for my Body Marking during race morning duties! Met up with Abbey, Mark and Eve for lunch at the Kona Brewery before heading to the expo. As Abbey, Eve and I walked through the bike portion of the expo, I heard the voice of Macca on the mic! Turned to the ladies and said, "Macca is doing an interview at the Triathlete Mag tent.. I'm going there!” Sure enough, there he was! I stuck around for the full interview, Q&A session, photo & autograph session. Then stuck around for the K-Swiss crew interview session and a photo op and conversation about vitamins with Chris Lieto. Yes, vitamins!

Specifically, I was asking about his new Base Multivitamin and why one has to take 4 of those a day?! And how that compares to the One-A-Day Multivitamins! I won't bore you with the details of that conversation but it was interesting for me to get his insight. And then as I was walking back to meet Eve & Abbey... on the mic..."Andy Potts is at the TYR tent!" So did an about face and off to the TYR tent I went! A really nice guy! Yes, I admit, I am a BIG fan of these athletes who are at the top of the triathlon game! Besides, how often can one be in conversation with so many great athletes in one sitting?! :-) Had to take advantage of the opportunity! One thing that stuck with me that was said today came from Macca..something to the tune of.. "When I hit a tough moment, I just remind myself how lucky and privileged I am to be out here.. to be able to do this!" Word!

Schwag- Beistmilch T-shirt, Beistmilch swim cap, autographed ClifShot visor by Macca, volunteer t-shirt

2009 Ironman World Championships Blog- Day 1

A spectators perspective:

Day 1- 10.06.09. Tuesday

Departed SFO at 9am landed in KOA at 11:30am- Aloha! First thoughts upon landing- whoa...it's HOT out here! Felt much warmer than last year...or it could be that it's been chillingly cold in SF..shrug.

Sights- many shaved legs, beautiful people, several different languages but same passion! Saw the Nation's Parade...what can I say about eye candy for both men & women from multiple nations represented here at this mecca of an event?!

Happenings & highlights- Keiki Race! I was rooting for Little Lieto (Kaiden)-- those kids-- so young yet some already have perfect run form! I saw one kid throw an elbow to towards the finish to one of his competitors-- bad sportsmanship kid :-0! Saw a line at the Newton expo camp...when there is a line... there is happenings! Natascha Badmann and Crowie was there signing autographs and taking photos. Of course yours truly got in the Crowie line... I love Natasche too..I mean come on.. she's one tough cookie but Crowie... :-) So here's a thought.. why was I the only one of two gals that was in line for Crowie? The rest were men :-).Dinner with Kara, Toby (Art of Tri) and Whit. Chatting up triathlon happenings with Whit....throwing question after question to him which he asked multiple times, "How do you know this stuff?!" Ha ha! I keep up Whit :-) Talked retail with Toby relating to his Art of Tri clothing line-- met and shook hands with Mark Allen while he came in dining with another Ironman legend, Greg Welch...good times! Not to leave another Ironman legend out, Dave Scott! Heard him speak at a Q&A session...the most interesting Q&A segment was regarding one Lance Armstrong! Question was something to the tune of..."Do you think Lance can compete here?" Dave Scott answered something like, "I competed with him years ago when he was a junior... etc etc etc... the question is can he have a strong run off the bike? These guys here are running a sub 2:50 off the bike...Lance runs a sub 2:50 with about an entourage of 50 people pacing him!" Ooooooh... I guess we shall see in 2011?!

Schwag- 2009 Kona Underpants Run visor & K-Swiss Ironman M Dot backpack!

Until tomorrow...!

Enroute to Kona in two days!!

That's right! I am headed to Ironman mecca in two days!

This week was not very eventful, wait, let me think about that...... no not really. Have been feeling "not quite right" for most of this week.. started with a sore throat. And then it progressed to a sore dry throat. And then a sore dry throat with a whole lotta phlegm... gross I know! And then all that plus headache which started around Wednesday and then progressed. Weekend came and I was feeling sickly fatigued so I took the weekend off from training... instead I took it easy and since I can't sit around and not do anything, I organized my life :-). I cleaned out the "locker room" corner of my room into organized eye complimenting chaos. Time well spent... if I didn't feel well enough to train.. I still wanted to do something productive! Weekend didn't completely go to waste... cleaning.. organizing and football. Since when did the 49ers start winning again?!

It's October and you know what that means?! Ironman Worlds and if you're passionate about triathlon and know the who's who and the competition among the Pro men and women or have a bunch of friends racing, then Kona is where you want to be come October 10th! I am excited?! Can you tell?! The week leading up to the race is always fun too! I am headed there on Tuesday, just in time to watch the Kids Race! More to come next week!!

No worries though, just cause I am on vacation doesn't mean I don't have to train... coach put on my schedule a run and something about swimming in the ocean .. twice :-)

You can check out my photos from last year here-

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57462&id=687712413&l=2b03a63ebb

Workout Summary-

Swim- 0 hours and 0 minutes

Bike- 3 hours and 0 minutes

Run- 1 hour and 0 minutes

Strength- 3 hours and 0 minutes

Total workout- 7 hours and 0 minutes

I cheated on triathlon today...

For my other love.. photography!

It's Thursday night and I get an email from Augie telling me that he received a last minute cancellation to a class that I've been wanting to get in- SCORE! He's next class would have been in January and that'll be during my prime training for IM St. George so was really hoping to get into today's class! Photo class was 7 hours long... learned all types of new settings on my Dslr... hours of aperture talk, shutter speed, f-stops, sunlight, open shade, good stuff! All that I learned today should come very handy for my trip to Kona during IM Worlds week and of course during my trip to Aussie land!

Two photos I took of my partner Jenny during our on-site session class today-

Other happenings during my week... word has it that Monique is well on her way to recovery from her accident which is great to hear! She even began twittering again :-). On Tuesday, Coach gave s a 52 minute interval in the pain cave. Followed it up on Thursday with more @ss kicking!

Photo: pain cave.. Steve Fried made these shirts for coach's athletes. Front: Question (h)authority

Photo- back: NOT!
Went to watch some friends race at the Santa Cruz Triathlon last weekend! Below- Dana and I:

Below- my favorite photo of the bunch that I took:

Workout summary-

Swim- 1 hour and 37 minutes

Bike- 6 hours and 25 minutes

Run- 0 hours and 0 minutes

Strength- 2 hours and 0 minutes

Total workout- 10 hours and 2 minutes

It's tough...

Training with a heavy heart and a heavy mind...

But not nearly as tough as an athlete who is surviving being hit by a mini- van while training on her bike. It was Thursday about 5:40am when Bo tells Nicky and I that Mo had been hit by a car while riding her bike. As we learned more details of the accident and Mo's injuries, devastation, shock and heart break rises. Here is an article the Marin newspaper wrote on the accident-

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13361629?source=rss

There's isn't too much else I want to say about this as it's been tough just accepting it. And for it to be tough for me to except it, I can't imagine how her family and close friends are dealing with it. I wish them all the strength they will need to stay positive in this situation. More importantly, I wish Mo all the strength and the positive energy she needs to get back to the life that she wants-- whatever that may be!

Mo also has support page on Facebook. If you get a chance, please log on and send her some love and support! It's going to be a long road to recovery but I think knowing she has the support from friends & strangers will help immensely!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Monique-Petrov/163668823942?ref=ts

I would like to end this week's blog with this: cars PLEASE be careful in areas where you know cyclists are training. Be careful around cyclists in general. Yes, I know, we don't always stop when we're supposed to all the time but please know that 2 wheels are much more vulnerable than 4. If a cyclists is taking a lane to descend, please be patient and just stay behind leaving much room until the hill flattens out. We take the entire lane for safety reasons! If there is sun glare while you're driving, slow at an intersection even if you don't have a stop sign to tell you to, really, you're only giving up a few seconds of your time to make sure it is safe!

Workout Summary-

Swim- 0 hours and 50 minutes

Bike- 5 hours and 20 minutes

Run- 0 hours and 15 minutes

Strength- 1 hour and 0 minutes

Total workout- 7 hours and 25 minutes

Nautica Malibu Triathlon!

Lessons of the weekend ...

Conquer our mental demons.. a life without gratitude is a sad one... the things i think about during a race!

Pre- race thoughts- I like the thought of Olympic Distance because it's short but not a fan of the intensity!

Breakfast- the usual- almond butter sandwich, 250 cal bottle of infinit nutrition, 1 gel 1.5 hours prior and then another gel 30 min prior to start and a bottle of water in between the gels.

Swim- 43:21-oh boy! those ocean wave breaks! apparently my timing was off and i got caught in one of the waves even though i tried to swim down when i saw wave coming! got swallowed up and spit back out by the big wave. when the wave was done with me, life guard pulled me up and pushed me back out after i nodded to his, "are you ok?" once i got out of the breaks and into the calmer waters, i was fine to swim but it wasn't easy to sight during this point to point swim. i got through it but i wasn't happy with my time..

T1- 4:23

Bike- 1:24:41 the only good thing about my slow swim is that i passed a good amt. of ppl on the bike! pretty uneventful bike course but pretty. little wind out but kept focused and pushing as hard as my legs would let me!

nutrition- 1.5 bottles of Infinit.

T2- 3:04 had to put my socks on..

Run- 1:04:47 really wanted to go under an hour here but my legs would not muscle through! Had one potty stop here- i hydrated well- what can i say :-0...

nutrition- gel flask- 3 gels.

Total- 3:20:17

Overall- 746/1258

Women- 172/410

AG- 48/110

Overall race thoughts- I didn't have the time that I thought I would have with the swim and the run but I had a good time muscling through the race as it helped me deal with many different mental thoughts that were going through my head. Stuff like.. do i really want to finish this race? do i really want to do this race? it's so short? it's not an ironman? does it matter? and my answer is yes.. of course it all matters..it's still a race i set out to do! gotta love those mental demons! The most entertaining part of the race however was watching all the waves before us start the swim! Mel and I were standing there watching and laughing in fear-- those were big strong waves fighting athletes trying to get through the ocean breaks! Good times.. I might be back next year :-)!

Thanks to my friend Minnie who invited us to stay in her beautiful beach house in Marina Del Ray! Photos from race to come next week :-)