Auction Success

Our "Wine Tasting and Silent Auction Fundraiser" was a great success - we made over $2,000 in sales of auction items and another $1,000 in ticket sales. We have a few more things to collect and sell which may bring in another $500-$700, we'll know by the end of this week. The party was fun and easy-going, everyone seemed to have a good time, and we've raised a good deal of money for a great cause!

This morning I went for a 45 minute swim up at the club. Took my daughter Haley with me and she was grumpy from the start as I had to wake her up to get going. Once we got there she became the favorite target of a bee or two and was constantly in motion, moving from chair to chair once they found her again. She finally settled down at the deep end side of the pool and they left her alone. Needless to say I didn't get much uninterrupted swimming in as I was watching and suggesting things between laps, but it was good to get in the water.

And the best news of all: I finally found some goggles that don't leak and are reasonably comfortable: Speedo Vanquisher Plus's. Got 'em over at Sports Chalet which has a huge selection of goggles at reasonable prices - I wish I had gone there first instead of the three other places I've tried.

I'm a Triathlete

It's been a while since I posted so let's catch-up.

Tri-camp was a lot of fun. The Eastside and Westside teams camped together at Lake Lopez. Most arrived Friday evening, I drove up Saturday morning. At 10 we cycled down to the lake for our first open-water swim of about 500 yeards. That was tough but educational. The lake was a bit chilly but other than that and the reeds poking us near the bank it wasn't bad. I got all the way out and then decided my arms were dead so floated and swam my way back. No problems.

After the swim we got on our bikes and road out of the area into town, about 8 miles away, and back. On the way out I needed a "rest" break and while stopping, unclipped my left foot and proceeded to fall over on my right side. Not my proudest moment, but I did get some great gear-gashes on my left leg (still healing...)

That afternoon I went for another short ride (falling over in the parking lot on the way back) and another swim. The swim scared me as I got out in the middle of the lake and realized I was tired, but I floated and calmed down and made my way back to shore safely. Still, a very nerve-wracking experience.

This weekend of course was the Castaic Tri. My brother-in-law Kevin and I did this one. 400 meter swim, 10 mile bike (through the prison in Castaic), and a 3.2 mile run. Kevin is an ex-marathoner so knowing he would kill me in the run I poured it on in the swim and bike, finishing 6 minutes ahead of him overall. Great experience and learning - looking forward to 8/9 for a repeat and better time. Missed the top 5 in my age group by 1 spot (the top 5 all received medals). And with that, I am officially a triathlete!

Tri Camp Weekend

Tomorrow I leave at 5am for a 3.5 hour drive up to Lake Lopez near Pismo Beach to partake in a team camp out. Just me and my bike in a tent along with 62 other triathlete wannabe's. We'll be swimming in the lake, then riding and running for two days. Should be fun and exhausting and a good workout all at the same time. Wish me luck!

Swim Practice

Wow, what a practice. Must have swam a mile. The pool was a bit chilly but after a couple of laps it felt warm. We did sprints, worked on pacing, and then, at the end, worked on staying on target. We lined up at one end of the pool and started swimming toward a red cone. Since looking up causes you to stop, we could only look and check our bearings every once in a while. Now, it's easier in the pool because there aren't any waves, so to make it more difficult the coaches moved the cone around as we got closer, and closer, and started bumping into each other, until finally we all got to the other side.

Everyone got out hungry and we headed over to the local Thai place for a post-workout snack.

11 Days Until First Tri

Registration went out in the mail today - I'll be competing in the sprint triathlon up at Castaic Lake on the 19th. I'm treating this as a "practice" tri. They have another one on 8/9 which I also signed-up for - that one I'll take more seriously. On 8/16 we have out "mock tri" in Malibu and on 9/14 is of course the "real tri." So it looks like I'll actually be participating in 4 triathlons this summer - crazy!

Depending how all these go I'm considering PumpkinMan in Vegas (Lake Mead) in October.

I just figure that since I'm in shape and trained, I might as well go for it!

Try a Tri

On July 19th there's a mini-tri (short sprint) up at Castaic Lake in Valencia put on by one of the local high schools. Looks like my brother-in-law is interested and possibly someone from the TnT team. It would be great practice on a small course so I'm leaning heavily to trying it out.

Today at practice we ran for 50 minutes. I had the opportunity to run alongside one of the coaches (Scot) who very patiently and nicely answered all of my n00bie questions ranging from "how do you clean your feet once you are out of the water" to "what do you do after the race?" to "how do I setup my transition area?" I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing in two weeks. I've got the ability, the equipment and the motivation, so I guess all that's left is just to go do it, right?

Independence Day

Truly a great day: not only are we celebrating the US's independence, but we're also celebrating my independence from having to carry sneakers around with me! That's right, I made it up both the hill at the club and the hill on the way back home when I went swimming yesterday. My legs were burning, my lungs were on fire, I almost couldn't see straight, but I made it up!