SC Velo Fat Tire Classic

The race today was over the top. The organization, the course and the competition. Typically you get a medal and a podium visit if you win or place. Not today. Their awards are hand built by students in the MSAC welding dept. Mine is a Pirahna. Best I've ever seen. I love it. Each division winner got a Michelob Ultra jersey. And it's a cool jersey you'll want to wear. And wear it I will. Thank you to the Race Director's, Al and Omar, Demi Hechinova the announcer, race volunteers, MSAC welding dept., and Michelob for the jersey one rarely gets.This is turning into one of the best mtn. bike races out there. Hands down. And thank you Corey of Coates Bikes for lending me that big 'ol beast, I mean bike!!!!!Oh and Scott Palmer for the hurt you dished out..........

Central America

We love going off the beaten path. Training and racing. This is way off the beaten path on the Caribbean side of Panama. Deep jungle. Like see wild -animals-deep-jungle. Like see spiders and their webs that could have you for lunch jungle. So we were excited about the island of Roatan off Honduras race next month. Only thing is.......they just cancelled it. But we have flight tickets and rooms. They hopefully will have the race early 2011. Hopefully.

SC Velo mountain bike race

SC Velo put on a great event today @ Bonelli Park. Race directors Al and Omar have got it down. The course was challenging and big fun. I borrowed Corey's single speed and mixed it up with the blinged out carbon 29er's. I liked the fact that I was possibly the only steel framed, v-braked, inner tubed, not-a-single-piece of carbon SS out there. Do I sound envious? Okay I was. But had I been riding any one of those eye candy bikes today wouldn't have made a bit of difference. I managed a 3rd place and Corey's trusty old steed really pretty much performed.............flawless.

Today's mail........

Bills. That's what I typically get in the mail. But today this arrived. An official County of Los Angeles Gold Seal Award signed by the board of supervisors. All for winning the Los Angeles Triathlon Series race a few months ago. See what racing can do for you? So train smart, race hard and recover well. Schedule an appointment for sports massage with us and you'll be one step closer to getting one of these!!

Bonelli Express

The Team of Tri Events put in lots of hard work and it showed as their race this past Saturday was a blast for all. They gave away more free raffle schwag than I ever seen. Anywhere. Corey of Coates donating most of it. Chip timing and they already have results up with splits and that's always a treat. I knew Jodi was first female but not 6th over all!(women started in the last last wave) She layed it down! My trusty steed here provided me with the fastest bike split of the day carrying me from 10th out of the water to 1st into the bike/run transition. I had company pretty quick though and hung as long as I could with the young gun.. Then the "21" on his calf got smaller and smaller. And that was just fine. He had to work for it as he saw "51" in front of him for many pain-inducing and lactate producing minutes........ That was another fun race!

Challenging, rugged and beautiful.

Trained hard efforts with only quality miles this past month . Then tapered and included leg work(massage) Thursday. Virtually no activity yesterday ( except body work on others). Showed up fresh and went hard today. Not much air @ 8700' so that with steep inclines, needed every fast and slow twitch muscle fibers to be firing on all cylinders. Had company on the climb on bike, but was able to pull away on the run to gap 2nd place by three minutes. I have not gone THAT hard(or felt THAT pain) in sometime. Jodi did not know what to expect(but it's labeled HAC, or High Altitude Challenge) so she had some inclination!
My goal was to go 100%, race smart, and hope for no mishaps. That recipe delivered and an overall win was the result. Jodi was the first female to cross the line. Ole and his team, and Corey of Coates Cyclery simply provided an awesome event. For those of you who missed it: You missed it!

Pre Race

Mt. Baldy hurt-fest in two days. Fish taco's, an O'douls and leg work(massage) on the menu tonite. Leg's should be fresh and spunky come Sat. But after the climb on the bike and then run up another 1500' to the 8600' mark, the descent is steep and quad busting. I intend on holding nothing back. I will be damaged after, but then again, that's why we keep a massage table up like a piece of furniture!! Hope to see many there!!!!!

Race this Saturday

Looking forward to the lung burning climbs of Mt. Baldy this Saturday. Hopefully lot's of you will be attending. It's a challenging and fun event. Come on up and rock and roll!!!!

One more desert gem............

When we go off road behind our Tiki Villa, we ride, grind, push and carry mtn. bikes over some fun, beautiful, challenging terrain. Then we drop bikes, run and explore. This split in the earth was about a half mile long. Then got too steep and we had to turn back. (that and the bat's flying were a little eerie too :)

Leave the power meters at home!

Do you want become fitter? Do you want to be faster? Do you desire to be stronger? LavaRacing Day camps coming up. Guaranteed to take you to the next level. Your next level. In a one day, training session full of challenges, fun, more challenges, and even more fun. Get on board. LavaRacing. Race proven. Balanced proven. And did I mention FUN????????

Upcoming camp pre runs

We will providing some day long mini camps in our desert arena this fall. A day of fun, strength building training, and then some more training. BBQ, look over video and be home in one day. An experience. Once in a lifetime at that. Have an awesome time and learn from the best. Lot's more to come. Stay tuned. And huge improvement you will experience. That and fun can't be beat.

Epic. Simply epic training.

San Andrea's Fault Line, one mile behind our park. Today we mountain biked 5 hard miles. dropped bikes, ran a gnarly 2 miles. Repeated 4 x's. Came out to actually 20 miles on the bikes, 8 miles running. All on beautiful landscaped unspoiled mother natured desert trails, fireroads, dunes and caves. We all stayed together. A solid 10. E ticket. Epic. And we are stronger from it. The best part of it all??? We video cammed and watched back at mobile over BBQ and bests out any crap showing on TV right now. We were laughing, hooting, high fiving. We are blessed and fortunate.

Quad busting climbs in the desert

We know where the secret spots are out there behind our Tiki mobile home. Secret meaning, only we seem to know of it, and we've gotten to know it well. San Andrea's Fault line, the earth and formation's there are out of this world. Huge fun. Huge exploration. Challenging training. We would like to share it with a certain few this fall when it cool's down. We are used to the heat. Acclimated. Most would crack right now. But if you didn't you can handle anything after this.

Mt. Baldy Duathlon!!!

You can actually sign up on this link.. Click here to see more info. Sign up so we can keep our local races alive. This is one where you really get your money's worth. Four free lift passes for family and friends with an inexpensive entry fee??? Beautiful.

More epic training!!!!!

Using Mt. Baldy Duathlon race coming up as a focus, rode, dropped bikes, ran repeated 4x's to give all a very challenging and strength building 3 hour training session. Here Jodi out rides 2 of Bonita High's Varsity cross country runners, Mark and Dillon. They would then reel her in on the run, put in a nice gap, and then Jodi would do the same on the bike. They will be animals on the bike after sufficient training. Running is priority now though. Absolutely fun, maxed heart rate work out today!

Mt. Baldy Duathlon coming up!!!!

The off road Mt. Baldy Duathlon is back on Sept. 18. This is a must do!!! It is a pretty challenging yet pretty short course. Not too technical but thin air grinding climbs. I did it last year and had a blast. It is right here in our backyard and an inexpensive entry. The race director really takes care of the athletes. Lots of schwag and goodies.I will post more info as I get it. Photo's here of Jodi @ previous Xterra by famous Terry Martin.

Dillon Nobbs 3rd at National's

Five months. That's how long young Dillon Nobbs has been in the sport of triathlon. Coming from a swimming backround, a new and naturally fast runner (High School Varsity this freshman year) just placed 3rd @ USAT Junior Nationals. 45 seconds from 1st. And his cycling training has been minimal. His swim and run carried him. When X-country is over, cycling becomes a priority. And when that talent matches the other two, that cake mix is going to win lots of races.

Training fun!!!

We have not competed in 3 or 4 week's, but our quality load of training exists non the same. Some epic rides right here in our back yard lately. Here is a shot of Jodi about to launch a little taken by none other than the best: Terry Martin. We have clinics coming up. Stay tuned. And get fast. And have some serious fun at it.

Los Angeles Triathlon race #3

Yes, racing is fun. Really fun when you get out of the water top 20, come off the bike in 3rd place and run down the 2 in front of you for the overall win. Even funner when the two in front of you are half your age. Yes, the young one's got schooled by the old boy this day. 25 years of racing and still having as much, if not more.....fun. Thanks for the fun guys. That's Corey in the green shirt, our Title Sponsor. It would have been nice had he said something like: Go Dave. Or keep it up Dave.. you're 3 minutes back Dave....you look old Dave. Or even : "Boo" But nothing. Oh well, guess I didn't need it this day anyway! :)

Olympic distance

Jodi put together a solid swim, fast bike, and swift run to win her division last Sunday in the longer race. She may not be as aero as she could on this road bike, but none the less hammered the course. All the while........having fun!!!

Things happen

When you train and race smart, things happen. First and foremost you should be having a fun time. Do it right and you should improve. Dillon is having fun and improving. His first race, 8th overall. This past Sunday's race, 4th overall. One day he will have thee overall. He has not ridden this Giant Trinity yet. But he will. And he will be faster. And probably having more fun at it. A good combination.

Reinhold

That's Reinhold Geist at our triathlon clinic last month. He just raced last Sunday on the same course clinic had covered. I guess it paid off. He won his division. Nice goin' Rein!

Corey is the Man

Whether it be pre race, post race, or at the race, Corey from Coates Cyclery will hook you up. On top of knowing everything there is about the business, as I said he will hook you up. With the right equipment and the correct advise. Thanks Corey!

Sign up for this next Saturday's Clinic!!!

Don't miss this chance!! Where we'll have our own private park(Bonelli South Swim Beach) to swim, bike, run and learn from the best!!!! Whether you have NEVER done a triathlon, beginner, intermediate, or just plain fast and want to get faster, sign up today!!!! Won't be another one for awhile, so do not miss this opportunity. Sign up on Active now. See you there!!!!

Triathlon Clinic June 5th!!

Next clinic is soon to be upon us. We have our own private beach to swim train with lifeguards and our team of professional instructors. Yes, swim entry, sighting, swim exit. You will choose to swim a short or longer course. Next it's swim to bike transition practice. Then we ride. Then transition bike to run. Then we run. Then cover everything under the sun related to training and racing. Demonstration, instruction, question and answers. Commit today!! Hit the "Clinic" link then hit the "Active" link and sign up!! See you there!!!!!!!!!

48 and 14

That's the ages of these two speedsters! Jodi raced long course today. 1k swim, 40k bike, 8k run. After tearing up the short course, Dillon ran the 5 miles around lake with Jodi. They were flying!!! Great job to the both of you today!!!

Dillon!

Local La Verne multi talent Dillon Nobbs takes 1st place age group(14 yrs.) and a top ten overall! This kid has it all: Heart, discipline and determination. Dillon will continue to develop and one day be scarey fast.

LA Triathlon Series race this Sunday!!!

Race #2 of the series @ Bonelli is this weekend. Jodi and Suzy missed the first one due to competing in the Boston Marathon. Dave is hungry as he missed an overall win there by 30 seconds. He will not bypass installing his clip on aerobar this time!! Hope to see many of our clinic attendee's there. Our next over-the-top clinic will be held June 6th. Sign up on Active.com now!!!

Xterra West Championships

Drove out yesterday to Lake Las Vegas for Xterra West Championships. Been 5 years since I'd raced an Xterra Championship race. The course was, typical Xterra fashion, gnarly. I went hard on the bike. Began run and was told 2nd in age, 1st one minute ahead. I was a happy camper. I've been running our hilly trails hard here in Marshall Canyon and this was no different. Then disaster struck. My entire right quad seized and cramped up as hard as a rock twice it's size. My race ended there. After the quad, my left hamstring felt neglected and decided to blow too. Incapacitated. Could not move. I was no longer happy. Having never DNF'd, I could have easily talked myself into it, but soldiered on and trotted/cramped/limped a very slow run. Dang it. I know this is part of racing. I just wish it wasn't today!!!!!!! :)

Talmadge

This is Team Talmadge. Talmadge competed this past Sunday in the triathlon. Talmadge has Cerebral Palsy. He swam, biked and ran with some assistance. Simply amazing. Talmadge and his team, they rock. They are on my hero list. And my hero list is short........

Jodi rocks Boston Marathon!!!!

With a game plan of running 3:15 in Boston this past Monday, Jodi ran her first mile in 7:30. Then ran every mile left of the 26.2 miles @ an even 7:30 pace to finish in 3 hours and 17 minutes. On their stat page they have 1,884 qualified competitor's in her age group alone, and Jodi placed 17th!!! Pretty good for a full time working triathlete nurse!!!! Nice going JODI!!!!!!!!

Congratulations!!!

To all the clinic attendee's who competed this past Sunday: You all rock!!! You've got what it takes! You ALL looked strong. Keep it up!!!!!!!! See you soon.

Boston Marathon this Monday!!!

Jodi leaves for Boston tomorrow. Her marathon is Monday. I am excited for her. She will have a good time and enjoy herself with good friend Suzy. With 99.% of her training on hilly trails as in this pic, she is ready. Good luck to Jodi and Suzy. You guys earned this!!!

Bonelli Tri this Sunday!!!!!

This Sunday 8 a.m. the same course we held clinic, will be the course for the race. You athlete's who attended our camp are good to go!!!!!! More than able. Beyond ready. Just show up!!! Promise to be a good time!!!! I intend on racing hard to defend my 1st place overall last year. But then again, any and all of you can take that away!!!! See you there! Say hi!!!!

Icing on the cake!!!!

Thank you to those with all the kind word's in received emails today. You are now prepared. You know mentally and physically you can conquer next week's course (you did it)!!! The water is not too cold, the hill's are now not too steep, and the run is under your belt.
On another note, the giveaway raffles were obviously a big hit. Not shown here in photo are the two pairs of AVIA running shoes, Shimano cycling shoes, and bike stands given away. Thank you Corey McCroskey!!!!!

Group A at top of Widow Maker!!

Clinic attendee Chris took this shot after everyone maxed their heart rate out up Widow maker. Great job everybody!!! Wasn't that fun?????:) Group's B,C and D pic's soon to follow!!!!!!

Clinic athlete's rocked today!!!!!!

35(our max) triathletes attended our clinic today. I could see improvement and confidence in everyone, and I mean every single athlete at the end of the day. What a wonderful group we had. The swim, the bike, the run, the fun in between. You all rocked. You are all ready. Check back for clinic photo's here in the next few days.!!! Thanks for coming and we WILL see you soon!!!!!! A huge thanks to Hammer Nutrition and Corey with Coates Cyclery. Two of the best in their business. Like everyone today, you guys ROCK!!!!!!!!

Triathlon Clinic tomorrow!!!!!!!

8 a.m. Swim Beach southside Bonelli Park!!!!!! See you there!!!!

Attention Future Ironmen and Women!!!!!!

Clinic instructor Jodi Ruby did her her very first triathlon at Bonelli Park in one of the LA Tri Series events 10 years ago... She has since gone on to win her division in five different Ironman races amongst many other high profile half Ironman's. She could do it..........you can do it!!! Welcome and be excited for Sunday. It all starts here!!!!!!!

Bang for your buck!!!!!

For 135.00+late fee you can still sign up for the triathlon in Newport beach this weekend. Then for another 35 bucks they will hold your race bag and give it to you race morning.
Or you can invest 55.00 towards your triathlon future for four hours of fun, education, instruction and still get a race rehearsal in. Yes, we will cover the equivalent of a sprint distance tri when all is said and done. With hired county lifeguards, park permit fee's and athlete insurance, our prices sooo low, it is obvious we are doing this because we love the sport. Get in while you still can......... And come experience the love!!!!

Clinic is near!!!!!!

Hi everyone. For those entered in Sunday's triathlon clinic, you should be excited. It will be ultra informative, pro active, fun and enjoyable. There is no pressure, this is for you, the athlete. Some will be getting one on one attention at times, while other's will be able to push the pace with their assigned group. This clinic is all about you. Please do NOT be timid on asking for help individually. If we see you need it, we will address it. During discussions and instruction, no question is a bad question. That is why we are here. To share, instruct and demonstrate everything under the triathlon sun. So.... come with a smile and be excited!!!!!!! We promise you will leave with both.

MVP!!!

Jodi will present a special award to one of the clinic's most improved of the day. You may not know how to swim, bike or run before Sunday..............but you will after!!!!!!!!!

Sunday sign up

For those inquiring: There will be day-of-clinic registration. But without pre -reg. can not guarantee a bike or wetsuit. So be sure and bring!

Bikes for Clinic..................

Getting some inquiries on bikes. Yes there will be Felt and Giant bikes there for demo. But if you are real new and/or do not have a bike for clinic we must know ahead of time. You must be pre registered. Then contact us. Then a bicycle will be reserved for you. And off on the start of your triathlon life you'll be!!!!

April 11th Clinic

Over the top, off the hook, that's what our clinic, or more like mini-day camp, promises to be!!!! That's the water we will practice swim entry, actual swimming, and swim exiting. Then it's transition practice right here!!! Learn from the pro's!! Yes we cater mostly to newcomer-beginner's, but for those who need/desire big hurt speed, our instructor's will deliver for them also!!!!! Everyone, and we mean everyone, no matter how new or advanced get's the attention they require. Schwag bags chock full of goodies, and enough Hammer Nutrition to get you thru an Ironman!!!! Oh, and free raffle giveaway's? Uh huh! Oh, bike demo's? Yep. Pull the trigger. Sign up. You do not want to miss this one!

Improve at our clinic!!

Here is shot of the pro's @ Al W.'s recent San Dimas Stage Race.
If you do not ride as efficient and confident as these guy's in this group, sign up and attend our upcoming clinic held a week from this weekend. You'll leave better!!!!!

Swim Beach............................

You can not be too fast or too slow for the upcoming clinic (or 1/2 day camp) come swim with instructor's on your own private beach. Practice, practice, practice. Then a ride and run and lot's of fun in between!! Click the link, sign up while you can!!

Expert Nutrition

Learn from the best, with the best product there is. You will get a bag load of Hammer Nutrition product that you can test, use, and then will never look back. Hammer is the best there is. Hands down. Get into our April 11th 1/2 day camp now. Fours hours of fun, education, race rehearsal and more.

Today's race.......

With the race venue around the Rose Bowl, it meant multiple loops on the bike. With the tri and the du bringing in well over 1000 participant's, that's a potential train wreck. Unable to enter, Jodi got the spectator's view today. She did see some derailment's (crashes) hopefully nobody got seriously hurt. Our upcoming clinic's will intruct proper ettiqutte. For safety, enjoyment and performance. In that order. The way it should be.................................

Pasadena Triathlon

Wow. The Pasadena Triathlon sold out with max of 800 entrants. The duathlon sold out as well and Jodi could not enter this morning. So she took a few photo's.Lots of new faces out there. Nice to see a couple of dinasaurs as pic here of Bob Babbit (Competitor mag) and I still around mixing it up. My goal was a top ten overall and I was 4th across the finish. It was a good workout but most importantly a good time. Being a dinasaur does not mean being old. At least that's what I tell myself. Sign up for our upcoming triathlon clinic. No age restriction's, and if you're new, all the better!!!!!!!

Training!!!

I have always been a strong proponent for training as hard as your effort in your race will be. Okay, to be honest I am a strong proponent for incorporating training day's that will be even harder than your race day effort. Come race day, I feel ready for anything the course has to offer. Even if you are as green and new to the sport as they come, sign up and participate in the upcoming clinic. You will certainly be glad you did!!

Stay active!!!!

And an active week this is! Along with work, training, etc., we will volunteer tomorrow filling race bag's for the upcoming San Dimas Stage Race this weekend. Big race. Exciting race. Come out and watch the crit Sunday in downtown San Dimas. It is something to see! The pro race goes off around 2 p.m.
Saturday is the Pasadena Triathlon which sold out with 800 entries! I am looking forward to mixing it up with the youngster's! Then it's off to the desert where we have a Breast Cancer Charity walk @ a local high school track and our time slot is 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.(Sunday) Then back home to watch and support the cycling event. So active it will be.........did you sign up for the clinic yet??? Stay active!!!!!!!!!!