Here today......gone to Maui

Yup. Depart tomorrow Friday evening 6 p.m. Nothing like getting to a World Championship competition 6 hours early to acclimate and pre ride the race course! Hey it could be worse. We could be returning Sunday. But we are not! Hopefully find some surf for three days. Aloha!

Xterra World Championships less than a week away

Another Xterra Worlds Championship race departing 5 days from now. Here are a few shots from the years Jodi and I both won our world titles. Back to back. Can it/will it happen again? It takes everything to go right and nothing to go wrong on this particular race. Everyone is fast. Everyone is hungry. The race as Ironman has several dozen countries representing. Are we ready? You bet. Going to give it my all. We know there 50 year old phenoms appearing. All preparing for their best performance of the year and/or their lifetime. The competition will be the best in the WORLD. Several prior world champions on the entrants list.................. But wait: We are two of them !  :)

This morning's TriEvents Triathlon

It has been a very busy 2012 year of racing. Half dozen road tri's. Several off road tri's with Xterra's in Las Vegas, Alabama, Texas, Snow Valley, Renegade. Goals accomplished: We qualified for  the XterraWorld Championships to be held on Maui in less than two weeks. This will make our 6th appearance.

       As if the training and those races were not enough the Furnace Creek 508 (miles) non stop bicycle road race a mere few weeks ago was a real test. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually the whole enchilada. Jodi and her 100 lb. frame got hit hard by a side wind and down on the pavement she went. Hard. Fortunately just road rash and she remarkably stood up and went on to hammer out her stages. Then just this past Sunday three fifty plus year olds (sorry Robert I am giving a few you of mine, almost 55 and you are close enough) chose to relay the L.A. Tri Series race and dished out some of the fastest swim, bike and run splits to finish under 50 minutes in the sprint. Which only a few very youthful lightening fast kids did as well. Congratulations Dillon on rocking it.

       Our training after the race Sunday was to bust out Sunset Ridge on the mtn. bikes. Robert took the digger this time. Flying down the descent. I had to play nurse Ratchet as the real nurse (Jodi) was out putting in some last pre Maui running miles. 

        Please everyone be careful out there on your bicycles. Vehicles and human beings in them are our biggest threats. But there is always a risk beyond those too. Be safe. Carry your cell phone. Tell family/friends where you are riding. Ride with a training partner, etc.
and be courteous on the trails (and road)................

     

Furnace Creek 508 Champs

They claim it : "The toughest 48 hours in sports". For us it was 32 hours and 59 minutes to the finish line and first place. Brutal. Difficult. Demanding physically and even more so mentally. It's done. Over. The girls rocked. Jodi went down hard on the pavement. As in cracked helmet-hard. It looked bad. Very scarey. She got up dusted herself off and hammered away. Kevin Unck and his angels from above were watching over us this weekend. On more than one occasion..................
             Huge thanks to Robert Little, John Holderness whom both crewed for us. Two outstanding human beings, athletes AND support crew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Corey big shout thank you for the tremendous help. Could never have done it without any of you.
        And again: Great job Sherry, Jodi and Liesel.  Simply amazing.

LavaRacing/Hammer Nutrition/Coates Bicycles= Tri Clinic

We promised over the top again. Okay last clinic set the bar high. But this one will set it higher!!! For all you pre- registered you should have received instructions and clinic format by now. Reg is closed. If you did not receive it contact me pronto.
      The ride is long. The climbing longer. La Verne to Crystal Lake and back. 60 miles. Elevation tops out near 7500'. The Hammer Nutrition talk/ product bag distribution will be right when and where it should be: Before we begin the ride. This will be approximately 30 minutes. After we return from the ride and take our "Hammer Break" and will  then bust out 10 miles of San Gabriel Mountains trail running.(about 4K elevation gain). Again: Bring your Garmins and heart rate monitors. There will be a half distance and those of you are in the "B" group. All of this info is included in your instructions sent.

    And you can't forget the TikiSwim to be held in Oceanside in which we conquer the following day. (www.tikiswim.com) You have the choice of two distances: 1.2 mile or 2.4 miles. So far the majority in our clinic are signed up for the 2.4 miler.

Furnace Creek 508!!

Wow. Furnace Creek 508 just a few weeks away!! Mojave desert, Death Valley, 10 mountain passes, over 36000' elevation gain, Amboy, Kelso, Baker, Twentynine Palms. They call this race "The Toughest 48 hours of Sport".

        I just dug up a couple of buried away photo's. The street sign? Kelbaker road. Right smack out in the middle of no mans land. It is thee the 508 course but backwards. I have ridden it several times on our epic Palm Springs to Baker ride. Typically myself and at most three others. The roads are desolate. The roads are rough. The scenery is off the charts. The traffic was always minimal. There are long big climbs and long descents. I have only ridden it going the opposite direction of the upcoming FC 508 race. I have never ridden it in the pitch black dark of the desert night. But that is soon to change..............................

Furnace Creek 508 straight miles of bike race

First and foremost: Congratulations Carlos Solis for your accomplishment on finishing your much hard -trained -for Malibu Triathlon held yesterday. You not only finished it. You rocked it. It was an absolute honor and pleasure working with you these past 6 months. You my friend deserve 99% of the credit. I will take .05% and give the other .05% to CNN FitNation and their team. That being said and it is done and over, you are an amazing man.  Continue to share your message.
         It is now time for us to continue on with our own personal goals. Furnace Creek 508 mile bike race coming up in a few weeks. Pic here is Liesel Lemay. Widow of much respected and much missed Kevin Unk. My sister Sherry, wife Jodi, and good friend Liesel and myself are racing in Kevin's honor. Have dedicated our efforts to his foundation and lasting memory. He was one amazing man himself. Sure his cycling talent was off the charts. But his character even more.

         This race has/had several hundred teams which all had to send in a tedious application. Many or most got turned down. We did not. It is listed as  one of the most difficult races on the planet. 508 non stop miles, through huge mountain ranges (35k' of elevation gain) Death Valley in the heat of day  and no sleep and that makes sense. We have all trained hard. There is a lot involved in such an activity. I am used to tossing my gear in a bag the night before a competition, get up in a.m. and jump into the water 2 minutes before the gun goes off. Not this one.  Whole different ball game.......and we are looking forward to it.