HAVEN'T HAD CABLE SINCE THE MOVE SIX MONTHS AGO. NOW I HAVE THAT DIGITAL BOX THAT I GOT FREE WITH THE GOVERNMENT VOUCHER. I'M HOOKED ON THE FREE USN CHANNEL (NBC) THAT PLAYS OLD KONA SPECIALS FROM YEARS PAST!!!
THEN OF COURSE FOR THE HOURS I SPEND ON THE TRAINER...
a little video made by yours truly has been featured this morning at LA Observed, described as "LA's most popular blog"
what can i say. it's hard out here for a pimp.
and on a super creepy note, read the post a few up from my video mention titled "Woman lost in towed car died after crash" uh, no thanks. i think i'd rather be eaten by a shark in a triathlon....
ok, back to regularly scheduled programming. off to the gym to do my weights, but only lower body and one arm. i'll tell you what's up with the other arm after THE MRI. it's not pretty, people....
ok, so we're not in Boston, we're in sunny Santa Monica, California, and it's not so cold that this could happen to a man. still though, we stripped down to our bathing suits, braving the throws of fake snowballs from bratty little kids, and ran through the streets (and one mall food court) all to the shock and awe of last minute christmas shoppers. and not just because we're exhibitionists (aren't all triathletes exhibitionists?), but because we care. we care about the kids. and we want them to stay outta trouble by participating in the sport of triathlon. fellow la tri clubber and multi kona age group winner, Cherie Gruenfeld, directs an awesome organization called Exceeding Expectations that has fostered some amazing young triathletes who are showing up and placing well at all level races. in turn, they set a great example for their peers and are excelling in school. you can't argue with that.
AND YOU CAN'T ARGUE WITH THIS.......
OR THIS...
OR THIS...
but don't get the wrong idea about us. we're still serious about fitness. at every red light, we stopped for push ups and jumping jacks. i shoulda thought twice about that pint i chugged right before we started.....
and looky looky. i've figured out how to post the flickr slideshow right to the blog:
good times. good times indeed.
oh, and i made a video: (don't forget to turn the cassette player off up top)
the view from Diamond Head Rd., mile 25 of the marathon
just got back from Honolulu on the redeye yesterday. man, those islands are just mystical. i've been there every december for the marathon for the last 7 years, and it never ceases to rejuvenate my spirit to end my year with a trip to Hawaii.
the rain didn't turn out to be as bad as the forecast had predicted. the worst of it came and went the first afternoon i arrived as i took my runners up Diamond Head for their last run before race day. i tried my best to keep up with my training schedule, but this was the only rental road bike i found. um, yeah, no.....
no thanks, i think i'll pass...
so i stuck to the weight room and pretty much laid low until race day. we had a pep rally the afternoon before the race where we gave the runners last minute tips to prepare for the next day. the forecast called for showers, so they'd need to cover up with a poncho or trash bag and do their best to keep their feet dry to prevent blisters!!! but it'd still be warm. they'd need to hydrate properly, drinking when they were thirsty but taking special precaution not to drink too much and risk hyponatremia.
me and a few of my runners looking ready to run!!
it poured on race morning!! i was so worried for my guys out there!! it rained on them straight until the start of the race and then dissipated to a about 78 degrees with pretty nice cloud coverage and some intermittent showers the rest of the day. the damage was done though. most had wet feet which lead to some pretty horrendous blisters. at one point even i got caught 2 miles away from my backpack and poncho and had to run for cover under a tree as the rain came pouring down. i covered about a half mary myself just running back and forth between miles 16-20 offering support to my runners. some just needed a familiar face and some encouraging words. some needed ice rub downs, others desperately needed salt, and one even got the second half of my turkey sandwich lunch and a snickers bar. he just ran outta fuel and steam and was in pretty bad trouble, but he was determined to finish, so i was happy to give up my lunch for him. all in all, my runners kicked ass out there, and most of them became marathoners for the first time all while raising a ton of money for people in los angeles living with HIV/AIDS. some even want to go on and try a tri, so i'm super proud of them all!!!
after the marathon i had a chance to rent a car with Graham, Faeron, and Megan and get out of Honolulu, which is pretty much an armpit. we headed for the North Shore to see the true beauty of the island and hopefully catch the first day of the Pipeline Masters competition, but the surf report said the contest was still postponed due to low surf.
us tourists will never learn...
Faeron, Graham and Megan try their first Portuguese malasada!!
after a quick stop in Haleiwa for local delicacies such as the Portuguese import, the malasada, and some shave ice, we stopped in at the Surf N Sea shop to drool over some boards and overheard some locals saying that the contest made a late announcement that it WAS GOING OFF!!! so we dashed back to the car and made our way to Pipeline.
double tube with two riders going out the front and back door!!
we just missed Kelly Slater's heat!!! and i have to say in the 7 years i've watched the contest, this was some of the smallest, saddest surf i've ever seen, and it was still HUGE!!! instead of catching and shooting out of tubes, which is what this leg of the Triple Crown is all about, the judges were looking for more tricks as in the Foster's Expression Session. got to watch aussie, Michael Lowe, in his last pro contest along with other favorites over the years, Taj Burrow, Bruce Irons, Neco Padaratz, and hothead Sunny Garcia who, once again, started a brawl after getting snaked on a drop in while in 2nd place in the final minutes of his heat.
then a nice trip around the windward side before heading to the airport to catch my redeye flight home. and low and behold, look who else was on my flight!!!
so i'm about to take off for Honolulu tomorrow morning. check out the weather forecast:
yep, it's gonna rain up until the day i leave.
SHIT.
oh and imagine my overwhelming joy when i encountered this informative sign at the gym the other night:
OH. HELL. NO.
SHIT. DOUBLE SHIT. SHIT.
now i know what they're thinkin' over there at the good ol' YMCA. they're thinkin' December would be a great time to close the pool for maintenance because it's a slow time, it's cold, and no one will miss the pool. so just where in the hell am i supposed to swim???
oh and this was the best discovery just as i returned from the NYC marathon:
now this, ladies and gents, is what we call A DOUBLE SCOOP SHIT SUNDAE TOPPED WITH HOT SHIT SAUCE AND SHIT CREAM (NO CHERRY ON TOP)
when i read this, my heart sank. this was to be my only shot at a warm up half IM before IM Brasil. that's it. there's no other half IMs this early in the year!!! last year i signed up in December with no problem. guess it goes to show how popular our little sport of triathlon is becoming. so i frantically went online to research whether there were any other possibilities. oh joy!!! i can go to Australia, Saipan, or Irving Texas!!! NOT OPTIONS. neither is Wildflower. just too much of a production with camping not to mention The Kahuna swears it's tougher than an Ironman. then i found this little race on may 3rd just 3 weeks before IM Brasil. a little too close to "the A race" for my taste, but coach said it'd work and i'd probably still do a 4 hour ride the day after . and I ALMOST SIGNED UP, but wanted to survey other peeps who'd done it. then, the night before Thanksgiving i got an email. it was a newsletter email from a race director who's race i did once and have now apparently landed on their mailing list for life. i usually trash them right away without even opening them, but as The Tri Gods are looking over me, i opened it to discover that the Rage in the Sage race out at Lake Mead, NV is NOW ADDING A HALF IM DISTANCE RACE TO THE ROSTER FOR '08!!!! and it's April 19th, just two weeks after Oceanside 70.3. registration opened Thanksgiving day at 12:00am, so i stayed awake to be sure i didn't get shit out (i mean shut out) yet once again:
cheaper than Oceanside 70.3, closer drive than Napa, and i have family i can stay with. guess it all works out the way it's supposed to.....
and that, ladies and gents, is a happy ending to an otherwise shitty story. it's still gonna rain in Honolulu, and i've got to figure out where to swim until the end of the year, but i now have a warm up race to look forward to....
Dr., yes Dr., Lawrence Fong gettin' freaked on the dance floor
last friday brought the most anticipated event of the year, second only to Kona, the LA Tri Club Year End Party, aka "The YEP," aka "The Tri Prom." whatd'ya get when you shed your sweaty lycra, put on your party dress, some makeup and replace your race flats with some dancin' shoes??? well, you get some pretty crazy shit. it's a pretty fancy affair they throw in a banquet hall, complete with a sit down dinner, and DRINKS GALORE. there's an awards presentation with categories such as, best male/female long/short course, newbie of the year, the spirit award, best single sport performance, best non-traditional tri performance, tri nightmare, and member of the year. my friend Renata D'Angelo won member of the year for all her awesome efforts in planning our social events, and fellow IM Brasil participant, Oliver Martin won best male long course for his 10:15:46 finish at Kona. and i might add that he had two flats and still pulled off an incredible time!!!
after the awards ceremony came the YEP Film Festival. the club put out a call for entries to submit a 2 minute film expressing what triathlon and the club means to them, so i submitted this and I WON THE GRAND PRIZE: 2 ROUNDTRIP TICKETS TO ANYWHERE JET BLUE FLIES !!!
note: first, you may wanna pause the music player at the top of this page:
then came the dance party (but the dj kinda sucked). i had no idea my fellow tri clubbers were so dammed funky!!! good good times sharing war stories, scars, and comparing next years race plans. then we took the party back to Gerardo Barrios' house for more drinks, quesadillas (cuz ya know we're always hungry) and massages!!! i had to keep pretty tame as i had to get up at 5:30 the next morning to coach, but it was a ton of fun to see everyone else have a ton of fun. now, for most, it's the off season, but for some fools like me, we're just gettin' started!!!
for full slideshow click here:
sunday brought a mellow 3 hr/30 min. brick. i road around the Rose Bowl and the surrounding Arroyo Seco, then up to Descanso Gardens and then back down past the Jet Propulsion Labratory. as i was headed back down into The Bowl from the east side, i passed my dream house. hadn't been down this way for months, so imagine my surprise when i discovered that IT'S FOR SALE!!!!
anyone got about 4 million bucks to spare??
tryin' to keep up with this week's training schedule as best i can with work and all. then friday i leave to go support my runners at the Honolulu Marathon!!!i can't believe it's been over 6 months and now they're about to be marathoners!!!! gonna get some open water swimming in and some hill repeat runs up Diamond Head, but no cycling. and for one day, i'll head to the North Shore to watch the Pipeline Masters competition. woooo hoooooooo!!!!
