CAF's Operation Rebound California

On March 29th I'll be competing in my first race of the season, the Ford Ironman 70.3 California. The grueling (and cold!) 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run take place in the Camp Pendleton Marine base in Oceanside, CA.

I've decided to use this race to support the Challenged Athletes Foundation, an organization that raises money to help people with physical disabilites pursue an active lifestyle through physical fitness and athletics. CAF’s mission is clear: give those with the desire to live active, competitive lifestyles every opportunity to compete in the sports they love.


CAF’s Operation Rebound program is helping troops permanently injured in Iraq and Afghanistan get back in the game – and back into life. Each of the CAF military team members has experienced the healing power of sports. Now, they want to make sure their brothers- and sisters-in- arms have access to the same opportunities.

By making a donation towards my fundraising goal you will directly help a challenged athlete in need. Click here to make a donation to Operation Rebound and thank you for your support!

My New Ride!

I haven't had a chance to post photos of my new ride...a 2008 58cm Cervelo P2C Dura Ace. She came from the great guys at Bike Authority located in Broadview Heights, OH (outside of Cleveland). They were awesome to deal with and took excellent care of me throughout the entire process. I can't recommend you check them out enough if you're in the market for a high-end road or tri bike. I feel so lucky to do what I love on such a nice bike! Here are the full specs:

• Shimano Dura Ace 7800 Crank, Ders, Pedals
• Zero Gravity Ti Brakes
• Easton Vistas (Training)
  
• Hed 3 Clinchers/Renn 575 Disc (Racing)
• Michelin Pro Race 2 tires
• Hed Vantage Eight Aerobar w/Carbon s-bends
  
• Tektro Carbon Brake Levers
• Ritchey WCS Stem
• Selle San Marco Aspide Saddle
• Profile Design Kages
  
• Fizik Microtex Bar Tape
• Custom Carbon Hydrotail
• And of course the custom sailnfast graphic below the seatpost!

Now I just need to continue to work on building an engine worthy of such a nice ride!

Soggy Surf City Half Mary (But Still a PR!)

I awoke early this past Super Bowl Sunday to the sound of raindrops falling on the roof...uh oh. I've never really raced in the rain before, but there's a first time for everything. I signed up for the Surf City Half Marathon to force me to work on my run fitness and ultimately improve my run times for tri season. I was in for a very wet and windy race!

It was really pouring at the start of the race and within the first five minutes my shoes were as soggy as a wet sponge. Fortunately, the wind was at my back and the poncho I was wearing kept me mostly dry and somewhat warm for the first 8 miles or so. I paced off of my friend Scott since I knew he planned to average 8-minute miles for the first-half of the race with the intent to negative split the second-half. This plan worked well, but at mile 8 we turned south for the long straight run back to the finish and the wind was head on! I dumped the poncho and did some quick math in my head...if I pushed it the last four miles I had a very good shot at going sub 1:40:00 which was my stretch goal. I contemplated this decision for a mile or so, wondering when my soggy feet were going to start blistering and how long my legs would hold out, but decided it was worth a shot. At mile 9 I picked up the pace to around 7:20ish and felt pretty good. I held this for the last 4 miles or so and down the home stretch was motivated by the marathon winner passing me by right before I came into the finisher's chute.

My official time was 1:40:03...three tiny seconds short of my stretch goal. Nonetheless, I was quite happy with my performance as it was a Personal Record for me, averaging 7:38 over the 13.1 mile course in very crappy conditions.

I was shivering uncontrollably after the race, but fortunately my friends Anne and Seth live near the finish and invited us back to relax in their hot tub! I've never enjoyed a hot tub so much in my life!

Holidays in Mammoth

Kyra and I decided it would be nice to get out of LA for a few days over the holidays, so we headed to her family's condo in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Mammoth is a small mountain town located east of Yosemite National Park.

We were a little concerned about the long 5-hour drive with Liya, but she was a trooper and just slept most of the time (lucky her!). We just relaxed and walked around the town on our first day there.

The Town of Mammoth Lakes sits at an altitude of 7,800 feet and the surrounding mountains rise to elevations exceeding 12,000 feet which makes for great skiing and snowboarding! On the second day we decided to hit the slopes at Mammoth Mountain which is the local ski resort only steps from the condo. I went snowboarding in the morning and then headed back to the condo at noon to watch Liya while Ky headed up the mountain in the afternoon. Overall, the conditions were better than we expected given the limited snowfall and it was nice to get in some runs prior to our Park City Trip in early February!

Liya enjoyed the sites and sounds of a new place and even being bundled up to go out in the cold.

We had a great time and only wish we could have stayed longer!

Saturday Palos Verdes Ride

Most Saturdays I wake up around 6AM to make the 25 minute drive north to the Palos Verdes Peninsula where a group of LA Tri Club members meet at Malaga Cove. At 7:30AM we leave for a 22 mile loop (and normally more) around beautiful Palos Verdes. Normally there are 8 - 10 riders, but this morning there were just five us. The ride started out very cold as my car thermometer was reading just 48 degrees, but it quickly warmed to the low-60's and I had to shed some layers to keep from overheating. It was a clear sunny day so I decided to bring the camera along and shoot some photos along the route.

As part of the route we ride along the Pacific Ocean and pass the Trump National Golf Club which is a beautiful course right along the coast.

Its a truly a beautiful ride and the camaraderie and breathtaking views (not to mention the exercise) are a great way to start any weekend .

Our Little Chubster

So we've always known that Liya was a good eater. She feeds about six times a day and is very efficient at it. Well at her eight week checkup the doctor informed us that she's in the 75 percentile for height (she's quite tall) and...the 95 percentile for weight (she's a chubby little baby). Of course the doctor said this was a good thing and is characteristic of breast-fed babies. We think its absolutely adorable and are so thankful that she's healthy. Here's a photo of our little chubster!

The Ryan Hall Story - Olympic Hopeful

I first heard about Ryan Hall a few months ago in a Runner's World article where he spoke about breaking the long-standing American Half Marathon record in a blistering 59 minutes 43 seconds.

It was obvious from the article that Ryan was not only one of the fastest distance runners in the world, but also a stand-up guy in all respects.

The day before the New York City Marathon, November 3, 2007, the Olympic Marathon Trials were held in Central Park and Ryan broke away at 16 miles, running the second half in 1:02:45 to cross the line in a stunning 2:09:02 and win the race, qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Ryan, 25, lives and trains in Mammoth Lakes, CA (where Kyra's family has a condo).

Below is a very inspirational video about Ryan's faith and motivation for running. Its one of the more powerful messages I've seen lately and will definitely stay with me for a long time (and the run splits aren't too bad either)! Enjoy!