It's crazy we're already into August and only 6 weeks out from Cozumel 70.3! I'm very happy with the way things are going balancing training, work, and life. It's not that hard when you live in a place that gives off vacation energy 24/7. My back still gets tight, still hurts on some rides, but I've come to make peace with it and more or less know how to manage it. Luckily we have a fabulous massage guy, Chris Vincent (www.cabomassageacupuncture.com), and he introduced me to Dr. Green of Vital Balance in San Jose, who I'm pretty confident can get me back in the game- at least finishing another Ironman in a year or two pain free. Fingers crossed!
Late June I headed up to La Paz and raced a half marathon- it was one of the coolest half's I've done! I stayed at the Perla Hotel right on the coast, or Mallecon, and jogged to the start where I met up with some of the peeps from Cabo. I felt fit, and though not rested, I was shocked at my time for a hilly hot course in 1:36 given the Kenyan that won went 1:31. My friend Miriam clocked 1:32 for second female, I finished 4th and still got some dough:). Got a great meal on the beach waiting for the awards and drove home at a steady 100mph on that fantasy highway 19 hehe.
At this point, I just want to qualify for Austria Worlds 2015 in Cozumel. I've been obsessed with The Sound Of Music since forever, and never felt inclined to race Clearwater or Vegas 70.3 Worlds, but the hills are alive in Austria just screaming my name.
Anyway, prior to the two bouts of illness, I met a wonderful family that vacations in Cabo- the dad, his son, and his son's friend were in town a few days to get in some surfing. We were introduced by another realtor I work with as we were planning a girls night to dine at The Market's wine pairing in the One & Only Palmilla. We stopped by the guys' house for a cocktail and that led to a group of about 10 of us heading to the dinner- such a great night! The food was fantasticcccc!!
The next day, I joined them for a surf lesson as they are good friends with one of the best surf instructors at the Cabo Surf Hotel, Daniel. After a quick overview on the beach, we paddled out and I was surprised to get the hang of it quickly. We got lucky with some great sets, and I caught more than a handful of waves- hooked!
From there we sped off (no pun intended) to Cabo Wide Open dune bugging for the rest of the afternoon- about 5 hours of dirt, hills, and sharp turns....and I learned to drive stick;) Then that night the fun continued as they threw Daniel a surprise birthday party. 
After a night out the 4th of July, the training and the playing had caught up to me. It was a rough rest of the month until the very end when I finally got into some consistency with the guys at Diamante, namely Brent, that are also training for Cozumel. We get in some amazing riding with not even a stop sign for upwards of 4 hours if we desire. Right now 3-4 is our longest, but with that heat and those mountains, it's insane quality.
Finally better, I flew to Mexico City last week as I was invited for the second year to open the Triathlon Expo at the World Trade Center and to give a speech. At first they asked me to talk about my experiences as a 2x World Champion- but that's in the past and I doubt many people want an hour of someone's life spilled on them, so I took it as the perfect opportunity to announce the race series, training camps, kids school, and foundation that we have developing, or already ongoing, in Cabo.
It was also a chance to apply for my tourist visa to get back in the states- I barely slept and had my stomach lodged in my throat the weeks leading to this consular appointment because although I have absolutely moved to Mexico and am not looking to reside in the US atm, and everything I was disclosing is true- all the t's crossed and i's dotted- there was still that by-the-book mentality that I feared could be an insurmountable obstacle for me right now...see, you have to prove income, property, etc that ties you to Mexico, but I earn commission, have not yet closed a deal, rent my apartment, and my immediate family, albeit my dad, live as citizens in Texas:/
Fortunately, it all went well, though I was trembling as I handed over my documents, and literally my life, to the consulate on Monday morning. In the end, having had visas and never violating any terms for over 20 years, was a sure sign that there was no reason to prevent me from visiting friends, family, and straight up vacationing in the US as I please:)
For those curious on what we have going on...I'm working the sponsorship, PR/marketing side of things and all of us at TriCabo are stoked and intent on giving you all the opportunity to train and have a world class racing experience in Baja....
We have a local race series of sprints, olympics, duathlons, and mountain bike events that have already been going on a couple years but we are now taking control of these local, basically group based workouts, and giving them a formal race structure/environment. They will run through the year in different venus of Cabo to mix things up, and allow locals to earn points culminating in awards at our half distance triathlon in March.
Here's the international race calendar-
Feb 8, Los Cabos Half Marathon (www.mediomaratonloscabos.com)
Approx Feb 8-15 Michael Lovato & I will host a training camp for 10-15 amateurs - long rides and runs, interval rides and runs, trx sessions on the beach, track, pool and open water swims, optional cross training Cabo style: surfing, outrigger paddling, yoga.
March 29, Cabo Whaleman Half Distance Triathlon (www.whalemanloscabos.com) - inaugural race as the IM got moved to October. The weather in Cabo is perfection until May (summer months), and this is a beautiful time of the year for a half and to vacation with family- play some golf, do some fishing, whale watching, snorkeling, etc pre or post race.
2 Gran Fondos from Cabo to La Paz, and La Paz to Cabo- dates TBD but one in spring one in fall.
May 2, Los Cabos 7k Open Water swim (also 3.5k relay), and SUP race from Palmilla to Puerto Los Cabos.
Another training camp at start of summer. Eventually one leading into Kona for pros that want to come get in some excellent heat training, and prep for IM Cabo. Lastly, one late Oct for IM Cozumel. *** Pros interested in leading any of these camps with me please email me. You'll get comped stay and a % of camper fees***
Nov 15 Xtreme Cabo Off Road Triathlon
Our whole project, as I mentioned above, is very focused on the community and on youth development. We already have the TriCaboKidz (www.tricabokidz.com) summer camps and after school clinics. These boys and girls are lucky to be able to exercise in such a beautiful place- the Cabo del Sol grounds, where the lovely Sheraton Hacienda del Mar is, has carved out a trail path for the kids, and let the camp use a fairway style lawn overlooking the Sea of Cortez for them to run and do drills. Their open water swimming and obstacles courses, as well as canoeing, takes place in the El Ganzo Hotel of Puerto Los Cabos, where they have a waveless beach that gets them comfortable with open water in a safe environment.
TriCabo also has the kids foundation (link on kidz site)- and a portion of our race fees will be given to this cause, helping underprivileged kids get the proper equipment and training tools to be involved in sport.
Unofficially, our Olympic swimming pool has been approved, it is now a matter of getting the financials and administrative rights in order to hopefully have it done by end of 2015. For now, there's the 25scm lap pool at Sporti-K gym in San Lucas, the Huerta Spotrts Club pool in San Jose, and the incredible endless pool of the Sea of Cortez- Chileno Bay, Palmilla Beach, Puerto Los Cabos, and Medano.
We're still looking for companies and individuals to get involved as sponsors or investors (on a larger sports complex project we have in the works), so please contact me with any questions, ideas, or comments. Our Kids program could really benefit from a swim wear sponsor, bike donations, running equipment- all the necessities that are simply out of reach for some.
So that's THAT! It's a lot, and come Feb/March I'll likely be pulling my hair out, but I've always loved the behind the scenes of this crazy sport we do and I am thankful to have landed in a place that is prime for development and that allows me to blend both my cultures and languages and passion for sport to give back in the same way that so many people gave to me when I was a kid and total novice.
