2015 In a Nutshell

It seems silly at this point with instagram, Facebook, twitter, snapchat, and whatever other social media tools we use, to write paragraphs on what those snip bits covered on an almost daily basis.

But, at the port-a-potty line of 70.3 Cabo last Sunday, a woman I'd never met came up and introduced herself asking if I was Tatiana as she loves to read my blog and is very happy I'm back racing and involved in the sport. WOW! That made me blush and it was so cool to have that kind of reach and appreciation from people you may run into once in your life or maybe not at all.

Triathlon, and sport in general, connects us like that- and it's special. We can all inspire and motivate people when we don't even realize it.

Deep talk aside, I'd like to note for years ahead when I read back at 2015, that I am incredibly thankful for what life has given me these past months!

After accepting the Austria Worlds 70.3 slot at Galveston, I enjoyed an amazing two weeks in Spain that were a welcome change to every other kind of vacation/travel I'd ever been on. I met some wonderful people and experienced things that I thought only exist in movies.

After that escapade, I was back in Cabo hosting our SMASH/DIMOND camp. It went really well, and only cut short due to a tease from Hurricane Blanca, that luckily just caused some rain and power outages...but led to me fleeing Cabo early for the summer.

Back in Texas, I jumped into Lubbock 70.3 to get my butt into gear for Austria training and then followed my good friend and teammate, Dawn Elder ("Kona Dawn"), to a month long training camp in Tucson.

I LOVE TUCSON! We had a ball- and the camp resulted in another fabulous friendship with Lauren Palmer, who I'm sure I'll battle out the 25-29 in Kona next year if the cards line up for us;)! Some other HPB/Smash athletes joined us for some random training days, and I left for Europe feeling fit and in love with triathlon all over again.

Europe can't even be summed up here. Austria is the most beautiful country on Earth. The training at Hotel Mohrenwirt was absolutely perfect. I've never been to or seen such picturesque and ideal training grounds for triathlon, and road or mountain biking.

After 3 weeks alone in Fuschl Am See, my brother and mom joined and we headed to Zell Am See for Worlds.

The race went as best as it could've. I swam and biked my heart out, and may or may not have paid for it on the run but that was the plan- just GO FOR IT. Im happy to see cycling finally clicking- just need to run like I used to with that new bike rhythm.

After Europe I touched down in Texas and raced TriRock Austin which is always a blast! Then it was off to Chicago for Short Course Worlds. Chicago itself I'm enamored with. What a cool city! I hope to return to enjoy it as a pure tourist soon. I had some issues in that race- just felt flat on the run, and a fiasco in T1 with running in bike shoes through literally wet mud puddles resulting in minutes trying to clip into my speedplay pedals.

To end the year, I had the intention of racing Ironman Cabo and again joined Dawn for her final long Kona workouts in Texas.

However, when I returned to Cabo at the start of October I realized Ironman felt daunting. The heat those first two weeks was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. Also, and in hindsight it's even clearer, I was unplugged after that whole summer of training, racing, and traveling. So I opted for the 70.3

That half was important to me as I have a lot of people that look up to me here in Cabo, and I needed to perform to give back in effort what this place and the community means to me.

I probably rolled over the last staple-thing before the turn to the manicured airport toll road at around mile 30 of the bike. I was leading the age group race by 10+ minutes and after standing around for a miracle pit stop from a mechanic or anyone that would loan me a spare wheel, I called it and went on to cheer for my brother, Daniel. He ended up winning overall amateur in his first 70.3!

There's no excuse for not carrying a spare but I'll give my reasons- I have no race wheels here. Daniel even forgot my front and I scrambled to find us another wheel from local friends that weren't racing 1 day before bike check in. He even had to use a front clencher and rear tubular.

The disc I flatted I just bought from a friend a few weeks ago and it had a bike shop glued tire that after the race took me 30+ minutes to peel off. I had no pit stop here...and in the end YES I did say "last race, all or nothing, here goes!".


Bitter sweet weekend as a lot of friends, new and old, were in town racing and we hit up some of my favorite spots. Superstar Mel McQuaid decided to stay a couple more days with me and we went with some other triathlete friends to swim with the Whale Sharks!

.......

What that flat caused though, is a fire inside me that I haven't felt since I last raced Hawaii! It made me so angry that I couldn't put all that hard work to use and showcase it in front of my hometown. Naturally, I looked for what race I could do this year- but not just any, one that could have an end purpose and a lot at stake.

Enter IRONMAN COZUMEL. My last Ironman in 2011, my first race as a Pro, and in my country. BAM! Unfinished business is an understatement.

This last week ramping up the mileage and planning the training showed me that I needed that recovery/taper week leading into Cabo 70.3, that I was EXHAUSTED beyond measure and I couldn't even sense it myself!

Right now I am a mix of awesome emotions- I'm pissed, motivated, ecstatic, hungry, ambitious....I want to go to Cozumel and absolutely race my heart and body out. I want to cross that finish line with nothing left- nothing but a deep exhalation of what an amazing year Ive had and how fortunate I am to be surrounded by wonderful family, friends, and supporters.

Training and racing aside, things in the sport development realm in Cabo are going fabulous! We have a new government in place and investors/local business keen on attracting sports tourism and brining in the infrastructure needed to make Los Cabos an athlete's paradise. I won't share more until things are clearly defined, and honestly because there's too much to share I could probably write a book!;)

Keep an eye out.

Cheers.

Kona 2014 Day 0

It happened! For the 7th year I'm back at the Hawaii World Championship- 3rd time not racing...except last year was a total catastrophe as I spent only a few days on the Island sick and counting down the minutes to return home. Needless to say, I didn't stay even to the race week and sort of left apathetically without looking back- more concerned about fixing my own work/life situation than playing around in the Hawaii sun.

However, this year the Kona plot began brewing early summer when the TriCabo races and events were being planned at full gear and I was set to come promote the camps and primarily our inaugural Cabo Whaleman. As well, I wanted to help some friends out at the Expo- LAVA Mag & SOAS.

The almost too-good-to-be-true fun of 2012 was begging to be repeated and 2014 had to be it. Then Hurricane Odile came through Cabo and did its little dance of destruction and there went Cozumel 70.3, and any concrete thoughts of promoting Cabo tourism through Ironman week.

Fast forward to a few days ago, sitting at home in Texas, regrouped and looking at everything through a "blessing in disguise"/"glass half full" lens and tick tick the dots connected and...well...ALOHA!

It's hard to succinctly describe the feeling of touching down in Kona. Wait, backup to getting on the triathlete-filled plane at LAX, and feeling a mix of butterflies as if I was going to race again, and an excitement of the week when this whole community of swim, bike, run lovers unites in paradise to celebrate the best of the best. I ran into a good friend, Pablo who was seated just across from me, and it was amazing to hear about all the endurance racing he packs on year after year! The baggage claim was full of people from all over the world, each with their unique story of how they got to be at this year's World Championship.

I got my suitcase, which was all I had since my bike is still cozy in Cabo, and another good friend and Kona local, Cody, picked me up and we went to grab lunch at the Kona Brewing Company. I'm not a beer person, but their Longboard is fantastic and after a whole morning of travel it went down like liquid gold.

From lunch he dropped me off to check in at Uncle Billy's where I'll be two nights before joining some girl friends at a condo for the remainder of the trip. At the lobby I met the cutest woman- in one of the elder categories- that was telling the receptionist she qualified in IM Sweden but had never swam without a wetsuit and was nervous and just hoping she'd make the swim cutoff. I couldn't resist, and asked her if she wouldn't mind me helping her out these next few days in the ocean to give her a few pointers and get her more comfortable so she makes that cut off no problem! So tomorrow we'll start bright and early :)!

Quicky, I unpacked and put on my bikini to head straight to the beach to get back some of the color I lost since Odile. I enjoyed a little swim in the ocean and was feeling surprisingly awake despite the 4am TX-time wake up, so also went for a run on Alii.

Now I'm starting to wind down and will just relax the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow after I swim with the woman I met, I think there's a group doing the whole course so why the heck not?!

Cabo Triathlon Training Camp(s)

Yesterday I felt exactly what it's like when you combine passion and work, and when you understand why you experienced what you did years prior, and why you are where you are at this very moment.

I posted this on my Facebook yesterday, even though there's still quite of bit of planning left because I know once the camp is officially open for registration people will appreciate having had a heads up.

"Get ready for the most EPIC "tracation" EVER!!...When I got to Cabo it sort of felt like the Kona of Mexico: Great highway, mountains juxtaposed with stunning coastline full of majestic bays for swimming & golf courses and new roads and trails for running, I could not contain my excitement and determination to bring my friends and make this a new Mecca of triathlon.

Life works wonders, & I've been fortunate to connect with some incredible people that share the same passion for sport and vision for Cabo as an athletic destination.

We already have the Ironman, we're planning more races, mountain biking is part if the culture here, we have a half marathon in February, & more and more people show up for group open water swims, and rides in and out of Cabo on some amazing mountainous roads.

We had a meeting today at the site of the ongoing TriCaboKidz camp and you could feel the generational impact of sport all around you.

We're going to offer an intermediate to advanced training camp for adults (to start) and invite a couple interested pros to help us promote the camp and lead the campers in swims, bikes, runs, trx sessions, and nutrition/training talks. The details of the discount packages for accommodations etc, as well as the "invite package" for pros will be announced later as we're still in the beginning stages of setting the camps loose;)!!

Friends, friends of friends, amateurs and pros alike, sponsors, and anyone else interested, please contact me with any questions or to mark your enthusiasm just like this post/album.

Where else can you get 350 + days of summer sunshine/yr, turquoise waters, quick (California!) and easy travel, amazing food and hospitality, and the chance to literally "live the dream" training?!?!"

We're shooting for early 2015 to allow participants a chance to really get in some SOLID work load before the season commences. Eventually, we hope to offer a mid and end of year camp as well. Because Cabo can get VERY hot in the summer months- July-September, I want to organize something for the masochists (like myself) that like brutal but effective Kona prep. 

The accommodations (villas/condos/homes and hotels) that we will offer campers- pros and amateurs- will be second to none. No matter your budget, you will be somewhere that allows training, recovery, and "enjoyment" :) to be your only concern. 

Myself and other locals we'll be partnering with, will offer rides to and from the airport, to other activities you may want to explore in Cabo (if you have energy left haha), and to some of the areas best EATS. This won't just be triathlon training- it will be the ultimate Cabo experience!!