Cycles...

Life is full of them, in every context. Some we open/close overnight, others take longer, maybe even years. Whatever the case, it's when we heed the lessons life is trying to teach us, when we finally outgrow something,  or it just doesn't serve our purpose or path anymore that these pages of our life story turn to another chapter.

Ironman Boulder was a closing of a cycle in my life. It was much more than training these last few months- it was rediscovering WHY I wanted to race an Ironman (which btw, when you can answer that, is when you know you should be doing it), rediscovering my strengths, and more importantly my weaknesses in multiple aspects, finding out who is there for me as a true friend/supporter, what thoughts, feelings, and things do or don't serve me, and what it is exactly that I want for myself at least in the short term of a few years.

To quote one of my favorite authors, and public speakers, Brene Brown, "Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. It is not weakness; it is our greatest measure of courage." 

That is racing, and that is life lived authentically.

I'm back home now, after achieving the one goal I had for IM Boulder: the slot to Kona. It'll be my fifth time on the island for that race, 10 years after my first Ironman which happened to be Kona! So to say it is special, is an understatement.

After a solid few weeks of incredibly needed rest I look forward to putting on the best preparation of my life for this Ironman. It starts a new cycle with immense experience, growth, grit, and connection to the people that are really my pillars for this fabulous journey.

Let's go over Boulder briefly....

First, I want to thank Andree and Chris Miceli for being the most wonderful hosts during my stay! Spoiled doesn't even begin to cut it. I met them in Cabo when they were there for IM in 2015, and that's the cool thing about triathlon- in one weekend you make friends for life.

I went in to Boulder, mentally ready and of course physically since I had prepped well for IM TX and also had that event in my legs. But that was a double edged sword...a couple weeks ago I felt the deep fatigue in my legs that just wouldn't shake. I did nothing too "long" in these six weeks between the two Ironmans, but still it lingered.

The swim was the best part of the day, it was a beautiful morning, and the Res is awesome. Exiting the swim, I found myself right next to Larissa- our newest 18-24 IM AG World Champ also from Mexico! It was super cool to head out onto the bike together :)

About 20miles into riding my legs were shot. Just bricks. Fortunately, I was enjoying the ride/scenery too much so convinced myself to just get to T2 and it was okay to hand in my chip there.

So I got to T2, and I honestly have ZERO idea how suddenly I was running. It was robotic, like I didn't even think and just headed out.

I ran about 8-10 miles decent, at least it qualified as "running" so this pumped me up and got me thinking dang I might just be able to finish this quite well, what a lovely surprise. Then slowly from there, everything fell apart.

This was unlike anything I'd ever experienced in a race because it wasn't mental demons, it wasn't caloric lows, or GI upset, or cramps....it was UNPLUGGED, DONE, ZAPPED, LEGS WILL ONLY WALK STOP TRYING TO RUN RIGHT NOW!!!!!!

So at mile 16 the walk began. Larissa passed me and yelled to hang with her. LOL, girl was moving! I smiled and told her to keep at it because I was beyond done.

Then an angel came by :)... At around mile 10 I had met this guy in a Timex kit, later to find out his name is Kyle, we briefly exchanged some words of encouragement and I ran ahead. At about that mile 16/17 aid station he saw me walking and said "Oh no, you said you want that Kona slot, you're not gonna miss it! Move your a**!" He was moving slower than Larissa, and it was like hearing my coach say none of that this hurts business, how bad do you want it?! So the jog of death began.

We walked the aid stations, and trotted the rest. The last 4 miles were an indescribable agony. It literally felt like I had to lift 200lb legs each step.

But then, there it was, the finish chute... Kyle and I ran in together, and he was right- KONA BABY!!!!

ANYTHING Really is Possible

Up to now, that Ironman slogan hadn't meant much to me other than a motivating marketing quote from a company who's races I participated in. From my first Ironman in 2007, it had been something that was easily possible because all it took was logging in the long miles and staying headstrong- so that even with a massive breakdown in pace on the marathon, I could stagger to the finish line.

That possibility was *completely* taken away in 2012 when I DNF'ed Ironman Louisville after getting off the bike with over 60 miles of locking back pain and gathering my thoughts and strength in the porta potty of T2 barely able to stand, and seeing if I had the courage to open that door and take on the run course.

Save dignity, I made it past the first couple miles of crowds cheering "you can do it!"- and I furiously thought, "no, I can't! This isn't about discomfort or a mental bonk- this is disastrous- one more step and my back will break,  type of pain!".

Soon I found a little building with a stair hallway I could hide in, cry myself a pity party, and then walk to turn in my chip.

3 years later, I still didn't think I'd see an Ironman finish EVER again. But my new life in Cabo was finally taking form after a few emotionally difficult years dealing with separating myself from triathlon, moving to an essentially new country despite my citizenship to it, and leaving behind family and friends to venture out entirely alone.

I'd found my purpose with people as passionate for sport as I, and was setting out on making my life work tie in directly with what I love to do most- be active, healthy, and help out the greater community thorough this lifestyle.

With this excitement, triathlon entered again in a new light: as a way to stand for the athletic movement in Cabo, be an example to the local kids, and travel and seek out new adventures and experiences.

Little by little more things seemed possible.

As driven as I was for Ironman Cozumel, there was an undeniable amount of nervousness of can I really even finish?! I told my coach that I didn't really grasp what I had achieved in my younger years in Ironman until now- that youthful fearlessness was such a weapon!

It comes down to this- remove fear from your mind and you can do absolutely anything.

Coach P eased my mind the night before saying this was just a long day- a picnic for the steady and strong. Just be a machine, and don't overthink it. This was my comfort zone and I just needed to trust that my body knew exactly what to do.

It sure did.

The race unfolded as follows...

Thursday morning, I woke up after a series of naps resulting from food poisoning (which tends to plague me before a big race), and continued hugging the toilet until I literally would miss my flight if I stalled any longer. I debated dragging the luggage into my car and going at all- when you feel deathly ill even something that important to you and which you've worked so hard for, seems meaningless at the time.

I'm glad I summoned up the energy to get my butt in the car, as I'd regret if massively if I'd chosen to stay and victimize myself.

Pedialtye, bagels, potato chips, gatorade, juices, and mineral tablets galore later, things were looking up.

Once in Cozumel my aunt picked me up and took me to the best Thanksgiving dinner I've enjoyed in many years. Some American family had their grandmother in town and she followed recipes passed down from generations and it really was grandma's cooking that gave me back my strength.

Friday morning I got the packet, did a short ride, run, and swim to wake the system up and then rested until race morning as best I could.

Sunday came and I felt awesome. The swim start was rolling and I'd never experienced that in an Ironman before. Everything would have gone great with that method had they not chosen what seemed like a theatre prop for the ramp into the water.

With eager athletes that thing shook like it was undergoing an earthquake and as we quickly jumped into the water "one by one", too many of us unfortunately discovered the water was about 2-3ft deep and I started my Ironman day with two scraped knees and a jammed foot I was hoping would come back to life halfway through the swim.

The swim was uneventful- warm clear water typical of Cozumel, and a pace that at times seemed a bit too peaceful. My only regret was not jamming my way to the very very very front of that first corral and holding onto the front group of swimmers. I needed to exit the water with the girl that went on to win our age group.

Onto the bike- BEST RACE RIDE OF MY LIFE. Since a couple long rides in July and two more in September in TX I had not ridden over 4hrs. But the consistency of the year paid dividends!!

I felt I rode 80 miles. I didn't light a single match the whole bike ride and considering the winds this year were way tougher than previous times I've raced Cozumel, I rode better than I could've ever expected.

The run started out great- my legs felt good. But the back was stiff as nails the first 5k. I had way too many internal pleads to stop running and call it. But I just told myself to keep at it until it literally stops you in your tracks.

The run had its ups and downs. Loop 2 of three I felt the best but started cramping right before the third lap began. I upped the salt and came to- until mile 19. At that exact moment the lack of long runs slapped me in the face. It was a survival to the finish line.

This finish cost me much more those last miles physically, than any other Ironman I've done. But the elation from realizing I was about to actually finish an Ironman when a couple months ago I still swore it would never happen was too much and I broke down in tears the last km.

I gave everything I had, and have no regrets. I trained what my mind, body, and life approach allowed and desired each day this year, and thus it was never daunting- it was one of the best years in sport, and a year that taught me so much not just as an athlete but as a person.

Third in 25-29 and 5th female amateur, 18th overall in 10:26. Not shabby.

But if you know me- there's always the desire for more. I missed the Kona slot, and I want Kona.

So Vineman 2016 it is. And the goal is to win Worlds a third time.

2016- I'm a triathlete again and I'm placing no limits.

Cabo Half Marathon

This was the third year for the Los Cabos Half Marathon  and it went from a couple hundred people to over 1000! From the expo/packet pick up to race day, everything was smooth and professional- a real top notch event.

The course is similar to the Ironman run, in beautiful historic San Jose, finishing on the main plaza in front of the church and surrounded by coffee shops, bars, and yummy restaurants.

Naturally, I ran supporting the TriCaboKidz Foundation which meant sponsoring a kid's entry, and getting a cool tshirt in return, which I proudly wore after the event:)

 I saw a few friends race morning and found Miriam who I also raced in La Paz- she's a local stud that beats me up on the bike and run any time we get together haha.

Training leading up to the half had gone great- it wasn't specific to this race obviously as I switched back into triathlon mode about a month ago, but I had banked some awesome runs (even marathon long ones for the supposed Carlsbad full) so I felt I was carrying solid run fitness.

The course was awesome! It took us from the Plaza along the San Jose hotel corridor, over to the Mayan Beach Club, back and over the Puerto Los Cabos bridge, where the hills start into Fonatur then down to the Marina, some trails in the huerta/farm, back to the bridge again and a small out and back to the Plaza finish.

All along there were people cheering, awesome volunteers, clearly marked kms, and aid stations with gatorade and water.

Along with the 21k they had a 5k and a kids 3k and 400m dash.

At the start I lined up next to Miriam and hung on through 3k, then dropped back a bit where I stayed within sight until the end, never able to catch up. Around km 18 another local, and also SoCal chick, Melissa, caught me and we played cat and mouse until 2km left and she snatched 2nd place a few seconds before me.

At the finish, I chugged some Baja Brewing Co beer, and then enjoyed a short walk over to Miriam's where we showered and then grabbed some foooood! Ive never rushed a buffet like that since awards were going to start, but Tropicana Inn is a must for the breakfast buffet- paella, delicious hashrbowns, and omelets, fresh juices....

Half marathons are the best distance honestly- long enough but intense enough to give a quality fitness deposit, and so I'm thinking I'll go race the inaugural Rock N Roll Half Marathon at altitude in Mexico City March 15th. It sounds amazing since you start at sunset!! The post race party will be good ;)

2015...Checking in from Cabo!

Um, wow. That about sums up my reaction to life thus far. Up until I reached a quarter century, literally at 25, life had been pretty smooth sailing. The biggest stressors I had faced were college papers, demands from parents and coaches, the occasional fight with a friend, a sports injury, the buildup to an Ironman....cake!

This post may be a long one because I have a lot of personal and professional things that I've kept to myself the last couple of years that I'm finally ready to speak about and release, welcoming a breath of new air, new beginnings, and a new found strength that only certain downfalls could've provided.

The first bump in my step isn't really news- the back injury that seemed to pop out of nowhere in 2012, thus leading me to pull away from any hope of being a professional triathlete, maybe ever competing in an Ironman distance again, and starting the real world job hunt that had only proved fruitless since my 2009 college graduation.

It came at a necessary time as I was also exhausted and craved change- maybe not so much change as came about- but change nonetheless.

Fast forward to moving to LA and no luck at finding a job that would sponsor a visa. There were amazing internship offers that I wasn't legally allowed to take as an intern can't be foreign unless the company sponsors an entire H-1B petition for them (no company in their right mind would do such a ludicrous thing).

So out of a casual bar conversation with a stranger bloomed the idea of moving to Cabo San Lucas- the thought of which had never entered my mind prior to that fateful February evening in Pebble Beach.

So in a span of two months I visited Cabo, signed employment with Snell to sell real estate, sold my car in LA, packed up my condo, flew to TX, packed bags there, and moved to Cabo.

Through all of this, beginning in November 2013, I was battling some perplexing, frustrating, and depressing health issues. I've only vaguely told people about this because until recently I still had no clue what was really going on.

All I knew was that since cutting back my training from a full time athlete to your average gym-goer, I had actually become more fatigued. Where was the sense in that?

If only it had been just fatigue, I started getting double vision, headaches, grave unexplained and random bloating, muscle cramps, and a complete apathy toward any and everything.

One could say I was depressed, but it was different. It would come in bouts, and even when my mood was great, when I was stoked and at my most optimistic, this cloud loomed over my physical and mental health.

Around April, when I was finally in Texas for a few weeks before the move to Cabo, I Googled my symptoms like mad, determined to narrow down what could possibly be preventing me from even 30minutes of activity a day, causing weight gain while eating healthy organic foods and in complete caloric control.

Enter hypothyroidism. I was convinced. This had to be it. Thyroid and a major hormonal imbalance whether related or not, where causing this turmoil.

Back track for a second- even in early 2013 when I went to Clermont for QT2 Pro training camp, I had a discussion with Jesse about my ridiculous fatigue and recovery issues at my young age. How I felt like I was 80 and training was ten fold harder.

Anyway, three days before scheduling an appointment with my family's endocrinologist, I started taking a supplement by Mega Food (I love this company btw because everything is FOOD based). I didn't want to take anything synthetic, especially on my own, and I didn't want supplements that had thyroid hormone etc because if I was wrong I'd be playing with fire.

Mega Food's Thyroid Strength has a large dose of iodine from kelp, 300mg of tyrosine, some holy basil, copper, magnesium, basic things that help to support your thyroid.

You may think I am crazy as heck and that's fantastic but I swear by the time I stepped into the doctors office a few days later, I almost wanted to apologize for not canceling the appointment because I felt 16 again.

I had energy to conquer the world, I slept amazing, the water retention disappeared about as magically as a bad bout of PMS, the headache gone...just out of this world amazing.

I told the doctor this, he ordered blood work, and a week later we discussed that I may be borderline hypothyroid. As such, I should continue on Mega Food's supplement, my multi, and check back at year's end. If I feel like stopping that supplement then I could go off it a few days or weeks and monitor the symptoms.

I lost roughly 10 lbs by July, and the sky was blue and sunny again!...And then it happened....In Cabo Mega Food anything can't be found, and the only multi is Alive (which is ok, but you'll later understand why this didn't work for me), and I had run out of my own. Everything returned to the nightmare of early that year, until late August when a trip to Mexico City reunited me with my pills haha that my mom had sent from the US with a friend for me to pick up there.

Again like a roller coaster, I was revving back up to normal. Thanks to the hurricane, once back in the US I wanted to monitor blood and all again and see if there was a way I could not be dependent on this supplement forever...I mean what if they discontinue it? What if I am in another country? etc. Also, I was sure something else was missing in this puzzle.

Coincidentally, I happened to read Jordan Blanco's post about some health issues and her doctor, in Colorado, Dr. Silver at Boulder Peak Health. She seemed like an excellent option- a doctor that lives in the heart of crazy endurance athletes like myself, is an athlete herself, and speaks of hormonal and women's health so passionately.

Immediately I scheduled a phone consultation, we ordered blood work, and this is what we found....

Everything looked normal and actually very healthy. Creatine looked a bit elevated, could just be dehydration....but there was ONE "aha!" to my symptoms: MTHFR.

I have a genetic mutation C677T that hinders my usage and production of folic acid.

Very few multi vitamins on the market use FOLATE- the bioactive form- and instead use synthetic folic acid, which if you have my issue you can't use and it only in a sense clogs you.

Folic acid is also used to fortify a lot of foods- luckily many are gluten products like pasta and cereals that I don't eat.

Regardless, through my years as an endurance athlete I had run these reserves of folate pretty low, and since a couple years ago I had stopped taking a certain multi vitamin that contained the FOLATE that I didn't know I needed and had switched to multi's like Alive that have folic acid.

If you do your research you'll see that your body's ability to use folate directly impacts your thyroid, your hormones, your ability to make new cells, seratonin, dopamine, everythingggg!!

So why had Mega Food's thyroid supplement worked really well for me? Because it fed me the tyrosine and other thyroid supporters that my body wasn't churning on its own.

Since then, taking METHYLFOLATE, and/or a vitamin like Garden of Life's Kind Organics Women's Daily which has folate (from lemon), I feel like a NORMAL 27 year old!!

These ups and downs have resulted in my inconstant training, in reality exercise. They've caused me to value health and the ability to have even the most basic active lifestyle, and more importantly that Ironman did not cause this, that I didn't overtrain, that I'm not a hypochondriac, that I wasn't depressed, and that I can and will still workout avidly and compete in sports- especially the one I love most.

Through this all, through the moves, the job challenges, the hurricane that left me literally feeling homeless and unemployed, and sad about what had happened to such a beautiful place, I learned that as quickly as the body recovers, so does the soul...so do groups of people, and cities like Cabo.

And out of the storm, if you keep your mind and your heart in the good that you want out of life and what you hope to contribute, life will exceed your expectations and give you tremendous fortitude and opportunity to live out your potential and help others do the same.

I came back to Cabo in early December, with only plans of staying a few days at a friend's house- unsure what conditions it was really in, just wanting to tie some lose ends, not overstay my tourist-visa-welcome in the US, and clear my head a bit after two months of another round of door knocking for US jobs that led to nothing.

The progress was outstanding! Sure roughly 60% of hotels are still shut until late spring/summer, there are some "issues" in the lower income areas of San Lucas and San Jose, and only things pertinent to tourism are being dealt with full force, but if you really witnessed or understood what this place went through with Odile, the fact that it felt 99% normal in its everyday functions, leads to nothing but respect and admiration for the community.

At that point, I had a gut feeling (I always say there's one thing you can trust over everything else and that's your gut!) to try and stay in Cabo. So I put it up to fate. I said, if there's a place for me here, then I will be able to commit myself to the sports development that I had begun to get deeply involved in with TriCabo, it will be nearly effortless to find a place to live, and my family will be receptive to the choice.

One phone call to Paco of TriCabo expressing my desire to commit to them 100% at least until summer and see where it goes, and he was on board and thrilled at my decision. One email to these condos that a new friend had shown me, and they responded with ONE unit left for lease through June available Jan1.

Coincidently, one of our TriCabo coworkers that had been administering TriCaboKidz had begun to slowly step out of that role and so it was perfect timing that I came in to shadow her and take the reins to grow our Triathlon School for kids, promote our races, our camps, and help develop sport in Cabo.

I feel elated, healthy, free, and honored to be giving back doing what I love more than anything else.

Working with the kids is refreshing, inspiring, challenging, and am also coaching some local adults, and hoping to change a little bit of the culture in this part of Mexico to be more in tune with an active and healthy lifestyle.

As well, I have my own lofty triathlon goals for this season that I can't wat to announce in the next post...now with the fabulous assurance that my health is on track!:)

My hope is that I can welcome any of you to Cabo in the near future and showcase the progress we have made with the community's involvement in sport, and host you in a wonderful training or racing experience.

Cheers from sunny Cabo!

The rest of the Kona trip & Seattle

It was my true intention to blog every day while I was in Hawaii but after the very first blog post on, technically, day zero, it simply wasn't going to happen.

When I'd finally sit down on the computer, it was with mediocre wifi, so more often than not I'd resort to my smart phone.

The trip as a whole was fantastic! I set out to try and connect with as many people as possible in hopes of finding a job in this industry that could keep me in the US or somewhere cool abroad, and I left with numerous promising leads.

It was fabulous to see new and old faces, and spend some time helping out at the expo and for the first time, getting involved in the keiki (kid's) race before Ironman.

The Saturday right after I arrived I found out there was an organized race of the full swim course and jumped in last minute with a friend which was amazing because it felt like I was racing again but then emerged to find fruit and bagels waiting at the King Kam beach restaurant.

Every day I'd run and/or swim, mostly solo but got in a solid 11 miler with Hillary (www.smashfestqueen.com) all along Alii, and another short one with Beth before finally leaving the Island- got to meet little Wynne too :) The swim highlights were: obviously the "race", finding the Smash girls mid-sea and joining them for the remainder, and the last dip from the Pier getting to swim out to the 1.2 bouey with Chrissie Wellington, and the Grangers.

For the majority of the trip I shared a condo with Holly, SOAS' Steph, and her sister Andrea- it was awesome spending time with these great women! The night before last, Jen Barber let me crash with her before slumming it back down to Uncle Billy's "hotel" and we had a great dinner and a failed attempt to find late night local Big Island ice cream despite miles of walking in effort.

 (Jen, Me, Jordan Blanco at the Aloha Party)

(Our yummy dinner with an awesome view at Daylight Mind)

I also had two long lunches with some of the Mexican athletes and it was cool to hear of their journey to Kona and how/where they train back home.

The rest of the sun and fun is all in pics....

some amazing salads: Ultimate Burger (in a bowl), Lava Java Greek chicken, & Huggo's seared ahi :P

Sinfully hydrating Nuun cocktails at the Triathlete house party

 One of the first swims in my new Betty suit (www.bettydesigns.com)

Rad view from our stay at the Royal Kona the night after the race!

Finally stole a pic with this legend!

cheering along the run course!!

Race Day!

Sebastian the King of 2014

What a performance by Ben Hoffman!!

Fun times at the ClifBar party

Day after the after-party on a couple hours sleep with Tawnee for a "swim"

Shiono Sushi- top notch!!

The best for last: Rinny in absolute Beast Mode about to cross the mat for her 3rd Kona title!

From Hawaii, I was set to travel back a whole 17.5 hours to Texas with stops in Seattle and Dallas. The Ebola scare in Dallas coupled with the agony of being sleep deprived in airports felt enough to warrant getting off in Seattle and stay with my good friend Sam a few days. I'd only passed through Seattle in 2007 en route to Portland for Nationals, so never explored any of it.

Aside from the gloomy weather, the people, abundant culture, fantastic food, and general love/support for outdoor activities made me think I could totally live there! We enjoyed walks to some amazing coffee, cocktails at the chic Edge Water Hotel, a swim in Mercer Island, and a fabulous dinner at Anthony's Home Port in Kirkland.

Icing on the cake was getting to play original Nintendo and meeting Sam's horrendously cute rescue dog, Mimi.

Where did the summer go?!

The last time I remember really wanting to blog was about a month ago- I'd had an awesome week leading into the 4th of July and wanted to share all the fun but then I got sick which left me wanting to do absolutely NOTHING and then a week later I got sick again! It started with an ear infection which led to a nasty cold, or likely flu, thanks to my genius idea to run in the rain in downtown San Lucas as cars whipped by drenching me with dirty street water like Shamu at Sea World:(

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:)

Today I fly back to Cabo with a huge sense of accomplishment and pumped to continue my life there full throttle with real estate, the sports development, and my own triathlon goals, as everything that I had planned and more has unfolded in a mere two months.

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.