OCOTILLO,CA

Yesterday I rode my tri bike in Ocotillo with a group of friends. Now, Ocotillo is one of the best places to go outside of San Diego to get some miles in. There is only two stops signs go out 50 miles and two coming back, total four. There are hardly any cars out there and when you do get to see them most of the times people wave at you and actually smile and say hello, unlike some other places where I have ridden. I only rode 50 miles because it was too hot to go any longer. I have had a few experiences with Ocotillo. Once I rode out there for the Stagecoach Century with Breakaway team and it was freezing really freezing California style. Must of been 32F and another time it was in the 70's yesterday it was too dam hot 98F. I ran out of water at mile 40 and there is nothing out there. Luckily there is a border patrol station out there and I stopped and got some water from them.

This is a very enjoyable ride if the weather is good. You can train your aero position for miles and miles. You get some very decent climbing, 7-8% hill with some 11% in there too. Some fast descents, nice false flats and pretty decent headwinds. Actually you get everything out there! There are two stores, no 7elevens, one at mile 25 and the other around mile 40. I never made it to the 40 mile one yesterday.

Coming back into town was fast and there was only one big hill, 7% and some little rollers and then I was done. We did have a minor accident on the first descent, Elias was going down too fast and lots control of his bike and crashed at 40mph. Good thing he crashed exactly were there was a sandy patch in the turn and he only got some minor cuts and scratches.

After our ride we had lunch at the only small bar/restaurant out there. We were the first to get back into town the rest of the posse came in an hour later. Brendan from Hi-Tech did a killer ride, 98 miles and a 5 mile run in 98 degrees. Kudos for him, he is ready for Cozumel. I am glad he sort of rode with us and even happier he will be able to do Cozumel after his bike crash.

US WOMENS TRIATHLON

This past Sunday a whole bunch of friends of mine participated in the Women's triathlon. It was an awesome experienced because it was their first triathlon ever and watching them cross the finish line and seeing how happy they were just made me smile and kinda of cry a little. There where some crazy moments and some very funny moments during the race. My friend Lizbeth could not remember her bib number and she ended up with two crossed out numbers on her arm. There is always something funny going on in triathlons. I saw a women with her wetsuit on backwards, just wanted to tell her something but she was about to get in the water. Saw another coming out of the swim with one of her boobies sticking out, now that was kinda of embarrassing. Also enjoyed the fact that my friends husbands made a real hard effort to avoid looking at other women but I caught them eyeing quite a few of them. I saw a lot of the Breakaway women there just kicking butt and saw Felipe taking pictures on his Iphone. Sara from Breakaway Massage had her hands full, I mean she was busy massaging women's legs and butts. LOL. and guys where just standing around watching. Not really she is quite professional. Next year I might join in and do this race instead of Mission Bay just to change it up a bit. To all my lady friends congrats and to my Breakaway Training team mates who won some swag congrats!!!!

THIS IS WHAT I WILL BE WEARING FOR MISSION BAY

BEAUTIFUL SCHNAUZERS!!!

They are 7 weeks old and are looking for a home.  All girls!

Pure breed, home cared and just adorable.

POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

Post Ironman, still alive, still here and still training. Six weeks have passed and my 15 min. of fame have come and gone.  Now it is back to........I dont know now.  I am mulling around a couple of races to end the year and nothing really appeals to me.  Though about Somma and Big Kahuna, but (there is always a but in a sentence) I don't care to travel out of town for a race right now. If I had gotten an entry for the New York City Marathon, my bags would of been packed already.   I guess, since I have a couple of free entries to some sprint races I might do one or two.  But sprints are not my forte, well nothing is my forte in triathlon, I just do my best.   You see, I still cant get my mind going on something.  Could this be Post Ironman Syndrome?  No, it is just post Ironman laziness.  I do know I want to go to Tucson and ride El Tour of Tucson.  I have heard a lot about this ride and want to take a stab at getting Platinum.  Besides that I really do not know, planning 2010 is mind boggling right now.  But to end my post Ironman syndromish laziness I will get started soon and will sign up for something.  Another post Ironman syndrome thing I will do is try to blog more and redo my photos and change maybe my posting name, Mafia is so old (yeah some of my friends are over 50 now) need to come up with something new.  Will keep you posted, whomever you are who reads this blog and is out there......Adios.

Trivia question:  who is the guy in the photo on top of the table?  

Ironman 2009 Coeur d'Alene

MY TOP 10 RACE MISTAKES















1. Do a test swim while wearing your HR monitor, especially if its more than 5 years old and see if its still water resistant. Mine died the moment I went into the water.

2. Just because you can swim and know you can finish the distance does not mean that your swim is going to go ok. Practice, practice, practice. Drills, drills, drills. Technique, technique, technique. Speed, speed, speed. The race is not won in the swim but finishing the swim feeling strong, starts the race and the day on a good note.

3. Always check were the timing mats are especially when coming back from the swim. I failed to do this and got an extra 5 min. tagged on to my swim time because I choose to walk instead of running after getting out of the water. I know I could of been 5min. faster because Remmi and I came out of the water together and she got 44 min. and I got 49min. ARGH!!! My slowest time ever.

4. Do start taking your wetsuit off while on route to T1 and at least have it off all the way to your waist. What was I thinking, I have always done this in the past and totally forgot to do this for this race. Thank God for the volunteers who helped me pull it off and saved me some precious seconds.

5. If your watch/HR monitor fails have a back up, like a bike computer that has time, HR, speed, distance and cadence. I had no computer on my bike (and I work at a bike store) and never knew how fast I was going, what my HR was or what time it was. It was kinda of dumb to not have a bike computer but I was relying on my watch/HR monitor to pace myself. Back up, back up!

6. I f you need to use the restroom while on the bike either learn to pee while riding or use the first port-a-potty you see. Don't wait and see how long you can hold it, doing so is way to uncomfortable and just makes you loose your concentration and messes up your bike/aero position.

7. If possible always check out the bike course and where the hills are and how steep they really are. Looking at the bike course map is not good enough. If the course is open to test ride it, do it. Relying on what someone says on how difficult or how easy the hills are is not good enough. I was surprised to find that it was not 2 big hills, but 4 moderately to hard hills and lots of rollers.

8. Also if someone says there is a headwind on any part of the course, believe them. Usually, they are telling the truth and if they are making a big fuss about it is even more believable. Because if you are not mentally prepared for a headwind, especially on the last miles of the course you know that wind is going to hurt. Always save some juice for the headwinds or suck it up and loose some time.

9. When preparing for your race make sure all your equipment, clothing and shoes have been tested, tried and tested again. Don't wait for race day to find out your running shoes are old, flat and have lost their cushy feeling. Invest in a new pair closer to the race and use them a couple of times before the race. Your tired and stiff feet will thank you.

10. If something is hurting on the run and is making you slow down or even making you walk, pay attention. If this is not your A race and if you have bigger and more important races to come listen to your body. A small injury is easier to fix than a bigger one that is going to set you back a couple of weeks or months. Hey, if you are not getting 1,2 or 3 place or going to win a s....load of money or a qualifying spot, who cares, stop and end the race there. There are always lost more races to come but we have only one healthy body in our lifetime. You know a DNF is not so bad once you get over the shock.



I always said that I would never race California Half Ironman because of the cold water and the cold weather. But the water was only cold for the first couple of minutes and the weather was outstanding for the rest of day. The bike course was difficult but beautiful and the wind and sand were a bitch to battle but riding and running along the ocean made it defeatable. The crowd was outstanding and their support and cheering was amazing and I must add that Team Breakaway Rocked!